Ehis, is one of those types. I wasn't surprised when I saw that he started this or any of his other ventures despite the fact that he got caught up in the corporate world years back. I met Ehis during a project we were working on with +Adetola Oredope in our final year in Uni, we would all gather at Tola's house and go from design to design, tweaking, adjusting and collating data. It was a time in my life, I would never forget. Our first true test of creation and innovation and although we did not know it then, our first taste of entrepreneurship.
Today, Ehis has launched a new project called justfrom5k.com. I have not doubt in my mind that he can make this work. He shares his story and the idea behind the project with us...
Enjoy!
Tell us about yourself
I have a masters in petroleum engineering and a bachelors in mechanical engineering. My masters was obtained from the University of Houston, while my bachelors was from the University of Benin.
Today, I work as an engineer in the Oil and Gas industry, but I have a strong flair for Technology and startups.
My philosophy in life is based on two quotes.."Aim for the sky so if you must fall, you will land on a roof top" and the second was made by Jack Ma "We will make it because we are young and we never, never give up"
Tell us about your business
Justfrom5k.com was launched in May 2015 and the platform is designed to connect freelancers with people who need them(the freelancers) to run errands, perform tasks or execute projects. Almost any kind of service can be requested for on Justfrom5k.com
Our model is such that anyone can make a request for any kind of service and then multiple freelancers will bid to meet the needs of the request creator.
Here are two links to videos that can shed more light
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7mIBhieseg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2idB8lby24
What was your inspiration for starting this business?
Since 2006 I have lived outside Nigeria. On more than one occasion I had things that I wanted done in Nigeria but I could not do them because I could not find the people to help me. At a stage I started asking why is there no platform where I can just state my needs and find someone to do it for me and that was how I got the inspiration of Justfrom5k.
Initially, I was thinking of basic errands and hence the "5k" but over time, the idea evolved into what it is today.
How did you get funding for your business?
Justfrom5k is mostly funded from personal funds.
I say mostly because I am talking about 98%. The other 2% is from a friend who is interested in buying some equity.
What opportunities have you been able to leverage on in your business so far?
Due to my very busy schedule and the fact that I reside outside the country, I have been unable to leverage on the benefits the Nigerian startup environment as at today, but Justfrom5k.com is my third attempt at creating a startup and I am leveraging from all the lessons learnt from the first two.
The first one was done in 2002 and it was a website called campusgist.com, while the second was all4naija and that was in 2011.
What Challenges have you faced so far and how have you been able to overcome them?
My biggest challenge today is my unavailability physically on ground in Nigeria. This was the reason all4naija.com failed.
So I learnt from it and decided to build a very different company one were MOST of the work can be done by staffs working from home remotely.
Its still a challenge though, because I cannot leverage on the opportunities that being physically on ground offers.
How will you summarize the journey so far?
So far, given the resources that I have had to work with, I must say its been inspiring.
The level of success we have seen so far is amazing and it tells me that I must just keep pressing forward.
Given the Chance, will you do this again?
YES, YES and YES
What lessons have you been able to learn from your journey so far that others should know.
Don't be afraid to start. Just start!.. You don't need a perfect product to start and until you start, you have not started!
The version of Justfrom5k.com we launched with, did not look half as good as what we have today and a lot of the functionalities we now have were not there at the beginning . But by starting, we learnt what was important and prioritized accordingly.
One unique thing about Justfrom5k.com is the way we handle trust. We have a multi-level verification system - the first of its kind on any online platform in Nigeria.
Our verification system allows us to put real and physical identities behind every name you see on Justfrom5k.com
How can people connect with you
Email: info@justfrom5k.com
Facebook: facebook.com/justfrom5k
Twitter: twitter.com/justfrom5k
Linkedin: linkedin.com/company/justfrom5k-com
Address:
29 Kujore Street,
Off Roju Avenue,
Ojota, Lagos.
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