Kike Oniwinde: from Great Britain athlete to Forbes-recognized businesswoman

April 22, 2021

I’m excited to welcome Kike Oniwinde, founder and CEO of BYP network and the winner of many awards. You can find her on all lists that matter, such as Forbes 30 Under 30, 25 Leading Black British Business People To Follow, Computer Weekly’s Most Influential Women in UK Tech, and 100 Bame leaders influencing the tech sector. Also, she is a former professional athlete.

We talk about the year 2020 and how Kike and her business ended up thriving instead of just surviving. 


Kike is taking us back to the beginning of her career and tells us the story of how her dream of becoming an Olympic champion evolved into something else. She remembers the time when she first thought: “where are all those black professionals?”

Kike talks about how competitive sport made her what she is today, especially the “I could do better” mindset. She adapted to her later entrepreneurial career. 

We talked about the 2020 challenges for both athletes and entrepreneurs, wrapping up with ways for leaders to find more time for themselves. 

Kike shared with us what keeps her going and what she is excited about in the future. 


Key Takeaways:

Reflecting on the previous year: fundraising, growth, team expansion, innovation, and initiatives. (2:31)

How is business conducted online? (6:36)

Beginnings of Kike’s career (8:23)

How are you coping with challenges? (15:38)

How do you find time for yourself? (18:53)

Looking out in the future, what are you excited about? (21:39)

Superpowers (23:19)

Lesson from the last year (24:54)

Additional Resources:

Follow Kike on Linkedin 
Learn more about the BYP network