Web3: Get Rich Quick or Game Changer? – Alumni Spotlight EP6: Ayomitan Pamilerin

I'm like, you know what? I can't be teaching for so long when I now know quite a little stuff about programming. Jude is like the founder of Get Equity. So, he posted on X that smart contract auditors earn $15,000 per month. I'm like, "Oh, really?

Is there a job that pays somebody $15,000 per month?" I want to call it like an anra boy or like an evil guy cuz it was your driving force. Oh, yeah. It was money that actually drove out that I applied for like three bridge three bridges came at the right time or you know providing internet, food, accommodation. I'm like this is what I need my notion right for contributing to work that you can do great things from a small place.

Yeah. Right. Um so you just have to not stop and you have to just keep creating. You have to have like an abundance mindset that no matter what comes my way I can do this. Yeah.

There's no field, there's no profession, there is no job where it's a get rich quick scheme. Hey guys, welcome back to another episode of Alumni Spotlight and today we have Okay, now we have Biler in the house. I want to say your full name. We have Beri. [Music] Yeah.

how you doing today? I'm very and you I'm doing just fine. Yeah, that's great. So, I think I know you like to an extent. So, I want you to introduce yourself like briefly introduce yourself to the people.

Yeah. Hi guys. Like she said, my name is Ayam Pamilani, right? And I'm a software developer and also opensource tinker and also a creator, right? I enjoy creating codes, content and also products, experimenting with various ideas, right?

Um, other than that, I play musical instruments, right? Outside of work, right, which is the bass guitar and um, yeah, pretty much. And I like learning new stuffs. In this case, it helps me to like, you know, learn new landscapes, right? Um, also that's pretty much about me, right?

So recently I started learning how to swim. I mean cool. So because you know when accident or something emergency happens I can you know swim around the ocean and whatnot. Um other than that that's pretty much about me and yeah. All right.

Nice. A very nice introduction. So seeing that you drove here today it's I feel like it's proof that you've come a long way after you left three bridge. So what was what was life before you found web three bridge? Oh nice.

So the life before I found web 3 bridge was trying to juggle between finding my foot in tech right because originally I found out tech from like a friend while I was serving okay right like my service year the guy would be indoor and writing codes building website for people at the time he was earning like 200k per site I'm like okay cool because I studied accounting and I'm like okay who's this guy that's like my monthly salary as like a banker at the time and like this person gets it in one job building website. So I'm like, "Okay, you know what? Just tell me about this." And at the time he taught me my SQL. I dumped it.

So I I I I tried to like figure out web development, right? Um at the time I didn't have a laptop. So the the school I was serving had, you know, it was one of like the senator school named after her. So they had like a library with these small small books, um laptops that are small. So I use that to like code and so that mean I have to drop the laptop once I'm done selling right.

So I started using my phone also right um I used solo learn a lot to like learn HTML CSS and whatnot and then afterwards you know I think an at the time that was where I served was the highest paying states for coppers right um so I saved up all of the money I got from my my service here both from like federal government and from an amra state so I invested it in all these schemes that you you get 30% back or whatn not. So like yeah for for quite a while all my was there and so when I finished um service right I had to collect all of those savings and bought a laptop where Dale to be precise I mean Dell is like the strong guys for for just starting out and so at the time after afterwards I started learning and then the major turning point was when I got my first job to build a website for someone but before Then I was um juggling teaching. Okay. Yeah. Because it was not all smooth.

So I had to pay for my data. I had to pay for all of those things. So I would usually do part-time teaching job. I was teaching um business studies. I remember that I graduated as an accountant or in accounting.

So I still had you know those skills or those knowledge. So I was teaching mathematics and business studies to like junior student. So I was using that to like fend and pay for stuff, right? Um so afterwards I'm like, you know what, I can't be teaching for so long when I now know quite a little stuff about programming, right? So I I stopped teaching and I was looking for where to work that relates to computer.

So I started working for a cafe or at a cafe per say. So the cafe pays me say like 10,000 for the Yes. 10,000 NRA. Uh I mean it's it's just to like buy the and whatnot, right? Uh afterwards it was same cafe where I got my first client to like build the website.

So I'm like okay nice. So the person paid me um I had to buy like domain hosting and whatnot. So I got um up to like 70k afterwards, right? I'm like okay cool if I can get you know a deal as this from building one website I can do more because even my friend started building websites the person that introduced me to tech right and um he was getting 200k and I mean I started with 70k I'm like okay cool cool cool so that was like the moment where it kind of like clicked that okay maybe I should like double down and yeah since then I I I've been doubling down and you know learning so that's like what I've been doing before web 3 bridge practically just building website for people and also um yeah that's it it's not just practically just building websites teaching and a whole lot I want to call it like an an amra boy or like an evil guy cuz it was your driving force oh yeah yeah and it still get to the point where it was that actually drove out that I applied for like the bridge okay like this question so in all of these How did you find your privilege? Okay, so I found my privilege on X.

So I don't know if you know Polyakaride um Jude. So Jude is like the founder of Get Equity. So he posted on X that um Smart Contract Auditors Aaron $15,000 per month. I'm like, "Oh, really? Is there a job that pays somebody $15,000 per month?"

And then so in his next twist twist the previous day he said if you want to um learn web three theory join web bridge web bridge and at the time I think web three bridge there was like um the for was opened right so this was the point where I'm like I'm you know what let's let's let's do a little bit of transition. So that was when I applied for web three bridge because I'm like so somebody can be earning $15,000 USD per month which of course is true as a smart contract auditor but I'm like okay I want to do this so I basically just you know I was still coding right pretty much I was still building website but on the side I had to now apply. So once I got the email that oh um I'll be having an interview I'm like yes this is it. So I did all of the tests and by God's grace I was accepted and pretty much that was how you know the journey started. Awesome.

That's like such a very lonely and money. Okay. Very. I mean is that like money driven? It's like if you can invest your time in doing something that can bring so much return then do it.

Actually yes that's so nice. So when you got to bridge what was the experience like? out of the world because um I had not or I have not seen that kind of experience before. Um so just a quick note that in while I was learning how to code, right, I applied for a boot camp or I paid for a boot camp around the cro area somewhere close new horizon but New Horizon wasn't so I mean I'm not bashing them. I wasn't getting a lot of um drive with New Horizon.

So what I did was oh I'm like I need a boot camp that can be in person that is not me just going and coming or me being taught I'm not feeling it like that. So where three just came at the right time or you know providing internet, food, accommodation. I'm like this is what I need that intensity. Yeah. compared to like New Horizon where you just go even sometimes I mean what you had done with Cody when you get home maybe you get to have family issues that you have to kind of like but in three bridge we now have a family of people who are like driven towards the same goal and that tenacity and intensity is one of the best thing that actually happened to me I mean I was I was discussing with one of my friend saying we graduated from a bridge which is caring where um where I mentioned that I'm still looking for a scenario where we'll be housed again for like the next 5 months because to be honest it builds a lot of um grit right and so the the kind of work that I do now is because of what I've been you know how I've been incubated with that experience so the experience is ahead of the world um having the best tutor who is like an industry leader Having like the community of people where you learn together.

Sometimes we don't sleep even though we are done with class right and seeing people around you who wants to do stuff and change the world. You have more choice than to also be motivated to want to change the world. So that than the experience the experience is given me a mind shift towards a global um contribution. Oh, I'm glad. I'm really really happy that that's your experience.

I'm out of rep. This brings me to my next question. So, currently you work at Kaya, right? Ja, right? Yes.

Kition. Okay, great. So, do you think Bridge had like a role to play cuz recently you like just now you mentioned that? Oh, where you work now? It's part of like what you got from me bridge.

So, do you think Bridge had a role to play and also how did you like land your roller car? Oh, so absolutely because I currently work as at a web3 company right on blockchain. Uh so after three bridge yeah after I love the tenacity now anybody was boiling you know just graduated from the boot camp and you had a lot of you know value you want to dish out. So before leaving bridge um we started creating a lot of content. Some of us were creating videos some of us were writing articles.

I was part of those people writing articles and Mr. infused that in us where you have to share your value to the world um because that's how people get to know you that you do these things. So before I left the boot camp, right, I was already publishing article and then afterwards my my my job came as a result of me creating right you know I said I I I I love creating whether it's code content or even experimenting with products right and so that was how my job came after the boot camp everybody was hunting for acatons did I mention that my first money I got from web TV was from Acaton. We inhouse. So we applied for an AATON and um we we got we got like the prize money for like a sponsor pool and before while I was presenting because you know we had quite a number of internet issues.

I was saying can you see my screen? Can you see my screen? So most times my my mates will like tease me and like can you see my screen? When we see each other outside I'm like can you see my screen? I'm like you guys should just chill out.

So um so that first experience of winning gave us like oh so we can actually do this right. Um other than that also I think I'm on like the city prize during the boot camp which I also lost because I didn't have rigid experience on how to handle stuff. What I'm driving at is after the boot camp, we started now applying for acathons because we had seen it happen in the boot camp where because we applied and we won. So we applied for this acathon and we got in then afterwards I personally started scouting for acathons to apply. Then I found this acaton clay and coalent at the time.

Um Kaya was previously Clayton right he's like was we kind of like um amaggamated with finial right and so what that means is after the acathon when I built a product I saw that it was EVM compatible right I'm like okay maybe I should start contributing here. So all of the knowledge that I had building on Ethereum I just transferred it to Clayton at the time. So I was writing article I was writing technical guides I was building sample codes and all of those things. So I was like really active even on the discord such that um sometimes when developers come to the discord they're like oh they're looking for a social solution and the team member will just ask them to refer to my article and so it went like that for quite for some months and afterwards I just got a DM that do I have any partnership with you know them? I'm like, "No, I'm just writing or I'm just doing my stuff."

And it's like, "Do I need anything from them?" Like, "What do you mean do anything?" Said, "Yes, of course." Um, yeah, of course. Then he said, "Oh, we have SOS so role."

Um, and he just linked me up with the other technology advocacy. And so that was how we started. Um, I did the interview, passed the technical round, and yeah. Awesome. That was how I got That's great.

I think there's a lot came off or came from you being in victory bridge. Now I want to know in what court exactly six. What year was that? 2022 SL Yeah. 2022.

Awesome. That's that's so great. So now my next question is this from IOU cuz I know you mentioned that you were already in Kodu before then you certainly were like an on-site student, right? So being in Eurodu now from Ikodu to Singapore how surprised I know that. So I want to understand how's the feeling like you know moving like traveling internationally because of your work.

Yes. Um the feeling is like generational. When I say generational it means that a lot of work to be done and that you can just be whatever thing you want to be. And so it's generational because it's going to be with me till the end of my life, right? That I can fix my gaze on something and just become that thing.

All right. I mean, so what that means is that working with um KA um at the time with Clayton at the time um I there was like a developer event right at token 2049. So I had to be there to coordinate on you know the event especially for developers because I work as a de engineer. So we had to you know coordinate this developer event where um and it kind of like went straight down to my bone out that I'm making contribution for the next phase of the internet right where you know it doesn't just stop here because some of the sample codes that I build some of the tutorials that I write will be used by builders who end up building really amazing stuff which would at the end of the day be used by people globally. So that kind of made um my my notion right for contributing to work that you can do great things from a small place.

Yeah. Right. Um so we just have to not stop and you have to just keep creating as a way to like reward people that um don't stop creating. Yeah. I hope you guys get that.

You don't have to stop. You just have to keep creating. So now working in like the global space, what has it taught you that you didn't like expect? Working in the global space, right, is basically um the the mindset that we now have, right? And so that means that working with um great stuff, great people in your in your workplace because you're going to be sharing values and knowledge that you don't have originally, right?

And so that means that you can bring that even to like this current landscape in Africa and also you know incubate that you know in Africa. And so that's like what I've seen in the past three years you know working uh with an international company the values the ethics and also the knowledge and also the network right the network of people that you get to meet and you get to establish because at the end of the day is part of what would help you to be able to um accelerate in whatever you are creating codes whenever you're creating content or whether whether you're also building a product or a company because it's that network of people or network of um amazing builders that you now have that help you accelerate to those things right so that's like one thing that I've seen you know working with a an international company and also solving problems for the world in general right because you know car is an high performance blockchain designed for enterprise solution where that means that you can build amazing use cases and at the end of the day it's being used widely by users globally and that accelerates mass adoption right and so that's the kind of things that I've learned that you're solving problems that are in it in your environment and is being used by people who actually need them. Oh that's great that's very great. So now I want to know I heard you did something. Let me tell you what you know.

So I had I ask your cohort you came back and just like say hello to our founder and you gave him $300 at the time. So I want to real like inspired that gesture. Yes. Cuz I know like a lot of people would think of coming to like give back but you thought of it and you didn't give him n you gave him in dollars. Yes.

So I understand more inspire about. Yes. And because Mr. Io is like one of the best persons that I've met in my life and you know coming from somebody who was juggling teaching and trying to find his foot um in tech I had to I had to skip a lot of um uncertainties because I had a practical guide. imagine if I had been on my own.

Imagine if I had done it just by myself and because there was like community, there was a support and all of those things. So, it kind of like accelerated um a lot of things and so it just makes sense because afterwards I started 70k, right? and working for like a global company and you got like times 500 or something and you're like okay cool I mean if you multiply um 75k * 500 I don't know what that means but yeah getting that kind of x on your salary he speaks a lot right so it just makes sense that oh I mean you know it's a story of stay in the bible where you know those people were grateful everyone right so that's just practically it and from my salary at the time I had to also you know just say I appreciate um the work that you do and trust me if I have more I'm going to do more that's great so I feel like you think giving back is a thing so now you run a podcast like a YouTube channel so that is that like a form of giving back to you um yes M which is like based on the goal of trying to amplify founders. Mhm. Because Africa has like the sweet spot for um all of the amazing use cases blockchain brings.

Right. Right. Um peer-to-peer payments, you know, and also stable coins, you know, um real world assets and all of those things. So we have quite a number of amazing founders who are doing great stuff and we also have a number of builders who knows how to build who are great developers and so who also are on the verge of wanting to build amazing products. So what builders block is doing is to give back in a sense that we are building that mindset that you can do what these people are doing just to understand their journey, their struggle and how that they've been able to get to where they are.

So that's like a way of giving back to kind of like accelerate our product landscape especially in Africa. I feel like it's almost the same thing or like similar to what we're trying to do now, right? Trying to make people see like, oh, they too can be like great developers and all of that. That's like a really good one. So, let's talk about your your um your YouTube channel.

Why why I want to understand why is it just centered around founders? Cuz you are a developer. But now, so people would like normally expect that, oh, if you're going to like have a YouTube channel, it's going to be centered around developers. But you went as fast to have a YouTube channel that centered around founders. Why?

Okay. Um, so I mentioned that I I love experimenting with products, right? Because at the end of the day, what I envision is also becoming a founder later on. Okay. Later on in the coming months or like coming years, right?

And so what what I'm trying to do is also to understand their journey, their pain, their struggles, right? So also it's building their own mindset as to I can also do this right and also building other people's mindset who are currently in my shoes who are trying to first make ends meet or like still working for a company but they have it in mind to build great products like because we have a lot of builders like that who are they sufficient enough to build a product or a company but they're still only on like the own of working for other people but you know they've not just transitioned yet. So what Gab Block does is to help you see that you can be what these people are and so at the end of the day also accelerate our product um landscape in Africa and Nigeria. Mhm. That's that's a good one.

So now you've always had to be the host. How does it feel like cuz again the idea to bring found founders into the spotlight. So now you are being brought into the spotlight. How does that make you feel? I mean yeah I mean it it speaks to the fact that probably you have something going on first right and rich is all tied back to the provision that web 3 made from the onset.

Um, so without that I might never have been in web three when I'll be at the counter counting cash but I feel honored and I feel like I'm sharing my story to also like impact other people which is great to be honest. Um, being the lamp where other people see to like to shine on their own path also. So I think yeah nice it makes me feel like oh well the journey is just zero still zero yet we're still going to one still 0 0 you think you're still zero no 0.2 in what I'm saying. So why didn't you remain as a musical like the musical instrument?

Why did you decide to do that and not just play the musical instrument? So you know what they say about like um passion. Yeah. Mhm. Yes.

So the idea is basically outside of work I I love to listen to music. I love to play music. Okay. Um, and so that means that I think was it last year I went out on a show like I went to play for a live band, right? Although the money was small, but I'm like, "Okay, you guys actually gave me money."

Like that's cool. I'm like, "Bro, I don't want to do this full time, but because I enjoyed or I enjoyed playing, so I had to like, okay, it's fine. I used to do guine 5K or something because I enjoy playing. I mean, all of the money was from the money that was sped to like the musicians. So, we just have to like share that amself, which of course is come like, okay, yeah, but I'm not doing this full time, but I'm doing it because I actually enjoy doing it.

So, I play bass guitar for my church. So, yeah. Okay. I mean your journey sounds really amazing and inspiring but I believe they were like difficult moments. So walk me through what was like the hardest or like the most difficult moment during your journey and and how were you able to push through difficult moment?

Uh not sure I have like one because I see editing as part of like the journey and it's just um just trying to forge a new skin, right? So you just you just need to stay uh difficult. I would like to attribute it to how that um the space is fast paced where you have to actually keep learning and if you are not careful you might be left behind right I mean so you have to be on your 10 toes for some reasons and so the difficulties around trying to catch up on these things so what what I do majorly is you There was a time I was dedicating 1 hour each day to like catch up on trends and um it's more about um bread right I don't know if you understand it's more about breadth and sometimes because I made my niche which is um de I currently work as a de so I go more depth in that and try to like understand certain concept bread right um I cannot be all um will I say use case or of niche but I try to understand what's going on the nittyg gritties and whatnot but I also have depth in certain um niche so that's how I kind of like um figure out how to uh how to be you know up and doing in the space so I I I I prioritize depth in one thing and breth in other stuffs that's that's a good one so now a lot of people you know are like lots of would I say like a lot of people in really and beyond you know like are probably dreaming of you know a breakthrough like yours I've seen like like how you started earning from 70k to getting your job at kaya so what advice do you have for those kind of people uh the advice is just to first provide value to be honest um don't stop creating like I mentioned the universe has a way of you know rewarding people who were up and doing it might just take time. Mhm. It might just be you know you just been in that cycle of creating but because you love what we're doing right you just keep doing it and once the road comes you accelerate from there and that's why you know you see successful people and you be like oh where is this guy from because you just you just met him or you just get to hear of him but trust me that's not been the time he has been grinding he's been grinding way far than that but once they come to the limelight it's like ah this one over next success or anything but it's not always like that so what I advice is create value your mindset also I have an abundance mindset is really really important don't don't look down on yourself that you can do stuff I mean I've seen quite a lot in the industry and what I tell myself is I can do more and so some of the things that I do now is as a result of the fact that I know that I can do it.

Even if I don't have the skills, you can learn the skills, right? Um so that would mean that even if you are not qualified for a job, trust me, you can apply for the job. Yeah. And men in the job. So don't self sabotage yourself, right?

Um exactly. The abundance mindset is really really important. And also how do you say that? Yeah, I mean it goes back to the point that oh I can I can do this like I can do this right. So regardless because that would make you self-sabotage yourself and it kind of like has something in your head where even if you see something that you can do you feel like you can't even do it.

So you have to have like an abundance mindset that oh no matter what comes my way I can do this. Yeah. So what about people who think that tech is a get rich quick scheme? What do you have for those people? Oh, for for those people, I think you have to reorient.

We have to have like a sort of reorientation. Yeah. Right. Um there's there's a saying that for you to get to be an expert. It takes 10,000 hours for you to be an expert in certain things.

And then and as a result of that, that would mean that you have to have done the work. Trust me, there's no field, there's no profession, there is no job where it's a gets rich quick scheme. Whether you're working in oil and gas, whether you're working in government, tech is not um I don't want to say this, but seek as a profession, right? and not just a place where you can go and say where you spend 6 months you can get a job do you get when you spend 6 months you can get a job that will change your lifestyle oh no because there are lot of people I'm not saying that you can't get a job after 6 months but the requirements are changing like the landscape is changing what is required of you is changing and you have to be able to keep up with that so when you see tech as a profession and not a get rich quick scheme because of course that might be as a result of the fact that you've seen a lot of people transitioned and who are making it but I think you are not considering the fact that they grounded right so because you see them know maybe at events speaking to people and all of those things what doesn't mean that they haven't paid their own dues so I think that for every profession you have to pay your dues That's right. So, so for you thinking that tech is a get rich quick scheme, you're on the wrong part.

So, we had to pay our dues also. I mean, pretty much it, right? So, finally, if you were like given 60 seconds to pitch the power bridge, the stranger, what would you say? Um, so it's talent warhouse for the next generation of builders, right? uh one one thing that I've seen to work everywhere for whether artists or for um even for any type of profession right that barbers they go into apprenticeship right oh yeah so um tailor they do apprenticeship so web three bridge is like that talent um warehouse that shapes how you would accelerate in web three industry So a rather have to do like five years before they kind of like graduate and once they graduate they boss on their own.

So same tone for repir is that talent warehouse for you know the next amazing stuff that you see in Africa whether builders whether founders whether developers I mean quite a many of our guys from the cohorts um they now founders are working on something a lot of us are still working with companies so you see like a spec of different um cada and people springing up because where is that talent warehouse for you know the the explosion that you see in the coming years it's so great to have you Mary and your story is like really really inspiring you know what I want you to do I want you like just quickly just tell them your YouTube channel maybe every social media handle that you have so they can like you know follow watch and also like get inspired. Oh yes. And for my YouTube channel which is like focused on builders blogs, you can just search for oxpam and also for my ex oxam pam and then LinkedIn also it's pamilary. Pretty much it. So you guys should please subscribe though guys.

Subscribe to his channel. So we've come to the end of this episode and I hope that you enjoyed this just as much as I did. See you on the next one. Do not forget to give this video a like, a comment, and subscribe if you haven't. step.

Catch you on the next one. [Music]