Venture Capital Ambassador and Entrepreneur
Wise words from Silicon Valley: “when in the face of defeat, pivot.” And pivot is exactly what Kwaku Yiadom did. When his high school dream of becoming an NBA player failed to become reality, he focused his energies on finding success elsewhere. Kwaku, a senior Marshall student, found that success in Venture Capital. He began Troy Labs with the goal of starting the first student-led venture capital fund at the University of Southern California, pioneering the next generation of startups at USC. Troy Labs partners with larger firms, allowing students to directly showcase their portfolios. Kwaku also hosts workshops to train prospective founders, providing a support system for growing student-founded companies.
To jumpstart Troy Labs, Kwaku cold emailed VC firms — culminating in USC Demo Day, where over 50 firms showed up to view a showcase of the best student startups. Kwaku continued his trend of success, cold-calling Sequoia Capital; he became a Sequoia Capital Campus Ambassador, heading a yearlong educational program that provides unique insight into the world of venture capital and their investing practices. He became an asset to Sequoia as well, as he is their link to the state of entrepreneurial activity here at USC.
Today, Kwaku has graduated from Troy Labs and is currently working on a larger-scale platform. He aims to transform the scope of what people believe is possible from the collaboration of VC firms and USC, tapping into a possible gold mine of opportunity for the entrepreneurial student community.
Kwaku breaks ground in other areas as well, manifesting in an interest in creating a record label to recapture true hip hop as well as a fashion line that embodies the spirit of traditional African fashion. He lives life with an inspiringly positive outlook, believing that people who live life with a similar drive and dedication to their passions will find each other and succeed together in raising the people around them to succeed. He states that life is a balancing act, underscoring the importance of recognizing one’s passion and then finding the drive to commit oneself to a set of core values. In the long term, Kwaku wants to continue learning and growing within the venture capital industry. He hopes to one day bring his knowledge back to Ghana and spread his zeal to instill the infrastructure needed for a burgeoning business mindset there.
