Business drove me into depression

Eugene Mbugua.

Eugene Mbugua says much of his childhood correlates with the lyrics “The stone that the builder refused” from Cornerstone by Bob Marley. His difficult early days and being an only child gave him a lonely existence; one that had him seeking an escape in books. If it had words, he was reading it. And that could be why he later gravitated towards making shows and videos, areas that require creative prowess.

The founder of Young Rich Television Limited and My Yearbook Kenya was named by Forbes as one of the most promising entrepreneurs under 30, and a year later, in 2016, he graced the cover of Forbes Africa magazine as one of the ‘Top 30 Under 30’. Well, he is now 30, and his journey is having a rebirth. He spoke to Hustle about the tough lessons he has learnt in business and what drives him.

Why do you think that the Bob Marley song represents your childhood?  

Without divulging much, I knew quite early in my life that I was on my own. That no one was coming to rescue me. And that shaped most of my life decisions. I got my first job immediately after high school at the age of 17. I was an extra on the production of Inspekta Mwala. I later graduated into a boom swinger. A boom swinger is that guy who holds the boom microphone during production to record sound. I juggled my boom swinger role with being an extra in Machachari and Makutano Junction. As an extra, I used to be paid Sh600 a day and as a boom swinger Sh1,000 a day. I moved into a bedsitter in Roysambu immediately I got an ID, and enrolled for my Bachelors in Television Production at USIU. 

Was production what you really wanted to pursue?

I never had the privilege to choose hence whatever opportunity I got, I ran with it. This was the opportunity I got and I was going to make the most of it. My first job was in production hence figured this was the path I should pursue. Six months into my life in campus, I started my first business; Tu-washo, Swahili for Let’s Teach. See, I had gained production skills through my jobs and thought I was fit to teach some aspects of production. I managed to get Makini School as my first client. I charged each student Sh3,000 per term and I had 30 students.  Now I had some money to set up a business.

What business?

A movie shop. It was while on my long walks to Makini School from town that I got the idea of Young Rich. I was fascinated by the uptown neighbourhoods and lifestyles that people seemed to be living. I liked it. I developed the concept of Young Rich, a TV show that profiled young people under 40 who had made an impact in their respective fields. This was in 2011. I pitched to all media houses I could get in and it got commissioned in 2013 just before my graduation. The offer tabled was slightly over a million a month, though they would only make payment to a company. I got my two friends to invest in me and I set up the company. They each gave me Sh150,000 and I set up the business.  

Is there something you could have done differently looking back?

I can now admit that I had undervalued the business at the time. Our first cheque was Sh1 million a month. It could have been higher. The company would later go on to grow and produce other shows.

Do you think business success equals happiness?

Not always. In 2014, I sunk into depression. I realised then that the success that I was experiencing came with some emptiness. I am glad that I was able to rise above it.

I later set up a cocktail bar called Number 7 in the CBD. Since I was experiencing some success, I decided to expand. We ended up losing a lot of money in the process because we did not get it right. That set me down another spiral. But from that failure, I learnt the best way to fail is to do it cheaply, quickly, and never the same way twice.

How did you pull yourself out of depression?

I needed an outlet for my frustrations. And two things seemed to work for me; physical exercises and reading. I buried myself into it. And somehow I could think clearer afterward. I read this one story about Malik Benjalloul. Malik was a wunderkind filmmaker. He even won an Oscar for best documentary in 2013, a year before he died from suicide after a bout of depression. He was successful, yet he wasn’t happy. His story made me realise that I wasn’t alone in this journey, and I needed to find a way to deal with the frustrations of work.

So now I have a daily exercise and reading regimen and I consume a lot of poetry. I learn so much about life just by picking up a book.

What is that jumble of words inked on your arm?

My tattoo? It is a poem by Jessie Rittenhouse; Life is Just an Employer. Essentially, the poem says that life is always ready to give you anything that you ask for but you have to be ready to put in the work. If you want life to pay you Sh1 million a month, you have to be ready to put in work worth that amount.

And now you are busier than ever. What are you currently working on?

I am hard at work on Sol Family that recently launched season 2. I have had 11 shows running across various media platforms, this includes; Get in the Kitchen, Story Yangu, Our Perfect wedding, Foods of Kenya, Being Bahati, Concert Nyumbani.

What is a typical day at work like?

I wake up every weekday at 3.45am. I work out for an hour and a half then I am in the office by 6.30am. I read for another hour and a half before I commence my day. During the day I lay oversight of the business operation, regularly participate in creating show pilots and the rest of the time is spent pitching like crazy for more business. I shut down by 8.30pm.

You recently just turned 30 and have achieved so much, what drives you and do you have any mentors?

I am driven by the ambition to win. I like to win and want to see how far I can go with the pursuits I set out to do. I have three principle mentors; Dennis Makori, Dr Sam Ntheya and Victor Kagema. They have played a pivotal role in my journey. Mentors are quite key as you are standing on the shoulder of giants and you do not have to repeat the mistakes they made.

You have four framed pictures on your wall of important figures. What do they stand for?

The first frame is that of Nelson Mandela, he signifies the freedom that we all seek. A reminder to me that his journey towards freedom did not take a short time to achieve, and thus I should be patient. Then there is Mohammed Ali. He reminds me to stand for something. His journey had him stand up for his society. The other picture is of Malik Bendjelloul, whose story is similar to mine only that he succumbed to depression through suicide. He won an Oscar through a film created by phone though only to die a year later. The last picture in black and white is that of Ruby Nell, surrounded by FBI Agents. She was the first African American to attend an all-white school. She had to have FBI agents accompany her to school for fear of being assassinated. She teaches me how to be brave.