#Borderless: How Thaddeus is connecting creatives to job opportunities
In our last #Borderless article, we interviewed Fisayo, a Sendcash user navigating life as a Nigerian millenial and transforming ideas into profitable businesses as a Tech Business Analyst. This week, we have Thaddeus, a creative who connects other creatives to job opportunities in their field.
Hi Thaddeus! Please tell me about yourself.
My name is Ogbogu Thaddeus; my friends call me Zuko(yeah, I know), not just my friends; almost everyone calls me that. It started from 2go, the social network from way back. That was my username name, and it just stuck.
Oh, Lmaoo. I remember 2go days.
Lool. Yeah.
What do you do for work/fun?
I’m part of the group called Big Street Sound. We connect creatives to job opportunities. At the moment, we have a DJ, a fashion model and a photographer. We’re trying to create a talent hub for different talents here in Abuja. For fun; I’m an outdoor person, so I like to go on picnics just to enjoy the cool, calm breeze or, most times, the amusement parks around town. Since I love to sleep, the nightlife isn’t for me, but lately, work has been busy, plus the weekend starts on Wednesday for me, so yeah!
Your weekend starts on Wednesday? God, when?
Lmaoo
How did you get into The Big Street Sound?
Big Street Sound was an idea that came alive during the pandemic. A friend of mine started DJ-ing just before the pandemic hit, and he got so good at it. He put out mixes on audiomack - It gained some traffic, so a couple of friends and I decided to take it seriously, hence, Big street sound. He’s currently the resident DJ for LastGate restaurant and bar, he also plays at Vanilla restaurant/lounge and Tribeka Boooozway in Wuse 2, here in Abuja. Our photographer has worked for various events, from the Capital block party to the Xmas BBQ fest and lots more! What we offer creatives is an avenue to showcase their talents. The group is just starting but over a short period, we’ve been able to link them to various clients. We plan to do more next year.
This is super cool! Seeing as it started during the pandemic, what were you doing before then?
Before then, I worked as an assistant payroll officer for the ministry of transportation -this was during my NYSC, so immediately I rounded up in 2019, I put all my efforts towards the project - I realized early that 9 to 5 isn’t really my thing.
Oh. I see.
Did your decision to start this come with a lot of uncertainties/fears?
Of course, I wasn’t getting paid, so I had some financial difficulties, plus fear of the unknown. We didn’t know If the project would actually work, we also needed to build up clientele - going from lounge to lounge trying to get playing time for the DJ. In this city, you need to know someone who knows someone else, so that too was an issue. Fortunately, we got the gig to play for LastGate every Friday, and from there, more people got to know about us. LastGate is located in area 2, and I grew up in area 3, so it’s like playing for the hood every Friday, you get to see familiar faces.
Really happy this is working out well.
Thanks!
How did you get to know about Sendcash?
So I was scrolling through the timeline one evening, and if I can remember properly, someone retweeted @timigod’s tweet about Sendcash. The platform wasn’t active yet, but I was so excited when I saw the news, had to tell a few of my friends who are into cryptocurrency. I have some trust issues when it comes to money; we all know how most people get when money comes into the picture, so I didn’t like using P2P, which is a major way of receiving cash for crypto transactions.
I wasn’t following him then, so I had to turn on post notifications. Fast forward to when the platform was active, gave it a try - I can’t remember the exact amount, but the process was so easy. I loved that I didn’t have to sign up, just my bank account number and a wallet was generated instantly. Within minutes I got the confirmation email followed by the credit alert.
Lol. Sendcash steady saving lives
Yeah. My sister, who lives in the US, uses it to send money down most times for the family. I also use it whenever I want to send money to my account from my crypto wallet.
I’m happy you’ve had a great experience using Sendcash.
Yeah, I have.
Circling back to work, are you looking to connect with more creatives in 2022?
Of course, we’re currently working on getting the CAC documents to be a registered business; we’re also planning events for early next year, kind of like a campus tour for universities in and around Abuja, so definitely we’d welcome more creatives with open arms. Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter accounts will be fully functional by next year. For now, I can be reached here.
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