Bola Marquis: IT Manager to Luxury Fashion Brand Founder

Bola Marquis is the founder of Okun, an African inspired beachwear brand that is stocked in the likes of Browns, Matches and Mr. Porter.

Bola was born in Senegal, and grew up between Nigeria and the UK, before settling in London. He started out his career in IT programme management in industries such as oil and gas, travel and advertising. However, it was his creative flair and entrepreneurial spirit that led him to leave it behind (although not entirely), to start up his hugely successful beachwear brand, Okun.

Bola draws his inspiration from cultures across the African continent and distils them into Okun’s colourful and vibrantly designed men’s swim shorts. The Okun instagram account @okunbeachwear is well worth following. 

Bola is a force to be reckoned with. He’s driven, focussed and totally passionate about what he does. Bola talks about his career journey, the joys of serendipity, dealing with failures and his unique take on your job vs. your passion.