Live/Work/Semester — Go Abroad

There are very few times I will encourage people to fly. This is one of them.

This year I was invited to give a keynote to 200 Cardiff University students going abroad for work or a semester.

In 2015, I went to Singapore and it was a huge influence on me. Specifically that:

• You gain global friends with global points of view
• You gain incredible stories which are a social currency and business currency (networking/experience).
• You gain a comfort with the unusual/uncomfortable

Without these experiences I would not be who I am today or taken the opportunities I have. I definitely would not be a VC-backed founder working on improving financing across Africa with Vula.

Global friends, stories and comfort with the unknown.

My experience was not initially rosey 🥀

After the hard decision that I would go abroad as it sounded like a fun, safe and non-detrimental* to my degree, I then arrived to an empty room with two beds.

* non-detrimental - it was a genuine concern. 

In hindsight, this was ridiculous and…