Yele Bademosi: Losing His Dad At 19, The Weight of FTX's Collapse and The Power of Introspection!

Yele Bademosi is a founder, investor, and creative thinker exploring the intersection of culture, capital, and clarity. He’s the Co-Creator and CEO of Onboard, a global financial app designed to help people live radically better lives by expanding access to world-class financial services.

Before Onboard, Yele founded Microtraction, one of Africa’s foremost early-stage funds, backing over 80 startups and helping shape the continent’s new generation of founders. He also co-founded Bundle Africa, a social payments app that reached over a million users. Earlier in his career, he served as a Director at Binance Labs, where he invested in blockchain startups and helped launch Binance in Africa.

Beyond his work in tech, Yele’s philosophy is grounded in mindfulness, creativity, and self-mastery. He’s deeply interested in how people find freedom, build alignment, and use culture as a catalyst for transformation.

Rooted in mindfulness and creative intention, Yele believes we find contentment in the pursuit of alignment between who we are, what we create, and how we serve

Yele Bademosi on:
LinkedIn:   / yelebademosi  
Instagram:   / ybademosi  
X: https://x.com/yelebademosi

We cover:

Family Dynamics & Losing His Dad
The Current Funding Landscape in Africa
His Crypto Journey & Beliefs
Reflections on the FTX Collapse

Timestamps:
00:00 - Coming Up
01:09 - Yele in Three Words
04:08 - Early Childhood Memories
06:40 - Growing Up In Ibadan
09:50 - Family Dynamics
11:44 - Sisters' Influences
16:14 - Lessons from Parents and Entrepreneurship
19:44 - Losing Dad and The Impact
24:19 - Yele and Ideas
27:10 - Getting Into Tech
29:21 - Yele's First Startup - Purple
34:07 - Reflections on the Nigerian Tech Ecosystem
35:40 - Starta As A Launchpad Into Nigerian Tech
43:18 - From Community Management to Fund Founding
52:27 - Assessing the Current Funding Landscape in Africa
59:58 - Yele's Journey Into Crypto
01:04:09 - Yele's Binance Journey
01:11:57 - Reflections on the FTX Collapse
01:20:39 - The Power of Self-Awareness and Introspection
01:25:48 - Future Aspirations and Building Onboard
01:28:25 - If You Only Knew

------------------------------------
About Roots & Wings Podcast
Roots & Wings is an intimate interview-style YouTube podcast that explores the personal journeys and transformative experiences of remarkable individuals across diverse fields.

The podcast, hosted by Dayo Koleowo, delves beyond achievements to uncover the foundations that ground people (their roots) and the elements that propel them in life (their wings).

Follow Us on Instagram -   / rootsnwingspodcast  
Follow Us on TikTok -   / rootsnwingspodcast  
Follow Us on X - https://x.com/rootsnwingspod?s=21
Connect with Dayo on LinkedIn:   / natekorl  
Follow Dayo on Instagram:   / natekorl  
Join Our Community - https://tr.ee/x80B-A4ogN
------------------------------------

Please let us know where you are watching from in the comments section. If you love this episode, please like and subscribe so you're notified when the next one drops. Thanks for watching and for your support!