Ken Agyapong Jnr, a son of Ghanaian Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong, has shared details on how a decision to use his tuition fees for a business investment led to a life-changing moment for him.
Appearing as a guest on the Konnected Minds Podcast, Ken Jnr explained that while studying in college in America, he saw an opportunity to invest money sent to him by his parents to settle his tuition and that of his siblings.
According to him, the investment choice was organizing an entertainment event where popular rapper, Fabolous, would perform at.
“Myself, two of my roommates, and three of my friends started a company called High Class Entertainment. So, what we used to do was bring different artistes to campus and off campus as well,” he stated.
He mentioned they had the choice of selecting between Drake or Fabolous, who were charging $5,000 and $25,000 respectively for an appearance.
“We didn’t have the money, but usually my dad would transfer my tuition and some of my siblings' tuition to my account. So, you know what, let me use the money when it comes in. I am like, I am going to use the money, we are going to book Fabolous, and when the ticket sales come, I will pay everybody’s tuition and we will call it a day,” he narrated.
His plan, however, did not go as intended as the event was delayed, causing his parents to find out about his delay in paying the tuition and subsequently discovering the reason behind the delay.
“It was easier said than done. Everything was going well, but two weeks before the event, the venue, which was like a high school campus, reached out saying no, we can’t have the show there. They didn’t think Fabolous would fit the establishment, and it’s a school premises and all that. Now it’s like Things Fall Apart, the book," he added.
He said the family started receiving calls from his sister’s school about the delay in the settlement of her tuition, which led his father to call him to find out what was happening.
“My dad called and was like, ‘What’s happening?’ but I was like, ‘Hello, hello, I can’t hear you,’ then I cut the line. But before you could say jack, he was in America,” he stated.
Despite the success of the show and he eventually settling the tuition, Ken Jnr said his father decided to stop paying his tuition with a threat to cut him off if he were to drop out of school.
This, he said, led to him funding the rest of his university education.
“I ended up paying them back, but then my parents were like, ‘No, you are a bad boy. I am cutting you off; you are on your own now.’ My dad said, ‘You either drop out of school or take out a loan,’ and he said that if I dropped out of school, I couldn’t live in his house,” he said.
He revealed that the rest of his education from sophomore year through his master’s was funded through a loan, which he said he is still paying back.
According to Ken Jnr, he has not had life handed to him on a silver platter despite his father’s wealth.
The entrepreneur, with his own businesses, said this has helped shape his life and contributed to his success in managing his own business.
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