Knowledge as a Superpower

“You will be the same person five years from now as you are today, except for two things: the people you meet and the books you read.”

That line stayed with me. Without direct access to mentors, I turned to books, studying those who built success and the systems behind it.

In my early days of entrepreneurship, I lived in survival mode—firefighting, patching crises, keeping the lights on. Doing teaches you to solve today’s problems, but learning equips you to anticipate tomorrow's.

That truth crystallized in 2014 when I joined the Stanford Seed program. It pushed me toward evidence-based decision-making and frameworks, not just instincts. My Seed coach, Terry Duryea, always asked: “What specific problem are you solving, and why can’t your partners solve it themselves?” That discipline forced clarity. I began testing every idea against research, case studies, and the lessons of others.

As Nsano grew, I knew I couldn’t make every decision, but if my team applied structured, knowledge-driven approaches, I could delegate with confidence. This conviction birthed executive learning programs and a management trainee track for emerging leaders. They remain among my proudest investments: they elevated conversations, built resilience, and gave us agility when regulation cut revenues or partners chose to build in-house.

Not all lessons came from Stanford. For years I believed competing with larger players required “experienced hands.” I hired managers from Vodafone, Surfline, and other corporates. Their CVs sparkled, but many could not adapt to the pace and ambiguity of a startup. Credentials, I learned, do not guarantee competence.

Meanwhile, Gilbert—a shop attendant I met at a small supermarket in Ashiyie—was closing deals those MBAs could not. He had no degree, only a rare instinct for people. He anticipated customer needs before they asked. When I hired him, he delivered Access Bank and other major deals. In every new market—Zambia, Liberia, Uganda, Rwanda—I sent Gilbert first. He built trust faster than anyone.

This year, Gilbert leaves Nsano to pursue his own venture, with my full support. The same spirit that made him invaluable to us will serve him well on his journey.

Looking back, three lessons endure:

1. The right questions unlock clarity. Inquiry can be more valuable than answers.

2. Experience is not expertise. Credentials do not predict adaptability or impact.

3. Wisdom hides in unlikely places—sometimes in a shop attendant’s service or an intern’s curiosity.

Stanford gave me frameworks, but the real superpower was learning to recognize knowledge wherever it appears—whether from a coach, a failed hire, or a shop attendant who understood service better than most MBAs.

Knowledge becomes a superpower the day you stop seeking it only in predictable places, and start uncovering it in every interaction.

Who taught you the most valuable lesson you never expected to learn?

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