David Olusegun

Creative Control Ventures

CCV partners with purpose-driven creators to launch CPG brands that make a real impact. 🚀

Notable brands include:
- Nala’s Baby (Krept & Sasha)
- SYPS (Aitch) 

CCV operates as a co-founding partner, providing creators with the tools, support, and capital to build and scale their own businesses moving beyond endorsements to real ownership.

The goal? Turning influence into impactful, global brands. 🌍

Co-Founder & Co-CEO

Creators Capital

Creators Capital invests, advises, and builds value around creators, brands, and rights-holders across sports, music, gaming, and entertainment.

Founder & Investor

Black Diamond Music Group

Home to Black Diamond Records, a full-service record label imprint of Warner Music Group (home to Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, Dua Lipa) and Black Diamond Publishing, a JV with Kobalt Music home to writers that have worked with Justin Bieber, Stormzy, Ariana Grande and many more

Co-Founder & CEO

Various

Providing marketing and sponsorship services to MTV, The FA, HIT Entertainment, Nike, Adidas, New Balance.

Various Entertainment marketing, branding and sponsorship roles

Hi 👋🏿

I’m David. I’m driven by faith and committed to purpose. My work is simple: build and invest in consumer brands that make lives better and leave a positive legacy.

For over a decade, I’ve worked across CPG, entertainment, and media with global players like Viacom, Nike, MTV, Nickelodeon, Sony Pictures, Boots, and Warner Music.

Beyond angel investing, I advise founders and corporations on building products that truly serve people, and I speak on faith, entrepreneurship, and brand leadership with a focus on real-world impact and integrity.

Honoured to be recognised by Powerful Media, Music Week, KPMG Entrepreneur of the Year, HSBC x Black Business Week Top Entrepreneur and the UK’s Top 100 African Business Leaders, but the mission stays the same: help brands serve people, do good with excellence and integrity, and honour God.

CCV is a venture builder that partners with purpose-driven creators to launch global CPG brands. We are a creative-led team with strong end-to-end commercial expertise that provides the complete infrastructure to launch, build and scale these pioneering brands.

Our goal is to give our clients the opportunity to build something bigger than their personal brand, receive ownership rather than just another endorsement deal and leverage their following into a long-term future through building impactful businesses.

Our operating model is to work together with the creator as a co-founding team and enable them with the right infrastructure, tools, support, and capital. We love working with creators to change the world, one brand at a time. We believe it’s time we build businesses that shift the power paradigm to the hands of the creators. It’s what gets us up in the morning, it’s in our DNA and we are irretrievably obsessed with collective success by working with CCV you’ll be working with vested partners committed to global success!

Jesus was the greatest leader to ever walk the earth, and if you study his example, you’ll find timeless lessons on humility, vision and service that can transform how you lead.

Building and Investing Purpose-Driven Consumer Brands | Angel Investor | Keynote Speaker

JESUS

I’m sure you’ve heard it a thousand times, but this time, let it sink in; Jesus really loves YOU. 

Not because you’re perfect, but because He is.

The love of Jesus stays, forgives, and heals.

Open your heart, He’s been waiting for you.

When God leads, your efforts are strengthened, and your path becomes clearer.

“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed”— Proverbs 16:3

Are we witnessing a fundamental change in what it means to be an influencer?

For years, brands defaulted to the polished archetype: musicians, athletes, and models who could embody a kind of aspirational perfection.

But now we’re seeing a pivot, a willingness to bet on people who don’t fit the traditional mould, yet have something far more valuable: cultural credibility and a voice their communities genuinely trust.

Take Auntie Bemi. From London bus videos with 22M likes to front-row campaigns with JACQUEMUS, Burberry, H&M Group, and Maybelline New York, she represents a new era. 

One where influence is not about celebrity status, but about resonance, relatability, and cultural fluency.

Some critics argue that H&M’s campaign with her is a gimmick, but let’s be real: the same old faces are tired. The industry is learning that the fastest way to reconnect with audiences is to back homegrown, non-traditional talent who feel like us.

And that’s the deeper shift:
☯︎ Influence is no longer gatekept by industries like music or sport.
☯︎ Brands are recognising that style, voice, and cultural relevance can come from anywhere.
☯︎ Communities are responding to authenticity, not polished perfection.

For H&M, with shares down 8.4% last year against Inditex’s 29% rise, taking risks on fresh voices isn’t optional, but it’s now a matter of survival.

So maybe the real question is this: are we entering an age where the most powerful influencers aren’t the ones with the biggest stages, but the ones who speak most clearly to the people in them?

So many of us have felt lost, searching for purpose, direction, clarity. Life can get confusing, heavy and overwhelming. 

But the good news is that there IS a way.

Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, and in Him we find the peace and direction we’ve been longing for. (John 14:6)

Two months ago, I had breakfast with a friend in South Africa who does 9 figures a year.

A lot of what he said I already knew, but hearing it again reminded me how real it is and it has been stuck with me.

Here’s a few points I jotted down after:

✅ Focus is everything. 
The higher you go, the more distractions come for you. If you’re not locked in on your vision, the world will pull you in a hundred directions. People. Vices. 

✅ Your ego will rob you if you let it. 
He told me he’s lost millions because he let pride lead. Trying to prove something. Trying to win arguments that weren’t worth it. Ego feels good short term but it’s expensive long term.

✅ Who you partner with matters. 
More than people admit. The right person can give you peace, alignment and clarity. The wrong one can ruin everything. Choose with sense. Not just feelings.

✅ Keep your circle solid. 
When you’re winning, people show up. When it gets quiet, they disappear. Don’t lose the people who were there before the noise. 

✅ Don’t let anyone trick you out of your position. 
You are who you are for a reason. Stop doubting that. Imposter syndrome is loud but it’s a lie. Own your space. Stand on your assignment.

✅Stay Grounded. 
Values matter. Keep your integrity. Don’t let money or influence change the core of who you are. 

✅ Keep praying. Always. 
No matter what,  never let life make you lose sight of the One that gave it. We were never meant to do life alone, let God guide you.

Conversations like that show why the people around you matter. 

It made me realise again that your circle is shaping your mentality, whether you notice or not.

A Pizza Boy with $1,000 Capital became the UK’s Youngest Billionaire with a $1.45 Billion Brand.

At age 19, Ben Francis MBE started Gymshark in his parents' garage while juggling studying at Aston University and working as a Pizza Hut delivery driver.
 
 The first problem? He couldn’t afford a production line, and manufacturers kept saying no. So he learnt to sew. 

With about £1,000 in savings, he bought a sewing machine, some fabric, and a screen printer and handmade the first Gymshark pieces.
 
By day, he was in class, by night delivering pizzas, and in the early hours, he stitched and printed gym wear until 4 a.m.

Back in 2012–2013, fitness content on YouTube was booming, but creators’ audiences had no brand representing them.

Nike and adidas were “sports.” Under Armour was “performance.”
 
Ben understood early that these creators could drive distribution.
 
Gymshark sent free products to fitness YouTubers back when influencer marketing wasn’t even a playbook.

Then came BodyPower Expo 2013, Ben invested every penny the company had made into production and a booth at the fitness expo.
 
They didn’t have hype before the event, but they had one advantage: The creators wore Gymshark to the event.

The gamble paid off. The Gymshark stand was flooded. They sold out in 90 minutes.
 
 After the expo, the Luxe Tracksuit, one of their first premium products, went viral on Facebook.
The company went from making £300/day to £30,000/day overnight.

During the 2015 Black Friday, their website crashed. Orders went missing, and customers were furious.

Ben posted a raw apology video, no PR spin. This made customers connect more with the human behind the brand.

Gymshark remains a direct-to-consumer brand, where transparency matters. There is no middleman, no buffer.

They didn’t just sell gym clothes, they sold identity, they built a tribe:
“I’m building myself, I’m part of this community ”

By 2020, Gymshark had grown into a global fitness brand valued at $1.45 billion. Ben Francis MBE became the UK’s youngest billionaire at 28, still owning 70% of the company.

The lesson? Extraordinary results come when you start before you’re ready, commit fully to your vision, and trust your own instincts. 

Ben didn’t wait for a perfect factory, a big investor, or a proven strategy. He just kept building, testing, and going.

African Culture Is Exploding and It’s Creating One of the Biggest Untapped Food & Beverage Opportunities

I’ve been saying this privately for years, but it’s finally becoming mainstream news: African culture isn’t “coming.” It’s here! 

In 2023, Burna Boy sold out the London Stadium the first African artist in history to do so. That same night, Beyoncé was performing across town. Two icons. Two stadiums. One message: Africa is no longer on the periphery of culture. 

The Grocer just reported a major surge in British shoppers looking for West African foods.

For me someone who grew up in South London surrounded by jollof pots, suya smoke, puff-puff after church, none of this is surprising. The biggest untapped opportunity in UK consumer goods right now is African food & beverage.

The Pattern Is Clear: Every Global Cuisine Breaks Through the Same Way
Culture → Curiosity → Street Food → Restaurants → CPG → Category Leader

Korea did it. Japan did it. Mexico did it. The Middle East did it.
Now it’s West Africa’s turn. The difference this time?

The cultural wave is faster, the diaspora is younger, and the gap between cultural relevance and supermarket presence is the widest I’ve ever seen.

A Huge, Underserved Market Hiding in Plain Sight

The UK’s African community is not small:
✅ 1.5 million Black African people
✅ 250k mixed Black African
✅ Together, similar in size to the British Indian population

And the wider market is curious:
✅ 65% of Brits say they’d try West African food
✅ 57% have never had the opportunity

The demand is there. As someone who builds CPG brands, I see this gap every day:

✅ High cultural momentum
✅ High consumer curiosity
✅ Low shelf presence
✅ No dominant brands

This combination does not come around often. When it does, it creates category-defining winners.

The Signals Are Everywhere, the Industry Is Waking Up

1. The Grocer Confirms Rising Interest in African Frozen Foods
2. UK Retailers Expanding African SKUs
3. Michelin Stars Leading the Way
4. Festivals, Street Food & Gen Z
5. Diaspora Convenience Demand

This is the “Itsu moment” for African cuisine. Add the demographic reality, by 2050, 1 in 10 children globally will be African and you start to see how big this really is.

This isn’t a wave. African culture is global culture. When culture moves, consumer behaviour follows. When behaviour shifts, categories transform.

And the runway ahead is long, wide, and wide open.

Unilever’s latest move says more about the future of CPG than most people realise.

They’re exploring the sale of Marmite, Colman’s and Bovril, a ~£200m food portfolio, as they shift more aggressively into beauty, personal care and wellness.

Here’s what this really signals:

1. The numbers dictate the strategy.

Beauty operates at 2–3x the gross margins of packaged food, with stronger repeat rates and lower supply-chain drag.

When you model it out, the capital efficiency gap is massive. Unilever is simply reallocating resources to the categories with the best LTV/CAC, the strongest pricing power, and the most elastic demand curves.

2. Brand matters more than shelf space.

Food is increasingly commoditised. Retailers decide your fate.

In beauty, brand equity is the moat. You can build margin through formulation, IP, community, and positioning, not just volume.

3. Category focus beats sprawling empires.

The old FMCG model was: “own everything.” The new model is: “build where you have edge.”

Unilever knows their global R&D, talent, and marketing engine generates outsized returns in beauty.

4. This is part of a bigger industry correction.

We’re entering a decade where conglomerates will prune low-margin assets and double down on high-margin verticals.

Expect more divestments, more rollups, and more buying opportunities for challenger operators who know how to execute.

The lesson for founders? Focus where the economics reward excellence.

Double down on categories where great brand building still moves the needle.

So often, we live with the illusion that someone or some big event will come and fix all our problems for us. 

But the truth is, life doesn’t wait, and no one is coming to save you. 

The good news? When you take the reins yourself, you can achieve everything you’ve prayed for.

No one’s coming to save you!!

To make it in life, you actually need two things:

Delusion and audacity.

📌 Delusion: that inner belief that you’re meant for more, even if nothing in your life currently proves it.

📌 Audacity: the guts to act on that belief. To apply, to ask, to build, to enter rooms you technically have no business being in.

Most people stay realistic. That’s why they stay stuck.

The ones who change their life always sound a little insane at first.

Think about it: Airbnb started as two guys renting out an air mattress in their living room. 

The idea sounded ridiculous, but now it’s a global hospitality giant.

So if your dream feels delusional… good.

Now back it with action.

What if purpose isn’t a secret key you find, but a muscle you develop through bold actions?

The $5B Question: Is Kim Kardashians’s SKIMS’ Culture-First Model the New Blueprint?

Skims just raised $224 million at a $5B valuation

Meanwhile:
 📌 Spanx sold the majority stake to Blackstone at $1.2B valuation 
 📌 VICTORIA'S SECRET'S is currently valued at around $4.5B but declining 
 📌 Under Armour (founded in 1996) is struggling at $7B

Is Skims the blueprint for how modern brands beat heritage players?

Let me show you what the numbers actually say:
 ➡️ April 2021: $1.6B valuation ($154M raised)
 ➡️ January 2022: $3.2B valuation ($240M raised)
 ➡️ July 2023: $4B valuation ($270M raised)
 ➡️ November 2025: $5B valuation ($224M raised)

That’s 3x growth in valuation in under 5 years.

Here’s what makes it fascinating: The company is now officially targeting more than $1B in net sales for 2025. 

SKIMS is worth MORE than Spanx despite being 19 years younger and doing less revenue. Victoria’s Secret does 7x Skims’ revenue but is only valued at similar levels.

What does Skims have over the heritage brands? 

Let me break down the four strategic moves that explain Skims’ valuation:

♻️ Culture Over Category: Victoria’s Secret sold “sexy” through male-gaze fantasy. Spanx sold “solutions” through function (hide your flaws, look thinner). Skims sold “confidence” through representation (all bodies, all skin tones, worn by real women).

♻️ Celebrity as Distribution, Not Just Marketing: Kim Kardashian is the distribution channel. Kim Kardashian has 354 million followers on Instagram. That’s more reach than Victoria’s Secret ever had with its Fashion Show at its peak.

♻️ DTC-First, Omnichannel Second: Heritage brands built through wholesale department stores, speciality retailers, and mall locations. Then they tried to add DTC as an afterthought, Skims did the opposite.

♻️▸ Product Velocity Over Product Breadth: Heritage brands think in seasons (Spring/Summer, Fall/Winter), two major launches per year. Skims thinks in drops. Spanx took years to iterate on shades. Skims compresses that into months.

Is this actually sustainable? Does this model beat Heritage long-term?

To find out my take, I break down what’s working, what’s not, and the full numbers behind SKIMS’ $5B valuation in my newsletter. 

Link in the comments.⬇️

Chobani just raised $487M at a $15B valuation.

Back in 2005, a Kurdish immigrant named Hamdi Ulukaya bought a shut-down Kraft Heinz yogurt plant in upstate New York.

By 2007, Chobani had launched Greek yogurt into American supermarkets. 
Here’s what Hamdi did differently:

 ➡️ Phase 1 (2005-2014): Bootstrap with Debt
 → SBA loan to buy the factory (government-backed, low-interest)
 → Reinvest all profits into growth
 → Hit $750M revenue before raising outside capital

➡️ Phase 2 (2014-2018): Strategic Debt with Warrants
 → $560M from TPG as debt + warrants (~20% company)
 → Use capital for infrastructure, not covering losses
 → Debt serviced by a growing, profitable business

➡️ Phase 3 (2016): Employee Ownership
 → Give 10% to employees (worth $220M at the time)
 → Create unprecedented alignment and moat
 → Attract and retain talent without paying Silicon Valley salaries

➡️ Phase 4 (2018-2022): Long-Term Capital Partner
 → Pension fund buys out TPG
 → Patient capital with a 20+ year horizon
 → IPO filed but withdrawn when market conditions are poor

➡️ Phase 5 (2023-2025): Profitable M&A + Infrastructure Investment
 → Acquire complementary brands (La Colombe Coffee Workshop, Daily Harvest)
 → Raise $487M at $15B valuation for manufacturing expansion
 → Projected $2.85B revenue in 2025

Let’s look at what Chobani’s financial profile likely looks like:

 ✅ Revenue (2025 projected): $2.85 billion
 ✅ Gross Margins: ~35-40% 
 ✅ Debt Load: Likely $750M-1.5B
 ✅ Enterprise Value: $15 billion
 
If you want the complete playbook and numbers behind Hamdi Ulukaya’s $20B empire, check out my newsletter. 

Link is in the comments.⬇️

There’s a guy I follow who’s bought over 150 companies in his life, and what he said to me reminded me of this verse. 

“Give, and it will be given to you.” — Luke 6:38

The more you give, the more the world gives back. But only if you're intentional. 

Your problem might not be your network. It might be how you treat your network. Most people go around trying to "connect" coffees, events, DMs. 

And that’s great. But the real move? Build something that makes people come to you. 

This hit me hard recently after reading a post about how Aristotle Onassis, one of the wealthiest men of his time didn’t go to networking events. 

He bought a yacht and made everyone come to him. Business deals. Social connections. Relationships that changed the course of his life… 

All happened on his terms. He didn’t chase. He attracted. 

That made me stop and ask myself: Where is my version of the yacht?

For me, it’s been: 

✅ My content: People DMing me from something I posted 6 months ago 

✅ Hosting dinners: No agenda, just high-quality people in a room 

✅ Being helpful: Making intros, sharing plays, adding value before asking for anything 

The goal isn’t “go viral”. Let your reputation do the talking when you’re not in the room.

There’s One Thing I Want You To Do This Week…

Click here to find out and subscribe to my weekly newsletter: https://lnkd.in/eEpv-pGD

I’m thankful to Dr. Raphael Sofoluke, UK Black Business Week | UK Black Business Show, Jamelia Donaldson, Treasure Tress for this amazing gift! 

It means a lot to be acknowledged, especially as a Black man in business and it’s an honour to be recognised alongside so many great men who continue to inspire me. 

Moments like this remind me why we keep going… even on the days when the work feels heavy.

Appreciate you all. ❤️

Purpose is not always about an “aha” moment.

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of speaking at the Invest Nigeria Conference.

Even though I already believed deeply in Africa’s potential, being there reaffirmed just how massive the opportunity really is.

Over the next few years, I’ll be spending a lot more time on the continent, building, backing and investing across the consumer value chain. 

From CPG to manufacturing, retail to technology, Africa is at an inflection point and those who understand its nuances will help shape the next generation of global brands.

I know for many investors and operators, Africa still feels “distant” or “risky.” The truth is: it’s just misunderstood.

So starting from December, I’ll be sharing a series of insights and data points from my work on the ground focused on Africa’s consumer and CPG ecosystem.

My goal is simple: to give you a clearer window into the opportunity that’s already unfolding.

Stay tuned 🌍

Over the last 12 months, luxury and consumer brands have quietly undergone a leadership cleanse. 

Here’s why...

The Great Brand Reset

The Beauty Incubator: A Strategic Re-think?

In 2010, when Kendo Brands, Inc. launched a defining incubator for beauty brands, it tapped into a powerful model: give emerging ideas access to retail, supply chain, and brand-building.

Over the next decade, it powered launches such as Fenty Beauty by Rihanna, KVD Beauty, and Marc Jacobs Beauty.

But today that model looks increasingly challenged. 

The recent move by LVMH to explore a sale of its 50% stake in Fenty and other signs of withdrawal from Kendo’s earlier ambitions suggest a deeper shift: the beauty-incubator isn’t dead, but it’s evolving.

Here are three strategic takeaways for businesses watching this sector:

1. Incubators entered the beauty ecosystem promising fast routes from idea to shelf. As one commentary put it: “You have the strength of [a major company] to support, fund and help direct these brands” and thereby combine entrepreneurial agility with corporate muscle. Global Cosmetic Industry

Yet, the case of Kendo Brands, Inc. shows how difficult the second half of the curve is. 

Launching Fenty was a triumph. But what followed was much less smooth: other incubated brands struggled, and the shelf-space, budget and internal resource conflicts began to emerge. According to industry commentary: “the road to exit was getting longer… the typical cash-out cycle… stretched from 3-5 years to 5-8 years today.”

2. Incubators once thrived because they provided access to formulation capability, manufacturing, retail distribution, and marketing support. But the industry is maturing, costs are rising, competition is fierce, and consumer attention spans are shorter. Incubators need to continuously justify their value-add, not just at launch, but throughout growth phases.

3. The broader beauty-industry backdrop is shifting. Consumer expectations (e.g., inclusivity, sustainability, social purpose), retail dynamics, and technology have all moved the goalposts. Incubators designed for a specific growth rhythm now need to adapt.

When the incubator model works, it can generate category-defining brands. 

But when the model lags, the risk is that an incubator becomes a drain.

If you’re in beauty (whether as a founder, investor, or corporate leader), this is a moment to ask:
Are we using incubation as a buzzword, or as a strategic system with clear KPIs, resource commitments, and an evolution roadmap?

Do we have what it takes not just to launch the brand, but scale and sustain it in an era of commoditisation and fast-moving trends?

How will we measure success? Is it “brand sold”, “exit achieved”, or “brand enduring and growing in year five and beyond”?

taplio