Timi Dayo-Kayode

Timi Dayo-Kayode is Creative Director at Gidi Studios, where he connects Afrobeats creatives with diaspora fans, working alongside labels like Atlantic Records and Native Records, and partnering with major brands including Audiomack, Hinge, and Hennessy.

Prior to Gidi Studios, Timi served as BK-XL Investor at the Brooklyn Nets, managing a $50M fund to invest in minority startup founders. He also served as Event Producer at Kinfolq, producing in-person events for 10,000+ Black technologists in partnership with Silicon Valley Bank, Bain Capital, and Brex.

Timi's entrepreneurial background includes co-founding Worksense as CTO, building a full-stack enterprise HR application that won multiple awards including the SXSW Student Startup Competition and Tufts $100K. He also served as Managing Partner at Roundtrip, raising $500K in SPVs to invest in African startups alongside Y Combinator, Binance, and others.

Timi is a graduate of Tufts University, where he earned his Bachelor's degree in Economics and Computer Science as a QuestBridge Scholar.

Timi brings expertise in community building, startup ecosystems, and creative industries to his board service at JAF. He is passionate about creating pathways for underrepresented founders and creatives, and leveraging technology and culture to drive economic opportunity and social impact.