Courtlee Rodrigues is currently a Third Year International Relations Student at the University of Guyana with a passion for business. His original intention was to pursue a career in law but fell in love with the field of International Relations. He is fascinated by the way the world is connected and the dynamics between countries. At one time Rodrigues served as the President of the Guyana Chapter of the Association of Caribbean Students for Equal Access to the Legal Profession (ACSEAL) which is an action committee of Caribbean intellectuals that is focused on changing the discriminatory admission processes of the law schools in the Caribbean.
Rodrigues was born at Woodlands Hospital in Georgetown on 6th January 1995 to parents Wayne Rodrigues and Sharon Welcome. He grew up with seven (7) siblings in a low-income village of Sophia. During his childhood, his parents separated and his single mother was burdened managed their household. He attended Redeemer Primary and subsequently the Brickdam Secondary School. While his parents did not really understand him, Rodrigues was always supported and inspired by his family members. Rodrigues remembers being alienated and bullied by peers because of his intellect during his childhood days. He subsequently suppressed his intelligence in order to make the children more comfortable. Nevertheless, he never stopped, thinking, questioning and analyzing, all key skills in becoming an entrepreneur which he later pursued. It was only when he enrolled in the University of Guyana, that Courtlee felt free to be himself.
His Journey of Becoming an Entrepreneur
Growing up in poverty in one of the toughest neighbourhood in Guyana inspired Rodrigues to become an entrepreneur. As a child, he often missed school trips and lacked books and study material, since his mother could not afford to provide everything for them. He is an avid reader which lead him to read a book called ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki”, one of his sources of inspiration.
After that, I found a channel on YouTube called Alux, and my life was forever changed. I was always annoyed with jobs because they have a set system that sometimes made me very unhappy because I would not be able to express myself. I hated the monotony of it. My first job was washing cars at the carwash my father owned. I washed cars until my fingers bled and my toes peeled from the constant water and sand/dirt I was walking around in. My mother and father were always business people. My mother would bake and sell pastries when she was out of a job and my father owned car rentals and many other businesses. I was always inspired by poverty; it was so abhorrent to me, that I push myself to rid myself to get out of it. Reading and learning remain my loves and they have contributed greatly to my path.
As Courtlee noted, he disliked the regular nine to five job, as they left little room for growth and personal development. Rodrigues always had the mind of an entrepreneur, seeing opportunity in adversity. His first business endeavour was the making and selling of pillows. At that time his meagre salary didn’t suffice to help his mother and to cover his living expenses-he was looking for ways to make extra cash.
Pillow made by Courtlee Rodrigues
It was around the same time he acquired an old freezer and he began selling meat, ice cream and ice from his home. While he made little profit, his love for business bloomed. He recalls saving $500 GYD and buying a pocket knife which later he sold to a coworker. He invested whatever profit he made into more pocket knives which he sold to almost anyone he could find.
I then sold sneakers after saving up money and made deliveries during lunchtime at my job. It was hard riding my bicycle in the scorching midday sun, but I did not care, I had to make my way, there was no other option. I sold bedsheets and blankets also, and even customized greeting cards that my girlfriend at the time would make. With all the businesses I started, I tried to solve a problem, like overpricing, lack of convenience or the lack of availability of some product or service. I noticed another problem on the Turkeyen Campus of University of Guyana and started the food delivery business. I then ventured into my writing and editing services after noticing many students needed help with homework and assignments. To date, I’ve written for overseas companies like Amazon, University students in Liverpool, England, in China, even the Harvard University in the United States of America and many on Turkeyen campus.
Discipline is one of the main, defining factors in a person’s success, and Courtlee had the chance of learning this after serving for about three (3) years in the military. His life motto is “Success requires discipline, and discipline demands sacrifice”. He hopes that everyone in society can discover the superpower that is available to all of us: self-discipline. Rodrigues is now the CEO of a company called Congruence International, which comprises of the different branches of business. These include:
- Congruence Penmanship
- Congruence Shipping
- Sharon’s Diner and Catering Service
- Crafty Nurse
- Hinds Designs
- Congruence Retail
- Congruence Currencies
-
- Congruence International
-
- Sharon’s Diner and Catering Service
One of Rodrigues goals is to create a school that teaches life skills in addition to regular academic classes. He aims to cover areas which lack coverage and expertise like interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligence, sex education and financial education and other life skills like agriculture, family planning and home management and the philosophy.
Passion for Growth and Self Improvement
The young entrepreneur is not only passionate about business but also about knowledge, science, and finance. He is a part of the UG Female Empowerment Movement and the University of Guyana Biology Club. He believes our society needs to be more aware of global warming, pollution, mental health and women’s rights, animal’s rights and racism. He works daily to educate himself and to teach others as he believes awareness leads to growth.
Although he is straight, Rodrigues is a supporter of the LGBTQIA community because he believes no one should be ridiculed or disrespected for being himself/herself. Some of his hobbies include karate, archery, modelling, reading and writing. He is also a model, which he now loves. When he’s not managing his businesses, he spends times with his pet dogs.
-
- Courtlee Rodrigues
-
- Courtlee Rodrigues
This young Guyanese entrepreneur quite literally sold leaves (moringa) during the Covid-19 lockdown of 2020, which suspended his UG operations. As he says, there is an opportunity in adversity. Rodrigues is also active on social media, where he tries to document his journey and aims to inspire others by creating a network of people with the goal of self-improvement. He seeks to cultivate happiness and to help people learn and practice mutual respect for each other regardless of race, gender, religion or creed. The mission of Courtlee Rodrigues is to inspire others to become the best version of themselves in whatever career they pursue through the sharing of knowledge and resources.
Contact Information of Courtlee Rodrigues
- https://www.facebook.com/courtlee.rodrigues
- https://www.instagram.com/p/CAqtY8nHlAc2RGCxUEXlTRNS2TxZH_kSgLyeHY0/?igshid=15ii9hgoee94u
- https://www.instagram.com/p/B4g5-1Mn6k1/?igshid=1hdhe16z3c9b
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/courtlee-rodrigues-2a6437147_know-whats-crazy-we-all-know-were-going-activity-6654433873746763776-OshV
- https://twitter.com/rcourtlee/status/1267137435600740352?s=21
- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk41OuE3-Pe4vap5yKLn0dQ
