Earlier this week i caught up with an old School friend Ehis Asibor, We both attended the Great University of Benin. It was amazing to find out that he is now an established entrepreneur, you all know i love young people who are enterprising. So We had a chit chat on his new business venture justfrom5k.com his plans to take E-commerce services to another level. We chatted about taking a risk in his career, plans for the future, and taking over the E-commerce world…
Tell us a bit about yourself and brand.
My name is Ehis Asibor. I have always dreamed of building a tech start-up and my close friends can confirm this. My first was campusgist.com Way back in University of Benin, then all4naija.com a few years ago and now justfrom5k.com. Justfrom5k.com is a blend of the lessons from my previous ventures and a need I see in the Nigerian market today In the last few years I have lived outside the country and on several occasions, I needed to do things in Nigeria but couldn't find the right person to help.
The name Justfrom5k.com what inspired it?
One day I thought to myself why is there no platform to just ask people to do things for me...that was the day the idea was born. The name justfrom5k.com came because I was initially thinking of a place to get basic errands done. Errands that people would pay N5000 for. But as I thought more about it the idea evolved into what it is today
What was the process like from idea to getting the right steps to set up to the finished product?
It involved a lot of iterations. The version I eventually launched was the 5th iteration. I would work on one, share it with friends then hit a stumbling block and scrap it. Finally I decided to just launch and adapt on the fly...this is what I have been doing. I eventually launched on the 18th may 2015. The product is still not finished...I have a wall of post-its where I wrote new features to be added..
Wow I like the fact that you are totally involved, it seems time consuming hope you have time for the family?
I am totally involved, and my wife is very supportive. I do all the programming myself It's my trade secret :)
You have such a beautiful and supportive wife, how did you meet her?
I met her in London when I went to see a friend
Justfrom5k.com is a new and modern idea to offer services, do you think Africa is ready for this?
Yes we definitely are. If you look at Nigeria today and compare to just a few years ago, you will realize that the country is ripe and ready for technology. Gone are the days when we have to sweat to get things done or wonder how best to do things efficiently. What Justfrom5k.com needs to succeed are skilled individuals ready to render services and technology to make their services available to everyone. These two ingredients are definitely available in Africa today and there is really no need to run to India in search of skilled people anymore. With justfrom5k.com the skilled people are now a click away.
What has the response been like?
I launched Justfrom5k.com on the 18th of May and initially things were slow which is quite normal for most start-ups. For my team and I, we were quick to recognize that Trust was the reason for the slow response. People were wondering if they could trust complete strangers to perform tasks or execute projects for them. However, as soon as we launched our verification platform- the first of its kind in Nigeria, we have seen exponential growth. The response has been awesome and we expect more growth.
What do you feel has been your biggest achievement to date?
Personally, I think my biggest achievement is the acceptability of Justfrom5k by the public. I cannot count the number of times people log into our live chat customer care platform just to give us thumbs up. It feels good knowing we are providing an avenue for unemployed Nigerians to employ themselves.
What do you love most about being an Entrepreneur?
The ability to identify and fix problems... I just love it!
I know you are a fashionable person, what’s your 5 must have list for every man's wardrobe.
Hmmm…… for me a good fedora hat, a nice jacket jeans and shirt and cool shoes and am good
Who is your role model?
Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba.com is my role model in the context of start-ups. I love the fact that Jack Ma did not give up and saw an opportunity in the internet. I love the fact that when his first company was annexed by the Chinese government, he wasn’t discouraged. He just left and founded something new. In business resilience is key.
Where do you see just5k.com in the next 5 years?
Someone asked me this same question a few days ago and here is the answer i gave the person. I cannot voice out where I see Justfrom5k.com in the next 5 years because anyway i can describe it is still smaller than the image I have in my head. It’s like by describing it, I am limiting the potential to what I am saying.
What are your tips for young people who want to be entrepreneurs?
I have just one tip, whatever the idea you have in your head, stop thinking about it and Just Start! You do not have to wait to get the product right, just simply start. Until you start, you have not started. The reason I say this is because there is nothing wrong in making mistakes and correcting as you move along. The market is the best test to how feasible any idea is.
With Best Regards
Entrepreneur: Ehis Asibor
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/justfrom5k
Twitter: https://twitter.com/justfrom5k
Email: info@justfrom5k.com
Website: http://www.justfrom5k.com
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