MADE Magazine March / April Issue Commemorative Issue | Page 6

START-UP
GRIND
MADE BY: STELLA ASHAOLU

Strategist and tech entrepreneur, Stella Ashaolu introduces MADE Magazine to the realities of the
startup grind through her experiences as founder and CEO of WeSolv. This article provides
entrepreneurs and startups with some key learning and experience from the 2016 Startup Grind
Global Conference.
I’d like to start by introducing myself to the MADE
Magazine community. My name is Stella Ashaolu
and I am a California native, consulting strategist
by trade, and member of a minority segment of our
population often considered foolish, but otherwise
known as entrepreneurs. People often talk about
their path to success in very vague and ambiguous
term such as “I never gave up chasing my dream”
or “I focused on the problem and that led to our
success.” But how does that really help the rest of
us trying to get there?
As a founder working to launch my tech startup,
WeSolv, I’m taking the MADE Magazine readers
along for the ride of navigating the startup grind and
the path to entrepreneurial success…as I experience
it. What better way to commence this column than
with a recount of the learnings and experience of
the 2016 Startup Grind Global Conference?
For those who don’t know, The Startup Grind
the largest independent startup community,
actively educating, inspiring and connecting
215,000 founders in over 200 cities worldwide.
From February 23-24, I, along with 3,000 other
entrepreneurs from around the world, met in
Redwood City, California for 2 days of workshops,
talks and meeting with Silicon Valley’s top investors,
developers, journalists, and entrepreneurs. There
were definitely some heavy-hitters in the building.

Photography: Benji Aird (Airdography)

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