Paul Oberschneider

Paul Oberschneider is living proof that the route to success is not a straight-line. His eventful journey took him from sleepy rural Illinois to life in the fast lane as a Wall Street trader, before losing almost everything to addictions and alcoholism. Everything changed when he decided to visit Estonia in 1992. Arriving with his last $400 in his wallet, what followed was a series of events and opportunities that saw him start seven businesses, set up a bank and a mortgage company, become one of the largest property developers in Eastern Europe and employ 850 people in a network that spanned six countries, all in the space of just 16 years.

Paul’s remarkable journey demonstrates how people who build successful businesses are driven by circumstances and then led by opportunity. Every entrepreneur possesses an essential set of skills, but what determines real success is how circumstances create the opportunities to bring these skills out, and then how willing they are to go with it and let things happen. Today, Paul is a seasoned start-up entrepreneur and property nancier. Since retiring, aged 49, he has built a chain of fast-food restaurants in London, serves as a mentor for the start-up community and has written a business book.

Paul Oberschneider is the author of new book, Why Sell Tacos in Africa?. In his book, he reveals 16 life-changing business strategies that anyone in business can learn from, all told through his own dramatic story. More than just a how-to guide, this entertaining book sees Paul stashing $100,000 in a shoebox under the bed of his Soviet-rented at, battling with business partners and even being held at gun point by gangsters, before distilling the practical business lessons that any entrepreneur or business leader can take away.

What Paul’s story does not feature, however, is selling tacos in Africa. The title is purely a metaphor for spotting opportunities in blue-sky markets – those opportunities where you are free to create and explore before everyone else catches up. For Paul, changing his circumstances by going to Eastern Europe enabled him to capitalise on new opportunities, and through his book he shares invaluable advice on understanding market potential, competition and how you can offer something that is different to ensure you always have an edge.