e08: Kingsley Madu on why he doesn't believe in work-life balance

Welcome to Unfiltered w/ PORCH, where we explore what it means to be an immigrant entrepreneur from the POV of the immigrant.

In this episode, I'm speaking with Kingsley Madu, Co-Founder and CEO of Expedier, a super app for all things money.

Kingsley thinks the concept of work-life balance is a myth, especially if you are an entrepreneur. Hold on...don't get defensive. Calm yet?

Now let me paraphrase Kingsley: "Kids never seem to get tired of playing. Why? Because play is fun for them. So, if you're asking for balance from work because it's stressing you, then maybe you aren't having fun."

You would agree there's some sense in that. The irony is that he did pay for his crushing schedule with burnout and a trip to the ER.

In this conversation, Kingsley and I chat about holding down three jobs while he built Expedier, why the traditional boundaries don’t work for entrepreneurs, and the brutal and sad reality about raising funds in Canada.

Key Takeaways

• Fun doesn't need balance: When you're genuinely enjoying what you're building, taking a break becomes irrelevant, similar to kids who never get tired of playing.

• Quality over quantity: Blocking out time for “family hour” doesn’t matter if you aren’t fully present. If taking your kids to school every morning and picking them up means you spend that time wholly present with them, do that instead.

• Accelerators vs. the funding reality: Going through major Canadian accelerators provided Kingsley with mentorship and connections. But zero investment dollars when it came time to write checks.

• There’s no end to the entrepreneurship journey: With each passing day, the journey gets longer, not shorter. And that is where most would-be entrepreneurs miss it.

• Start making noise from day one: Nobody would talk about you if you don't talk about yourself first because a perfect product doesn’t exist.

Official Links

• Connect with Kingsley Madu on LinkedIn

• See how Expedier works

Kingsley’s Media Diet

1. One newsletter you’d never miss: Forbes Daily

2. One immigrant entrepreneur that inspires you: You reading this and every other unstoppable folks out there

3. One podcast you regularly listen to: The Ramsey Show

4. Any books or resources that have significantly shaped your entrepreneurship journey:

   1. Zero to One by Peter Thiel

   2. The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz

   3. The Power of Focus by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, and Lewis Hewitt

   4. The Lean Startup by Eric Ries

One Ask

If you got value from this episode, please forward it to one immigrant entrepreneur you know.