Ahmad Mukoshy (@mukoshy) is a 22 year old entrepreneur living in Nigeria. He’s currently working on hosting company AimTech and url shortener yrn.me.
Q: What was your first startup and how old were you?
My first startup was a hosting company, http://aimtechng.com providing web hosting to Nigerian web site owners since 2007 and I started Aimtech when I was 17.
Q: How have you used your first experiences to improve your future work?
Everything I do now is a successor of my past experience and I believe what the future will also be based on my present experience. Experience is the best teacher they said and shapes the way forward.
In the past I tried building social networks then I found out that, it requires a lot of capital and takes longer time to be profitable with more efforts than usual. So, I switched to building products/tools instead, which will allow me to start making income almost immediately and that way, if my idea is not good, I get to know it from client 1.
Q: When did you first realize you had an itch to start your own companies?That was after my high school, when I built my own personal website and friends started asking me for help to make theirs too. I figured I could make it a business and so I started aimtechng.com.
After a couple of months, it went main stream and I starting having clients from more states around Nigeria, it all exploded at once, like they were waiting for a web host. Of course, there were not very many web hosts in Nigeria at that time.
Q: What are you currently working on?
I am still working on the web hosting company and a url shortner that I built recently. There are a few more things that I will be experimenting soon too.
Q: What is your vision for it?
Well, I see the future of providing word-class hosting in Nigeria which I am harnessing. I see Aimtech as a choice of hosting for sole proprietors, small scale business owners and web developers.
For the URL shortner, I am looking into integrating services around it that will make it more than just another bit.ly. I know how the url shortening industry is battling with revenue and all that. Yeah I know!
Q: What advice have you been given that has stuck with you the most?
Stay focused and be persistent at it. The most powerful warriors are Patience and Time; theirs is nothing they can’t conquer.
Q: Do you feel at a disadvantage living outside of the United States?
No, not that much. Although I have had difficulties with payment options, PayPal and most payment gateways were not accepting Nigerians. I had to let go on a lot of my creative ideas due to difficulties on the billing.
I also had insufficient Internet access, imagine 15kbps in this age.
Q: What entrepreneurs do you look up to the most?
Lately, I am most inspired by Joel Gascoigne, Founder of Buffer. I am also inspired by Chris Leydon, Founder of TinyGrab! But the most person I look up to, is me; I believe in my self (always).
Q: Where do you see both yourself and your business in 10 years?
Ten years from now, I see myself running a huge company in Africa not limited to providing web hosting, but also more Internet and technology inclined products and services, as well as providing 100 Jobs in Africa.
I see myself as great Entrepreneur who is generous to his clients, employees and partners with a global recognition in business and technology.
Q: What advice would you give to a young aspiring entrepreneur?
Keep it simple and start now, you don’t have to be perfect you’d meet it along the way and even if you don’t you’d still pick up something often even more powerful than being perfect.
Q: You’re pretty active on Twitter. How has social media helped grow your business?
Twitter is a powerful tool; I find it useful to reach a lot of people who have helped me in so many ways. It has also given me a way to interact with my clients and see what they are up to as well as help them casually. I run personal account, @mukoshy and the Aimtech tweets @aimtech
Q: What are some of your hobbies/interests outside of business and startups?
I love listening to music and watching adventure/animation movies. I also love chess.
Posted on February 1st, 2012
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