Nicholas Kee is a young tech entrepreneur and youth advocate, who has a background in software engineering, but has worked on a variety of international projects. In recent years, he has stepped away from the NGO space to launch some exciting projects, such as Kee Farms along with other innovative ventures. As a young techie, Nicholas offers a unique perspective on how he sees the world, what could be his life’s work, and how he can contribute to the world over the long term.

 

This episode is also available in Apple iTunes, Google Play Music, Spotify and on Stitcher!

Entrepreneurship is fraught with a broad range of challenges, and to a considerable degree, no one is prepared for that experience. However, many who have engaged in tech entrepreneurship in particular, tend to follow similar paths:  either they start a business after going to university and working for a few years; or they start the business whilst at university or soon after graduation, but do not work in the business full-time for a number of years. Instead, they gain employment elsewhere, and may eventually join their business on a full-time basis at a later date.

However, what happens when those ‘tried-and-true’ paths are not adopted? Is more frustration, and ultimately failure, likely outcomes?

Not necessarily. It depends on the knowledge, skills and experience that the individual has been able to develop that he or she can apply to the business. Those of us who are university graduates, and start businesses soon thereafter tend to have book knowledge, and very little practical and real world experience, which it could be argued handicap us as entrepreneurs. Further, we also may be limited in our perspective of the world, of the problems confronting our communities, and the approaches that could be used to solve problems.

In this podcast episode, we discuss the entrepreneurial journey of Nicholas Kee, a young, Jamaican techie and entrepreneur, who despite his youth and opting not to go to university, has had a variety of enviable life and work experiences. He has worn many hats, tried different things, has also accomplished a lot, doesn’t seem afraid to pivot, and still just seems to be getting started.

How was Nicholas able to have those experiences? How does he see his place in the world, and what has been the basis for his business? Those questions and more are answered in this episode.

 

Introducing our guest

Nicholas Kee

Nicholas Kee is a multi-hyphenate. He is the Co-Founder of Osoobe, a start-up venture studio aimed at creating frictionless products and services for the virtual economy. He is also the Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Kee Farms, a regenerative ocean farm network focused on growing seaweed and oysters with the aim of reducing greenhouse gases and increasing biodiversity in oceanic ecosystems. Prior to this, he was the Co-founder and Executive Director of Next Gen Creators, a non-profit organization aimed at promoting software development and tech-entrepreneurship for youths in the Caribbean.

Nicholas is an active technology community leader focused on artificial intelligence ethics and regulation, and digital awareness and literacy. Since the beginning of his career, he has launched companies in the sectors of education, marketing, insurance, and 3D printing. He has worked with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the European Council for Nuclear Research (CERN), Red Cross International, and the United Nations on renewable energy-related projects and policy reform for developing countries and refugee camps.

Nicholas is also the Jamaica Youth Ambassador to the Commonwealth of Nations and spends his time consulting with various government agencies and private organizations throughout the diaspora to help implement technological solutions into their societies

 

Insights into our conversation

As soon as you engage Nicholas you can sense that he is someone who is highly intelligent, possesses a quiet confidence, and yet is very self-aware, and so not the posture you would expect from someone in his mid-twenties. However, he has lived a less-than-conventional life, which has been driven by curiosity, trying to find his passions, and a sense of adventure.

Although many of us might pride ourselves on being adventurous, free-spirited and prepared to entertain some uncertainty in our lives, the truth is that most of us have chosen the conventional path. Taking the path less trodden among your peers or in your community is not for the faint of heart, and many of us have not nurtured our intuition, self-confidence and self-reliance, in order to swim against the tide. However, Nicholas’s experience highlighted that opportunities that emerged once he took a chance, focussed on the task at hand, and sought to execute it to the best of his ability.

On a few occasions during our conversation, Nicholas mentioned the word ‘grace’ and having to give himself grace. Although he understood the situations in which he found himself, Nicholas,  like so many of us, was still plagued with his Type A, over-achiever instincts, and so realised that he needed to be kinder to himself – give himself grace – which is something that a lot of us have also had to learn.

Below are key questions that was posed to Nicholas during our conversation.

  1. To get started, tell us a bit about yourself, and your entrepreneurial journey
  2. Why did you choose to forgo university, especially when the Jamaican and Caribbean society puts such a premium on education?
  3. What skills did you possess and how would you describe yourself at that time to think that perhaps university would not be best for you?
  4. You have had so many opportunities, including to work with NASA, CERN, Red Cross International and the United Nations, just to name a few. How did some of these opportunities come about?
  5. You have been involved in quite a few ventures and do not seem to have a difficulty pivoting. How did you know when to move from one opportunity to the next?
  6. Tell us about Kee Farms and why you have started it?
  7. How are you leveraging technology at Kee Farms?
  8. Do you think of Kee Farms as a social enterprise?
  9. What was it like to be a (very) young entrepreneur with a great idea?
  10. How do you think you have matured over the years?
  11. What has been the impact of the pandemic on you? Has it affected your perspective on things? On life?
  12. Where would you like to see Kee Farms in the next 3 to 5 years?
  13. What’s next for Nicholas Kee?

 

We would love to hear from you!

Do leave us a comment either here beneath this article, or on our Facebook or LinkedIn pages, or via Twitter, @ICTPulse.

 

Select links

Below are links to some of the organisations and resources that either were mentioned during the episode, or otherwise, might be useful:

 

 

Image credits: N Kee; Christina Morillo (Pexels); Marco Verch Professional (flickr); Pxfuel; DCStudio (freepik)

Music credit: Red Peas and Rice, Ray Holman

Podcast editing support: Mayra Bonilla Lopez