Phil Ossai
Phil is a graduate of Liverpool Business School, having studied business, management and marketing. He now runs his own personal branding agency, OSSAI, which is going from strength-to-strength amplifying the voices of Black and diverse founders and CEOs.
Phil has always been business-minded from a young age, his dad was an entrepreneur himself in the finance and hospitality industries and served as a massive inspiration to him.
“Coming from a Nigerian family, not attending uni was not an option! Business was an interest as I'd always been fascinated with it. I started my first business at 16 - a fashion brand that I ran from my first year of college all the way to my third year at uni, my self-employed placement year.”
At LJMU, Phil wasn’t always a fan of having to sit exams but could see where his strengths were when he got brilliant grades for a marketing assignment.
“My first ever ‘first’ grade, it was a part of my marketing module in my first year, an assignment set by Dr Mike Popesku to create a business plan. It made me realise that my skillset might be hard to pick up in exams, but in practical coursework and real-life practice I knew what I was doing. This was a massive motivator!”
– Phil Ossai
With a newfound confidence in his own abilities, and a continuing passion for business, since graduating Phil has already had an impressive career.
“I took my passion for business and continued post-uni, working various freelance and consultative positions, as well as a year stint at a public IT company before starting my current venture in March 2022, OSSAI Agency, a personal branding agency, working with ‘underestimated’ (Black, Asian, Female and other Diverse) Founders and CEOs to build their digital presence and generate opportunities.”
His agency now boasts a six-figure income, all in just over a year. As well as running his business, Phil also shares his expertise on personal branding at events and with large companies like Currys PLC and Sage, and has even revisited LJMU to share his insights with our students, as well as other universities in the North West.
“I wish uni helped me realise the power of building your digital presence and documenting your journey, even as a student, there’s a lot of value we can share to others - doing so over the last two years has massively increased my career marketplace value. I would 100% recommend every student to do so.”