Ilisha Masaun: Building an EdTech Business as a Dyslexic

This week’s episode with Ilisha Masaun was an inspiring one! I didn’t know Ilisha before we recorded an episode together (at least personally). But once I hit the record button from the offset, it felt like I’d known Ilisha for years. Whilst speaking it was evident we had many similarities despite different upbringings.

Ilisha grew up in an Indian family in the Midlands, whilst I grew up in a Nigerian household in East London. Nevertheless, we both had a strong desire for business and entrepreneurship which led us to get involved in family businesses, create side-hustles and provide solutions. Without bragging, it is evident we are both action takers. We couldn’t manage to sit still at University and just focus on our degrees but undertook various projects and worked on our professional development. I personally believe that is how you ‘make the most out of University’  by networking, intentionally acting on your interests and reaping value out of multiple experiences.

Although, one key difference between us is that Ilisha has dyslexia meaning we learn and think differently. However, Ilisha has been able to use this to her advantage which inspires me. Rather than letting dyslexia hold her back, she uses it as a superpower to propel her forward in business and life. Listen to the full episode to get the full picture!

Ilisha is bold, fearless and courageous building an exciting business called Econominds. Econominds is an EdTech platform with a bank of resources helping students ace their A-level economics exams. On top of this, Econominds provide guidance for students who want to attend university by offering bespoke UCAS personal statement services. As well as CV and interview prep for those who want to land their dream jobs. This company was built from the ground up (off the back of selling physical revision guides). I couldn’t help but ask a few more questions to Ilisha offline to delve deeper into her motivations. I wanted to share them with you below, enjoy!

Q: Who is your role model and why?

Manjit Kaur Gill. She is the founder and CEO of Binti Period which is a charity that aims to battle period poverty by providing period products to women and girls in the UK, India, the US and Africa. Through doing this, she has enabled young girls around the world to access their full right to education when before they would have had to stay off school for up to 2 weeks or more whilst menstruating. She has won an MBE for her contribution to the cause. I find her story inspirational as she has changed many young girls’ lives. Not only that but she was involved in 7 start-ups before she started the charity and has over 20 years experience of in navigating the business world as an Indian woman. As well as being a successful business woman, she has given back and changed the landscape for women all around the world too. She has not let any glass ceilings get in the way of the global impact she set out to have.

Q: What are the main challenges you faced whilst building Econominds and how did you overcome them?

The main challenge that I faced and continue to deal with whilst building Econominds is organisation. It is difficult to deal with and process information overload due to my dyslexia. The way I am trying to deal with that is by asking for help and using as many tools as I can that can automate and store key information. So, I have built a team around me that helps with that and Notion has become my best friend!

Q: What is the most important skill entrepreneurs should develop at the beginning of their journey?

Resilience! You must learn how to deal with setbacks and be agile in finding the solution. Plan A 99% of the time won’t work so you need to be able to think on your feet and get through the setbacks. Also, have a group of people around you that you can vent to and can support you through.

Q: Any parting advice?

Start today! If you make a plan of where you want to be, are consistent and keep taking action then you will eventually get the results you are looking for.

Listen to the full episode on a platform of your choice: https://linktr.ee/valuablepodcast