Close The Dream Gap: Miracle Entrepreneur Mentors With Purpose
Miracle Olatunji, 20, is an author, entrepreneur and innovator.
“My name is Miracle, because I am one.”
Miracle Olatunji, 20, and a sophomore at Northeastern University in Boston, has launched more startup ideas and done more to mentor others, than most people twice her age. And her name comes from the fact that her mother was bedridden when she was pregnant with her in Nigeria, and was told her baby would not survive.
“@Mirolatunji, 20, is an author, entrepreneur and innovator. “My name is Miracle, because I am one,” she says. #GirlBoss #WomenEntrepreneurs”
Author of the 2019 book, "Purpose: How to Live and Lead with Impact," Olatunji says her declaration of a miracle is what she wrote as her senior year quote in her Charter School yearbook in Wilmington, Delaware. By then, she had already formed a few organizations.
Read more from Gloria Feldt on finding your purpose
Born in Nigeria, Olatunji moved with her parents and older brother to the U.S. in 2001, first to New York, then to Delaware, where her father was nurse practitioner. Their family expanded to include three more younger sisters.
“@Mirolatunji, 20, has launched more #startup ideas and done more to mentor others, than most people twice her age. #WomenLeaders”
At 17, as a sophomore in high school, as part of a local pitch and entrepreneurship program, the Diamond Challenge, she launched the website, OpportuniMe, to help other teens find opportunities for their ideas in the form of funding, mentorship and other programs.
“At 17, @Mirolatunji launched the website, #OpportuniMe, to help other teens find opportunities for their ideas in the form of funding, #mentorship and other programs.”
Already a standout in the high school of fewer than 1,000 students, Olatunji says OpprtuniMe was not her first idea.
“My friends and I had idea to improve driver’s ed, because of a lot of us were terrible drivers.” That didn’t go far.
Mentored by local entrepreneurs James Massaquoi, who founded 360 VR Technology, Zach Jones, the creator of Dual School, as well as Dr. Brandi Baldwin, CEO of Millennial Ventures, Olatunji says, “I wondered why there aren’t more high school students learning about startups,” she says. “I saw the information gap and created the data base of opportunities for students in STEM. Business, the arts.”
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She created the website for OpprtuniMe herself and is now rebranding it. Boston magazine wrote recently that she is “recognized as ‘Youth Entrepreneur of the Year’ by StartUP Africa, listed in The Tempest’s ‘40 Women to Watch,’ featured in Forbes, and most recently, selected as one of The Root’s 2019 Young Futurists and Game-changers. She started a UNICEF chapter in high school to donate thousands of dollars worth of headbands to cancer patients across the nation through Headbands of Hope.”
She has also been part of Mattel’s social media campaign for Barbie’s, “You can be anything” marketing push.
Olatunji’s entrepreneurial spirit may have come naturally as she says her grandmother ran a small store in Nigeria. “It was basically like a Target,” she says.
“@Mirolatunji ‘s entrepreneurial spirit may have come naturally as she says her grandmother ran a small store in Nigeria. #WomenEntrepreneurs”
Interestingly, according to World Bank, for female entrepreneurs, “The biggest gain is in Nigeria, where newly registered firms are 17 percentage points more likely to have a female owner than among the stock of all existing firms.”
The World Bank reports, “Between 2014 and 2018, among 44 countries with data, female participation in business ownership is higher in the flow of the new firms than in the stock of existing firms in only 12 countries.”
Read more in take The Lead on female teen leaders
And while Olatunji has been a successful entrepreneur since her teens, “A 2018 study by MIT found that the average age of startup founders is around 42, and the average age of entrepreneurs who founded high-growth companies is 45. The study also found that 20-something founders have the lowest likelihood of starting a company with a successful exit,” reports Business Insider.
In 2019, Babson College reported in its annual entrepreneurship report, that “Across all age groups, more entrepreneurs start because they see an opportunity to form a new venture. In 2018, the highest level of necessity-driven entrepreneurship at 2.3% occurred in the 45-54 age group. The next highest necessity-driven entrepreneurship rate of 1.2% is found in the 18-24 age group.” Overall, entrepreneurs ages 18-24 make up 13.2 percent of all entrepreneurs in the U.S.
Now a sophomore at Northeastern, where she is a finance and accounting major, Olatunji is interning at Andersen in financial accounting, and working from home, as campus is also closed for the year because of COVID-19.
With many other ideas for new books, startups, ventures and mentoring, Olatunji says she is connected to having purpose, and leading with impact.
“With many other ideas for new books, #startups, ventures and #mentoring, @Mirolatunji says she is connected to having purpose, and leading with impact. ”
Read more in Take The Lead about Leadership Power Tools Workshops
She says like many people, she asks, “Why am I here? What is my purpose? People are always wondering what they’re supposed to do in the world.”
And for the record, yes, Olatunji has heard people dismiss her for being a young immigrant woman of color.
“I tell people don’t let your age or your gender be a barrier.”
“@Mirolatunji has heard people dismiss her for being a young immigrant #woc. “I tell people don’t let your age or your gender be a barrier.” #WomenInBusiness”
Indeed, according to Biz2Credit, the average annual revenues of women-owned business rose 68% in 2019, to $384,359 from $228,578 in 2018, according to the annual study of 30,000 women-owned companies by Biz2Credit. There are now 12.3 million women-owned businesses in the U.S., according to a report by American Express and SCORE.
“I have experienced a lot,” she says. “I ask what is my why? My why is to be able to help people reach their full potential. My whole purpose is to close the dream gap,” Olatunji says.
And while her purpose is to help others fulfill their dreams, Olatunji of course has a universe of dreams of her own.
“And while her purpose is to help others fulfill their dreams, @Mirolatunji of course has a universe of dreams of her own. #Ambition”
“I would like to keep creating, be a part of new ventures and campaigns, learn more about business, write more books and speak to young people,” she says.
Her advice to entrepreneurs of all ages?
“Your mindset is important. You get the message form society that women of color can’t do this, it is all about not internalizing negative messages.”
“@Mirolatunji ‘s #advice to #entrepreneurs of all ages? “Your mindset is important. You get the message from society that #WOC can’t do this, it is all about not internalizing negative messages.””
That is what she and her roommate called, “internalized misogyny.” She explains,”Those are structural standards that impact our perception of ourselves.”
Working in finance in rooms that almost always all white and all male, Olatunji says. “I have the affirmation, ‘I belong here.’”
“Working in finance in rooms that almost always all white and all male, @Mirolatunji says. “I have the affirmation, ‘I belong here.’” #YouBelong”
