Face to face with Tubayo’s Boris Mugisha.

We have a conversation with Boris Mugisha about his experience working with one of the Pearl’s prominent start ups, Tubayo and get a peek into his personal life as well.

Walking into the Tubayo boardroom, I spot Boris sitting, typing away on his desktop. As Chief of Operations at the tech-travel start up, it’s naturally expected that he’s got tons of emails to send. He slides it to the side and looks up and we get into the interview.

Q: How are you feeling today, Mr. Boris?

A: I feel good, blessed and happy to be alive. Today is an amazing day.

Q: How would you describe your Tubayo Experience? What does Tubayo represent to you?

A: To me, Tubayo is an organisation that I see has a lot of potential in changing the current community especially around us the young people, and also showing us that we can build something that is great and remarkable, which can impact millions of people. It’s definitely going to stand the test of time and will inspire generations of young entrepreneurs to know that they can also be great and do great things.

Q: Where you see Tubayo today, did you envision this when you started?

A: Haa, my goodness. I’ve worked in Tubayo for three years now. I was actually calculating the number of hours I’ve been with Tubayo this week, and it’s 7500 hours invested in Tubayo and as the law of mastery dictates, there’s about 2500 to go. This just shows how much we have invested in this and that’s just for me; there’s a team of 6 other people. Clearly, I didn’t envision this; I knew this is something that was going to be big, to change the very world we live in, and the question was how do we achieve that? One of our goals has been to have 25,000 hosts actively earning from our platform and this has come with a sacrifice of all these hours. We’re not yet there but I see us getting there.

Q: So one can definitely say that the investment has truly been worth it and the profits have been reaped?

A: Of course, it is and has been. I mean, A person of my background, many would say I should be in what they consider other top Organisations in the country but seeing my purpose as an individual and how much I want to fulfil that purpose, I took this journey through Tubayo because I know I can have the chance and opportunity to express this purpose.

Q: You speak of your background, could you give us a peek into this?

A: I grew up in Entebbe, studied at Entebbe Primary, Entebbe Education Centre, did OLevel at St. Mary’s College Kisubi, then went on to A-level at Kings College Budo. I passed highly, went to Makerere University Business School and did BBA, and there I worked with Ministry of Finance, then also Bank Of Uganda. I’ve also gone ahead to study further and got qualifications in financial modelling and now I’m currently at Tubayo seeing how to make Uganda greater than it is right now.

With this background, society dictates that after school, go after the “prestigious institutes” and the like.

Q: Having been exposed in these financial ops and institutions, and now you’re incharge of Operations in Tubayo, would you say it has all contributed to your position in the company and the Tubayo Culture?

A: Well, position and culture, I believe are two different fundamental principles of an organisation. The position, you obviously contribute your value and culture is the roots of an organisation. My background is what made me who I am to my position right now in the company, and that’s why you come to Tubayo and you have a feel of our culture like a positive attitude, the love to work with other people in our community like you, how do we empower other people around us because the business we are building actually isn’t about us. We’ll tell you Tubayo earned about 260M in revenue last year and 80% goes to the hosts.

So my background built me and made me the gentleman I am right now. Someone who appreciates hard work, loves people and also believes in the positivity in people. As head of ops, it’s also my duty to involve my team and the people in the Tubayo culture. Our positions are about the value we bring and that’s why you’ll see we are all spread out in our different roles. It’s not highly about what you studied but what you love and how you use that to bring value to the organisation.

Q: You’ve been with Tubayo for three years, did you join from the start or along the way?

A: I came along the way in August, 2019 after I got to know Namanya Brian, the founder and CEO. At first I also didn’t understand it, seeing how tech and travel were coming together, but I like to try things I don’t understand, you know go in there and figure it out along the way. I started with the trips, taking people around for tours. I went to places for my first time but you’d think I live there as I’d stay up reading about them so that I know what I’m saying the next day. Suddenly, I started investing more time into it and my mind was being more open to what I was involved in. I asked myself important questions like what Tubayo is, what I’m really working on as well as what potential it had. When I understood that, as well as how it played into my potential as an individual on this planet, I saw that this company is a channel to achieve it. I committed full time and you won’t find me anywhere else.

If you want me to host you on a trip actually, I’d bill you a crazy fee. (laughs) To get me out of my office, would have to be a real valuable trip. But… to hack that, you can book my experience on Tubayo which I charge per person $40, and that’s a city tour of Kampala.

Q: Would you say Tubayo has changed you completely as a person, or contributed to your personal growth journey?

A: Yohhh. I keep telling people this; “You see Tubayo, and do appreciate its value as a company but that’s just a drop in the ocean because once you get inside and to understand this movement, you might even want to leave your job. and it’s not like we’ll say we’re going to pay you more money but because it’s an opportunity to serve your purpose.” Purpose is the drive and reason while we’re here. Tubayo has positively impacted me so much. Meeting so many people, I wouldn’t have even imagined meeting. You meet in the morning and come back in the evening and you’re friends, yet they paid to have an experience which you’re hosting.

We have travellers that have followed and joined us on our journey, because they’ve seen our positive attitude, love and drive we have so they also get inspired to pursue and start their own interests and business. That’s priceless to me.

As a start up, of course it’s been a bumpy journey but it has contributed to me becoming a better Christian as I learnt to rely on the one constant in life and that’s God, and understanding His love and mercy for us. We’re grateful to all those who trusted us all the way, from the website to now what we see is an app. We can even change currencies! That’s probably not a big deal to most people, but to us it’s growth, overwhelming growth. This journey has also taught me to believe in myself. I turn 25 today and to see that we have created employment opportunities for over 1000 people is almost unbelievable. To be my age, and to steadily move in such a direction encourages me to keep believing in the greatness within us.

I have also become more empathetic and choose to understand everyone around me. To choose to always see the positive aspect in every situation and individual, no matter what.

Q: we’ve been lucky to experience some of Tubayo’s growth and have seen more of the positives broadcasted, but what for you has been a challenge on this journey?

A: first of all, about all else, I am an entrepreneur. Once you start this journey, we have our friend, CK Japheth, who always tell us, “if you haven’t started, just don’t start but once you’ve started, you can’t stop.” In that, we also stay motivated to stay focused, regardless of what look like challenges on our path. I don’t think things really hit us, I mean of course for a few minutes, but you remember where we are actually going. Just a case in point, if we’re building a house, brick by brick and we’ve laid 500 out of 1000 bricks; and let’s say in the morning, one of them is on the ground. We don’t cry over the 1, we pick it up, put in place and keep building. That’s how we look at it here so no situation has really blown us away. Initially, we had some challenges with hosts, someone would book a home and they call that the host has stepped out, but now we learnt how to navigate these situations.

Q: It’s inspiring to see how far the positive attitude has contributed to the growth, and for you as Boris, how did you know, Tubayo was going to work, when did you say “This is it?”

A: when we got a paying customer. We had a shitty website and barely any experiences but when they paid, I said this is it. It’s going to work.

It was a trip to Lemala Wild Waters lodge and they trusted us to take them there. Also when some of my friends, left their jobs and joined the team to make the dream work. This showed that what we are on is really going to blow up and we we’re on the right track.

Q: The growth has been quite exponential considering you’re not even 5 years into the market and the stats are positive for a Ugandan start up, we’ve also seen mentions of Mars 2030, what’s that story?

A: Oh yes. The feeling we get first is gratitude to show that the hard work everyone is putting in is paying off; and that people are watching and supporting. To have numbers like that, it’s people who believe in us and it fuels us for the future. Because if they’ve believed in us before we opened in all districts in Uganda, what more when we reach out to all villages? To see hosts relying on us for their livelihood also motivates us to go harder.

About Mars, great projects have been done before and this inspires us to also be great. We’re in 2022 and someone will read this in 2030; They might forget that we also started from the roots, with a dream. Just an example, the Kabaka’s palace in Bulange, those buildings were constructed a few years back, and those that made them are even dead but it stands on and tells the story, being a part of something like Mars inspires us to leave a legacy. It sounds impossible but that’s what turns us on more, and pushes us to keep showing up. When people think something is impossible, that’s when you have the greatest chances of making something happen. 2025 won’t find me roaming on the streets of Tubayo, I’ll be looking at where the launch pad will be, which engineering team we’ll have and the like so that we’re ready for 2030 when Africans are in a Tubayo Home on Mars.

Q: As Boris, what do you do to grow as an entrepreneur and head of Operations at Tubayo?

A: I cry. (Laughter) This journey is crazy and all but every morning, I wake up, pray and after, at times, I’ll do my work outs; depending on how I feel. Before I step into the shower, I decide that the day is going to be great, and after freshening up, I have breakfast because you know, an entrepreneur’s day isn’t constant, lunch is not a given when you might have meetings so make sure you eat. I get to office at 8:00 AM, I’m actually a workaholic and love my work so much, I’m one of those guys who can work Monday to Sunday. When I get to office, I make my to-do list, with a time allowance for each of the items and ensure that I’ve accomplished most or all of it at the end of the work day.

At the end of the day, I make sure I’ve achieved in my key performance areas which include revenue, partners and even education, am I learning something today? Then also spiritual growth, so I either read the bible or listen to a podcast. I move around as well, meet people and network.

On the weekend, I ensure to book a Tubayo Experience at least one or two a month, as these experiences are run by our fellow youth. I support their hustle while also supporting Tubayo. I love my life really.

Q: As we conclude this session, what’s the Tubayo culture? What’s it all about?

A: One of the major things once you enter the Tubayo doors, it’s positive attitude. Towards everything. Two, find ways of empowering the people around you, to find ways to give back to the community. How do you build something that’s going to help the people around you? Then three, we believe in love as the greatest gift that God has given us. We ensure to love ourselves, love what we do and do what we love. The culture is just full of energy. I have the most energy on the team and the guys try to keep up, and they’re doing a great job. We are action and solution oriented,and definitely always look to solve whatever matters come to us. It’s an amazing space to be in. I’d recommend you to actually come work with us for a day.

Q: Oh that’s definitely on my to-do list, I’m sure it will be such an experience. You spoke of investors, how would you say the investment culture in Uganda is setup since there’s a lot of grey area about it?

A: Well first, when you start an Organisation or business, always remember that it’s build for profits so keep that in mind as you operate. Minimise the freebies, and crazy discounts unless of course you have the financial capacities for it. Make sure you have dedicated paying customers. Then about the investors, ask yourself if they’re in line with your vision, if they are going where you want to go, it’s not about getting anyone with money. So if you get someone who you know they want to see Tubayo going beyond the borders, across Africa and having over 2,000,000 people booking experiences on Tubayo. Also do background checks and get to know who you’re involved with.

Another key thing we forget are partnerships, brand affiliations and the like help us grow and become better as businesses. We have grown with everyone around us. Not everything has to be transactional, there’s so much value in seeing how to move forward together.

Q: How are you feeling about 25? Any goals or plans?

A: Haaa, I’m definitely excited. I’m meeting my friends, I have such a big circle so I broke it down in different squads so I give each of them about three hours, tubayo, as you already know.

For this new age, I’m happy because it means I’m getting closer to my success goals, closer to Mars, closer to 60 Billion. We have this goal to create impact that is worth 60 Billion dollars across Africa. I know we are getting closer. I’m eager to read more books, to grow spiritually, mentally and as a person in general. I’m looking forward to getting married at 26, start a family, haaa, you guys I’ve given you hot information, but basically it’s a year of growth and evolution for me.

Team: We’re definitely happy for Boris and wish him well on his new journey around the sun.

Time is a resource. When you start your journey, go for the goals that are going to make you win longterm. A ten year goal, is bigger than a ten month goal. Even if it rains in the fifth month, you’d know you have 9 years and seven months to go. Keep going as whatever you set your mind to can be achieved.

Boris Mugisha, COO, Tubayo.

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