Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, 19-year-old Co-founder of Online Startup - Bookneto
Based on the interview,
Bookneto will be a way to enhance how people learn and pursue education by leveraging the power of online communities and social networking. Below is an excerpt of BellaNaija’s interview with Mr. Aboyeji, you can read the full interview on BellaNaija:
You recently started Bookneto.com in partnership with a friend. What is Bookneto all about?
Bookneto is about entirely changing the world of education by combining easy access to academic material and resources with the power of social networking to help students interact and study most effectively. It is one of those things that are very difficult to explain without seeing so I am just going to say, make sure to sign up on our websiteso when we launch we can show you the world’s best study tool.
What inspired you to start BookNeto and what was your experience like until you eventually uploaded the site?
We haven’t launched our product yet so you might have to wait just a couple more days for that. What inspired us to start Bookneto was our concern for the student learning experience. We realized from personal experiences that the system wasn’t working. Students did not have the freedom to study as they should: with constant access to course material, without an overbearing content wall, with the help of teachers who care about their learning process and within a knowledgeable global learning community. We thought that the advent of the internet will change education just as it has changed so many other things, but it seems the educational system just moved the same problems online and even further complicated the issues (see online-for-profit Universities, for example). Bookneto was formed as a student response to the many problems with the education system. It is certainly not an easy thing to do, especially with school and other commitments in tow. We sought out students, staff, professors, publishers and did a lot of research, and we are not even done yet with receiving feedback. It has definitely been an amazing and impactful experience. Working with some of the most talented people I know gives me strength to work harder and press forward with Bookneto. It has been a joy working with very experienced and competent advisors and mentors.
What other similar initiatives exist and in what ways is BookNeto different?
The social learning space is quite competitive and we have learnt a lot from what many consider “similar initiatives”. I can confidently say that Bookneto is very different from all the “competition” in this space – we have a student focus. Many other companies consider their clients to be professors, publishers or schools, and primarily market their products to those clients. We think these stakeholders are important, but are dependent on their relationship with students. At Bookneto, our primary clients are students. Every day, we ask ourselves, what can we do to help students study better and more effectively?
How do you hope to address (complex) copyright issues and eventually make Bookneto a profitable venture?
Amazing question. While others see copyright as the problem, we are looking at copyright as a wonderful business opportunity. The assumption underlying our revenue model is that students will be willing to pay for ease of access to academic material/content they need as well as the tools that will help them effectively study with these materials. We are working with students, professors, textbook publishers and authors, not only promoting content sharing as a profitable activity, but also offering publishers some of the world’s best technological and social defences against piracy. Our current research and forecasts show we can make up to a quarter of the current annual revenue of some of the biggest textbook publishers, with barely 10% of our North American student target market on board at prices that help students save 50%-75% of their current textbook costs. Most importantly, publishers get some amazing analytics with respect to what aspects of their content are most useful to students so they can improve their offerings while textbook authors are able to build reputation and relationships by communicating directly with the student audience for their textbooks.
What are some of your thoughts about Nigeria and do you plan to return any time soon?
Nigeria is an economic miracle waiting to happen; the economic facts reveal it. I am confident that, somehow, sometime soon, “UP NEPA” will be a thing of the distant past. We are moving quickly from the days of recycled military men in borrowed Agbadas to younger public intellectuals with relevant leadership and policy credentials. Also emerging are young and savvy Nigerian entrepreneurs whose creative engagement will yield much of Nigeria’s progress in the next decade. I don’t think government can or should create jobs for young people, especially because these “jobs” are rarely meritocratic, thanks to a unique combination of our ‘federal character’ and ‘arrangee’ system. The government should make it easier for young people to do business in Nigeria. As for my coming back to the country, it is only a matter of time. Even if I was a foreigner, it would be stupid for me to see all the amazing market opportunities that exist in Nigeria and not, at least, keep an eye on them. I just need to learn as much as I can here so I can bring home some badly needed experience and capital, instead of a looting bowl and an empty belly.
