STELLA BIDA: What is the common denominator around everything you do? Where do you find the drive to always pursue the dreams you have? 

TONJÉ BAKANG: That’s a very interesting question that I recently revisited. I understood why I was an entrepreneur, and why I’ve always been an entrepreneur. For me, entrepreneurship is a way to access my psychological freedom. I feel less like I’m constantly seeking validation from others. From someone else who, no matter what I might have accomplished, won’t consider me, or won’t consider me enough to make me feel comfortable. I’ve always preferred to be an entrepreneur, to create my own space, and to try to bring other people along with me. To answer your question succinctly, I become an entrepreneur to preserve my mental health. 

STELLA BIDA: You speak with great certainty. How did you become so certain of what you can bring to the table? Did you have any difficulties discovering it? 

TONJÉ BAKANG: I feel like we’re getting people used to putting up with mistreatment, accepting disrespect, working in anxiety, going to work with butterflies in my stomach. This is something I refused very early in my life. I didn’t know what I was going to bring to the world, I knew what I was going to bring to myself. The way forward for me was first to pursue this passion for storytelling. This passion was the driving force behind my personal development, and my entry into the world of entrepreneurship. But the first thing I was trying to resolve was my personal well-being, in order to be aligned with myself. Maybe being aligned with myself won’t allow me to bring products or value to the market. But at least the first person I was saving was myself.

STELLA BIDA  : Was there an event that allowed you to take this direction? At what point do you make the decision to remain anchored in your values, anchored in your projects, without being distracted by the constraints of society? 

TONJÉ BAKANG: In my case, it was at a very young age. At the age of 14, I knew roughly what fields I wanted to pursue. It wasn’t yet entrepreneurship, but it was the idea of creating and producing stories. I think that when you’re in high school or college, it’s the best time to get started and take risks, because you have very few constraints. It’s much harder to reprogram yourself when you’re 40 or 35. Some people are more resistant to change. But it’s still entirely possible. In my case, it was a conscious choice during my adolescence, and it guided the rest of my life.