African Start Up - Bankole Cardoso - CEO of Easy Taxi Nigeria

We caught up with Bankole Cardoso, CEO of Easy Taxi Nigeria.

He was featured earlier this year on CNN's African Start Up. African Start-Up follows entrepreneurs in various countries across the continent to see how they are working to turning great ideas into realities. Bankole Cardoso has launched the Easy Taxi app in Lagos which sets out to make it easier to get a reliable and safe taxi directly from your mobile phone (it's a sort of Uber/ Hailo type concept). We thought it might be interesting to get a bit of background information on this inspiring individual.

Chase your dreams people!!

How did you decide to start Easy Taxi Nigeria?

I was living in New York City where similar Smartphone applications existed that I used very often. Even though it is fairly easy to get a taxi in New York, I loved the convenience of these apps. Around the same time, I wanted to move back home to start a business so I contacted Easy Taxi as they had been expanding to new emerging markets.

Can you explain how the structure of Easy Taxi works and how you fit in?

Easy Taxi is a global company that was founded in Brazil in 2011. I am the Founder of Easy Taxi Nigeria so I am responsible for everything to do with this market. It is great having the expertise of a global team behind me to leverage if I ever have any difficulties or encounter any problems, as they are likely to have faced similar issues in different markets and can share best practices.

Did you always want to be an entrepreneur? Do you find it hard managing a team of employees?

I always had plans to start my own business and the longer I worked in the corporate world the more this desire intensified. While it is challenging to manage different people, I am comfortable with it and I enjoy it. There is a mutual respect between my employees and me so we are comfortable agreeing and disagreeing with each other. It also helps that I have a personal relationship with every one on my team so I know how to treat each individual differently.

What made you decide to move back to Nigeria?

I moved back to Nigeria after working in New York for a few years. Before that, I had also studied abroad for a number of years so I had lived outside Nigeria for over half of my life. As I got older I started to appreciate Nigeria more and understand the troubles and challenges that we have as a nation. I can’t say exactly when I realized this but I decided that I must live in Nigeria to make a positive impact in this country.

What were you doing before? Was it hard switching careers?

I was working at a Private Equity firm, The Carlyle Group in New York City. I did not find it hard switching careers because I was thrown into the deep end so quickly. I had switched environments, my life was suddenly completely different and my future career path was not as clear as it previously was. All of my plans were thrown out of the window so the only thing hard about switching was the uncertainty of what I was trying to do. Other than that I have loved being an entrepreneur from day one so I am thankful that I made the change.

What skills have you found most helpful from previous work experience?

My work ethic is definitely the most helpful skill from my previous work experience. I worked in environments where people push you to the limit and test you so much that you are constantly on your toes to avoid embarrassment. The stakes were so high and I learned to deal with pressure. These skills were vital when I started Easy Taxi because I had to work hard to recruit a team, to convince drivers about our project and to get customers to start using the app. None of it was straightforward.

5 pieces of advice for anyone out there who's trying to start a business.

1. Put 100% of your focus into your business and drop everything else.

2. Partner with someone you can trust. Starting a business is tough so I would recommend anyone to have a co-founder to share the burden with.

3.Know your product or service inside out.

4.Make sure you listen to feedback from your users/customers and keep making improvements.

5.Have no fear of failure.

If you could invite any 3 people to dinner (dead/alive/famous/not famous) who would you choose and why?

Sir Alex Ferguson – I think he is the master motivator and a lot of people can learn about managing people from him. They even study him at Harvard Business School!

Fela Anipolapokuti – I am just learning more about Fela and aside from his music he was a fascinating man that understood Nigeria. There is so much I would ask him.

Beyonce – Can you make that happen? Jay-Z can come too. They are such an iconic couple and on an individual level as entreprenuers they have both achieved so much.

#fhp