Adewole Quadri believes success is “being happy at what you do every day.” For Him, that place is at his auto-retail-office business where he calls home.

The Nigerian Canadian is president of operations for Syllabus Autos and S and K Autos, a company that focuses on clearing and forwarding and car dealerships in Canada and other countries. In addition, he is Executive Director of Syllabus Ride, a new Canadian rideshare application on IOS and apple stores in 2023. The multi award winning young entrepreneur describes success from a different angle. “I feel that it is hard to be successful if you don’t work hard,” Adewole said.

Read on to find out how Syllabus Autos got involved in the auto industry, his thoughts on mentors and success, barriers facing African men and His reaction to the Leads awards trophy.

Q: How did you get started in the automotive retail industry?

A: I have always been a determined person and a problem solver, I ventured into auto retail because I have passion for automobiles and I understand I will excel in the field. Since then, I have never stopped growing the company.

Q: What is your definition of success? To what or who do you attribute to that success?

A: For me, success is to be happy at the place you go every day with a reason to wake up every day. I feel that it is hard to be successful if you don’t work hard.

As to “what I attribute my success to,” the big one is never limit yourself to your job duties. Always understand why the duties are there and how to do more to scale higher, even if you don’t get paid for the extra work. Never stop studying and never stop chasing perfection. It will never be perfect, but every time you try harder, you become better at what you do.

And for the “who,” I believe it is impossible to grow and be successful if you don’t have the right mentors. I was lucky enough to have the support of my mother who inspires and encourages me, My wife who also inspires and supports me. They taught me and guided me through a lot, both at work and as an individual. Without that initial and constant push, I’m not sure if I would be where I am today.

Q: As a Nigerian in an industry historically dominated by other countries, have you experienced any barriers? If so, how did you overcome those barriers?

A: Barriers are everywhere. I come from a country with different obstacles that are not based on ethnicity or skin color. But here in Canada, I understand through others why there is so much of it and with consistency we have grown to be appreciated.
As I said, you probably need to work harder if you are not white. But if you work hard enough, at some point, the excellence of your work and the way you create teams will shine brighter than your ethnicity or skin color. That doesn’t mean you don’t cross ignorant people on your way, but it will become irrelevant as you become better.

Q: What advice would you give to someone wanting to get into the industry?

A: This is a beautiful industry. There’s a piece for every interest, you learn about five different businesses under the same rooftop. If you are successful in one area, you can take it as part of a learning process to move to a different one with all the knowledge you acquired. I believe there is a path for every person to have a successful career and a successful life in the car industry.

Q: You recently won the 2022 Leads award of the year for the most promising and outstanding business brand of the year, How do you feel about it.?

A: I am grateful to the organizers, this will be the 5th international award we have received in 2022, I dedicate the recognition to my Team and and my family for their support. We are poised to do better in the new year.

Q: What advice would you give to a 10-year-old Adewole Quadri?

A: Great question. First, start from that age to practice patience. He will need it in the future. Rome was not built in one day. I would also encourage him to learn more than two languages to make his life easy and to help him learn from different sources. The third would be to become financially educated early in life. The world moves on finances and if you can understand it as early as possible, it will help to build a successful business faster.

Happy new year and thanks for having me.