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Ep. 611 - Caliza Head of Finance Awa Kone - Make Sure Success Does Not Become Failure
Description
What does it take to build a global team from scratch when a pandemic hits weeks into your new job?
In this episode, our co-host, Lindsay Smith, sits down with Awa Kone, Head of Finance at Caliza. Awa previously served as COO of Corridor and as global head of operations at Flutterwave.
Awa shares why she never expects the fires to stop, how she works with a CEO without being a yes-woman, and what it takes to keep a culture intact across continents.
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Sponsored by:
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Timestamped Highlights
02:44 Early Life in Ivory Coast & Actuarial Career
06:42 Joining Flutterwave During COVID
08:09 Building Remote Teams in a Pandemic
12:29 Scaling Infrastructure Without Breaking
14:30 Working With the CEO as Second in Command
17:56 Fire Prevention vs Firefighting in Operations
19:54 Different Titles, Same Core Role
25:30 Maintaining Culture Across Global Markets
29:29 Team Retreats and Face-to-Face Connection
32:48 Training and Onboarding in Startups
About the Guest
Awa Kone is Head of Finance at Caliza, a global operator who helps high-growth companies build the operational and financial infrastructure to scale without breaking. She previously served as COO of Corridor and spent five and a half years at Flutterwave as global head of operations, where she built and scaled teams, treasury operations, and critical infrastructure through a period of extraordinary growth. She holds an MBA from MIT Sloan, is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, and has built her career across the US, Europe, and Africa.
Mentioned Resources
MIT Sloan School of Management
About the Co-Host
Lindsay Smith is an experience-driven growth strategist and former Chief Strategy Officer. She previously scaled a new region without a traditional sales team or bloated marketing budget by turning relationships, culture, and execution into revenue. She is the author of No One Needs Another Company Mug, Stop Branding, Start Experiencing, and helps leadership teams use experience as a competitive growth lever.
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