FROM FUN TO MILLIONS: HOW SEUN
OSEWA BUILT A MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR
ONLINE VENTURE WITH NAIRALAND























Mark Zuckerberg? Yes, that’s the boy
that started Facebook. What started as a
tool to share pictures and poke fun at
chics by some students on Harvard
campus is now a multi-billion dollars
enterprise. With a networth estimated to
be $19 billion, Mark, who will be 30 in May,
is the richest under-30 in the world. He
became a billionaire at 23 years.
Now, Facebook, you know very well;
Google, you visit everyday even to search
for answers to JAMB questions; Youtube,
you watch; Yahoo, you have an email
account with; but have you ever given
thought to one website that recurringly
turns up anytime you search for anything
Nigerian? Does Nairaland ring a bell?








If you’re an active internet user, or you
consult that machine to search for stuff,
chances are you would have come across
Nairaland. Well, Nairaland is Nigeria’s
biggest indigenous website and only
Facebook, Yahoo, Google and are
more viewed than it. Put better, it
commands more visits than Twitter and
Wikipedia in Nigeria. It also bests sites like
Punch, Vanguard, Guardian etc. It is the
seventh most visited website in Nigeria
and among the top 1000 most viewed
sites in the world. Nairaland records more
than one million views everyday.
But behind this hugely successful online
site is one young man called Seun Osewa.








Who is Seun Osewa?

Seun was born some 32 years ago.
He is an indigene of Ogun state (this
state has more firsts than any other
state in Nigeria: Abiola, Obasanjo,
Awolowo, Soyinka, wetin sef?).
He lives in Ogun state and has
refused to move to Lagos, the
“happening capital” of Nigeria.





The beginning was not rosy
-

Small boy just playing on the internet in
2003…no, he actually started with all
seriousness
In this 2006 interview, he narrated how all
his businesses before Nairaland failed
.

Another drop-out?

Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates
dropped out of Harvard to pursue
their interests (Facebook and
Microsoft), Seun also enrolled as a
student of Obafemi Awolowo
University (oops, Great Ife, we rule!)
to study electrical engineering in
1998, but he did not finish. No, he
wasn’t rusticated. Too brilliant to be.
But an account has it he left to do the
“Bill Gates” thing.







So how did he hit the Nairaland jackpot?

an out of money, while I
couldn’t execute many other projects I
researched due to shyness and lack of
capital. My blogs and the mobile phone
forum that preceded Nairaland were
successful but not profitable. However, it
was on that foundation that Nairaland
was built.”
“About 2 years earlier (2003) I had
attempted to start a web hosting
business, but after 3 months I could only
boast of one customer, so I ran out of
capital and the business died. It would
probably have succeeded if I had
managed my capital more wisely or
raised more money as I got many
hosting requests I couldn’t satisfy later
that year.
After that first failure, I was encouraged
to get certifications and a regular job, but
I couldn’t go back to that kind of path
after tasting creative freedom, so I kept
researching business ideas and
presenting them to friends and family,
but no capital was forthcoming to carry
any of them out. I did this for less than 2
years. (The last idea was a site for
sending SMS messages. I picked up
Python to implement it.)
Eventually, I decided to start a web
forum, because it was the only idea that
required no additional capital: I already
had Internet access and a $15 per month
VPS graciously paid for by a family
friend. I created 3 forums in November
2003 (one for higher institution
students, one for IT discussions, and one
to cover the emerging GSM industry; the
Mobile Nigeria Forum at
MobileNigeria.com).
The Mobile Nigeria Forum took off, so I
relaunched it in February 2005 with the
assistance of Mr. John Sagai Adams, who
posted a link to the forum on his mailing
list and participated enthusiastically in
those early days. Other mobile
enthusiasts like Mr. Yomi Adegboye
pitched in to make the site a success. In
a month or so, the forum had about 300
members, but the growth potential didn’t
satisfy me.
I decided to start Nairaland when I
noticed two odd things about
MobileNigeria:
(1) Despite its narrow focus, it was the
only Nigerian community that gave a
voice to Nigerians at home. Most other
Nigerian sites were owned and
dominated by Nigerians in the US or UK.
They covered only issues of interests to
Nigerians abroad.
(2) The off topic section of the forum,
covering topics outside telecoms, like
romance and jokes, was becoming more
vibrant than the Mobile Nigeria Forum
itself, suggesting the need for a more
general-purpose Nigerian forum.
This gave me the confidence to take
forums like Naijaryders and Talknaija
head on by starting a general purpose
discussion forum with a strong bias
towards issues of interest to Nigerians at
home. I felt that such a site could attract
enough traffic to make enough money
from Google adverts. That’s why I
started the Nairaland Forum.” ( CP-
AFRICA.COM)










2005: What’s with that year?

Did I just see Seun say he started Nairaland
in 2005? I am still searching for answer to
why the most successful online ventures
around today started between 2004-2006.
Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Mashable,
Techcrunch, Linda Ikeji, Bella Naija, and
other Kings and Queens of the Social Media
space started during this period. Why?
Okay, Jarushub, the heir apparent, started
in 2013.

Happy birthday!

It seems bigger part of prominent people and celebrities were born in july, whizkid, nonso diobi, seun, and many others.

Very soon they'll say seun don join illuminati

Oga at the top happy birthday. Make you do something for your nairalanders naaaa. Like the way linda ikeji does on her blog. You can give 10K to the ist ten persons who said happy bday to you or you can just randomly pick some people but shaa make your 32nd birthday something to be talked about especially after the attack on the forum. Happy birthday sir

Happy bufday seun


wishin u quick old age

and more brain to ya dull head

Oga seun happy birthday to you, enjoy it, its your day.Oga seun happy birthday to you, enjoy it, its your day.Oga seun happy birthday to you, enjoy it, its your day.

Okay.
I'm coming!!!!

NAIRALAND HACKED- June 2014:
NAIRALAND forum not
returning soon! Seun Osewa
hints...








The best forum in Nigeria; Nairaland has
been down for about 48 hours now and
many addicted fans - including moi - have
taken to facebook and twitter to lament.
Although Seun Osewa, the owner of
Nairaland is yet to explain what really
happened - he's not answering messages
directed at him on any of the social media
pages - he kinda hinted us saying 'the site
may not be up soon'
He posted “I am so sorry” on twitter
yesterday and further posted "it may be
worse than you think, it may take much
longer than you expect' today. So, if you
are one of the addicted fans, there is
actually nothing you can do for now than
to keep trying the site and hoping it will be
restored soonest.Nairaland is one of
Nigeria’s most visited sites, with 1.3 million
visitors at the last check.

CREDIT- www.kemifilani.com/2014/06/nairaland-forum-not-returning-soon-seun.html?m=1

Happy birthday to you Oluwaseun Osewa

Happy Birthday guy.

When are you getting married ?

Happy birthday!

Happy Birthday Seun. Wish you long healthy life and prosperity

Happy Birthday to a master of his own,Seun Osewa

happy birthday Oga Seun

Obinoscopy: Happy Birthday Seun. Wish you long healthy life and prosperity

obino wasup long time btw seun tel me say im go sub for all nairalandersbas im bday b today but na u d hold d money wetin na abeg release d money joor

Happy birthday and kudos to you for your good job. You are touching the lives of millions of nigerians positively, while our leaders are unconscious and culpably insensitive to the plight of the citizenry. Keep the good job going...long live nairaland and fellow nairalanders.

Oluwaseun Osewa, Nairaland Founder as an HUMBLE MAN-


A Nairaland User, once wrote:






Hi y'all I wnt U all to meet my mentor...
He was born in the early 80's,he hails frm
Ogun state and he resides there...
He's a very intelligent young man,he's
calm,he's humble... I love his humility
becos dt distinguishes him frm other
bloggers or forum owners who
showcases their property
(cars,homes,etc),their acquisitions(their US
Visas,etc)...
This young man neva does dt @ least
none dt I knw of...
This young man has been steadfast with
his job which I learnt frm an interview he
had with sm1(I cnt really place my hands
on d person right nw) titled "fun to
Millions",I ws actually perplexed after
reading the interview...
This young man has really affected his
generation especially me(Adorayble)... I
learnt to be steadfast in wht I do in Life,I
learnt frm this young man that "slow and
steady wins d race"...
He neva gave up,he thrived and he
conquered...
His name's...
Oluwaseun Osewa(C.E.O,Nairaland Forum)...
He's my mentor



CHECK IT OUT-
www.nairaland.com/1807728/mentor

Happy Birthday Mr.Seun!

Is he married...??

Elnino4ladies: Is he married...??

. No.you can apply

Happy bday to mr seun & my swt@ wishing u guys LLNP

Happy birthday to Seun Osewa (Founder and CEO of nairaland forum).. cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeers!

Open pepsi bottle and sips.stopped and shouted happy birthday oga seun.long life and prosperity.

fairygeh: . No.you can apply

..i'm nt gay..mayb u shld apply...

mimiejacobz: Happy bday to mr seun & my swt@ wishing u guys LLNP

..awww..2day ain't ma bday...

Happy birthday Seun. Wishing you many more prosperous years on earth with good health. Enjoy

All I wanna see is his current picture!

Happy birthday son!

MzJackBaueress: All I wanna see is his current picture!
Happy birthday son!

If I tell you the "birthday boy" banned only the two if us on the thread that clearly had fighters from both sides, shey you go believe?

lagbake3: If I tell you the "birthday boy" banned only the two if us on the thread that clearly had fighters from both sides, shey you go believe?

yes I know he did. I am not bothered about it cos my mission was accomplished. Forget about it and let's move on joor! Nothing do you.

Happy Birthday