Who is Bami Kuteyi? Woman who quit job as Google exec now earns $125K teaching TWERKING
Bami Kuteyi worked as a marketing executive with Google in 2015, but she quit the job and now, she earns $125K per year by teaching people how to twerk. After quitting her job at the tech giant, the 29-year-old British woman started her own business called 'Twerk After Work' which has more than 10K followers on Instagram.
Kuteyi told My London, "Getting a job at Google was fun. I remember telling all my friends from university and feeling like I was doing amazing. I never imagined getting a job at Google straight out of university. Once I got to Google though, I found it hard to assimilate and find my voice in a place I didn't really feel included. I was the only black employee on my team."
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"I wanted to create a safe space for everyone to just come and have fun. I started Bam Bam Boogie and Twerk After Work while at Google and it was a hit. We had lines out the door of people wanting to take part, people peeking through the windows and it became the most popular employee-led thing at Google campus. I killed it at Google," Kuteyi continued.
"Thanks to social media as well, it grew bigger and I started gaining more attention. I started doing classes all over the place, it was amazing. I started feeling like there was a demand within me that wanted to help more people, to do better work and people asked me to come to other countries. We became a community where people could just come and be themselves," Kuteyi, who lives in Greenwich, added.
Kuteyi left Google in 2018 and established Twerk After Work despite knowing it was a risk. As per My London, the classes involve high energy warmups, positive affirmations, learning routines, a circle of empowerment, and then hyping each other up. It is all about making women, regardless of age, feel good. "I miss Google for the free lunches and dinner but apart from that, I'm so happy to be doing what I'm doing," she said.
"I feel so much freer and in control of my own time and I'm seeing the direct impact of my work. I get people messaging me saying they never thought they'd be able to do it or that they've been inspired to leave their job and follow their own dreams. For me, I'm just living my life but it's cool to know I'm actually having an impact as well," explained Kuteyi. "A dance fitness movement where it's not about what you can do but WHO you are!" reads the official website of her business.
Due to the pandemic, Kuteyi had to shut down her studios just like every other business during the age of social distancing. However, she refused to give up on her dream and decided to convert it into an online business. "We had to build a community online, train instructors around the world, and conduct classes online. It was tough for a new business to have to go through but we managed. We had to shut with zero days' notice," she informed.
"I had to invest in myself to take this company to where it is and trained to become excellent at what I do. Now, my business is expected to turn over $125,000 this year. It feels so surreal to think that. To know my business is going to make that, makes me think 'Like wow girl, you really did that' and I'm only scratching the surface," Kuteyi concluded.