DaddyFreeze takes over Nedu Wazobia’s position as the main host of “The Honest Bunch Podcast”.

Taking minds aback, Nedu posted an official statement on his IG on the 14th of February, 2025 where he disclosed that he had left the popular honest bunch podcast following the controversies he was involved in.

Nigerians thought it was the usual breaks celebrities take to control damages, but, with the recent replacement even after the allegations have died down, one would conclude that there is absolutely no manual to life. No one ever predicted this!

Meanwhile, records have shown many Nigerians congratulating daddyfreeze on his new appointment. Be kind to stop by and drop your heartily congratulations too!

This is the greatest comeback story in history:

At 12, This Man witnessed his father’s murder.

Later Lost his life savings on 3 failed startups.

Bet everything on one last idea.

Today, his company is worth $3 billion.

This is the story of Tope Awotona, the Nigerian-born tech. entrepreneur, founder of Calendly

and the 3 lessons his journey teaches us about failure, resilience, and success:

At just 12 years old, young Tope witnessed his father’s murder during a carjacking in Lagos.

That moment shattered his world.

But little did he know, this tragedy would ignite a fire within him,
a drive to build something extraordinary.

After his father’s death, Tope moved to America as a teenager.

He studied computer science at the University of Georgia but found himself drawn to sales roles.

Yet, something was missing.

He wanted to create something that mattered.

So, he took the leap into entrepreneurship.

His first venture? An e-commerce site selling projectors.

It failed

His second startup? A garden tools business.

It failed too

His third attempt? A dating website.

That also crashed and burned

Each failure cost him time, money, and confidence.

But each one also taught him something invaluable:

His first failure exposed the importance of supply chain management.

His second failure showed him the value of operational efficiency.

His third failure taught him about market timing and the need for proper funding.

By 2013, Tope was out of money, out of ideas, and out of options.

But he wasn’t out of the fight.

He had one last idea, and he went all in.

Invested his entire life savings, $200,000, into a scheduling tool called Calendly .

Friends thought he was crazy.

Investors called the idea "boring" and "unscalable."

But Tope had discovered a universal pain point: the endless back-and-forth emails just to schedule a single meeting.

He knew this wasn’t just an annoyance, it was a productivity killer.

With no external funding, Tope hired Ukrainian contractors to build the first version of Calendly.

He kept it simple:

A clean interface.

Easy functionality.

One core problem solved perfectly.

And it worked.

Calendly spread like wildfire.

Freelancers loved its simplicity.
Sales teams appreciated its efficiency.
Recruiters shared it with their networks.

By 2020, Calendly was generating over $70 million in annual recurring revenue.

Then, COVID hit.

The world shifted to remote work, and virtual meetings became the norm.

Calendly became essential.

In 2021, investors who once dismissed Tope’s idea poured in $350 million.

Calendly’s valuation skyrocketed to $3 billion.

Today, Tope Awotona is worth over $1 Billion dollars become the few Nigerian-born Entrepreneurs who has crossed the billionaire line

The boy who witnessed tragedy in Lagos had built a tech empire.

But His journey revealed three profound truths about success to Us:

- Rejection is redirection

Every failed startup taught Tope something critical.
The lessons from those failures became the foundation for Calendly’s success.

- Solve real problems

Calendly didn’t chase trends, it solved a pain point Tope experienced firsthand.
The best ideas come from personal frustration.

- Constraints breed creativity

With no funding, Tope focused on simplicity.
That constraint became Calendly’s greatest strength.

Tope Awotona’s story is proof that success isn’t about avoiding failure it’s about learning from it.

So, the next time you face rejection, remember Tope Awotona’’s journey.

Your greatest comeback could be just one idea away.

#TechStories
#calendly
#tope

Last week, Phyna posted a video where she was dancing in a bikini with Sheila, the ex-wife of Isreal. This led to Isreal sliding into her DMs. Today, Phyna shared their conversation, which showed Isreal advising her not to be friends with Sheila because, in his words, Sheila is a bad person. He went on to say that anyone who sleeps with her will "kpai" because she hasn’t returned his dowry, as required by Edo tradition. Phyna, in turn, subtly hinted that Sheila had moved on and no one had died from being around her.

Phyna pushed back, saying that Sheila had already returned the dowry, but Isreal argued it wasn’t done properly. Phyna then advised him to move on, pointing out that Sheila was done with him. Isreal insisted he wasn’t interested in her anymore, yet Phyna pressed him, asking why he still cared about how she was living her life.

Isreal, however, had another proposition for Phyna. He claimed that a wealthy man wanted to marry her, but only if she agreed to cut ties with Sheila. Phyna made it clear that she already had a man and wasn’t interested.

In the end, both Phyna and Isreal took the drama public by posting the conversation online, revealing Isreal’s phone number.

What’s your take on all this?

On this day in 2016, Microsoft made its biggest move at the time: acquiring LinkedIn for $26.2 billion.

The platform kept its name and CEO, Jeff Weiner, but became central to Satya Nadella’s broader vision to push Microsoft beyond software and into the heart of professional life. While the Activision Blizzard deal eventually surpassed it in size, LinkedIn remains one of Microsoft’s most strategic assets—fueling its growth in enterprise tools, cloud services, and AI-powered learning.

Today, it has over 1.2 billion members and draws nearly 1.8 billion visits each month. It counts over 234 million users in the U.S. alone. Nearly 43% of all consumers have a LinkedIn profile, and one in four engage with brand content daily. Most users are 25–34, with Gen Z quickly joining as they enter the workforce.

Almost a decade after the deal, LinkedIn has grown far beyond a digital résumé—it’s where careers are built and business happens.

(h/t Sprout Social, Statista)

Are Brands Shortchanging The Southeast?

We pride ourselves on having a large market in the Southeast. Numbers and statistics support this claim. When I was in the telecom industry, Onitsha was a big revenue center for the telcos.

However, we cannot say that brands benefiting from the huge Southeast market have shown enough good faith in their social investments decision-making and this is baffling.

Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt usually receive a large chunk of corporate sponsorships from major Nigerian brands, to the neglect of the Southeast market, which can be likened to the goose that lays the golden egg.

We once had MTN as the title sponsor of Enugwu-Ukwu Igu-Aro and the other associated festivals. That relationship stopped and no other brand has bothered to throw their muscle behind the rich cultural fest. Globacom sponsors the Onitsha Ofala Festival. However, other brands are yet to step in as co-sponsors to help blow the festival the same way they have done with the Ojude Oba festival in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun state.

These fliers are just a few examples of how other brands have helped to activate the Ojude-Oba festival.

Organizing world-class festivals requires a lot of resources which only brands can provide. We people of the Southeast are demanding more from brands that are generating tons of revenue from the Southeast. Fair is fair.

We are simply asking for a re-think of the corporate social investments (CSI) strategies of major Nigerian brands to also favour the Southeast which also generates the revenues for them.

The argument that insecurity in the Southeast is one of the reasons why brands chose to stay away from CSI investments is not completely true. Insecurity may have impacted social life but people are still making calls and using data in the Southeast so the telcos can’t complain. On the Mondays of sit-at-home, I can bet that data and call usages increase as people idle away at home. On weekends, and even weekdays, bars and nightclubs are still banging so beverage companies are smiling. The financial services sector is thriving despite the security challenges. POS operators are almost lined up inch after inch in our communities. Banks are still declaring trillions of Naira in profits.

During festive periods such as Easter, New Yam, and Christmas seasons when these festivals take place. It’s choc-a-block and bumper-to-bumper traffic in the Southeast. So a bit more CSI gaze towards the Southeast by the brands won’t be a bad idea. The tokenism approach should be discarded because it’s good business for them.

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Health experts have raised concerns over the high rate of consumption of fast foods such as shawarma, instant noodles, sugary sodas, and processed snacks among Nigerians, warning that such an unhealthy lifestyle could lead to liver damage.

Folklore music star Sir Mike Ejeagha has passed away. The man that sang gwogwongwogwo . He was the man Brainjotter gifted 2m naira last year. Thank God he enjoyed life a bit before he passed.

May his soul find rest

Regina should steer clear of this drama.

Angela and Mercy go way back—about two decades, in fact. Regina was barely out of diapers when all this started, so it’s unlikely she can grasp the depth of whatever’s simmering between these two seasoned actresses.

Mercy’s career took flight in 2004 when eight of Nollywood’s top stars—names like Omotola, Genevieve, RMD, and Jim Iyke—were temporarily blacklisted for demanding higher pay. That one-year suspension gave rising talents like Mercy Johnson, Ini Edo, and Stephanie Okereke a golden opportunity to shine. Before that, they were mostly stuck playing side characters or friends of the lead.

Adding to Mercy’s luck, Genevieve didn’t return to acting until 2006 when she starred in *Girls Cot*. By that time, Mercy had already stolen the spotlight. She wasn’t just skilled—she had the figure and on-screen charm that fit the era’s favorite roles: queens, village belles, university girls, and the dangerous beauty with secrets.

However, with more fame came more friction. Her first public altercation was in 2010 with Patience Ozokwor. Witnesses claimed Patience criticized a costume and threw subtle shade, saying she wasn’t about to wear something “Mercy-style.” Mercy heard and went off.

The following year, she reportedly butted heads with Mike Ezuruonye. She’d arrived late to a shoot, and Mike called her out on it, reminding her of the humility she once had. That didn’t sit well with Mercy, who allegedly refused to rehearse lines with him afterward.

2011 was also the year she married Prince Odianosen Okojie, even though he was still legally married to someone else at the time. That marriage added more fuel to the bad-girl image that followed her.

Soon after, Mercy made headlines again for allegedly smashing a crew member’s phone. The story goes that the young woman had been recording a romantic scene, and Mercy suspected the footage was meant for gossip blogs as “proof” of infidelity.

(Back then, I was on Mercy’s side. Nigerian gossip bloggers were wild. They made life hell for stars like Tonto, Ini, and Genevieve.)

As Mercy began having kids, she slowly withdrew from the spotlight—but her old controversies kept resurfacing. In 2019, Sonia Ogiri spoke up about how Mercy had allegedly blocked her from landing acting roles. Sonia said she even had to beg Mercy for forgiveness. But by then, Mercy had rebranded and was loved by the public, so Sonia got dragged online for daring to speak out.

In 2020, Davido dropped a cryptic but cutting comment under Eniola Badmus’ congratulatory post for Mercy and her husband’s new baby. “Wicked people… congrats though,” he wrote. When asked about it, he added, “Nothing. Just evil set of people.” Neither Mercy nor her husband addressed the remarks, though he did later deny the baby news.

Then in 2021, Mercy’s daughter, Purity, was allegedly targeted by a teacher who confessed that her grudge was with Mercy, not the child. No one ever disclosed what sparked that resentment.

Now in 2025, Mercy is visibly slimmer, and fans are beginning to question if her weight loss is really by choice. On June 3rd, Angela Okorie went live on Instagram and claimed that Mercy is seriously ill. She urged her to seek forgiveness from those she’d wronged.

Today, Regina Daniels has jumped into the fray to defend Mercy, whom she calls her godmother. She’s dragging Angela left and right online. But Angela is unmoved—she maintains her advice stands and says Mercy needs to make peace with her past.

Honestly, Regina should sit this one out.

Angela may be controversial, but she’s been around long enough to know things Regina doesn’t. It would be wiser for Regina to focus on her own journey—especially with a baby on the way (yes, Ned said so in his anniversary post)—and let the veterans handle their unresolved issues.

This isn't her fight.

The whole situation is complicated and layered, which is why those who witnessed the beginning of it all are keeping quiet and watching from the sidelines.

David Coote the Premier League referee who was sacked now works for Evri as a delivery person to make aliving after drugs got him banned from football.

“I want to get on with my life. I’m trying to move forwards and regain a sense of responsibility and purpose. The job is keeping me busy and occupied; it’s not a new long-term career.”, reports The Sun

Say no to drugs

I saw a video of Veekee James making a wedding dress few hours to a wedding party simply because the one she had initially planned to wear didn’t come out as expected.

It was an orange lovely dress.

I had to watch the video thrice to see what was actually wrong with that dress she rejected for the other.

..puffed up space at the lower zip region and an uneven stitch in a slit….

I eventually saw what she was unsatisfied about.

Now, any normal Nigerian lady would have said in that lovely dress, “It’s not that bad.” And family and friends would have concurred, “It’s not even visible, unless the person comes close. Wear your thing jare.”

BUT THEN! This was VEE KEE JAMES.

Not the Ajegunle VeeKee — the Forbes VJ Brand.

When it comes to fashion, she knows now that it is no longer only about her, but now about the BRAND.

She had an image to protect and a brand to represent. It had to be excellence or nothing. And excellence never goes for better when there can be best. Never condones “manage it” when there can be perfection.

Anyone could have easily walked up to her in the party and seen that — it would have been sore. And we all know how life happens, the day you decide to manage a thing is the day it gets out unashamedly.

So, that was a beautiful value displayed there.

That video alone gained lots of tractions. It just gave people more reason to trust in that brand — if she can choose perfection in the last minute and beat it hands down, then I can trust her with my look and fit for I know now that VeeKee would do anything to make sure it fits!

You see that value?

That’s what every one should bring to the table when they are called.

In your business…in your life…in every area your prioritize .

It should be excellence or nothing.

Oh, this may be the reason why she trimmed down. Guys need to be considerate.

....

I had a cancer scare and I had my thyroid removed. And I was told I was gonna live with medication all the days of my life. We kept sinking and we had to understand that this is new us . And I was given a timeline that I can't miss my medication - Mercy Johnson..