Ikechukwu Nweze is a young entrepreneur who has experienced several failures but kept pushing with the hope of finding success. His patience eventually paid off. Nweze, who describes himself as a compulsive problem solver, is what you would call a “tech bro”. He is the Founder of Vent Comm. He is also the Founder and CEO of Olili Foods, the pioneer food delivery startup in Delta state.
In this interview with Diademng’s Onyinye Okonkowo, Nweze narrates his journey through trials to triumphs.
Excerpts below:
Tell us about yourself
I am the last of five children, born and bred in Warri Delta State. But I hail l from Awka South in Anambra State. My father is an accountant while my mother is a businesswoman. I studied Computer Science at the Delta State Polytechnic, Ogwashi Ukwu, where I obtained my O.N.D. and later my H.N.D. from Auchi Polythenic.
How did growing up influence who you are today?
Growing up around my parents gave me a solid introduction to not only how to run a business but how to keep records, books and numbers; which is very important in business. I currently run several businesses easily and even I am amazed at my ability to keep great records, track business income and expenditure and accurately balance books even without an accountant. This for me is one of the influences of having an accountant as a father. I must say it has tremendously helped me.
Did you always want to be an entrepreneur?
Yes, I have always wanted to be self-employed, which is what eventually led me to become an entrepreneur. I have only been employed once in my life, and that was when I was working at a cyber cafe after secondary school. I didn’t work there for long before I veered off on my own and began freelancing, creating websites on already existing template. I got big in blogging and made good money from Google Adsense, and building and managing websites. So, I guess you could say my desire to be an entrepreneur translated into reality even though the journey was filled with challenges and several failures.
What are some of the challenges you have faced on your journey?
I have faced several challenges and even endured failures. I can count at least seven businesses that I started which all failed. First, I tried creating an email service providing a product called Vail very much like Gmail and that failed. We couldn’t launch because the person I outsourced building it to didn’t build it properly. I abandoned that and next tried building something like Netflix, but it didn’t work. I tried building something like Nairaland, but it failed, I tried building a social network like Facebook called Vent Chat I tried my hands at blogging on a very professional scale but that also didn’t work. At some point, I wanted to play professional football, but that didn’t work out, I even bought Gidi 360 music blog one time. But it still failed. Remember I was spending money on all these ventures and it wasn’t easy at that point. So, to increase my cash inflow, I became a professional DJ. I did that cumulatively for 8 years but began to reduce my involvement in it when my tech business began to pick up.
When did things begin to turn around for you?
I would say when I and my co-founders founded Olili Foods. That is what I would consider my first successful business which we launched in 2019. Before founding Olili, I was already involved in tech as I said earlier building websites, writing codes and working as a developer with my business partners. I got the idea for a food delivery business here in Asaba because as a bachelor who was always very busy working as a developer amongst other things, I often didn’t have the time and energy to cook. YetI needed to eat. This had me thinking that in a town of young people, this must be a problem for many. So, I got the idea of building an app where people who need to get food can order from various restaurants from the comfort of their homes. I shared the idea with my friends and they said they had been thinking in the same direction so we teamed up and founded Olili Foods which has been a hit and currently available for use in Asaba and Warri.
What kept you going despite all the trials and challenges?
What kept me going was that I saw the whole trials and failed business ventures as a building block for me. I saw it as a phase of learning, growing, and training, a phase I needed to understand that trials, challenges and seeming failures are a learning curve. And that is often the growth path. Without going through that process I would not have as much experience as I now do. So just focusing on learning from the process helped me to keep moving forward.
What advice do you have for up-and-coming entrepreneurs?
My advice to up-and –coming entrepreneurs would be to do their research, before going into any business, and ensure they carry out an in-depth analysis of both the business and those who are already players in that space. No idea is unique as there are people who were already doing that before you. So always ensure you do not just jump in without carrying out proper research and analysis. An entrepreneur also needs to be brilliant as it takes a lot of brain work. You have to consider environmental factors, government regulations and policies, human factors and availability of human resources and financial constraints. While studying other businesses keep in mind that working for others in India may not work for an entrepreneur in Nigeria.
Where do you see yourself in the next five years?
In the next five years, I see myself inspiring more people. I see myself bringing products that will revolutionise some sectors in the country and continent. In five years, I hope to show people that there is no monopoly to success and provide solutions to societal problems throughout my life. I also hope to have built one of my businesses to the level of becoming a global success.
Very motivating , these are deep lessons !
Thank you Sir