Well, I suppose every hero has an origin story, and this is mine. My own Customer Success Origin Story. And before you argue that I am no hero, let it be known that every customer-facing individual from any place, time and culture is, in fact, A HERO. Period.
My first job after graduating from university was as a Business Development Executive for a small business.
When I say small, I mean really small.
The company consisted of my boss and… me. That was it. Salary was 50,000 Naira.(For no Nigerians reading this, this is an extremely low pay)
I managed the Shopify store, processed customer orders, responded to enquiries, helped bring in new clients, handled marketing, and did administrative work.
And somewhere along the line, I somehow also became a personal assistant, babysitter, dog walker, and unofficial household manager. I babysat her children, took the dog for walks and ran personal errands.
I even found myself helping with laundry.
Looking back, it’s funny now.
At the time, not so much.
Anyways, I lasted two months.
Then I quit.
It was one of the best decisions I ever made, not because I had another opportunity waiting for me.
I didn’t.
But because it forced me to figure out what I was actually good at.
And as it turned out, I was good at something I had always loved doing – Telling stories.
After leaving that role, I started writing fictional stories on Twitter.
Simple stories.
Characters, plot twists, relationships, drama, humour.
The kind of stories that leave people saying, “Please post the next part.” I had fans who loved reading whatever I wrote.
I gained followers and grew my Twitter overnight.
What started as a creative outlet quickly became something much bigger.
Posts were shared widely.
Readers became invested in the characters.
Some stories went viral. popular blogs, big handles, celebrities, etc. My stories were shared across different online platforms
People laughed, argued, cried, and returned every time to see what happened next.
At the time, I thought I was simply entertaining people and growing my social media accounts. What I didn’t realise was that I was learning one of the most valuable skills of my career:
Understanding people.
Understanding attention.
Understanding communication.
Understanding what makes people care.
Understanding what kept them engaged
And what got them confused and uninterested.
Well, eventually, the viral stories caught the attention of the CEO of a marketing agency, and he reached out to me directly, not because I had years of agency experience, not because I had a long list of certifications, but simply because he saw how I communicated and was able to capture and retain my audience’s attention.
He believed someone who could build and engage an audience through storytelling could bring value to his business.
Thankfully, he was right.
Working at the agency exposed me to a completely different world.
I began managing digital accounts, working with clients, creating content, supporting campaigns, and developing a much deeper understanding of digital marketing and communication.
It was one of the most important learning experiences of my early career.
Then COVID happened.
Like many businesses, we moved to remote work.
Unfortunately, things began to change.
Salaries were reduced.
Payments became inconsistent.
Despite the fact that businesses were increasingly moving online and demand for digital services was growing, uncertainty within the company grew too.
Eventually, I made the decision to leave the job. The good thing, however, was that by this point, I had built valuable experience in digital marketing, client communication, and managing digital accounts.
That experience opened new doors as I got requests and DMs from businesses looking for support with digital marketing and customer communication. I began taking on freelance projects for the businesses. From social media marketing to content marketing(blogs and websites), email marketing and customer communication, up to copywriting and UX writing. I was basically on fire! heheh, yes, I was.
But then came another unexpected opportunity.
I was approached by the founder of what would eventually become Africhange.
At the time, it wasn’t the company people know today.
It was simply an idea.
A product yet to be built.
A vision.
The founder spoke to me about his vision. He believed that I had skills that would make me valuable as the company prepared to launch. Customer engagement and retention, communication strategies, customer insights and the ability to drive business decisions based on what the customers would actually love.
I listened to him, and although I had my hands full with freelance jobs, the idea of joining a business at such an early stage fascinated me. There would be no large departments. No established playbook. No perfectly documented processes. Just a small team building something from the ground up. Plus, it was a more stable job, lol
I was in.
When I joined, I became the company’s first customer-facing hire.
And like most early startup employees, my role was never limited to one thing – I wore multiple hats.
I answered customer calls. I managed support tickets. I resolved complaints. I onboarded customers. I gathered customer feedback. I worked closely with product teams to improve customer experiences. I created Help Centre content and customer-facing documentation. I wrote blog articles. I contributed to partner publications. I designed social media graphics. I created email campaigns and customer communications. I supported marketing efforts.
I worked on operational processes and helped define how customer support and customer success would function within the business.
As customer numbers grew, we needed more support.
I recruited and onboarded new team members, built a team, created SOPs and eventually created an operational hierarchy
Those early years were fast.
Very fast.
Features were being shipped constantly.
Customer expectations were continually changing.
Processes changed constantly.
I created new processes, structures, playbooks, workflows, etc.
Every day was different.
And honestly, I loved it.
Because I wasn’t just supporting customers, I was helping shape how the company served them.
Over time, that responsibility grew.
The company grew.
The customer base grew.
The team grew.
And so did I.
While working with Africhange, I got an MSc in digital communication and leadership. A course that captured the consumer behaviour, Voice of Customer Insights and analytics, and overall customer relationship management and long-term retention.
What started as being the only customer-facing person eventually evolved into managing customer relations at different journeys and segments across multiple markets. I was continually building processes, collaborating across departments, and championing customer experience initiatives at scale.
Looking back, my journey into Customer Success wasn’t really planned. But I love how it started and where it has led me.
I simply kept following the work that allowed me to combine what I am passionate about:
Understanding people.
Communicating clearly.
Offering value
Building long-lasting relationships.
Solving problems.
Helping customers succeed
While ensuring the business also flourishes.
That’s what brought me here.
And it’s still what drives me today.
Want to see how that journey evolved professionally?
Visit my Portfolio page to explore my career progression, achievements, and experiences in more detail.
