009: Sean Keough: Running an Ethiopia Investment Fund at 30 years old
Sean Keough is the managing director of Ethiopia Investments and executive director of EQOS Global, Ethiopia’s first outsourcing company specializing in data entry, digitization and contact center solutions. Before that, Sean was an investment banker in San Francisco. On the verge of burnout, he decided to move to Ethiopia in 2014 where he worked as a volunteer for the NGO TechnoServe. Sean planned to take a 3-month sabbatical, but he ended up never leaving. In this episode, Sean shares how he leveraged Ethiopia’s low cost environment to constantly experiment and test new ideas as an entrepreneur. Over the span of four years, he has founded an advisory firm, set up an investment fund worth millions of US$, and is currently managing the day-to-day operations of a thriving outsourcing business. We chat about the growth hack that Sean used to develop his advisory business, why he avoids the 7-10 year financial model for his investment fund, and his thoughts on failing forward. Sean’s first book on financial modeling for entrepreneurs in frontier markets will be available via Amazon in June. Make sure you stay tuned for that. The show notes are live at yaepodcast.com. Check it out for links, resources, and actionable advice from Sean. Without further ado, here’s my conversation with Sean Keough.