The boys at Moulsford had an uplifting talk from Jacob Simons, who left Moulsford in 2008 and spoke to them online from his home in Uganda about his start-up business experience and how his tech career has developed since. The talk was part of Henry Weeks’ series of High-Performance Lunchtimes, which are open to the older Moulsford boys every Tuesday, and feature a different speaker every week. Jacob was very candid when talking about what he has learned through his experiences, including what he has gained from the collapse of his first start-up business.

                                         
                                                       Jacob Simons talking to the Moulsford boys from Uganda via Zoom

After Moulsford and then Radley, Jacob went on to study Theology at Bristol University, followed by a Masters at SOAS at the University of London. His aim on graduating was to work in the NGO/charity sector, but an idea for a start-up began brewing. Soon after, he and a friend were on the path to launching a new fashion app called Esooko, along similar lines to Depop. Getting the business started involved a huge learning curve in terms of setting up the technology, launching the app, and bringing in investors. As with many start-ups, it was not profitable for the first few years, so there was a constant drive for further investment funding. Unfortunately, after three years in operation, the business was no longer sustainable without further investment and had to be shut down. The start-up did get much praise, with a notable accolade from Apple, who listed it in their Top 30 New App Releases of the Year.

From the failure, Jacob learned a great deal. He talked about how the growth mindset, which he has been acquiring and nurturing over the past few years, has helped him move forwards following the collapse of Esooko. Jacob highlighted that this was one of the first times he had ever experienced failure, and whilst he acknowledges he felt a degree of embarrassment when the business folded, looking back on the experience, he now believes it made him stronger and more resilient. It taught him that good things can come from failure and that it is an opportunity to grow and develop.

Fortunately, a job offer followed shortly after, and Jacob has been working as a product manager for start-ups and businesses. The role is one where he can work remotely, and so he moved out to live in Uganda, where his girlfriend is teaching. Life in Uganda has been an amazing experience with weekends spent rafting down the River Nile and trips out to see giraffes and elephants. All of which sounded wonderful to the Moulsford audience on a very chilly January day in England!

When Mr. Weeks quizzed Jacob on the qualities he particularly admired amongst those he has worked with or has come across, two characteristics shone out. Firstly, he particularly admires those people looking to learn new things and those who push themselves to broaden their experiences and exposure. Secondly, he admires those who push themselves out of their comfort zone, whether that is in their career or socially. Jacob talked about novel experiences building a greater understanding of the world, and equipping you to better handle all sorts of situations in life. He gave the example of how he had to teach himself coding for a recent project, a skill that definitely felt outside his comfort zone. He spoke of the increased confidence which comes from new experiences, and the importance of continued learning, and the benefits of attempting new challenges.

The discussion moved on to what advice Jacob would have for Year 8 leavers. The biggest single piece of advice was to work towards developing a growth mindset. Like many others, as a child, he had a fixed mindset, thinking of himself as only capable of certain things, and thereby limiting what he would attempt and restricting his ambitions. Since those days, he was worked at developing a growth mindset and believes you have to work hard at continuously striving towards it. Asked whether the fixed mindset ever reared its ugly head again, he acknowledged that it can, so it is something you have to consciously focus on. He firmly believes that you can succeed in anything in life you put your mind to. He ended his talk with a very uplifting message that with his more open attitude and positive growth mindset, he wakes up with a real buzz every morning, and enjoys what he does and how he lives his life.

It was delightful to hear his infectious optimism for life, and we wish him every success in his evolving career and life journey.

                                          
                                                  1st XI Football team in 2008 - Jacob Simons (top row, second from left)