Reframed by Mustard

If you know your combat sports you would have likely heard of Mixed-Martial Arts (MMA), one that has been made globally popular by the UFC, which was only founded in 1993. Alongside MMA, there are other fighting styles such as Thailand’s Muay Thai, which have come to popularity in recent memory. However, are there any to have yet come out of Africa? And, if not, are there any that exist within the...

In this week’s episode we speak about Africa VC data and stories with Abraham Augustine, a blogger, researcher and senior reporter at TechCabal, the Lagos-based online publication chronicling innovation and technology developments across the continent. We can’t say precisely when venture capital activity in Africa began, but can say that telecommunication growth, global media’s recognition of m-Pe...

This week we are revisiting one of our oldest and most listened to podcasts “ Why is design rarely considered in Africa? ”, to breakdown our arguments segment by segment. Most would admit that the brands identities and communication of companies founded in Africa, on average don’t quite match up to their counterparts in Western countries. However, in this revisit we focus in on the discussions per...

Although many say that people are the lifeblood of any business, do our conscious actions in this area tend to match our words? Michael Seibel, co-founder of Twitch, stated that he only unlearned and started to "better [understand] how important a team is as opposed to an idea”, after he had sold his company and been working with over 700 others as a partner at Y Combinator. Can we say unequivocal...

“As was the case at the turn of the decade, there remains a stronger enthusiasm for building African brands. But the rhetoric doesn’t match the reality.” This was stated in 2020 by Thebe Ikalafeng, former CMO of Nike Africa and current founder and CEO of Brands Africa. But does it still hold true in 2023? We’re joined by Instagram personality and Nigerian brand authority @Mr. Funsho, to discuss ju...

Although it was only founded in 2018, Liquid Death - an irreverent beverage brand that sells one product: mineral water - quickly grew to be valued at $700m with $130m in revenue by the end of 2022.  Given its secret can't be taste (because water is tasteless!) Andrew and Ndubuisi discuss their thoughts on what has been behind the rise of Liquid Death, and how its founder, Mike Cessario, has seemi...

Kim Kardashian took the unprecedented move to co-found a PE firm in September 2022. Within six months we've seen at least two other celebrities - former NBA and tennis stars Carmelo Anthony and Venus Williams respectively - take similar steps. Are we seeing the next logical commercial steps in the attempt to commercialise attention, or just reading too much into it all? In this podcast, Andrew and...

How did a group of engineers go from thinking “if you build it they will come”, to “a brand is more important than the product”? In light of Ndubuisi’s recent interview with FLO London, we are revisiting our first podcast episode and breaking it down, to better understand the experiences over the years that shaped our thinking, philosophy and mission. Visit the  bymustard.com/news  or our socials...

Although the primary concern surrounding the FTX scandal must be its team’s mismanagement and alleged fraud, is there also something we can learn from it about the influential power of stories and perceptions? How did Sam Bankman-Fried grow FTX into a company that was courted by the rich and famous, and valued at $32 billion less than three years after its founding? In and among the mess, is there...

Africa’s biggest brands today are not companies, but rather individuals in the areas of music, film, sports and entertainment, who have built large audiences and influence both inside and outside of the continent. With the celebrity VC and founder still a relatively new phenomenon even in the US, are there ways in which Africa’s most influential people and tech ventures could synergise today, to d...

Most successful founders are older than we think. The average age of those who founded the world's fastest growing tech companies is 45, and statistics show us that the likelihood of a founder’s success increases with age until about 60. If this is true, why does the young, 20-something and successful tech founder seem to be everywhere? Are the real 'unicorns' the young and successful entrepreneur...

Andrew and Ndubuisi discuss the presently popular application and talking point: Open AI's Chat GPT. They explore their thoughts on Chat GPT the application, the philosophy of artificial intelligence, and what AI development might mean for the future of work and education. Please follow, rate and share the podcast if you enjoy it, and follow our journey on social - @onlybymustard

Andrew and Ndubuisi discuss A16z’s $350m investment in Adam Neumann’s Flow venture in August 2022, and the uproar it caused in the media landscape. The two explore reasons why Adam was able to raise again after his dishonourable and public discharge as CEO of his founded company We Work. Do his excellent storytelling abilities have anything to do with it, and what is the difference between speakin...

Andrew and Ndubuisi discuss the seemingly sensitive topic of trying to put African brands into the global mainstream. Could such a brand exist and at the same time still be legitimately "African", or are those thinking in the space asking the wrong questions?

Ndubuisi and Andrew sit down in this episode to discuss the passion and faith that initially led them to entrepreneurship in the Africa space, and continues to drive them in difficult times. A good and frank conversation comes out after a particularly challenging week!

Andrew and Ndubuisi discuss big tech's past attempts to fundamentally change the financial flows in economies, and what they perceive to be the fundamental foothold these companies have on Africa's tech ecosystem.

After working with our heads down for a year or so, we have (finally) returned with a new episode. In this episode we discuss the new approach we have developed for us to work to achieve our mission of changing perceptions of Africa. Ndubuisi and Andrew discuss what was behind our team’s idea to build an investment vehicle, aimed at making what we call ‘idea-stage' investments.

Has the early or oligopolistic state of some of Africa's consumer markets led to a poor focus on brand communication, or are there other things at play? Andrew Sekandi and Ndubuisi Kejeh from the Mustard team discuss their thoughts on the essence and under appreciation of communication in entrepreneurial, corporate and other contexts.

Continuing in the 'getting to know us' vein, Mustard's founder Ndubuisi and Chief evangelist Andrew speak on the latter's past life as a corporate warrior. Andrew goes into what led him away from the more operational and pragmatic professional services industries, to the riskier - and often times with Mustard - more philosophical, African ventures and narrative space.

Mustard's founder Ndubuisi and Chief Evangelist Andrew kick-off the Pass the Mustard podcast by speaking about the Mustard (formerly De Charles) genesis story. The story covers how geeky engineers obsessed with building products, came to experience and believe in the power of narratives.