Tikue Anazodo, the CEO of Kudos Technologies, joins Forbes senior writer Jabari Young on The Enterprise Zone at the Nasdaq MarketSite. During the interview, Anazodo discussed how he built the shopping assistant startup, raising $20 million, growing up in Nigeria, and the future of AI.<br /><br />Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1<br /><br />0:00 - Introduction: The Smart Wallet That Maximizes Your Rewards<br />1:44 - How Kudos Works: Online, In-Store, and on the App<br />2:48 - What Data Does Kudos Collect?<br />3:37 - The Intersection of FinTech and Commerce<br />4:47 - Addressing the "Psychological Traps" of Credit Card Rewards<br />7:06 - What Our Data Shows About Your Shopping Habits<br />8:54 - My Biggest Surprise: Our Core Customers Are in Middle America<br />11:20 - My Biggest Negative Surprise: The Dangers of America's Debt Culture<br />13:30 - My Journey: From Nigeria to Columbia University<br />14:48 - The Biggest Misconception Americans Have About Africa<br />18:28 - My Path Through Microsoft & Google<br />21:18 - Navigating Silicon Valley as a Black Entrepreneur<br />23:25 - Why We're Not Hiring Right Now (The Answer is AI)<br />26:22 - The 2 Keys to Raising Money in This Market<br />28:50 - The #1 Trait Every Entrepreneur Needs to Succeed<br />31:40 - What is Agentic AI? The Future is All About Context<br />33:14 - The 3 Books That Taught Me About Persistence<br />35:28 - The Difference Between a Good and a GREAT Rewards Program<br /><br />Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:<br /><br />https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript<br /><br />Stay Connected<br />Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com<br />Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes<br />Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes<br />Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes<br />More From Forbes: http://forbes.com<br /><br />Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.
