We found Toby Egbuna‘s story (below) to be one absolutely worth sharing (verbatim). Toby and his sister Dumebi are co-founders of Chezie, a DEI software company.
At 27 years old, I quit my consulting job making $140k to start a DEI software company with my sister.
Not exactly the path my immigrant parents imagined I’d take when they came to the U.S. in 1997, but I wanted to be an entrepreneur, so I took the chance.
And now, three years later, I can honestly say that I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
I’ll be real, building Chezie has been more of a roller coaster than I could have anticipated.
Some wins came early—like signing our first customer within a week of launching. Others took time: We bootstrapped and no-coded our way to $100k+ ARR, secured over $300k in grants, raised a pre-seed round, and landed 25 customers, including recognizable names like Docusign, Take-Two Interactive, and National Basketball Association (NBA).
But it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. Over the course of these three years, we’ve:
– been rejected by over 100 VCs,
– hired and let go of a team (twice)
– gotten sued by a famous DEI consultant
On top of that, we’ve lost customers due to the widespread de-prioritization of DEI initiatives (but that’s a story for another post).
The lows are real; sometimes, this founder’s journey is heavy. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss my cushy job a few years ago. But the lessons I’ve learned and our progress keep me going every day.
This is all to say: if you’re thinking about starting something, do it. It’ll be the hardest thing you ever do, but it’ll teach you more than any “safe” job ever could. You’ll learn more in one year as a founder than you would in five anywhere else.
Another word of advice – start something while your knees still work 😅
