Olaseni Bello's guest appearances

Olaseni Bello

Veteran Founder Podcast

The Veteran (Semi) Professional

This is My Silver Lining

OwlTail

Olaseni Bello is a Nigerian immigrant, an American citizen, a husband, a father, a lawyer with an MBA, an entrepreneur, and a decorated veteran. And not one of these things has come easy.  With the belief that you have the power to change your life for the better, Olaseni does not accept challenges lying down.  Olaseni tells us about his highly anticipated arrival on American soil, knowing that upon landing his entire life would change.  His understanding of America came from TV and movies, and he was greeted here with many unexpected challenges.  He didn’t fit in because of the way he spoke, his clothes, and the way he looked.  His mother enrolled him in Tae Kwon Do, where he excelled, and where he learned to embrace the mental and physical self-discipline that he has relied on throughout his life.  After law school and completing a judicial clerkship, rather than taking the traditional path to a law firm, Olaseni wanted to repay what he calls a “debt of gratitude to America.”  Coming here as an immigrant, Olaseni talks about fully recognizing and appreciating the opportunities that this country provided to him.  He applied to join the Army JAG Corps, specifically requesting assignment to Fort Hood, Texas, and made clear that he wanted to be deployed to Afghanistan to serve his country.  We talk about the challenges that Olaseni – and many veterans – faced after separating from the military and trying to transition to the corporate world.  Despite 5.5 years in the JAG Corps, law firms did not see his experience as relevant.  He realized that he had to learn to sell his skills in a way that a non-military employer could understand.  Every employer is looking for someone who has a particular set of skills – who can say “I do X.” Olaseni says, “In the Army we solve problems and that is our X.  And that X keeps changing.”  Adapting quickly and being resourceful are veteran super-skills.  After overcoming so many challenges and having such great success, Olaseni leaves us with his thoughts on never letting fear guide your decisions.  “Failure is part of the equation for opportunity.. . . Failure is a tool that forces us to get creative or explore a path we may have ignored.”  Olaseni doesn’t see failures as roadblocks, but sees his failures as silver linings.  Each has been “illuminating in its own way.”Episode Links and Resources:JAG Corps:  https://www.goarmy.com/careers-and-jobs/specialty-careers/law.htmlCarpe Med:  https://www.carpemedtravel.com/Olaseni Bello Bio:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/olaseni-a-bello-jr-esq/Support the podcast by subscribing and reviewing!Music is considered “royalty-free” and discovered on Audio Blocks.Technical Podcast Support by: Jon Keur at Wayfare Recording Co.© 2022 Silver Linings Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Olaseni Bello is a Nigerian immigrant, an American citizen, a husband, a father, a lawyer with an MBA, an entrepreneur, and a decorated veteran. And not one of these things has come easy.  With the belief that you have the power to change your life for the better, Olaseni does not accept challenges lying down.  Olaseni tells us about his highly anticipated arrival on American soil, knowing that upon landing his entire life would change.  His understanding of America came from TV and movies, and he was greeted here with many unexpected challenges.  He didn’t fit in because of the way he spoke, his clothes, and the way he looked.  His mother enrolled him in Tae Kwon Do, where he excelled, and where he learned to embrace the mental and physical self-discipline that he has relied on throughout his life.  After law school and completing a judicial clerkship, rather than taking the traditional path to a law firm, Olaseni wanted to repay what he calls a “debt of gratitude to America.”  Coming here as an immigrant, Olaseni talks about fully recognizing and appreciating the opportunities that this country provided to him.  He applied to join the Army JAG Corps, specifically requesting assignment to Fort Hood, Texas, and made clear that he wanted to be deployed to Afghanistan to serve his country.  We talk about the challenges that Olaseni – and many veterans – faced after separating from the military and trying to transition to the corporate world.  Despite 5.5 years in the JAG Corps, law firms did not see his experience as relevant.  He realized that he had to learn to sell his skills in a way that a non-military employer could understand.  Every employer is looking for someone who has a particular set of skills – who can say “I do X.” Olaseni says, “In the Army we solve problems and that is our X.  And that X keeps changing.”  Adapting quickly and being resourceful are veteran super-skills.  After overcoming so many challenges and having such great success, Olaseni leaves us with his thoughts on never letting fear guide your decisions.  “Failure is part of the equation for opportunity.. . . Failure is a tool that forces us to get creative or explore a path we may have ignored.”  Olaseni doesn’t see failures as roadblocks, but sees his failures as silver linings.  Each has been “illuminating in its own way.”Episode Links and Resources: JAG Corps:  <a href="https://www.goarmy.com/careers-and-jobs/specialty-careers/law.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.goarmy.com/careers-and-jobs/specialty-careers/law.html</a> Carpe Med:  <a href="https://www.carpemedtravel.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.carpemedtravel.com/</a> Olaseni Bello Bio:  <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/olaseni-a-bello-jr-esq/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/olaseni-a-bello-jr-esq/</a>Support the podcast by subscribing and reviewing!Music is considered “royalty-free” and discovered on Audio Blocks.Technical Podcast Support by: <a href="https://www.wayfarerecording.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Jon Keur at Wayfare Recording Co.</a>© 2022 Silver Linings Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Unlimited Potential:  Olaseni Bello on the American Dream and Why Failure is Part of the Equation for Opportunity

Olaseni is a jack of all trades.  He served in the Army as a lawyer, worked in the finance industry, interned at Google, got an MBA, started a healthcare startup, and is currently at Meta.  We talk about starting a company while getting an MBA and why veterans should take advantage of the timing to do this. 

Olaseni is a jack of all trades.  He served in the Army as a lawyer, worked in the finance industry, interned at Google, got an MBA, started a healthcare startup, and is currently at Meta.   We talk about starting a company while getting an MBA and why veterans should take advantage of the timing to do this.

Ep. 115: Lawyer, Banking, Google, to Startup Founder at Berkeley Haas MBA with Olaseni Bello

Olaseni Bello moved to the US from Nigeria at age 10. Calling his transition “challenging” to say the least, his assimilation into a radically different environment happened successfully over time. Enrolled in martial arts – Taekwondo specifically – by his mother, learning self-defense is evidence to the challenges Olaseni faced, but that which does no kill us… He went on to be a gold medal-winning Junior Olympian and found his second family with his martial arts community but it happened because he just missed a gold the year before. He was most unhappy, but his sensei (teacher) told him to just work harder. The time Olaseni spent training in the gym, visualizing winning the gold in his meditations, then having his vision come true taught him that anything is possible if you are willing to work hard enough. He then received an invitation to try out for the US Olympic team, but he was not a US citizen at the time and had to pass on what could have been a life-changing path. Undeterred, Olaseni started looking for his next move. He loved the outdoors  and adventure, and he loved discipline, in particular how the military marketed that pillar of their foundation; the refinements of their process and continuing march for perfection. Only 18 years old, he went back and forth with his mother about joining. Olaseni appreciated so much about America and was so appreciative of the opportunity to live in it that he wanted to give back. So, college satisfied his mother, and his sense of adventure dictated he study abroad also for one year, putting off military service. Then it was on to law school, where he graduated and passed the New York State Bar exam and suddenly the concept of being a JAG officer (Judge Advocate General’s Corp) became intensely intriguing. He got the military training and the opportunity to advise and direct in the field and stay on top of the law. The path was tough, as for all in the military, and “you don’t know what you don’t know” became his mantra. But Olaseni always remembered the people who had served before him and honored them by being the most polished version of himself possible. Transitioning out into civilian life, he decided a finance career would be exciting, even with no background. Again, his military training and background made him confident he could figure out anything he wanted badly enough, and wound up on Morgan Stanley’s foreign exchange department. Then the entrepreneurial affliction hit. Curiously when he was still in the Army, he wanted to have a positive impact on the world and decided he and his fiancé (now wife) gathered up clothes donations and headed to a small village in Tanzania for some do-good. They were bitten by mosquitoes and the short story is they saw doctor after doctor who misdiagnosed his fiancé’s condition (turned out to be Meningitis, a common virus for the area which all the doctors should have known) and rather than a week of therapy, she wound up taking two years to heal. So Olaseni set out to fix that with CarpeMed, an app that sets you up to deal with health issues in countries around the world, with connections to doctors, hospitals, even a “911” connection for an ambulance in the country in which you are located.Veteran Founder Podcast with your hosts Josh Carter and Cynthia KaoWe record the Veteran Founder Podcast inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland.Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon BeausoleilShow logo was designed by Carolyn MainWebsite was designed by Cameron GrimesProduction assistant is Chelsea LancasterTheme music: Artist: Tipsy Track: Kadonka Album: Buzzz Courtesy of Ipecac Records10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes

Olaseni Bello moved to the US from Nigeria at age 10. Calling his transition “challenging” to say the least, his assimilation into a radically different environment happened successfully over time. Enrolled in martial arts – Taekwondo specifically – by his mother, learning self-defense is evidence to the challenges Olaseni faced, but that which does no kill us… He went on to be a gold medal-winning Junior Olympian and found his second family with his martial arts community but it happened because he just missed a gold the year before. He was most unhappy, but his sensei (teacher) told him to just work harder. The time Olaseni spent training in the gym, visualizing winning the gold in his meditations, then having his vision come true taught him that anything is possible if you are willing to work hard enough. He then received an invitation to try out for the US Olympic team, but he was not a US citizen at the time and had to pass on what could have been a life-changing path. Undeterred, Olaseni started looking for his next move. He loved the outdoors and adventure, and he loved discipline, in particular how the military marketed that pillar of their foundation; the refinements of their process and continuing march for perfection. Only 18 years old, he went back and forth with his mother about joining. Olaseni appreciated so much about America and was so appreciative of the opportunity to live in it that he wanted to give back. So, college satisfied his mother, and his sense of adventure dictated he study abroad also for one year, putting off military service. Then it was on to law school, where he graduated and passed the New York State Bar exam and suddenly the concept of being a JAG officer (Judge Advocate General’s Corp) became intensely intriguing. He got the military training and the opportunity to advise and direct in the field and stay on top of the law. The path was tough, as for all in the military, and “you don’t know what you don’t know” became his mantra. But Olaseni always remembered the people who had served before him and honored them by being the most polished version of himself possible. Transitioning out into civilian life, he decided a finance career would be exciting, even with no background. Again, his military training and background made him confident he could figure out anything he wanted badly enough, and wound up on Morgan Stanley’s foreign exchange department. Then the entrepreneurial affliction hit. Curiously when he was still in the Army, he wanted to have a positive impact on the world and decided he and his fiancé (now wife) gathered up clothes donations and headed to a small village in Tanzania for some do-good. They were bitten by mosquitoes and the short story is they saw doctor after doctor who misdiagnosed his fiancé’s condition (turned out to be Meningitis, a common virus for the area which all the doctors should have known) and rather than a week of therapy, she wound up taking two years to heal. So Olaseni set out to fix that with CarpeMed, an app that sets you up to deal with health issues in countries around the world, with connections to doctors, hospitals, even a “911” connection for an ambulance in the country in which you are located. Veteran Founder Podcast with your hosts Josh Carter and Cynthia Kao We record the Veteran Founder Podcast inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Carolyn Main Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster Theme music: Artist: Tipsy Track: Kadonka Album: Buzzz Courtesy of Ipecac Records 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru <a href="http://kiva.org/lender/markgrimes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">kiva.org/lender/markgrimes</a>