Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristofer Madu.
Hi Kristofer, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My name is Kristofer Madu. I was born in Nashville, Tennessee, but raised between Nigeria and Kingston, Jamaica. I’d say it was moving between such different environments from such an early age that, in large part, made me who I am today.
The first thing I gained was a passion for helping people in need. In high school, I founded Water Is The Answer (WIA), a nonprofit organization providing clean water in rural villages around the world. The first project in Arondizuogu, Nigeria, constructed a well providing clean water in a community of over 20,000.
As I grew up, My experiences with WIA gave me a fascination with the reciprocal relationship between culture and business: Culture influences business, but business also influences culture.
That fascination ultimately led me to pursue a degree in International Economics at Johns Hopkins University, where I have earned both a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree.
While at Hopkins, outside of the classroom I’d say music was always my guiding signal. Actually, I’d say music has constantly been a guiding signal throughout my life.
I started out as a songwriter at about 11 years old growing up in Jamaica, and I stayed true to that passion over the course of 10 years, where by the time I came to JHU I had developed a budding career a professional recording artist with multiple albums released, hundreds of thousands of streams, and shows across the country under the stage name “Travis Karter”
Learning about music as an artist simultaneously taught me so much about business. If you think about it, artists are basically businesses themselves. You’re your own CEO, CFO, CMO. Just like every great CEO, Investor, or businessperson you wake up thinking about 3 or 4 key things: How can I attract more customers (or listeners); boost my brand; beat my competition; all at lower costs. As an artist, I was my own CEO, Chief Marketing Officer, CFO, and the whole 9 yards. Wearing so many hats as an artist gave me the spark to take the leap of faith and start a company of my own.
In college, I started a company called First Friday’s Group in the entertainment space. We rode the wild rollercoaster and ended up scaling the company to impact thousands of consumers in the Northeast, build a team of over 30 people, receive institutional investment from Johns Hopkins and backing from Red Bull, and make national news.
My experiences in this business gave me a deep appreciation for the intersection of business and media. Hungry to explore this space more, I accepted a position at Warner Music Group on the deal team working on venture capital, web3, and the large deals between WMG and some of the leading social media companies in the world. I worked full time in this position while also being a full time student in my final year of graduate school at Johns Hopkins.
I’ve had quite a few adventures in between from managing artists/DJs and a world champion athlete, to starting and scaling a few other companies in the Tech/Media/Telecom space.
Kris’s next adventure is in New York City, pursuing Investment Banking at a leading bank on “Wall Street”.
“I feel excited to apply the lessons and experiences I’ve gained in a new and challenging environment. My next chapter is a continuation of the same pursuit: I’ve had throughout my life: thinking about how to create value with a global impact”
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I think a lot of people may relate when I say one of the biggest challenges is staying the same in a world where everything is changing so fast around us.
Throughout life, your jobs will change, your relationships will change, your income and the people surrounding you change. It can be easy to forget who you are.
One of the biggest lessons I learned is to practice grounding yourself. Everyday I wake up, I think of my principles and values as a person. These are the things I believe in that are deeper than any title, salary, or situation I’m in.
Things like being a good person, never prioritizing profit over people, giving to people in need– no matter how successful we get, we should never forget the golden rule. You are only as good as the way you treat people.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
So I described a bit of the work I do in my story above, but I think the common theme that ties together all the work that I’ve done is my love for people.
Whether it’s working on branding projects for champion athletes like Fraser McConnell, doing event partnership deals with companies like Red Bull, or performing on tour with artists like Yung Gravy, many of the highlights of my career involve and/or directly impact people.
I believe that my love for people is, in large part, what has fueled my passion for the Consumer-facing Tech, Media and Internet Industries as an investor. Profound cultural impact isn’t always captured or fully reflected by numbers and financial returns.
As I continue my journey, I feel excited to continue putting people first when I think of opportunities to create value. In my work, the companies I’ve started have only been as good as the people behind them; and the people impacted by them.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
There is nothing to not love about Baltimore. Amazing people, amazing culture, and some of the best food ever. One thing that’s not spoken about enough is the strength of Balimore’s diversity: living in Baltimore I’ve been exposed to cuisines and new friends from all over the world.
Despite decades of systemic oppression, unequal provision of resources, Baltimore’s strength continues to shine. Baltimore is a city of strength and resilience.
Image Credits
Cameron Gutierrez, Kyle Reynolds, Lucas Miranda, and Matty Tae
