Five Years Powering Progress: An Advancer Behind The Dream
7 mins read
Charles Okpokwu came for the job, stayed for the people and quietly shaped the way things work at Advancly.
Almost The Zobo Guy
On the morning of Charles’ first day at Advancly, someone spilled zobo on his brilliant white outfit and he had to spend the rest of the day explaining himself. It was a chaotic introduction into what he calls his first “real experience” as a working adult. And an omen perhaps as, only a few days later, Lagos went into COVID lockdown. While this may have saved Charles from being known as the zobo guy, having to work virtually so early in his career wasn’t without its challenges.
Locking In During Lockdown
When you’re new at a company, you can typically rely on those who have been there longer to hold your hand through your early days. But having to switch to virtual work—and in such uncertain times—rocked everyone off their feet. So, during the adjustment period, Charles had to learn many things on his own.
“Back then, if I had 7 hours in a day, I would spend 6 learning and 1 implementing what I’d learnt. It felt like I was playing catch-up a lot.”
This was quite a change of pace from Charles’ previous role—his NYSC posting to a State Ministry where his days mostly consisted of assisting his supervisor with marking WAEC scripts, a task that didn’t exactly require him to apply his Accounting degree, quick mind or proficiency with Microsoft Excel.
Being a founding employee at an early-stage startup though, required all three and then some. Charles found himself with fingers in many pies—Finance, Operations, Products. He even started coding (and our CTO, Anu Omotayo, will never let him live this down). In Charles’ defence, he was interning in Product at the time and this particular side quest was an offshoot of his philosophy about Product Management.
“If I’m a Product Manager and there’s an issue with the system, I should have enough knowledge to be able to work with the engineer to resolve it.”
While the coding thing didn’t go very far, it’s indicative of a quality that Charles possesses and shares with many high-flying professionals: curiosity. The thirst to figure out how a thing works, and then figure out how to make it better. This is what propelled him through those early days, when the top priority was figuring out a viable business model for Advancly which was, in many ways, still a dream.
What do you want to do?
Charles’ memory of those early days is sharp. He makes references using names and sometimes exact dates. He remembers who joined the team when, and the circumstances that led to them being brought on board. He remembers tools, products and approaches that had to be phased out. He recounts each in the offhanded, easy manner of someone reading off a list. But there is only one thing he outrightly says he will never forget: his first meeting with Lotanna Julian, who would become Advancly’s CEO.
When Charles learned a new Business Manager—Lotanna’s role at the time—would be joining the team, he was secretly elated. Curiousity or not, being a jack of many trades was starting to wear on him, and he was eager to cede his finance-related functions to someone more experienced. What was supposed to be a simple handover conversation, however, turned into something much deeper.
“My manager at the time was in Product, so I was leaning towards Product because I felt that was what was available to me. Finance seemed like a distraction, which is why I was eager to hand everything over to [Lotanna]. We had the initial call and it was basically just me saying “These are the documents I use. I’ll send them to you via mail. If you need any help, reach out to me.”
Lotanna did reach out to Charles later that day, not because he needed help, but to ask a question: What do you want to do?
A simple question, but one that helped Charles put things in perspective. What he wanted to do was Finance. His Accounting degree, quick mind and proficiency with Microsoft Excel weren’t circumstantial—they were signs pointing him to the path he was meant to take.
“We spoke at length, and I felt like I could trust him.”
Charles’ gut feeling wasn’t wrong. Lotanna advocated for him to focus on Finance, a move that soon secured Charles a promotion. This set the stage for his growth at Advancly and set the tone for a relationship [with Lotanna] characterised by trust, banter and a never-ending FIFA tournament.
Building Confidence
Now fully focused on Finance, Charles could truly shine. And shine he did.
With the Advancly Team still growing, Charles was tasked with presenting monthly business updates to the senior business partners at Venture Garden Group, Advancly’s parent company at the time. This was initially nerve-wracking for him, but presented a surprising opportunity for growth.
“I built the pricing framework that we were using to onboard our customers at the time. And because I knew my way around [Microsoft] Excel, I was able to prepare my presentation dashboards well. This really excited Kunmi [Demuren, Managing Partner at VGG] and he asked me to prepare a success story about how we onboarded those businesses and how I put my presentations together and that was where my name sort of blew up in the Group.”
But knowing his onions was just one part of what bolstered his confidence. The other? A mentor invested in his growth.
“For the longest time, Dara [Osibo, now Principal Venture Builder at Greenhouse Capital] was like a mentor to me. There was a time when, if my status on Teams was Busy, it was most likely because I was speaking with Dara in what were more or less coaching sessions. He used to pull me into meetings with him, not because I had any particular business there, but just as a way for me to learn by watching him and others. That guidance and exposure really helped me build confidence in speaking to my work and also helped me be comfortable [speaking] in rooms where everyone else was much more experienced than me.”
Half A Decade Powering Progress
It’s been 5 years since Day 1, and Charles has grown from an untested intern to a veteran Financial Analyst. What he is most proud of is laying building blocks in early days that have, today, become company legacy.
Another reason Charles has found fulfillment here is because of something he values deeply: community.
For him, work has never just been about tasks and targets; it’s also about the relationships, the support system, and the sense of belonging that’s grown alongside his career.
Charles, After Hours
When he’s not busy building financial models at Advancly, you’d probably find Charles working to win at something. Whether it’s a game of FIFA or a round of trivia, he’s always up for a challenge. At work, he’s notorious for showing up strong during team games. Whether that’s a good thing depends on who you ask—and whether or not they’re on his team—since he has a habit of helping his side win. Turns out, that streak goes beyond the office too: he recently led his team to win the grand prize on Family Feud Nigeria.
Looking Back, Looking Forward
If Charles could give his Day 1 self—zobo stains and all—a glimpse into the future, his advice would be simple: growth comes from staying consistent.
“I think we all start out with the same capacity. It’s consistency that practice that heps you get better. The reason why people hire people with more years of experience is because they’ve had time to repeat and refine their craft. If you start and stay consistent, you’ll get there.’
And if Charles could ask his future self five years from now about what’s ahead, he’d want to know if they’ve achieved their vision for growth— because, for him, it’s always been about growing and it always will be.
“The journey so far has been exciting; a little stressful, sometimes unpredictable, but quite rewarding. I’ve grown a lot, and I’m proud of how far I’ve come. If the next few years are anything like the last, then I’m think in for a good ride.”
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