A year ago, we started DES Ally with a vision and an unshakable belief that Nigerian schools deserve better. That belief became EduTab, that dream became a company, and that idea became our everyday reality.

In my first year as CEO and co-founder, I have learned lessons that no business book could teach. Some days were triumphant, while others were terrifying. Yet through it all, our vision remained clear: to simplify school management for educators who are already doing the hardest work of all, teaching and shaping the next generation.

One of my most significant lessons? Choose a co-founder who believes as deeply as you do. Ope says that I inspire him, but the truth is I draw from his drive every day. I couldn’t have done this without him. Although we have different strengths, we are united by the same passion.

Sales is tough. Building a product is tough. However, if you understand your product and its potential, you will inspire the right people to help sell it. This leads me to one of the most unexpected truths: Human Resources is not just about hiring good people; it’s about building a team you don’t want to disappoint; people who push you forward without even realizing it.

Our first hire didn’t work out, and that’s on us. As a startup, totally bootstrapped and trying to make sense of our own chaos while onboarding someone new, we couldn’t provide the structure he needed. We didn’t yet have the systems in place to support his growth. He wasn’t the wrong person; we just weren’t the right company yet. That experience humbled us.

However, we learned from it, and when we hired again, we hit the jackpot.

Daniel, our resourceful frontend developer, has brought clarity, structure, and an incredible work ethic to our codebase. He joined us at a chaotic time and still managed to ground our product with solid UI work.

Our backend? That has been a labour of love, powered by family. Radeke, my sister, and Ayo, Ope’s brother, have worked on our backend voluntarily. They have invested their time, skills, and ideas into something they believed in simply because they believed in us. Their support has been silent, steady, and incredibly powerful.

And then there’s Peace, my Executive Assistant, but she has taken on so much more. She filled gaps across the team—customer support, operations, content, wherever there was a need, Peace stepped in. Her timeliness, creativity, and willingness to speak up made me strive to improve my efforts every single day.

I’ve also learned that meetings are not overrated. Sometimes, the simple pressure of our weekly syncs pushed me to finish a task because I didn’t want to show up empty-handed in front of my team.

You will learn on the job and will feel scared. You can imagine your success, but nothing can truly prepare you for it. Still, you show up. You keep building.

Today, DES Ally turns one year old. While we are proud of how far we’ve come, we are even more excited about where we are going.

We’re building Africa’s smartest school management system. We’re helping schools collect fees effortlessly, generate report cards in minutes, track attendance, manage teachers, and communicate better with parents. Soon, we’ll also help teachers generate lesson plans using AI, automate their workload, and focus on what matters most – students.

If you believe in a future where education is powered by innovation, we invite you to share in this dream. Partner with us. Use our tools. Refer a school. Or simply cheer us on.

Because DES Ally isn’t just a company, it’s a movement. And we’re only just getting started.