“10 Questions”- Emay Enemokwu

In our ‘10 Questions’ series, KBS caught up with Emay Enemokwu, a BSc Accounting and Management graduate and founder of the fashion brand Jehu-cal.

Tell us about yourself 

My name is Emay Enemokwu but I’m more commonly known as EMAY4K, I’m a proud Nigerian who studied Accounting and Management with a year in Industry graduating in June 2019 with an upper 2:1 (lowkey still mad I missed out on a first by a couple percent).

Describe yourself in 3 words

Risk-taker, tactical, focused

How did studying at Kent Business School equip you with the skills you needed for the world of work?

• I started Jehu-cal during my first year of university and after a few meetings about my lack of attendance to lectures in second year due to the growing success of Jehu-cal, it was suggested for me to join the BSUJ programme.
• The BSUJ helped me to take Jehu-cal from a hobby to a business that has grown to the point where I now have my own accountant for it and employees.

What were the highlights of your course?

• Being able to go lectures in the morning, learn a new theory and immediately put it into practice as soon as I got home
• Being the first student to do a placement year working for myself, without this year out I probably would have quit Jehu-cal

Describe  your experience of the Business Start-Up Journey 

I came 5th place overall so I’m pretty salty about that hahaha (joking).

I was really lucky because I got to meet Adam and Rebecca Smith who were the best mentors I could ask for and played an essential role in the growth of Jehu-cal during my time at Kent and who continue to do so. I also got to meet Daniel Rubin which enabled me to get an internship I probably would never have gotten on my own

What would you say to someone wanting to start their own business? 

1. University is the best chance you’ll get to network with the widest range of people, people come from all over the world, don’t waste that opportunity by spending your whole university life partying. You could meet your new customer or new business partner at university, some of my first graphic designers were students at my uni.
2. Also, when you graduate, the pressure to get a job is insane so starting a business post-grad isn’t ideal
3. Your business can take you all over the world and put you in rooms you’d never imagine, I gave a talk at the House of Commons in a tracksuit I made to MPs and was on BBC TV last year summer.

Any advice to somebody thinking of coming to Kent Business School?

Simply put, I didn’t realise how great my experience at Kent was until I started telling my friends at other universities the opportunities I had.

What are your biggest achievements in your career so far?

1. Got 2 of my family members featured in major publications for modelling Jehu-cal such as Vogue, Complex, Highsnobiety and more
2. Worked with Nike multiple times and have an ongoing relationship with them
3. Gave a talk at House of Commons in a tracksuit I made d. Been able to develop a fully sustainable hoodie and tee shirt e. Jehu-cal had its London fashion week debut in June 2019

What is the biggest risk you have taken with Jehu-Cal? 

This is tough because there are 2 big risks I’ve taken that are equal in risk but differ due to the value

1. The first risk was actually starting Jehu-cal because I took my last £1000, invested it all into starting Jehu-cal and quit my job.
2. The second risk was graduating from my degree and deciding to invest £14000 into production of a new product because I wanted to take Jehu-cal to a whole new level

What is the next big step for Jehu-Cal? 

Never let anyone know your next move before its done. Just make sure you’re following @Jehu_cal on Instagram and you can see the next big steps as they unfold in real-time.

 

If you would like to be featured in our ‘10 Questions’ series, please get in touch with a member of the Marketing team kbsmarketing@kent.ac.uk