Octamilers are a brewing pot of energy, talent and eccentricity. We are excited to share our uncovering of the different layers of Octamilers with our community. We chatted with Princewill Akuma, Head of Content Marketing at Octamile, and today we feature him in the spotlight.
Q: Please give a brief introduction of yourself. Your name, what you do for the company, the team you work with.
A: My name is Princewill (batts eye at people who think I would say “my names are”); I presently lead the marketing initiatives at Octamile.
Before joining Octamile a little over a year ago, I worked in HR & Business consulting startups and a media/entertainment company in a different digital marketing capacity. (a bit of a polymath, you might say)
I love food (eating, cooking and reminiscing about good food), and staying in shape and healthy is a lifestyle; road trips and being in nature are some of my favourite things.
Q: What is your typical day working like?
A: We have a hybrid work culture at Octamile, so my typical day depends on whether I work remotely or in the office.
A typical day starts with my 5:15 alarm buzzing on my watch. I complete my morning routine, look through my tasks and set out to finish the day.
Often, it involves working on tonnes of research, marketing initiatives for our several channels, and meetings with prospective partners in our embedded insurance and claims automation pipelines. I also will interface and collaborate with the Business and product team to ensure we are aligned on current tasks, goals or other demands that may have come up..
Q: What is the most unusual aspect of working here?
A: There are so many things; first is that we are barely a year-old insurtech startup, and progress so far, as well as recognition, has been immense. We are doing something deemed impossible or hard; most people don’t want to touch insurance/insurtech, and knowing the team’s commitment to building for this space is inspiring.
Another will be that I had a 25-minute chat with GD, and one of the things that stuck out for me besides the challenge at Ocyamile aligning with where I want to go was Gbenro saying during my interview, “I want to build a work culture my younger self would be proud of working at”. Octamile has lived up to the promise. As little as it may be in my years of experience, it is heartwarming.
Lastly, it’s how close-knit we are as a team; everyone brings something different, and we have that balance of old and young, insurance experience and technology startup.
Q: What advice would you provide to someone interested in Marketing?
A: I will scare you by saying marketing is challenging; don’t do it. Please be sure you are ready for the constant cycle of needing to over-deliver, learn and always be open to looking for inspiration in unassuming places.
Before you specialise, take a generalist approach, as this will help you grow and become a more rounded marketing professional. Please understand content writing and content marketing no matter what niche you are in. Whether traditional or digital, writing (your message) is at the core of everything. (my opinion, though).
On your job, always look to how you can add value to yourself, your organisation and your colleagues. Focus on metrics and data that impact the organisation’s success most (not vanity metrics or what trends say), be original, but make research benchmarking your friend. Please constantly obsess about making it one per cent better.
A true story is that I was getting depressed and doubtful at some point in my career, but I have realised not to be hard on myself but to continually grow, learn and be okay with failing at times. Lastly, please remember there is no easy road to success; define what it means for you (I repeat, for you) and buckle up to do the work that matters. While you constantly evolve yourself.
Q: If you could switch your job with anyone else within Octamile, whose job would you want?
A: My role allows me to do that and interface with everyone. Although Fisayo wants me to transition to the Business team (rolls eyes), no, thank you.
Q: What is something unique about you (a fun fact) that few people know?
A: I have been caught sleep-talking content marketing strategy (she’ll be laughing reading this).
I was a Disc Jockey( DJ) before transitioning into a digital marketing executive role at Cool FM Nigeria.
Q: What is one thing you cannot live without?
A: Nothing! I am learning not to condition myself this way because it belittles my power as a human to thrive and survive any hard, difficult or even fun experiences.
But if you were asking who or what I am in love with most at this point in my life, this would be my beloved partner (yeah, yeah), food and being alive.
Q: If you had three wishes, what would they be?
A: To this great company, I would love to see Octamile become a unicorn, to see Africa’s insurance penetration grow, and for the world to be more at peace; we don’t need too much chaos.
In conclusion, if there is something Princewill aims at us to uncover, it’s his love for his work, Octamile and his woman.
