L001: 0 to 1,065/The Catch Up

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1,065 Days.

1,065 Days between the “Africa to the World” series and this. Wild.

1,065 Days of (self) interrogation, iteration, frustration, and hesitation - all while still living and moving. It’s a wonder how life will continue to life despite whatever makes you feel “stuck”. Or how much can be going on underneath what seems like “equilibrium” or “steady progression” or nothing at all. But, we move.

In short, everything was put into question during these past 1,065 Days. Not just this thing that is Blueprints & The Culture Shift Theory, but also the true ‘endgame’ of it all. In essence, even the genuine feasibility and viability of the work and assumptions that underpin this very thing was put into question.

What does it really mean to leverage Brand to ‘shift culture’ and catalyze genuine prosperity for Africa and its diaspora? What does it mean to enable genuine value capture (or really value retention) for spaces that have been significant contributors to, but not meaningful beneficiaries of, our global consumption?

Is it actually possible? Does it actually matter? Are we too entrenched in our current systems and ways of being? In how we perceive and exchange value? Maybe the best case scenario is a few ‘looks’ here and there. A few extraordinary instances and examples that somehow were allowed to happen, while in aggregate nothing really changes.

Despite these questions, I kept coming back to this thought during the past 1,065 Days:

Because the systems and ways of being we have today were designed by others, there’s always space for new systems and ways of being to be designed, still.

Agency, a willingness to face things head on, to create, is all that’s needed. At the end of the day, choosing to not even try is a skill issue.

So we’re here. We’re back. With intent. Even if the speed of action varies over time. Even if all of this amounts to a small shift. That’s actually okay. There’s enough satisfaction to be found in that.

The Why Behind Blueprints & The Culture Shift Theory, and Everything Else

After posting the “Africa to the World, Through Brand” series, I realized that I never actually introduced Blueprints & The Culture Shift Theory. So, let’s do that now.

To be very frank, all of this (B&TCST, AZEKI ROAD, and even my career path) started from a place of mixed curiosity and frustration, turned determination.

Anecdotes from designers like Nifemi-Marcus Bello sparked my initial curiosity about the extent to which outside perceptions of what valuable ‘African’ design is and what African design “should” be, limit actual value. Especially when it comes to the value that Africa and its people, and more acutely its creators, are able to benefit from.

It was a curiosity that developed into frustration after realizing how pervasive and harmful this value perception ‘mismatch’ has been, and continues to be. Not just in the context of African design, but also in the context of cultural production from African and Diasporic communities in general - from film, to music, to consumer goods. And not just in the context of the production itself, but also in the context of one’s general willingness to invest and engage in such production.

It was a frustration that was rooted in a strong sense of pride and belief in these spaces. Spaces that I belong to. Spaces that, I believe, need to benefit from the significant value they continue to create. This curiosity-frustration-determination was the initial spark for everything. Add in my personal love for all things culture and an opportunity to incorporate my passion into my career viably, I became obsessed.

As a result, everything shifted towards understanding what drives value perceptions, their downstream implications on actual value, and how one might reengineer these perceptions to produce alternative outcomes. But then came the question that’s been on my head for years (especially during the past 1,065 Days):

What does changing these value perceptions actually look like, and how can this actually happen?

Images, “Inputs”, and Why Sustained Resonance is Key to The Shift

I came across a lot of inspiration during this time “off” which helped connect dots and brought more clarity to a potential answer for this question. One of those sources of inspiration was this conversation between Reggie James and Eugene Angelo, touching on the value of Images: ideas that are strong enough to inspire people to move, follow, and re-orient their ways of thinking. Though this conversation was originally in the context of broader conversations at the time on Mars, space exploration, and the “post-internet era”, the general idea of strong Images and the power they have stuck with me. It made me wonder:

How might Brands become strong Images that inspire people to think, and therefore value things, differently?

Excerpts from For The Culture, a book grounded in behavioral research and cultural case studies on why people buy and act the way they do, helped refine things further by providing insight into the relationship between Images and the people that are moved by them.

In the book, Dr. Marcus Collins makes the point that our actions, including what we choose to buy, value, and consume is, in large part, driven by our beliefs. Beliefs that are ultimately shaped by the two-way relationship between the cultural output we interact with (e.g. art, food, fashion, music, design) and our interpretation of those interactions. In other words, the cultural “inputs” we interact with, and how we feel and think about those “inputs”, create and strengthen certain ‘Images’ that then shape our beliefs. It’s these beliefs that then go on to drive what we value, what we choose to not value, and what other ‘inputs’ we choose to interact with, reinforcing this relationship.

With this, I realized that the question really is:

How might Brands be inputs into and strengthen an Image that inspires people to think, and therefore value things, differently?

Where this Image is a reality where global audiences elevate (and adjust) their value perception of goods and design from Africa and its Diaspora. Where, following that value perception ‘adjustment’, significant shifts happen in how value flows, is exchanged, and is retained by these spaces.

From this, it’s not too crazy to say then that specifically strong inputs (in this case, ‘strong’ Brands) that create lasting, positive impressions are the sort of inputs that will strengthen and reinforce this Image that raises the perceived value of African and Diasporan creation. Therefore, to make the ‘shift’ real:

We need more inputs.

More tangible proof that validates this greater Image.

And not inputs for the sake of it, but inputs (i.e. Brands) that resonate and last. Brands that can reach people at scale, repeatedly demonstrate their true value to provide that tangible proof, and sustain themselves long enough to become references that shift global perception.

Getting Back Into It…

Ironically, this brought me right back to my thesis. Which was a bit frustrating given the time wasted spent thinking and iterating and effectively sitting on my hands.…But again, we move.

So how can Brands become the sustained, scaled “inputs” that last long enough to help drive this shift and realize this Image (resulting in significantly more value being unlocked)? They need to exhibit high-impact, ‘Gazelle-like’ characteristics: sustainable, consistent growth and longevity that results in the creation of more value, the uplift of their ecosystems, and the provision of tangible proof needed to shift value perceptions.

But exhibiting these behaviors requires Brands to have certain capabilities, such as: being in tune with one’s customer base and broader market to routinely generate demand, having the operational capacity to innovate to create more value, etc. All of which requires resources. Specifically, capital & value-creating, operational infrastructure. The sort of capital and operational infrastructure that still allows Brands to have some meaningful level of control. The sort of capital and operational infrastructure that Brands from these spaces still find difficult to access and build for themselves, in large part due to the very same value perception mismatch that also results in less investment, a greater perception of ‘risk’, and not so impactful engagement.

As a result, these Brands are handicapped, which further limits their (potential) value. Then, when you consider how consumer behavior is evolving and how technology is evolving - operating as a Brand with this handicap becomes exponentially more difficult.

But this last point about having to figure things out in the midst of these evolutions isn’t unique to emerging culture and consumer brands rooted in Africa, as ‘more established’ brands in other markets with significantly more scale, more revenue, and more robust operational infrastructure, are also having to navigate these shifts (something that I know intimately well from my own experiences).

In fact, these ‘shifts’, in a sense, have leveled the playing field to some degree, proven by the rise of emerging Brands from other spaces with strong cultural resonance that have achieved meaningful scale. Something, I’d argue, that’s been made possible by the way operational infrastructure, and capital as a result, has been democratized over time.

To that end, to transform Brands into the ‘scaled, sustained inputs’ needed to shift culture, closing the gaps in capital and operational infrastructure in light of these macro evolutions is key. And considering the fact that additional capital investment typically requires understood demonstrations of (potential) value first, enabling Brands with the operational infrastructure to clearly demonstrate and communicate their value becomes especially key*.

*along with enabling the “other side” to better understand the value that’s at hand, which is just as key.

…and Getting Going

“In Africa, the talent is there…but the architecture around it is lacking”

- Larry Madowo

I heard this quote during a panel on Africa’s creative and consumer industries during Wharton’s 2019 African Business Forum and I repeatedly came back to this quote since. Especially during the past 1,065 Days. Granted, the idea to provide the “architecture” (i.e. operational infrastructure) wasn’t (and isn’t) new at all. In addition to the numerous programs and initiatives executed by various groups over several years aimed at doing just that, I personally spent years testing different concepts to do this through AZEKI ROAD. From pure tech solutions, to providing agency-like services, I pitched and “tried” it all. Ultimately, nothing tangible truly came from these efforts which, along with other factors, led me to taking a step away.

Funny enough though, I was given the opportunity by a good friend in the middle of my ‘hiatus’ to help support Lagos Space Programme with their launch at SPACE 001, a new retail concept in NYC powered by the Institute of Black Imagination - which sparked even more inspiration for me.

Helping Lagos Space Programme achieve growth after re-designing their e-commerce, crafting the journey from the in-person SPACE 001 experience to online, and contributing to their overall strategy was reminiscent of not just my past efforts with AZEKI ROAD, but also the way growth capital value creation teams would work with companies in their portfolio (which was another source of ‘inspiration’ during this time). It reemphasized the value of strengthening operations for the direct, long-term benefit of the Brand, as these efforts made it easier for Lagos Space Programme to continue to demonstrate its value (and unlock more future possibilities).

It also highlighted a path to re-visit, scale, and optimize the efforts of enabling Brands grow and ‘strengthen the Image’ - a path that can be as much thesis driven as the way growth capital firms are thesis-driven when it comes to deciding what to invest in and how to create value.

The New Direction & Looking Ahead

So, after 1,065 Days of frustration, interrogation, reflection, inspiration, and being hands-on again, the ‘what’, ‘why’, and ‘how’ became clear - with everything flowing from this central thesis:

There’s significant benefit to be had for everyone in enabling Brands rooted in Africa and the Diaspora to become the needed inputs to adjust value perceptions at scale and shift global culture. To do this, enhancing and innovating with the operational infrastructure of these Brands to unlock more capital, sustainable growth, and sustained resonance is key. And lastly, doing this in a way that centers Brands and uplifts their ecosystem is both very much required and very much possible.

Thus, Blueprints & The Culture Shift Theory will host and amplify the thinking, the learning, and the research that seeks to validate this thesis. This space will be in service to creators and those looking to invest in and uplift creators alike; connecting the dots between capital, culture, design, technology, and engineering to create “blueprints” for this desired “shift”.

And everything else (at least, everything else that I do in this space) will in turn flow from B&TCST.

So, what does this all mean? A few things:

The ‘On Demand’ Series and more:

In parallel to the work I’ve done to make sense of everything, I also started researching the concept of ‘Demand’ more deeply. Inspired by some of the material mentioned here, along with others sources, learnings from my own experiences, and the belief that generating sustained demand is foundational to everything else, I began working on this: from developing “paths” to true Brand resonance, demonstrating what such resonance actually looks like, quantifying it, and wrestling with general assumptions about ‘Demand’ along the way.

Excited to start sharing pieces from this series soon, along with other series and “loosies” like this one in the future. More soon come.

Reviving (and Evolving) AZEKI ROAD:

Following the project with Lagos Space Programme and SPACE 001 (along with the broader, somewhat existential reflection that inspired this Catch Up), I’m opening things back up and establishing a more intentional connection with B&TCST and the underlying thesis.

I’m excited to re-position AZEKI ROAD as a value creation/Brand transformation engine of sorts, and use AZEKI to partner with Brands on executing the “blueprints” in real time. More soon come on this too, but in the meantime (and as always): Brand Owners, Brand Investors, and Creatives in this space - if unlocking that next stage of growth and true resonance is top of mind, I’m always happy to connect at info@azekiroad.com.

Other Endeavors??

Beyond AZEKI ROAD, I’m really interested in seeing where else the research and the discussions that happen through B&TCST can be applied. Though all of this started from a place of personal curiosity-frustration-determination over a particular phenomenon that I care deeply about, it’s not lost on me that researching and attempting to create ‘blueprints’ on how emerging Brands can sustainably transform and unlock more value can be applied elsewhere. Leaving that door open, but the focus now is simply providing and amplifying the research first.

These past 1,065 Days have been a lot, but the time served as a great reminder that having time itself is a blessing, and creating space for new inspiration never hurts. At the same time, I’m happy to truly get going again and be about that action because to be real, this all could have (and maybe should have) happened much sooner than the 1,065 Days it took, but hey.

We move.