During her time at UCL School of Management, MSc Entrepreneurship alumna Ama Owusu-Afriyie founded Nova, an online tutoring platform offering a holistic approach to education. Not only does the business hire students from the UK’s leading universities to provide educational and academic support, but the platform also provides students with initiatives to improve their interpersonal skills, such as communication and resilience, in order to help them become more confident in their abilities.

However, Ama quickly noticed the lack of platforms and resources supporting UK-based Gen-Z entrepreneurs who were just starting out on their entrepreneurial journey. She sought to fill this gap by launching the Nova&Boba Podcast. Designed to bridge the gap between new founders and established entrepreneurs, the podcast sees Ama interview a number of young and fresh entrepreneurs to discuss the highs and lows of entrepreneurialism - all over a boba tea. 

We recently caught up with Ama to find out more about her journey so far, as well as the ways in which UCL School of Management’s MSc Entrepreneurship programme - and its faculty - have supported her ambitions during and after her studies.

tell us about yourself

Hello, my name is Ama. I love entrepreneurship, empowering people through education, and most importantly, I love matcha bubble tea! I grew up in Hertfordshire and studied Chemistry at the University of Nottingham.

I found out Chemistry was not really for me and wanted to focus on more entrepreneurial pursuits, which was something I had loved since I was a child. Then, I thought the MSc Entrepreneurship programme at UCL School of Management looked interesting and practical, so I decided to apply. In my spare time, I like to sing Gospel music and act.

have you always shown signs of entrepreneurial talent?

When I was 11, I discovered a lucrative market for reselling Galaxy Cookie Crumble chocolate at school. It all started innocently enough - I brought some of my favourite chocolate to enjoy during class. I had a bit of the chocolate left when my two friends found out I was eating chocolate and asked for some. I said they could share the last bit. One girl said she wanted all of it and would pay me not to share with the other (savage, I know), and the other friend then said she would pay even more.

Anyway, they both started bidding for this one bit of chocolate. That’s when it hit me - people are willing to pay for what they want. And just like that, my mini-chocolate empire was born. I expanded my offerings beyond just chocolate, venturing into cookies and strawberry Hubba Bubba gum.

My teachers eventually caught on to the sweet selling and shut down the business operations. It was nice while it lasted though and it was a sweet taster into entrepreneurship at an early age.

tell us about nova

Nova is a tutoring company that I started because during university. I began tutoring Maths to school students to help them with their learning. I soon noticed that my students not only needed help with their Maths, but that they also required assistance in building their personal development skills, such as confidence, resilience, and discipline. So, 4 years ago, I started Nova - an online platform that offers a holistic approach to education. We hire students from the top universities in the UK to educate and inspire students to reach their full potential.

Nova has also expanded into entrepreneurial educational media, where we produce media content for cool student-focused startups and societies. We also produce our own entrepreneurial educational media through the podcast called Nova&Boba, in which we interview young entrepreneurs about the realities of running a business to help young people make informed decisions on how to start a business.

Our live podcast event completely sold out with over 120+ Gen Z founders and future founders in attendance. We are really lucky to have worked with some of the best startups and student societies in the UK like Huzzle, Eurasian Business Conference, Kickstart Global, LSE, UCL, and Imperial Entrepreneurs Societies.

what is the nova&Boba podcast?

The Nova&Boba podcast began because I first had the idea to start my company Nova after university but I was unsure how to go about it. It was a lot of trial and error along the way and it would have been great to hear about the journeys of other new founders who were 1 or 2 steps ahead of me to get that guided experience on how to begin a company. 

A lot of my favourite podcasts online interview late stage entrepreneurs who are so successful and far along in their journeys. They talk about their experience in hindsight and, although this content is inspiring, I thought it would be more useful to hear more practical insights from founders not so far ahead of where one is aiming to get to. That is why I started the NOVA&BOBA Podcast, the UK’s FIRST-EVER podcast to explore the realities of entrepreneurship as a young and new founder. In our conversations, we explore the highs and lows and everything in between about the journey of being a GenZ tech founder while drinking one of my favourites: Boba Tea.

I have enjoyed listening to the stories of ALL my guests on the podcast and I really have enjoyed interviewing every guest on the podcast! They all have very unique ways they have journeyed into entrepreneurship, and that makes listening to their stories so exciting - I have truly enjoyed them all. I am really excited about the podcast episode coming out next - it is with an entrepreneur called Kai Hussain, who forklifted an AI-powered bubble bot machine onto his uni campus at LSE. Through the automation of bubble tea, he has been able to make bubble tea more affordable and, in my view, anyone who spreads the mission of more accessible bubble tea is doing great work. His business also donates some of its profits to university scholarships to help the university become accessible and I find his social mission and values to be very inspiring.

what excites you most about the entrepreneurial space at the moment?

Launching a business straight out of university, I often encountered advice suggesting I wait until I had more experience or was older. While experience is undoubtedly valuable and there is value in experience, I believe that some entrepreneurial ideas can’t wait! Gen Z stands out as one of the most entrepreneurial generations, with over 50% expressing a desire to start their ventures according to an recent statistic from Samsung. We believe it’s essential to provide everyone with the opportunity to explore entrepreneurship by sharing insights from individuals who are just a step or two ahead in their journey. This approach makes the path to entrepreneurship feel more tangible and realistic for aspiring entrepreneurs.