The Nigerian Entrepreneur Who Sold his Company to Apple for $1 Billion

Of late, news headlines have been replete with stories of Nigerians committing various crimes, particularly fraud. But in a sea of negative news thrust on a country, there are always some people shining a positive light on the country. 

When it comes to business, there are always a lot of risks involved. It is what makes business be business. Self-proclaimed serial tech entrepreneur Chinedu Echeruo made headlines in 2013 when he sold his business to Apple for a mammoth of $1 billion. It was a huge gamble, given the expansionist drive that Apple had been undertaking that time.

The education that Chinedu Echeruo received created the perfect pathway for him to end up in big business.

He was born in East Nigeria and received his secondary education in Lagos. He later went on to attain a B.S in Finance and Accounting (Honors) from Syracuse University. Still in the United States, he got an MBA from the Harvard Business School. He worked as an analyst for investment banking firms and hedge funds, clearly making a distinct mark there. 

He eventually left the investment banking world with one aim - to make unprecedented change in the business world never seen before. He started a software company called Hopspot.com in 2005. He had grown tired of getting lost within New York's transport system. HopStop was an online city transit guide offering detailed, door-to-door biking, bus, subway, taxi, train, and walking directions in real time. It provided official transit maps for 600 cities around the world. 

HopStop was an instant hit. In 2007 the company won the Black Enterprise’s Small Business Innovator of the Year Award. The company's impact was so huge that by 2010, Echeruo’s service had grown 250% from $574,268 to $2 million in revenue and then an estimated $5 million in 2012.

He left HopSpot in 2009 and in July 2013 the company was acquired by Apple for $1 billion. After selling the company, he set off for new ventures. He became a principal at Constant Capital Partners Ltd. “I am excited to be part of the change in culture and economy of Africa right now," he said about his latest moves in West Africa. 

He also launched a "cause-driven” social platform called Gigameet, which is now called Mindmeet. Other tech initiatives he launched include Topology.com, and he is also the co-founder of the Love and Magic Company.

Header image credit - Pulse Nigeria