This profile has not been claimed and data may not be accurate.
72nd percentile
59th percentile
Founder Matrix
Most Complimentary
Credibility
Domain Expertise · 91th percentile
- Wikipedia page exists for Shola Akinlade, confirming notable public profile.
Founder score
- 99%Probability of being accurate (99%)Y Combinator Winter 2016 alum via Paystack.
- 99%Probability of being accurate (99%)Paystack was acquired by Stripe for approximately $200M, representing a successful exit.
- 99%Probability of being accurate (99%)Wikipedia page exists for Shola Akinlade, confirming notable public profile.
- 98%Probability of being accurate (98%)Current co-founder and CEO of Paystack, active since August 2015.
- 97%Probability of being accurate (97%)Paystack was co-founded with Ezra Olubi, confirming a co-founder relationship.
- 90%Probability of being accurate (90%)GitHub account @shollsman is identified as Shola Akinlade's account.
- 90%Probability of being accurate (90%)GitHub account @shollsman has been active for approximately 12 years, created in 2013.
- 88%Probability of being accurate (88%)Paystack raised $211.8M in total funding across 9 prior funding rounds.
- 88%Probability of being accurate (88%)GitHub account @shollsman is dormant with no public repo push activity detected.
- 85%Probability of being accurate (85%)Past founder of Klein Devort, a software development and consulting company.
- 80%Probability of being accurate (80%)Paystack (paystack.com) is ranked #28,008 in the Majestic Million.
Investor score
- 80%Probability of being accurate (80%)Has made at least 4 known angel investments including Casava, Earnipay, Chowdeck, and Norebase.
- 78%Probability of being accurate (78%)Publicly identified as an angel investor in African tech startups.
What you likely need
Shola Akinlade is a high-profile serial founder who built and successfully exited Paystack via a landmark $200M acquisition by Stripe, cementing his status as one of Africa's most prominent tech entrepreneurs. His current focus appears to be continuing to lead Paystack under Stripe while also making angel investments in African startups and pursuing ventures like football club ownership. To maximize his impact, he should leverage his unique position as a proven African fintech exit to amplify both his investing platform and any new ventures he is building.
Are these your current priorities?
We will tune and customize your Founder Festival experience to make sure you get invited to the events that would be most valuable to you.
- fundraisingFormalize your angel investing activity into a structured syndicate or micro-fund to attract LP capital and increase deal flow beyond your current 4 known investments.
- positioningPublicly announce any new venture you are building post-Paystack to capitalize on your name recognition and attract top-tier co-founders and early customers.
- introsLeverage your YC W16 alumni status to source deals and co-investors for your angel portfolio, particularly for African founders going through YC.
- tacticalReactivate your GitHub account with public repositories to reinforce your technical credibility as a builder, since your account currently shows no public activity.
- positioningPublish a detailed post-mortem or founder essay on building and selling Paystack to position yourself as the definitive voice on African fintech infrastructure.
- introsUse your unique insider position at Stripe (via the acquisition) to broker partnerships between Stripe and emerging African fintech startups in your angel portfolio.
- positioningDevelop a clear public narrative around your football club acquisition (Aarhus Fremad) that ties it to your African talent development mission, to attract sponsors and media attention.