CEO Drinks.NG |
Born and bred in the United Kingdom, Lanre Akinlagun, is a graduate
of Guildhall University, UK, a digital marketer and founder of fast-rising
e-commerce drinks store, Drinks.ng. In this interview, he speaks on his venture
and gives insight into when to start a business and how to overcome some of the
inherent challenges.
Kindly
tell us a little bit about your foray into business?
My core
skill set is digital marketing and I have done this for 12 years now. I worked with IBM, which took me to
Silicon Valley frequently, and
this is where I first caught the entrepreneurial bug
and confidence. I joined the iROKOtv team as an early executive member, which initially brought me back to Nigeria occasionally. It was
on these trips, I spotted the opportunity to start drinks.ng.
Tell us
about your experience so far?
Over the course
of the last two years, we have faced some unique challenges, especially during the last elections and even for months after. Some days believe me, I just feel like
quitting; and some time I wished I was here 10 years ago. The one thing that has gotten me through the last two years
is the tremendous level of hope within the nation no matter the challenges.
In your
opinion, when is the best time to start a
business?
There are only two times I think
you can consider starting a
business. One is when you spot an
opportunity and the second is when
you feel ready. There is no
perfect time, no perfect place or feeling; nothing can prepare you for running a business and giving up the safe security of a
salary.
What
were the challenges i.e. raising capital?
I was extremely fortunate to have been able to raise my initial capital from spark.ng, which shares the same co-founders as
iROKOtv.com. I was informed of their fund early
on and quickly capitalized on the
opportunity by presenting my proposal. These guys have
supported several other businesses over the last three years and given great support in all aspects of entrepreneurship.
Source: IT Web Africa |
Who are your
role models and why?
I have quite a number of role
models both dead and alive. I will
like to mention a few. These are Ashish
J. Thakkar, Aliko Dangote, Pascal dozie, Brian Voakes and
Chief Joe Asien. All these men have touched my life in one way
or the other, some more directly than they realize, but they have excelled in their fields
and raised the bar to new heights for us as Africans.
Where is this business
going to and when are you
getting there?
The story
of our business is still being written and we plan to grow
the largest beverage company in West
Africa. We have the support
of the industry leaders, the marketers and we have built a trusted company, one that people can trust and
believe in. As for when we will get there, when the time is
right, but we plan on moving and growing fast.
What has been your biggest challenge?
Our biggest
challenge is time; we wish we
had more time in the day to
get things done.
Within the internet world, time is everything and speed of execution is what
makes the difference
between winning and losing.
What is great
about running your own business?
I
can quite easily say that I wake up every morning
doing what I love doing more than anything. It feels great being able to dedicate
myself to something without feeling
like I have not given anything up and I feel like that daily.
Succeeding as an entrepreneur takes hard work and persistence because, unfortunately, there is no business-startup fairy who magically bestows success on small businesses and their owners. If you want to start a Muslim business then come to Startup Muslim, they can help you!
ReplyDeletegsdgsdg
ReplyDeleteAll entrepreneurs know however, that success is not overnight, they know it requires effort and they know they will make mistakes in the process. important source
ReplyDeleteYou're doing a good job by establishing your business in Western Africa. I know another graduate of Guildhall University who is managing his own projects< in that region.
ReplyDeleteI hope I will have a chance to work with this guy. Hope you all are doing fine now. You can find me on https://essaydragon.com/blog/exam-tips this page now.
ReplyDeleteThere is no perfect time, no perfect place or feeling; nothing can prepare you for running a business and giving up the safe security of a salary. PCAP-31-02 exam dumps
ReplyDeleteCustomary way of thinking (and numerous lawyers) will disclose to you that, in case you're a business proprietor or supervisor, you will get yourself stuck in an unfortunate situation in the event that you don't have a decent business lawyer. pittsburgh car accident lawyer
ReplyDeletegreat article, I was very impressed about it, wish you would have stayed next share
ReplyDeletefleeing the complex
mostly entrepreneur used quickbooks accouting software for managing their accounts records and details because it is fast and easy plus it saves your data online which means in case of data lost yoy can again get it back and in some cases users face some issues in quickbooks so to fix them you can Quickbooks Contact and ask them for quickbooks contact number for your help.
ReplyDeletequickbooks support provides tech assistance for the issues in the quickbooks and in order to fix them you can contact to quickbooks support and they will provide you QuickBooks tech support
ReplyDeletePLEASE READ!!Hello Guys!!! I am Caro I live in Ohio USA I’m 32 Years old, am so happy I got my blank ATM card from Adriano. My blank ATM card can withdraw $4,000 daily. I got it from Him last week and now I have withdrawn about $10,000 for free. The blank ATM withdraws money from any ATM machines and there is no name on it because it is blank just your PIN will be on it, it is not traceable and now I have money for business, shopping and enough money for me and my family to live on.I am really glad and happy i met Adriano because I met Five persons before him and they could not help me. But am happy now Adriano sent the card through DHL and I got it in two days. Get your own card from him right now, he is giving it out for small fee to help people even if it is illegal but it helps a lot and no one ever gets caught or traced. I’m happy and grateful to Adriano because he changed my story all of a sudden. The card works in all countries that is the good news Adriano's email address is adrianohackers01@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteThis is also a very good article that I really enjoy reading potty racers Hope you will give more useful information.
ReplyDeleteSuperb blog! all information really useful for us, thanks for sharing here. If you are looking packers and moving service, then contact Zodiac packers movers, here you will get best Packers and Mover in Dwarka.
ReplyDeletePLEASE READ!!
ReplyDeleteHello Guys!!! I am Caro I live in Ohio USA I’m 32 Years old, am so happy I got my blank ATM card from Adriano. My blank ATM card can withdraw $3,500 daily. I got it from Him last week and now I have withdrawn about $12,000 for free. The blank ATM withdraws money from any ATM machines and there is no name on it because it is blank just your PIN will be on it, it is not traceable and now I have money for business, shopping and enough money for me and my family to live on.I am really glad and happy i met Adriano because I met Five persons before him and they could not help me. But am happy now Adriano sent the card through DHL and I got it in two days. Get your own card from him right now, he is giving it out for small fee to help people even if it is illegal but it helps a lot and no one ever gets caught or traced. I’m happy and grateful to Adriano because he changed my story all of a sudden. The card works in all countries that is the good news Adriano's email address is adrianohackers01@gmail.com
PLEASE READ!!
ReplyDeleteHello Guys!!! I am Caro I live in Ohio USA I’m 32 Years old, am so happy I got my blank ATM card from Adriano. My blank ATM card can withdraw $3,500 daily. I got it from Him last week and now I have withdrawn about $12,000 for free. The blank ATM withdraws money from any ATM machines and there is no name on it because it is blank just your PIN will be on it, it is not traceable and now I have money for business, shopping and enough money for me and my family to live on.I am really glad and happy i met Adriano because I met Five persons before him and they could not help me. But am happy now Adriano sent the card through DHL and I got it in two days. Get your own card from him right now, he is giving it out for small fee to help people even if it is illegal but it helps a lot and no one ever gets caught or traced. I’m happy and grateful to Adriano because he changed my story all of a sudden. The card works in all countries that is the good news Adriano's email address is adrianohackers01@gmail.com