It’s been said countless of number of times that Nigeria has poor reading culture. If this applied in the past, when technology wasn’t so popular, then the situation has probably gone worse, with technology posing as a distraction.
But, Nathaniel Okwoli is using this distraction to make reading fun for Nigerians.
Through his startup, Booklify.ng, Nigerians are able to access books, share book recommendations and connect with like minds.
In his interview, he tells us more about Booklify.ng and his journey into entrepreneurship.
Tell us a little about yourself
My name is Nathaniel Okwoli. I studied Geography in the university, and love anything powered by technology. Perhaps that explains my inquisitive nature. I am passionate about learning and discovery. During my Internship at the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) under the Directorship of Dr. Halilu Shaba, I came to understand that a vast knowledge and excellence sets you apart.
My dream has been to build a platform that allows people to connect with others, learn and acquire knowledge
Tell us about Booklify and what you’re offering
Booklify is an online bookstore and social book discovery platform. It’s a community for book lovers to connect and share their favourite books while giving Authors a platform to distribute their books to readers. We offer an e-book publishing and distribution platform, and social network for authors, readers and writers.
One of the benefits of Booklify is embedded in belonging to a community of like minds who are passionate about reading and getting book recommendations.
What inspired the idea for this?
My Dad was was someone who believed so much in education and how reading/books can transform an individual/society and this was somehow instilled in us the children. So I have found myself reading most times to equip myself as an individual.
Sometime in early 2016, I was searching for a book to read and a friend I had recently met suggested Peter Theil’s “Zero to One” since he understood my interests. This made me understand that book recommendations plays a significant role in bringing to me my favourite books. At that point, the Booklify dream was born – To make finding and sharing your favourite books easy and fun.
So far, how has the response been from Nigerians?
Naturally most people would think that Nigerians don’t read but our experience so far has proven otherwise. More people are beginning to embrace a good reading culture which is really an amazing thing. We’ve been getting honest feedbacks and even recommendations as well.
Though growth has been organic so far, we’ve received tremendous support. Someone like Tunji Olagunju, Nigeria’s foremost ICT and Cyber Lawyer has shown as much support.
How were you able to secure funds to get business rolling?
Interestingly, at the time when we were still developing the idea, we got accepted into the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme.
How do you market your startup, and what method has proven to be the most successful form of marketing?
When you’re a new kid on the block, you will play with a few friends before finding your buddies. Also, your value proposition has to be solid so as to be relevant in the block.
We have experimented with much but have come to realize that content marketing and Influencer marketing has been the most effective.
Tell us the story behind your foray into entrepreneurship.
In the University I worked with a couple of friends to sell e-books to students, and at one point it was Post UTME past questions online for admission seekers and afterwards I and my friend, Shedrack Anyebe and other friends would register new students who just gained admission on the school portal for a fee.
This along with my passion for creativity and innovation has spurred me into creating solutions for problems as they occur.
What challenges did you face starting out and how did you overcome them?
One of the challenges I faced earlier on was hiring the right talent who would also believe in your dream. What I did was to basically partner with friends because friends know you and would easily commit while we outsource the rest task that can’t be done in-house.
I have also learnt to be patient with people, be fair but firm because you will never have it all figured out at the beginning.
Describe your most exciting entrepreneurial moment
For me, networking and meeting with great thinkers is one of the things I enjoy the most. So, meeting Tony Elumelu along with other Entrepreneurs during the Tony Elumelu Forum in Lagos was a much needed validation that we are solving a relevant problem.
From your experience as an entrepreneur, what advice would you give aspiring Nigerian entrepreneurs?
As an entrepreneur, always focus on identifying a problem first. Most entrepreneurs start with a solution before thinking of the problem associated with it. You have to identify a problem you’re angry about and want to see something done about it.
If you are a complainer, you won’t go far. Those things people complain about is a great opportunity to be explored and exploited and most importantly, never give up on your dreams.
