Brian Kangongo is the architect behind Max Child Care, a Nairobi-based child care and home care management company that is intricately tied to his journey as an Economics and Business double major at Brandeis University. When he walked into the gates of Brandeis in Waltham, Massachusetts, Brian was almost certain that he had business interests that needed exploring. To no one’s surprise, he soon declared a double major in Economics and Business management- a decision that greatly shaped who he has become. Brian describes his college experience as “insightful, demanding, and fun” and believes that some of the lessons he learned from it are worth passing down to the next generation of college students.
“If you don’t go out there and make things happen, things won’t happen for you.”
Unlike Kenya’s education system, which is driven almost entirely by academic wit, Brian discovered early in his academic career that this might not be the sole requirement in his survival kit as a college student in the United States. He cites networking as an essential tool for success, not just in academia, but also in his professional endeavors. Juggling between culture shock, steep learning curves, and financial struggles after his failure to secure an on-campus job in his first year of college, Brian found himself between a rock and a hard place.
“This situation really forced me to think like an adult and not the high school kid I was a few months prior. I was determined to get a job because I could not call my parents to ask for pocket money- I knew they didn’t have any. One day, however, I walked into the Economics department and interacted with the staff there, after which I walked out with a job as an office assistant. This experience taught me the value of networking and self-confidence. One word of advice to incoming college students and alumni as well is that things only happen to those who seek them. If you don’t go out there and make things happen, things will not happen for you.”
True to his own advice, Brian was very proactive in seeking the sea of opportunities availed to him at Brandeis. In his junior year, he secured funding to carry out research on the impact of international trade on the Kenyan local economy. In particular, he examined the relationship between second-hand clothes from overseas markets and the local textile industry, a project that opened his eyes to the dynamics of business in Kenya. In his senior year, Brian identified a niche in the home care management industry in Nairobi and decided to bring his business idea to life upon his graduation. This feat was made possible by his dedication to business, thoughtfulness, and insightfulness that resultantly opened doors to the Asper Entrepreneurship Fund- a $10,000 grant for one undergraduate with a unique business idea.
For Brian, this was only the beginning of a successful career as an entrepreneur. Brian believes that demonstrating flexibility and agility in business execution means as much to the success of a business as the numbers on its financial statements. When he moved to Kenya to start Max Child Care, he had a well-thought-out business plan and seemingly achievable financial projections. “This would work perfectly,” he had thought to himself. Much to his surprise, however, he was met with customers unwilling to hop on to his novel business model. This failure, like many others in his career, only served as a power source. With his team, he was able to adjust his model to the needs of the market and drive his company to a leading home management platform, and to expand it beyond Nairobi. “In the face of my entrepreneurship journey, I have failed so many times. I have worked on many projects that failed to take off. Although those situations were stressful, I reminded myself that it is important to never give up in the face of failure. Everyone fails and what sets apart successful from unsuccessful people is resilience. Always remember that regardless of how many times you fail, all you need is one win. The odds are always in your favor!”
Upon establishing his business, Brian returned to his alma mater to pursue a Master’s Degree in Business Economics and Data Analytics. After graduating with a Master’s Degree in 2017, he went back to Max Child Care and worked as product development associate for almost two years. Currently, Brian is a Senior Strategy Specialist at Sanergy, an award-winning sanitation and waste-management start-up based in Nairobi. His life from when he was a young child in Ainabkoi constituency in Uasin Gishu county, to his time at KenSAP, Brandeis, and eventually doing business for social good can be summarized in his own wording as “I am working towards spending time to positively impact as many people as possible.” Brian is not just an asset to the global entrepreneurship scenery, but to all of KenSAP which is proud to call him family.