Early Stage Talks: Misunderstanding the Market
The evening opened with Elizabeth Okullow, founder of AquaMnara, whose talk “A Billion-Dollar Business? So What?” dismantled the myth that growth alone equals progress. Speaking from her experience in transforming aquaculture in Africa, Okullow argued that the true currency of entrepreneurship is not scale, but substance. “Big isn’t always how far you reach,” she said. “Sometimes it’s how deeply you serve.” For her it is not about building a “Unicorn”, but she is building a “Zebra”, something real.
From there, Jestine Jennica Cabiles of Conscious Shift offered a behavioral lens on innovation in “Build the Behavior, Not Just the Solution.” She reminded the audience that even the brightest ideas can fail if they ignore how people actually behave. Her insight: sustainable change happens when design meets empathy.
Nardos Berehe, co-founder of Dipola, brought levity to the stage with “How to Not Get Funded!” — a sharp, introspective look at why investors sometimes walk away. Drawing from her work in climate-tech data, she explored the psychology of fundraising and urged founders to refine not just their decks, but their narrative clarity and self-awareness.
Developing Stage Talks: Evolving into Irrelevance
In the developing stage segment, for many speakers, failure wasn’t a moment — it was a process. Ivy Bina of Tynka Global shared “Building Past Failure,” a story of rebuilding after collapse while pursuing investment across Africa. Her talk resonated deeply, portraying failure not as an ending but as an act of reinvention.
Diego Monterroso of Abunda bridged humor and hard truth in “Blockchain Means… You’ll Get Scammed.” He recalled how his remittance platform faced skepticism before finding traction, showing how persistence and transparency turned misunderstanding into momentum. His message was simple: innovation earns trust one failure at a time.
Effy Fiona Mbuvi, founder of the Kenyan ethical fashion brand Kua Nasi, followed with “Scaling the Wrong Mountain.” Her deeply personal reflection revealed how the pursuit of growth can make founders lose sight of their values. “In chasing success,” she said, “I almost forgot why I started.” Her talk was personal, heartfelt and definitely inspirational in re-thinking our purpose and values.
Growing and Beyond Stage Talks: Fueling the Wrong Fire
In the last stage talks, Sydney Badiola from Metamorphosis Group took a powerful turn inward with “Success at What Cost? Escaping the High-Achiever Burnout Cycle.” Speaking from experience as a coach and founder, she unpacked how perfectionism and hustle culture can disguise burnout as productivity. Her reminder was clear: “Impact means nothing if you burn out before creating it.”The final keynote, “How to Fail a Startup!” by investor Justinas Pašys of NGL Startup Investing & Advisory, flipped the lens to the investor’s side. Point blank, Pašys laid out 20 reasons for start-up failure, dissected the most common — and avoidable — reasons startups collapse, from lack of alignment to chasing funding over value creation. His parting message was practical and useful, with the reverse 20 strategies of how to succeed a start-up.
Closing remarks: Toward a Culture of Reflective Success
IMPACT Talk 2025 was as much a storytelling agenda as a movement in mindset. Every talk reaffirmed the event’s belief that true innovation emerges not from perfection, but from persistence. The event initiator and project manager Jawahirul Mahbubi closed the event with a massage of “Not failing to grab opportunity with the skills, resources and networks around us” because that is literally the success of the first edition of IMPACT Talk about, which embodies collaboration, courage and the spirit of entrepreneurial network.
More than an event, IMPACT Talk 2025 by EMMIE embodied a shift in mindset — from chasing flawless success to building resilient success. It celebrated founders who reframed failure as a vital step toward meaningful innovation, who measure progress in growth of character as much as in capital. It stood out for celebrating the unspoken truth: every impactful venture is built on moments of doubt, resilience, and reinvention.
By Jawahirul Mahbubi – EMMIE 3rd Cohort Scholar
