Our story starts with my father, who immigrated from Nigeria to the United States with hopes of realizing the American dream. When he got here, though, he was shocked to see the stark poverty, lack of employment opportunities, and poor education in communities with people who looked like him. This didn't sit well with him and he decided to make a difference, planting the seed for my journey in youth development.
My father (left), and three brothers in front of the iconic 16-passenger Operation EASY van.
My father and my mother started Operation Easy, a community nonprofit organization in Portland, Oregon where I was born and raised. The organization provided daily after school programs, a Saturday school, and summer programs. But it was more than that – it was an extension of a way of life centered on service and duty to people who were struggling. Our home was constantly open, providing safety, love, meals to countless kids, or even hosting a few houseless neighbors in our basement. This was the environment that shaped me. This is also where I met my best friend and now tech partner, Demetric, who was facing extreme adversity at the time, embodying an experience that many of our teen users are going through now.
As we grew up, we set our sights on Stanford University, inspired by my brother Tunde, who got into Stanford when we were in the fourth grade. With a clear purpose, we worked diligently, earning 4.0 GPAs from middle school to high school and taking advantage of every opportunity we could. Eventually, we both were admitted to Stanford through early admissions and received scholarships that covered our tuition. This was a life-changing experience that made us realize it’s possible to set big dreams and reach them, no matter where you’re from.
Remi and Demetric at Black Grad ceremony at Stanford University (2010)
Post-college, I fell in love with being a youth developer and spent some time at a school in East Palo Alto. Later, I led afterschool programs at the Boys and Girls Clubs in the same city. Meanwhile, Demetric pursued a career in tech at Facebook, primarily working on the teens team.
Remi and Demetric at a career fair at East Palo Alto Academy, where Remi was Dean of Students.
We both noticed a trend - I was having a tough time engaging teens in after-school activities, while Demetric saw how effective smartphones are at engaging teens. We now know that only 11% of teens are attending afterschool programming, while more than 95% of teens have a smartphone, and are spending, on average, 8 hours a day on them. However, the apps that are most successful at engaging teens don't necessarily have their best interests in mind.
This realization led us to create the Ambition app - a solution that combines the scalability of technology with the heart of a youth developer to positively impact teens. We're here now, driven by a deep passion and purpose to equip black and brown teens with the skills, opportunities, resources, and support they need to thrive in college, career, and beyond. That's our ambition.