Oluyomi Ojo – CEO, Printivo

Oluyomi Ojo was our guest on Under 40 CEOs last night. For those who may have missed some or this particulare episode of Under 40 CEOson Silverbird Dream Network, DSTV Channel 252 at 9pm last night. See what he had to say on the show below:

“I started my first business 16 years ago, I was fresh out of secondary school. I had JAMB and all that in front of me to sort before entering the university, so I could not sit at home. I had something I had been doing, like handmade cards and as at then it was a big deal. Then I went to mum and said, “give me 300naira, I want to put it in paper and stuff.” Initially, it was because a friend had given me the tip that if you bring this thing to the University of Lagos, people will buy it, just get it well-packaged. So I collected the money from my mum and bought the paper and other materials, so I made some copies of handmade cards with it and I went to University of Lagos to sell. Surprisingly, that day I made a thousand naira.

I have a Bachelors degree in Applied Mathematics at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, but I had always wanted to study computer sciences. That has always been in my head to be a programmer, even though I had an artistic talent. I felt there was a connection somewhere in computer science, but the school didn’t give the course I applied for, so they gave me Applied Mathematics. Having waited some years at home, I felt I should study the course. It was in my 3^rd year that i discovered that this hobby of designing graphics and painting was what I wanted to do.  We left school September 2008 and by December 2008, we had created an office in Lagos where I started my first business.

In 2011, I became an associate member of APCON. What prompted my decision to become a member was because while doing advertising I realized that there are certain things one needs. There were things that one couldn’t do; even now it can’t be done if you are not a member of APCON. So I sat for all the exams and got everything I needed done.

In 2014, I started off from printing, moved into advertising , spent years in advertising and went all out there to get the knowledge. That was when I did Simon Page business school, CIM, University of Art London, and Miami Art School, this was just to ensure I have a knowledge of these industries I am in. Shortly after we were able to lift the agency off the ground, the idea of Printivo struck us. This happened while getting briefs from small scale businesses, companies that couldn’t afford our services as an advert agency. One thing that prompted advertising was because one cannot separate advertising from printing, so we always wanted to use printers for quite a number of projects and it was a serious headache. That was coupled with the fact that there was an opportunity to start a printing company that is focused on small scale businesses. While trying to figure out how we could make it, we stumbled on the idea of online printing, using the internet and technology to scale it. Then we realized that if we can give them something that takes away their problem, gives them in cheap prices, quality and dropped at their doorstep, then we are in business.

Mr FAB and Oluyomi Ojo on Under 40 CEOs

Before we stared Printivo, there was an existing business called Urbanbaze. Urbanbaze is still running, it is an agency that has a team of 10, still has its clients baze and has won a few other clients but I am not feeling the business any more. The initial cost we used to build printivo was about $50,000- $60,000, but as at that time that was what we had, but we had that confidence that if we do it right, it will work out well.

In relation to the clients that I have worked with, I have realized that it takes a lot to be in a business and money is one of those. When your business has enough money to run, it is good. However, when you see opportunities where you can get external funding, go for it, if you are in a business that needs it. When we applied for Etisalat prize money, it was the first business, and I didn’t even have the intention of applying for it. Someone brought the flyer to the office and said we are doing an awesome business at Printivo and why not apply for this money . Then I was reluctant about the money which was 2million naira and then he convinced me and said even if it’s a month salary, you have nothing to lose. Myself and my co-founders were able to sort it out and surprisingly we won the money! We got more than that money and we were able to sign Etisalat as a client, get really awesome advisers, meet new customers, and we were able to meet people that contributed their ideas in the business.

As an entrepreneur, when you want to raise money, the first question is to ask yourself if you have a business? And how do you know you have a business? Do you have paying customers? Do you have something active running for you? If yes, does your product fit into people’s needs in the market? Have you been able to figure out how to scale your business? Do you have the right team for your business? If you can answer these questions then maybe you are good to go.  But the truth is no one was to invest in ideas any longer, they want to invest in active businesses. They want to know that you have customers.

The current business structure that I and my co-founders set up for Printivo is to ensure that if any of us takes a break from the business like travelling, getting married and all that, we must ensure that the business is not on hold. And that is how business should run today. In some companies when the CEO is absent, then the business doesn’t function. For a business to run in the absence of the CEO, it starts with fact that you are able to empower you team, trust your team, build a structure and run a culture where people have freedom and responsibility. So they are free to execute and responsible for their mistake and things they have done well. In that way, you realize that the company is not about one man. The structure we have at Printivo is that everyone is responsible in getting things done and it doesn’t revolve around one person.

Another thing we do at Printivo is that we are very sensitive to data and insight. We measure almost everything and we noticed that customers started  ordering  and sending the order to other addresses.  We saw that pattern all over the place and were surprised at what was happening. When we started digging deep, we discovered that these were graphic artists, photographers and event planners  ordering on behalf of other people. We realized that if we have these kind of customers on the site, who are not the end users of what they order on the website, it is high time we created something for them. And that was what gave birth to ‘resellers.’ And what is ‘resellers’? This is when you are a graphic designer and you opt in for the account, then we activate you and you can now start ordering for your clients using your account. For every order you place, you get 20% free discount all year round. What it means is that, when you design and  order for your customers on printivo, you still make 20% of the value and the customers pay the initial amount that Printivo charges.

In relation to my business, Printivo, the key rule about partnership is that, you have to work with people that will stretch the journey down the line in 20 years to come. Another rule is setting up a business with people whose skills complements yours. In Printivo, our skills complement and that way we able to keep a balance.

In relation to my awards, I think the first and important award you need as a business owner is returning  customers. Once you have it at the back of your mind that returning customers is the first award, whatever accolade that comes will not get into your head, such that you start losing the things that made you win that award in the first place. However, awards are quite important for you and your team. It shows the team that they are doing something right.

As a speaker, my favorite thing to speak about in a business is the ability to start small. Another one is that fact that your customers are the reason for your business, regardless of your salary.

The first investor we met that introduced us to the investors of our business found us on twitter. So technology has opened many doors and its left for you to decide which one to open.

Traveling and interacting with diverse culture has made me step away from my boundaries. One thing I tell people is to step away from their boundaries. One of the things travelling will impact in you is that you will learn other cultures and you will really understand that if you run a diversified business, there are chances of growing and scaling fast. Beyond that, there is always something to learn from interacting with people from other culture, experience and field. My trips to and fro outside Nigeria has impacted a lot to me. I have had the chance of hiring someone outside the country that helps in the business.

As the CEO, the key challenge we had was the fact that it was tough finding the right talent when we first started because we were entering a market where there was  literally no company running a business that was similar to ours. So it wasn’t like we could poach existing relevant skills. We had to create our own skilled people and it was a challenge. Funding was not really a challenge because we wanted to start small. Another challenge is that the market is not matured enough, it is still growing. For all the challenges, there were still opportunities within. For instance, the people we were able to train are the key players in the business today.

In the starting the business, we were just 3 co-founders and we needed 2 more people. and we were asking ourselves that who do we get to do these things. On twitter, I sent out a tweet and said if you are young and you want to join a promising company reach out to me. My co-founders also did that as well. A few people reached out to us but we couldn’t find what we were looking for. A week later, one of my co-founder said he had received  a CV of a lady, then after the interview, we realized she was what we wanted for the company. In a business there are always failures. I can vividly remember in 2013, myself and one of my co-founders started a company called ‘Pick One’. The business was supposed to be a marketing and distribution company but it died on day one. Money went into the business and we didn’t make a dime because it was over dependent on partners. Most of the key partners we were going to use had started going into our business. We failed in the business, but the most important thing is that we learnt our mistake and made sure it never happened again. Few months later, the idea of Printivo came and we were able to take the energy of that failure into running Printivo.

My leadership style is simple because i love working with people that don’t  need me to get things done. In pertaining to our core values, we have a popular saying that goes “ship happiness always”. One of the things we said we would do is to make sure anybody that picks a Printivo order and opens it must be happy. And if that is missing, then that dents our values. So we ensure that everything must be done to fix that part.

I love to eat beans and plantain. My style is simple because I wear what is functional for me. My favourite car to drive would be a Benz. My favourite travel destination is San Francisco. I am reading a book called ‘The hard things about hard things’. What makes me happy is seeing the things I work in work.”

ABOUT UNDER 40 CEOs

Under 40 CEOs is a 30-minute television series that tells the stories of these CEOs, in a bid to showcase the sheer amount of resourcefulness of the individuals. When the stories are told, some will term them superheroes, but we attempt to demystify them by digging deep to discover what makes them tick, they are a new breed that must not be threatened by extinction. They are an inspirational bunch and the goal is to replicate them. They are the new school heroes to many, however we choose to call them our Under 40 CEOs.

See more details at www.under40ceos.com