Today, we’d like to introduce you to Kaosarat Fawehinmi.
Hi Kaosarat, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
Well, my name is Kaosarat Fawehinmi. People call me Kozy. I am Nigerian… born and raised. I moved to the US in 1996 to attend Howard University. I studied Electrical Engineering, then went on to get my Masters degree in Technology Management from the University of Maryland. I absolutely love math! I love logic. I love to make sense of simple things.
I also love business development. Tell me you like to freeze water to make ice, and I am already thinking of how to make money with that… lol. All the people close to me know this… lol. I can’t help it. It’s in my DNA. I come from a long line of entrepreneurs; both parents are business owners and property owners, my paternal grandparents were entrepreneurs, and my paternal great-granddad was a Lisa in Ondo and had several businesses as well.
In fact, my parternal grandmother was the first Cadbury product distributor in Ondo State, Nigeria back in the 70s. What inspires me most about her is the fact that her wealth and business acumen are innate. The most she was able to achieve was the equivalent of 6th grade.
I can only imagine, in my wildest dreams, how much more she would have achieved if she had the opportunity to go to college. She spoke very little English, too, so how she landed the Cadbury gig is uber-commendable. I have lived in Maryland for over 20 years with my entire family. I have 4 brothers and 2 sisters, and we almost all went to Howard except two of my siblings. My parents went to Howard as well. That’s actually where they met.
Umm, work-wise, I have worked everywhere, lol… I worked at McDonald’s in 1997, and it has finally come full circle with owning Laud Shawarma… lol. My sisters always find every way to remind me of this. Umm… I have over 20 years of Project Management experience working for different-sized organizations like the IMF, KPMG, DOL, and NAMA. I was the head of the Project Management Office at NAMA (Nigerian Airspace Management Agency) for about two years.
Then, I moved back to Maryland in 2019, right before the 2020 pandemic. Started Laud Shawarma during the pandemic and launched the NauNauSOS App in 2023. Both businesses are successful and definitely growing. Thank God!
Let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
It has been an interesting road to get to where I am today, and I thank God for everything. I thank God for my family and friends. They believe in everything I do. If I decide to sell water to Eskimos, they are on board 100%. My parents are my #1 cheerleaders. I thank them for such a great DNA of entrepreneurship. I owe my confidence and tenacity to my parents.
Every morning, after prayers, my dad always had what I understand now to be inspirational talks or a form of meditation, if you will, and he would always start and finish with “Ogho buuku e shoo” loosely translated to means its very easy to be a lazy bum. You have to work hard to be great. He would say, “You must aim high”. My dad always said that. I can actually hear him in my head now. So, I aim high in everything that I do. I don’t understand the word “can’t.”
My mum would say, “Do your best and leave the rest.” It sounds simple, but it is a very loaded statement when you sometimes get that “what the heck am I doing?” feeling. Sigh… these words have formed the person I have become today. And I intend to pass it on to my children. I am a serial entrepreneur, and by God’s grace, I have been able to start any business I can think of in my head, from a green cleaning business to an online shoe store to satin lined beanies, to exhaust hood cleaning, to making and selling women shoes (that was fun and turned out to be very therapeutic).
I mean I would think of a design, draw it and make the actual shoe. Fun stuff. Stress reliever, too. Then I accidentally started a successful shawarma business, and now the personal safety app… whew… lol. Laud Shawarma is a Nigerian-style shawarma carry out in the DMV. And people love it… a lot! Here’s a fun fact about me: I actually don’t like to eat shawarma. I’m not allergic or anything. It’s not just my choice of snack or meal at any point. Quick story – my sister wanted Nigerian-style shawarma and asked me to bring some on my next trip from Nigeria to the US. At that time, I lived in Nigeria. I hated and still hate any TSA issues, so I told her that I would get the recipe and make it. She rejected that idea with every fiber of her being because she didn’t think it would taste the same. So when I got into town, I made a sample, and she absolutely loved it! I made more and invited some friends to try it, and they all loved it as well, and the rest is history. My ultimate goal for Laud Shawarma is to serve at stadiums and give more options during a ball game.
NauNauSOS App is my latest business venture. It’s a personal safety app. It is unlike any of my business ventures because it is a very green space. Teaching people to use their devices as a personal safety tool is a bit harder than you would think. Not because people don’t have devices to use, but it’s not a habit to rely on your phone for help. So, we are doing more education than the actual sale of subscriptions. It took us about 2 years to get to where we are now. The app is 100% self-funded using ALL of my savings and extras… lmao. That is the most challenging part – getting money to fund the app. I say it’s unlike my other businesses because the other businesses are physical products, and it was easier to bootstrap. The people want it. They pay for it.This is more of a service, so I still have to spend money to keep it alive and running whether I have subscriptions or not. It has greatly evolved to serve as more than just a personal safety app to a safety companion. When I started working on the app, it was just about creating a reliable means of getting help during an emergency, but as we grow and learn about how crazy the world has become, we continue to add more safety features. So, we have sort of identified one challenge. The other challenge now is getting awareness of the product. We need people to see the value of the app, download it, and share it. Our target audience across the globe is a little over 1 billion. Realistically, we are targeting about 120 million people. It’s definitely doable. People just have to know about the app. One of my business mottos is “People can’t buy what they don’t know.” So, marketing and branding have become new challenges that we are trying to tackle with very limited funds.
Do you have any big plans?
Sigh… what are my big plans? For Laud Shawarma – to acquire our very own first storefront… with our signage outside and maybe have a drive-through where people can get their food… really brings my McDonald’s experience full circle… lmao.
As for NauNauSOS, our big plan is to be the Facebook of Safety. When you are leaving the house in the AM, grab your keys, grab your backpack or briefcase, log in to your NauNauSOS App, and be ready to start your day. We want to help wake up that safety slumber that has been created by the convenience that technology has also created over the years; your Uber driver is still a stranger, and your DoorDash or Instacart delivery guy is not your friend.
To download and experience the app, click here to download – https://urlgeni.us/
Pricing:
- $0.99/month
- $9.99/year
- FREE for college students.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.naunausosapp.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/
naunausosapp - Facebook: www.facebook.com/
naunausosapp - Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/
company/naunausosapp - Twitter: www.twitter.com/
naunausosapp - Youtube: www.youtube.com/@
naunausosapp - Other: https://letstalksafety.
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