From Unemployed to UK Startup Hire: How Tolu Landed a Global Role Mid-Program

Tolu Philips is currently in TechWriteable Academy’s first cohort. Mid-program, she landed a digital marketing role at a UK-based food delivery startup expanding into Nigeria. I sat down with her to talk about where she started, what changed, and how she got there.

What were you doing before you joined the Academy?

I was unemployed. I was helping a friend with her work on the side, just to keep things moving while I looked for a job. I was also not staying with my parents at the time, I needed to figure out my direction.

How did you first hear about content marketing as a career?

I’ve always been a writer. People would tell me often, you write so well, you should monetize it. But I didn’t really pay attention for a long time. I even tried data analytics for a while, and I was struggling with it.

Then around July 2023, I stumbled on a writer running a challenge on Twitter. I joined, and my timeline started filling up with writers. That was actually the first time I came across Paula.

I started following her, but I still thought content marketing was harder than content writing, so I kept telling myself to focus on writing first before moving into strategy. I didn’t fully turn my attention to content marketing until sometime in 2025.

What was the biggest thing holding you back before you enrolled?

Honestly, it was money. I knew I needed the training, but I didn’t have the financial capacity to just drop that kind of money on a course. Even when I was seeing TechWriteable on my timeline and Paula was talking about it, I wasn’t planning to join the Academy specifically. That wasn’t on my radar.

What changed was the financial aid option. I clicked the link, looked at the payment plan, decided it was something I could manage, and signed up. The financial aid program was what eventually got me through the door.

What made you decide to actually pay and join?

The payment plan made it possible, honestly. I had been following Paula for a while and I trusted what she was building, but the financial piece was always the blocker. Once I saw I could break it down into something manageable, I said okay, fair enough, let me do this.

Which module or session stuck with you the most?

Paula’s content strategy class. That one stayed with me.

Before that class, content strategy felt like this big, complicated thing I wasn’t ready for. I had that feeling from my time in data analytics, where there were always new tools, new frameworks, constant changes. I was bracing for the same thing.

But when Paula broke it down, I realised it’s not a mystery. It follows certain steps. It’s a system. After that class, I immediately went and drafted a content strategy for an imaginary pediatric dental clinic in Lagos, not because anyone asked me to, just because I needed to try it. 

Paula reviewed it, gave me feedback, said it was brief but a good start for where I was. That exercise showed me I was already thinking differently.

Was there a specific thing a facilitator said that changed how you think about content?

Yes. Something Victoria said during her session. “You can do anything, but you just don’t know how to do it yet.”

That line followed me throughout the program and into my new role. Every time I ran into something I hadn’t done before, I stopped saying ‘I can’t do this’ and started saying ‘I don’t know how to do this yet.’

It sounds small, but it genuinely changed how I approached new challenges.

What surprised you about the program that you didn’t expect going in?

The 1-on-1 time. I did not see that coming at all. The fact that you could book time on Peter’s calendar and actually get that kind of personal attention beyond the live classes, that gave me a completely different perspective on what TechWriteable was actually trying to do.

It showed me this wasn’t just about delivering a course and moving on.

What’s the best piece of work you created during the program?

The content strategy I built to land my job.

While still in the program, I saw a job posting on LinkedIn for a content creator role and applied. When I got on the call, the person on the other end made it clear they were looking for someone more experienced. I didn’t let go. I offered to work for a month for free and deliver a content strategy by Monday.

That window was very short. I spent that Saturday evening, my Sunday, and my Monday building the strategy. I wasn’t even sure I was doing it right. I sent it to my sister before submitting and told her, I don’t know what I’ve done, but let’s see. She encouraged me to submit it anyway.

The company came back and said I’d put too much time into the strategy document. What they actually needed was someone to run their email marketing and social media. I told them I could do email too, explained what I knew, and they said okay. By the time the offer letter came, the role was digital marketing.

The thing I offered in that conversation, the content strategy, was directly from what I learned in Paula’s class. That knowledge is what got me the role.

What are you doing now that you weren’t doing before?

I’m on LinkedIn consistently now. I used to live on Twitter, but I barely go there anymore. During the program I made the shift, and it’s stayed.

I’ve also changed how I use AI. Before, I wasn’t very intentional about it. Now I have an actual workflow. I write the draft first, run it through ChatGPT to see what it surfaces, then take it to Claude for a cleaner version. Google Docs holds everything together.

My thinking process around content has genuinely changed.

Can you tell us a bit about your new role?

It’s a food delivery app based in the UK. They are into food delivery, grocery shopping, and In-app restaurant reservations (the first of its kind within the Nigerian food space)

They’re expanding into the Nigerian market now, and I’m coming in to help shape their content direction, and lead their email marketing.

We were actually talking today about building a lead magnet to grow the list. It’s a lot to figure out, but I’m in it.

If someone is thinking about joining but hasn’t committed yet, what would you tell them?

Join.

Even if you don’t have the money right now, apply for the financial aid. That program is a big deal. It’s honestly one of the best things about TechWriteable, alongside the tutors and the setup.

Every tutor came into that program like there was an agreement to raise the bar. Once you take their class, all you have to do is pick up from where they left it. The momentum has been on a straight line up for me. There are no breaks in between.

If you’re still thinking about it, still going back and forth, this is your sign to actually do it.

Tolu Philips is a digital marketer currently building the content and email marketing function at a UK-based food delivery startup expanding into Nigeria. She is part of TechWriteable Academy’s first cohort.