BLOCKS 2 BAGS

The Email Marketing Playbook for 2025: Strategies That Actually Work

In this episode, the Blocks 2 Bags hosts Micky Tesfaye and Sebuh Mesfin discuss the relevance and effectiveness of email marketing in today's digital landscape. They debunk the myth that email marketing is dead, emphasizing its continued importance and the need for quality content. The conversation explores the differences between good and bad email practices, the concept of nurture marketing, and the significance of providing value in email communications. Additionally, they touch on the role of AI in enhancing email marketing strategies and offer practical tips for crafting engaging emails.---✅ Why newsletters are outdated (unless done right)✅ How brands can shift from "nets" (generic newsletters) to "spizz" (hyper-personalized emails)✅ The #1 mistake that makes people ignore your emails✅ The power of nurture marketing and real-world examples✅ How AI can personalize email marketing at scale---
00:00 The Relevance of Email Marketing Today02:59 Understanding Good vs. Bad Email Marketing05:28 Nurture Marketing: Building Relationships Through Email07:58 Crafting a Modern Email Marketing Strategy10:44 The Role of AI in Email Marketing12:42 Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways---email marketing, nurture marketing, AI in marketing, email strategy, value-driven content, copywriting, marketing insights, email engagement, modern marketing, email effectiveness
 

Kimberly Ofori: Hard Lessons in Building & Selling Startups (The Unfiltered Truth!)

In this episode of Blocks 2 Bags, hosts Micky Tesfaye and Sebuh Mesfin engage in a dynamic conversation with Kimberly Ofori, a global entrepreneur and thought leader. They explore her journey from early influences to her experiences in building businesses, the challenges she faced, and the lessons learned along the way. Kimberly shares her insights on the importance of understanding value in business, the concept of camels versus unicorns, and the future of technology and AI in solving real-world problems, particularly in Africa. The discussion culminates in a quickfire round of questions, revealing Kimberly's personal philosophies and future aspirations.
 
Takeaways
Building a business is about solving problems, not just making money.
Understanding your market and customer is crucial for success.
Failures are part of the journey and should be seen as learning opportunities.
The concept of camels vs unicorns emphasizes sustainability over rapid growth.
Technology should be applied thoughtfully to create real impact.
Investing in Africa requires a unique perspective and understanding of local challenges.
Personal growth often comes from navigating challenges and setbacks.
The future of business lies in making decisions that consider long-term impact.
Collaboration and community are essential for entrepreneurial success.
It's important to respect and learn from historical knowledge and practices. 
Chapters
 
00:00 Introduction to Kimberly Ofori
02:43 The Early Hustle: Curiosity Over Money
07:29 The Journey of Entrepreneurship: From Banking to Startups
10:37 Building and Selling: The First Startup Experience
14:41 Understanding Value: Lessons from the Exit
19:08 The Aftermath: Learning from Failures
24:12 The Importance of Focus and Expertise
24:58 Early Career: Becoming an Insurance Advisor
27:06 Overcoming Disrespect and Insecurity
32:45 Navigating Financial Challenges and Career Growth
33:53 Resilience Through Failure
35:45 The Importance of Perspective in Business
37:03 Building Sustainable Businesses: Camels vs Unicorns
43:43 The Role of Leadership in Shaping the Future
46:49 Unlocking New Levels of Impact
50:41 Quickfire Questions: Insights and Reflections

The Business of Health & Wellness with Victoria Omobuwajo Founder of Sunmo

The health and wellness industry is, to put it frankly, booming. With platforms such as TikTok proliferating information about everything from what supplements you should be taking to how to improve your gut health, businesses have quickly followed suit. Not only are aisles stacked with choice, but a new creation or service seems to pop up every day. And particularly in a post-pandemic sphere where we’ve shifted to modes of internal healing and taking care of our bodies, it’s not an avenue to disregard.
Here at Blocks2Bags, we’re always looking for founders and creators who push the limits of their respective spaces and build something that stands out. This week, we sat down with our guest, Victoria Omobuwajo, founder of Sunmo, whose journey has seen her selling wildly popular naturally-sweet plantain crisps across stores nationally, to now selling a wide range of supplements online and in-store. With retailers such as Selfridges and Sainsbury’s stocking her products, she’s been able to cultivate a brand at the forefront of movements to heal our internal selves and treat our bodies with greater care. Sunmo has also seen Victoria win Gordon Ramsay’s BBC Future Food Stars, with the win securing an investment into the business for her, something which the brand describes as “[epitomising] Victoria Omobuwajo's vision and Sunmo's dedication to holistic well-being”. Wondering how you can level up your business and progress? Tap into this week's episode and find out.
 
Watch the episode on YouTube.
Follow @blocks2bags on Instagram. 

How To Create Your First Documentary And Sell Out Your Premiere with @Leapdocumentary

This week on Blocks2Bags we’re all about the LEAP. Taking the concept of a leap of faith at its most literal verb definition — and fully plunging into the unknown, two feet forward — along with celebrating the filmmaking endeavours of creators of the docu-vlog, LEAP, Adesola Akerele (@addieadessy) and Stephanie Okereafor (@stephanie.dinma). With the film associate produced by Blocks2Bags, our hosts Bejay Mulenga MBE (@bejaymulenga) and Sebuh Mesfin (@sebuhmesfin) to discuss their life-changing move to LA and their creation of the documentary which saw a sold-out screening at Genesis Cinema and propelled the creation of the Leap Prize fund in partnership with B2B. Tap in to find the path to your own personal leap of faith, from Blocks 2 Bags.

How to Level Up Your LinkedIn With Butterfly 3ffect CEO Elfried Samba | ENTREPRENEURSHIP | HOW TO START ON LINKEDIN | WHY COMMUNITY MATTERS | IMMIGRANT MENTALITIES

This week – and this year – at Blocks2Bags, we’re all about the path to levelling up. What are the practical steps to pivoting into bigger avenues, new opportunities, and the bag as a whole? Our newest episode has the answers for you, and more. Blocks2Bags hosts Bejay Mulenga MBE (@bejaymulenga) and Sebuh Mesfin (@sebuhmesfin) sat down with our guest Elfried Samba (@elfriedsamba) to discuss everything from building as a founder to growing on LinkedIn. Previously the Global Head of Social Content at GymShark, Elfried’s role as co-founder and CEO of Butterfly 3ffect and his amassing of 140,000+ followers on LinkedIn have culminated in a keen sense of what it truly means to connect with your audience. Tap into this week’s episode and find out how you can switch it up in 2024 and break boundaries, from Blocks 2 Bags.
The New Year is a beginning in essence – new settings, reframed mindsets, and restarting – attempting to understand what habits nurture our growth, and how the past year has culminated to shape us for the next coming chapter of our lives. Amidst the fears and hopes that ultimately shape the resolutions we make, or the intentions we set, are common turns of phrase; endless how-to guides on how to ‘switch-up’ and how to ‘level-up’ for the New Year come back around like clockwork. Practically speaking, it’s easy to get lost in the noise as opposed to consciously tackling the changes you want to make in an intentional manner.
In 2024, our Blocks2Bags team is right there alongside you; this week, we sat down with CEO and co-founder of Butterfly 3ffect, Elfried Samba, where we talked all things entrepreneurship and LinkedIn, breaking down the elusive platform to redefine what it takes to build a community of like-minded individuals. Pivoting from Global Head of Social Content at GymShark, where he was essential in growing the community 1.5 million to 20 million followers, his entrepreneurial pursuits now encapsulate a desire “to create more accessible avenues for diverse creatives seeking opportunities”. Alongside Butterfly 3ffect, whose nomad business model has been one of the catalysts for a soon-to-come UAE move, Elfried has cultivated a keen social presence, with his over 140,000+ followers and counting on Linkedin garnering him a top spot as one of the most renowned creators on the platform – no easy feat. Collectively, his accolades speak for themselves; but the path to the bag is never linear, and this New Year, we think that pivoting from a simply hustle-driven mindset to one conscious of this journey is key.
KEY BLOCK GEMS FROM ELFRIED SAMBA AND BUTTERFLY 3FFECT
 
Engagement, engagement, engagement – What do the first 15 minutes after posting look like for someone sitting on the helm of over 100K followers? For Elfried, the period following a post is what really matters; enmeshing yourself directly within the community that you’ve built, and taking the time to respond to and connect with people actively. The key word here is engagement. Making sure that you take intentional time to sit with your audience – recognising the gems that they can also offer you and the rest of your community, beyond just your solitary voice.
Look to your audience first – If you’re looking to up your LinkedIn or general social media game this year, and are wondering what the best way to boost engagement is, look no further than your audience itself. Sitting in their following pages, their liked posts, and alike, is the niche within your niche, the foundation for the ways you can tailor your content to your consumers.
Moving to consumer-based platforms to break in – Many have lamented over the tolls of using platforms like Instagram, whose algorithm and over-saturation of creators means breaking in is only getting harder. Want to switch things up for 2024? Look to platforms like LinkedIn, whose consumer-based model means a floor to create for an audience who mainly consumes, as opposed to creates. It may not be easy in any capacity, but adapting your focus can be core in growing your platform.
Resetting your content plans for the New Year – Discourse on planning, whatever form it may take, rolls back around consistently as the New Year approaches and begins. Despite the mass community he’s grown, Elfried doesn’t emphasise on conventional planning methods in growing his platform; rather, focusing on engagement and evolving with his platform and audience has been pertinent for him.
Taking a blended approach to a work-life balance – ‘Work-life balance’ is a term that has been floating around particularly loudly during the 2020s. Especially with the shift to work-from-home for a large proportion of individuals, understanding how to separate the two has been a pursuit of the masses. For Elfried, he believes in something a little bit different; blending the two to produce the best possible outcome. Whether in terms of personal relationships or work settings, understanding their interaction can be incredibly useful to keep things generally in the balance.
 

How to Build a $100M Global Business with Wilfrid Obeng Co-Founder of AudioMob

Ever wondered how to build a global, $100M-valued business? With this week’s episode of Blocks2Bags — you don’t have to anymore. Our hosts Bejay Mulenga MBE (@bejaymulenga) and Sebuh Mesfin (@sebuhmesfin) sat down with co-founder of AudioMob, Wilfrid Obeng (@wilfridobeng), who built the niche audio company from the ground-up, revolutionising the in-game advertisement landscape by replacing traditional video ads with audio ads. Despite only being established in 2020, AudioMob has propelled itself to success that’s gone beyond the borders of the UK, with offices in Abu Dhabi and New York. Tap in to take yourself from Blocks2Bags, learning insights from a leader in his industry about how you can break barriers in entrepreneurship, too.
KEY BLOCK GEMS FROM WILFRID OBENG AND AUDIO MOB
Technology has carved equal ground; take a chance — Entrepreneurship as a notion can appear immediately riddled with barriers; but with digitalisation as a means to connect for anybody and everybody, think about the way these instantly accessible resources are something you can harness.
Vision requires structure — Having an idea is great, but you can’t simply start there. Building something to last requires patience, a plan, and knowledge of what it even is you’d like to cultivate. Think anything from having the data to back up potential challenges in your entrepreneurial venture, to knowing why you want to take your business to a certain region.
Why case studies matter — Wilfrid’s top hack for growing your company? Case studies. Maybe not what comes to mind upon initial consideration, but a definite necessity to move past blocks in the road.
Going global is more than going global — Taking your business abroad is a great idea in theory, but what does internationalisation really mean? Consider more than just the initial appeal of a location — what benefits does it offer you that can mean permanency and sustained results for your entrepreneurial venture. 
Talk less, ask more — If you’ve tuned into Blocks2Bags before and the word ‘networking’ isn’t permanently ingrained into your mind — you haven’t stuck around for long enough. A unanimous point of importance across the various entrepreneurs we’ve sat down with, connecting with others can be the springboard that takes you to the next level. 
Without even knowing about AudioMob — you know about AudioMob. 
For the 3B+ gamers globally, it’s safe to assume we are collectively familiar with in-game advertisements. For mobile-gamers, the intrusive video advertisement after a level is especially infamous, dampening the flow and quality of gaming on mobile platforms which have otherwise been streamlined to offer an experience that retains the scale of play on larger devices. But, if you’ve noticed in any capacity that these video advertisements have been replaced by audio advertisements overlaid as you play a level through without interruption — then, you know about AudioMob.
 
Here at Blocks2Bags, we’re always looking for entrepreneurs who are pushing the boundaries to address gaps in the market in creative ways; this week’s guest, Wilfrid Obeng, is no different. An ex-Google engineer turned co-founder of AudioMob alongside Christian Facey, their number-one audio discovery platform is “driven by a goal to help advertisers better reach their consumers and help game developers better monetise their games. […] by allowing users to programmatically insert audio ads into mobile games”. 
 
The niche approach to a seemingly small problem has been incredibly lucrative, with the 2020 established company valued at £100M,  And beyond just the literal proof of success, it’s indicative of systemic boundary-pushing, with the low proportion of Black founders in the industry meaning breaking-in comes with several challenges. With AudioMob’s expansion to a global market, opening offices in Abu Dhabi and New York, the venture only seems to be going up.
Sit down with us this week as we trace Wilfrid’s journey from Blocks2Bags — and what foundership means in today’s globalised landscape.
Watch the episode on Youtube.
Follow @blocks2bags on Instagram. 
 

The Business of Live Music & Events with Dan Tsu

What does it take to build and produce a live event from the ground-up? There is a definite legacy and influence to the cultural zeitgeist that events produced in the UK spark, with the organisation of decades-long festivals such as Glastonbury an annual collision between artists and a dedicated team behind-the-scenes. Whether it’s in curating artist line-ups, preparing stages, or organising security, the meticulous work that goes into production cannot be understated.
For this week’s Blocks2Bags episode, we sat down with Dan Tsu, who amongst many other ventures is an event producer and creative director. The co-founder of Glastonbury venue Rum Shack, which has been running for over a decade, and founder of Lyrix Organic, a live events and education organisation using cross-disciplinary approaches, such as the intersection between rap, poetry, and music, to amplify social action-based initiatives. Lyrix Organix is “for artists who think like activists”, with Dan working directly with artists such as Akala, Ed Sheeran, Lowkey, and ENNY to be at the forefront of social change. 
Sit down with us this week to explore using art to build a legacy — and curating events that connect.
KEY BLOCK GEMS FROM DAN TSU & LYRIX ORGANIX
Cultivating change through art — As is the foundation for Lyrix Organix, Dan’s work is steeped in a subversiveness that displays the power of art to start discourse. Change isn’t a one-way street; using art as a medium to connect with larger messages can be incredibly impactful and a pertinent way to cultivate change reciprocally with your audience.
Understanding the business of music and live performance as a new artist — As we regularly discuss on Blocks2Bags, there are multiple ways to get to the bag, and this often changes under new and varying social landscapes. With music, for example, live performances today supersede products such as merchandise, and understanding these subtle shifts can be key in intermingling artistry with business. 
Globalisation and humility — The desire to take your product — whatever this may be — globally, is not a unique one; but understanding how best to approach this can be a confusing journey. For Dan, whose work with Lyrix Organix has seen him go to emerging creative economies on an international scale, he emphasises the importance of approaching global environments with a level of humility, as opposed to asserting your perspective as the only valid one. 
Harnessing digital landscapes authentically — The digital world is something we’ve discussed at length on Blocks2Bags; it is inexplicably intertwined with almost everything we do. For any new artists who have been witness to now-popular artists coming-up through social platforms, Dan advises using these platforms with a level of authenticity that speaks true to your comfortability with them — the people you’re ‘selling’ an artist persona to will catch on to how you truly feel. 
 

Restaurant Business vs Takeaway Business - Which One is Better?

On this week’s Blocks2Bags episode, we switched things up a little. With a special quickfire episode on the value of restaurants as opposed to takeaways, our host Sebuh Mesfin (@sebuhmesfin) sat down with previous guest Khalid Elmourie (@arablaq), and one of our hosts, Micky Tesfaye (@mekebeb.b), whose successes in both establishments provided a unique insight into which path is truly worth taking. But their key gems on the business of food entrepreneurship didn’t stop there; with discussions on new innovations and the level of traction in new ventures like dark kitchens, we considered it all. Tap into this week’s episode and learn how you can take your food business from the drawing board to a legacy.

Stock Market Explained - Money Matrix with Micky Tesfaye & Sebuh Mesfin

In this episode of Money Matrix, hosts Micky Tesfaye and Sebuh Mesfindelve into the intriguing world of the stock market, providing a detailed overview of its historical roots, major milestones, and global dynamics. They navigate through the evolution of stock markets, touching upon key events and developments, including the creation of the first modern stock market in Amsterdam and the formation of iconic exchanges like the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq.

How Andy Albalous Won Gordon Ramsay’s Future Food Stars Award & Built Drops of Heal with Bejay Mulenga

This week on Blocks2Bags, our host Bejay Mulenga MBE (@bejaymulenga) sat down with Andy Albalous. The winner of Gordon Ramsay’s Future Food Stars Award, and founder of CBD-infused olive oil brand Drops of Heal, Andy and Bejay discussed the ins-and-outs of developing a CBD-based product and destigmatising its usage, particularly due to its wellness benefits. But how did Andy’s innovative product capture the attention of Gordon Ramsay? Tune in to the episode and find out!