The design of the letter ‘T’ in Trueblaq is a Maasai warrior standing on one foot with his club across his shoulders. I mention this because I have always wanted to use Notorious B.I. G’s catchphrase, “If you don’t know, now you know.” So, if you didn’t know, now you know. Trueblaq was incorporated in 2001 and is the leading experiential marketing and events company in the country. With offices located along Othaya Road in Kileleshwa, Jackee Ombajo, the CEO of Trueblaq, has just come out of a meeting. As I patiently wait for her in her office, I am drawn to a white board which has the words, “All that I need is in me”.

Is that your mantra? (pointing to the white board)

I have many, but that one resonates well with me. Everything always comes down to the self. God has given us everything within us so that whatever we seek can be found within us. We just have to find it.

Who is Jackee?

Jackee is many things. She is a child of God, a daughter, a sister, a friend, a business owner, a creative and, as I am referred to here in the office, mum.

Tell us about Trueblaq.

Trueblaq was founded by my late brother, Big Kev. He had two partners at inception who after a while opted to take different paths. My brother then approached me to help him grow the business. I joined and worked at Trueblaq between 2002 and 2004 but then I left and went to work at Capital FM as the marketing manager for about four years. While at Capital, I still helped my brother out and was very much involved in the business. Being in the entertainment industry, it was a bit hard for Trueblaq to get financing because many banks did not quite understand the nature of our business. Dealing with artists and DJs was something they could not understand enough to finance. Since I was employed, it was easier for me to access loans which would be used to finance some of the operations of Trueblaq when needed. With this much investment in the business, I ended up buying shares at Trueblaq and became a partner.  Subsequently, I took over running the business when Big Kev was diagnosed with brain tumor.

How has the dynamic nature of the entertainment industry forced a change in your approach to business?

The industry is indeed very dynamic. In 2015, there was a significant change in the market as big players with big money started coming in. Our growth at the time was organic.  The little profit we made was invested back into the business. But with the entry of these new players, the market dynamics totally changed. Their business capacity was three to four times more than ours. It is not something we had anticipated. Without money, you couldn’t compete. The game had changed and our position as the leading events company in the country was no longer a given.

How did you level up?

Decision making at the time was between Big Kev and myself. For us to compete, we needed capital which was not easily accessible. We opted to sell some of our shares to investors who would then give us the capital we so badly needed. We were however not just chasing money. We were looking for people who would make great strategic partners. Individuals who would provide synergy. People that we felt we would be compatible with and who would buy into the vision of the business.

How was this experience?

(sighs)Eye-opening! Our desired choice of persons had their own terms.

Irreducible minimums?

(laughs) Exactly! They required us to have audited set of books and evidence of governance structures. Now, we did not have the latter and the longer we kept the process ongoing, the more the value of our shares dropped.

We retreated to do some house cleaning and a bit of soul searching as well. We needed to be clear about what we wanted. We needed to offer value to the investors we sought. We needed to offer value for money. We needed to provide the assurance that we were as invested in the business as much as we wanted the investor to be. Most times, as entrepreneurs, we run the business based on what we know. It is like teaching yourself how to swim but there is nobody telling you whether the stroke is right or wrong. It had never crossed our minds how important governance structures are in any business. For us, provided we were floating and moving, then we were swimming. It did not really matter what technique we were employing.

Interesting. So, was this the trigger for the board?

It was. It was quite the revelation and we therefore resolved to setting up a board for the company.  My late brother was ambitious and to him, we just had to get the best minds around. Among the factors that influenced our choice of board members was having individuals who had gone through similar experiences as ourselves. We were looking for entrepreneurs who had faced difficulties in scaling just like we did. We also placed strong emphasis on corporate governance experience because we needed to set up proper governance structures.

You mentioned that as entrepreneurs, you were pretty much running the show yourselves based on what you thought you knew. Why do you think this is common with most entrepreneurs?

I think it is because most entrepreneurs do not know any better. They have a great business idea and they go right into trying to make it work. For this reason, in the different engagements and conversations that I have had about boards with different entrepreneurs, people get amazed at what we at Trueblaq, have been able to do ever since we set up the board. I feel that there is not enough sensitization on the issue. Had I known then what I know now, we would have had a board from the inception of Trueblaq. Additionally, founder’s syndrome plays a big part in entrepreneurs’ reluctance to setting up a board. It is hard to let go of control over the business you founded. Entrepreneurs however need to be very clear about why they start a business. If you want growth and sustainability, you must have a board. Boards come with a lot of advantages.

How would you describe the paradigm shift in the management of Trueblaq once the board was set up?

Pause. Interesting. Very interesting (laughs.) Initially, as general manager which I was then, my portfolio covered every department. I oversaw finance, logistics, human resources and marketing. All were under my direct management. I think this is common for most entrepreneurs because as the founder, you feel as though you need to have a grasp on everything. There was never a thought at any one point in time that I was actually a bottleneck in the business. I was stretched with oversight. In my eyes however, I was this superwoman who was getting things done. But what I did not see was that the business could not grow beyond me. The business could only grow up to the capacity that I could bear. We had been running the business without a board for 14 years up until 2015. It was obvious to us that the business had a lot of potential, but it always felt like we were on a hamster wheel. After the board came along, perspectives changed, and things became clearer. The board focused on the risks and made me realize that at the time, I was the biggest risk to the business in as much as I was its biggest asset. The business and I had become one and the same thing and I was made to answer the all too familiar question of whether we wanted a business that has continuity, or one that dies with me!

Interesting…so what was the board’s directive?

The board purposed to make a clear distinction between the business and myself. My role as GM was split into 3. But before these positions were filled, there was some back and forth with the board. The individuals who fit the profile for these positions were asking for so much more than what I was earning initially before the split in structure. You can imagine the quandary. I was earning less while exercising oversight on all the aforementioned departments. I told the chair (of the board) that we could not afford the new proposed structure. However, my focus was on the cost and not the potential benefits. The chair said, “If you get the right people, then the money will come.” This is not something I would have told myself because I did not have a second perspective. We brought in the general managers and I moved up to a CEO role where I took up the strategy and vision role of the business. The capacity of the business has since increased. We have experienced year on year growth ever since. It was definitely worth the investment. In addition, for the first time in many years I was able to go on proper leave because previously, I was the life and soul of the business.

In your mind, based on your experience with a board, what constitutes an effective Board?

One, I would say is the personalities in the board and the diversity of their skill set and secondly, which is quite key, is their availability and commitment. For instance, Peter Nduati, our Chairman, is young at heart and is very open minded. This applies to the rest of the board members and the contextual leadership they provide is aligned to the industry we operate in because we deal with a dynamic and changing clientele all the time.

What do you think plagues most SMEs such that the statistics of failed businesses under three years remains so high?

For most entrepreneurs, decision making with regards to cash flow is critical. It has been detrimental for most businesses. Certain decisions you are forced to make because you must survive. SMEs in most instances fund the business opportunities available to them. They also have employees who expect a salary and on top of that there is the taxman who does not care whether you have been paid by the client or not. Maintaining a steady stream of cash flow such that you are not forced to forgo a business opportunity in order to pay salaries is a tight balance.  This was a lesson we learned as a business and I know for sure it affects many businesses as well.

Is this something you feel needs redress? Especially on the area of tax?

I think there needs to be a discussion on tax relief. Most SMEs do business with government or corporates. None of these entities fund any business they give you. SMEs fund the business themselves and after the job is done, they are asked to wait for maybe sixty, ninety, one hundred and twenty or even longer days before payment. During this period, you are required to pay taxes. You find that many businesses either close down because they struggle to be tax compliant or default in paying taxes because they have to fund other business ventures and pay salaries. But no one defaults willingly. Circumstances force you to and as you can imagine it is costly to the business and the government.

18 years of sustainable growth in the face of such difficulty is no easy feat. I’d like to imagine that this is an achievement in itself, but is there any other achievement that you could share with us?

Last year (2018), we participated for the first time in the Top 100 Medium-Sized Companies and we emerged fifth out of a hundred entrants. This was a really huge milestone for us and shows that we are on the right path.

How does the future look like for Trueblaq?

The sky is the limit. Our focus is on diversification because the industry is very dynamic. The insights and foresight of the board will be important in this regard. We are also planning on improving our governance structures by forming sub committees for the board. We are making baby steps but in the right direction.

 

Trueblaq is a classic case of the power of perspectives. A solo adventure in the world of business limits one’s perspective to what one knows. It thus limits a business’ potential without the entrepreneur ever ascertaining the root cause of the limitation. Different perspectives, from the different experiences that independent directors bring,  expose the entrepreneur to a world of opportunities and possibilities. The directors provide guidance and clarity in the face of ambiguity. They offer alternatives as means to the realization of the vision of the business especially when it feels that the business is stuck in a rut. 

The Inquisitor.