She’s not afraid of hard twerk.
A British woman who quit her dream job at Google has now built a $125,000-a-year business teaching people how to twerk.
Bami Kuteyi, 29, secured a lucrative role as a marketing executive with Google back in 2015, believing she’d work with the tech giant for decades.
But the young Brit soon became disillusioned with corporate life and left her friends stunned when she quit the company to kickstart her own business, Twerk After Work.
“I feel so much freer and in control of my own time,” Kuteyi cooed in an interview with MyLondon. “I get people messaging me saying they never thought they’d be able to do it or that they’ve been inspired to leave their job and follow their own dreams.”
Kuteyi — who got her Google gig straight after her college graduation — came up with the idea of becoming a twerking tutor after she began hosting workout classes for her co-workers.
“Getting a job at Google was fun. I remember telling all my friends from university and feeling like I was doing amazing,” she recalled. “Once I got to Google, though, I found it hard to assimilate and find my voice in a place I didn’t really feel included.”
Creative Kuteyi decided to start an inclusive workout class and was stunned by how popular it was with her colleagues.
“I wanted to create a safe space for everyone to just come and have fun. I started [classes] Bam Bam Boogie and Twerk After Work while at Google and it was a hit,” the innovative entrepreneur stated.
“We had lines out the door of people wanting to take part, people peeking through the windows and it became the most popular employee-led thing at Google campus,” she added. “I killed it at Google.”
Kuteyi subsequently decided she wanted to take her classes to a broader audience, leading to the “risky” decision to quit her career.
In 2018, Kuteyi left her post at Google and opened her business to the general public.
Less than 18 months later, the twerk tutor was hit with hardship when the coronavirus pandemic forced the closure of her studios.
However, the defiant dance instructor wasn’t willing to let her booming business die and quickly moved things online.
“We had to build a community online, train instructors around the world and conduct classes online,” she explained. “It was tough for a new business to have to go through but we managed.”
With the help of social media and strong word-of-mouth recommendations, Kuteyi’s classes continued to attract devoted followers. Twerk After Work is open to all types of dancers, with students learning various routines in addition to honing their twerking skills.
“My business is expected to turn over $125,000 this year,” Kuteyi proudly revealed. “It feels so surreal to think that. To know my business is going to make that, makes me think, ‘Like, wow girl, you really did that’ — and I’m only scratching the surface.”
The brainy Brit is one of many millennials who have quit corporate life in recent years in a bid to start their own business.
Indeed, Kuteyi’s decision to leave her traditional job came just before the pandemic prompted millions of people to quit the rat race, with the unprecedented number of quitting being dubbed “The Great Resignation.”
Earlier this year, The Post profiled a number of people who left traditional roles in law and finance to forge their own creative companies.
