By: Shivani Persad, July 16 2024
How we consume products has undergone a massive shift since the advent of social media. Now, according to Olu Osunrinde, we’re on the brink of another revolutionary change. Get ready for a future where traditional websites may become obsolete in the purchasing process. As part of Elevate’s eCommerce North Accelerator, powered by Moneris, Olu is building Social Store. This app allows business owners to take orders for custom and ready-made items via chats across all social platforms, manage their operations, and get paid all in one place.
Here’s our interview with Olu about Social Store, his entrepreneurial journey, and his time in cohort six of Elevate’s eCommerce North Tech Accelerator, powered by Moneris.
Can you tell us about your background and what inspired you to become an entrepreneur?
I started entrepreneurship at a very young age. When I was 16, I moved from Lagos to Abuja during terrorist attacks in northern Nigeria, which caused many people to be displaced into my city. I organized a soccer tournament to unite displaced people, which was very successful. This initiative allowed me to raise funds to support the displaced individuals, turning my hobby into a social enterprise venture.
Later, I founded a startup called Flexicab, which competed with Uber Nigeria. At the time, I didn’t fully understand entrepreneurship; a friend financed everything, and I handled most of the responsibilities.
Seeking to learn how to do entrepreneurship properly, I moved to Canada and enrolled in a Master’s program. This education and subsequent experiences have led me to my current venture, Social Store, which I am building with my brother.
What key challenges did you face when starting your company?
Our first challenge was recognizing our niche. We went down many rabbit holes trying to define Social Store.
Another major challenge has been financing. We’re bootstrapping the business, with my brother and I funding the entire infrastructure. This is a struggle, but our business model helps us manage. We take a percentage of sales from the businesses we support. This means they don’t have to pay upfront for our services.
The journey has been interesting and challenging, especially as a two-person team. My brother is a full-stack developer, and we’re looking to scale our development team as soon as we have more funds. One person can’t do it all, so speeding up development is another current challenge we face.
Can you describe your company and the problem it aims to solve?
Social Store started as a solution to a problem for my sister. Our sister runs a shoe manufacturing business, and as her business grew, she struggled to manage the increasing number of inquiries and sales through direct interactions on social media.
To streamline this process, we looked for an all-in-one solution allowing her to have personalized conversations with customers and manage sales seamlessly. Unfortunately, existing solutions like Shopify with chatbots were inadequate. Most people spend their time on social media rather than visiting individual websites.
Realizing the potential for a better solution, we decided to build Social Store. Our vision is to integrate commerce directly into social media platforms, eliminating the need for traditional websites.
What makes your product or service unique in the market?
Frankly, no one is doing this right now, and most people can’t because the solutions are AI automation or commerce. No solution, really, has AI automation, AI conversation, and commerce in one place.
What motivated you to join the Tech Accelerator program with Elevate and Moneris?
Last year, during the festival, I noticed Elevate and thought, “What’s this cool event happening here?” The area looked beautiful, with great branding and design, giving off a festival vibe. It caught my attention, and I started following Elevate on Instagram.
About eight months later, I saw an ad for the E-commerce North Accelerator program. It felt like it was designed specifically for Social Store. There are many accelerator programs, but none are as tailored to e-commerce as this one. The copy felt like it was written for us, emphasizing one-on-one mentorship and e-commerce-specific advice.
How has the program helped you overcome specific challenges you faced as an entrepreneur?
I would say that the clarity and confidence we gained in what we are building have been crucial. When you’re developing something new and talking to customers, it can sometimes feel like you’re in your own bubble. The fact that there’s an e-commerce accelerator gave us the sense of having the whole industry behind us. Talking to industry players and getting more clarity about our direction gave us the drive and confidence that what we’re building is truly wanted.
Can you share a memorable experience or key learning from the program?
The Founder Town Halls, where we connect with other entrepreneurs. These meetings allow us to learn from each other’s experiences and avoid pitfalls. For instance, Social Store requires integration with Meta’s APIs. During a meeting, someone shared their experience with integrating WhatsApp’s API. They explained how they got flagged and had to go through a review process. Thanks to their advice, we avoided the same issue by following their recommended steps.
How has the experience working with Elevate and Moneris specifically impacted your business?
The Moneris team, led by Patrick, is committed to helping entrepreneurs succeed. If they see that there’s no good fit between your product and what they’re doing, they will go above and beyond to introduce you to other founders or companies. It’s refreshing to find a company that genuinely wants to see entrepreneurs in Canada succeed. This spirit is truly embedded in both Elevate and Moneris.
I can’t thank the Elevate and Moneris teams enough for the exposure and experience they provided. The impact is difficult to quantify or describe because it’s more about the experiences that shape our growth. Pitching to a company like Moneris has prepared me for future interactions with large organizations, giving me a proven formula for success.
What are your future plans for your company?
One of our major future plans, which is a significant milestone for us, emerged from the Elevate program. We were exploring ways to make Social Store stand out in the marketplace,. Through conversations with Moneris, particularly with Patrick, we identified a promising direction. Patrick recognized the future of social commerce and the gap Social Store could fill. He mentioned how his son, upon turning 16, wouldn’t need to build a website to start selling items like Pokémon cards. Instead, he could use Social Store to set up and sell directly through social media.
A key feature informing our future plans is the introduction of AI. The Moneris team helped us realize this. Imagine running an online store on social media with automated posts. Currently, platforms like ManyChat offer basic automation, but Social Store aims to take it further with our integrated social and e-commerce engine.
What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs who are starting their journey?
One key lesson I learned from the Elevate program is the importance of finding a specific niche. If you’re building for e-commerce, I highly recommend applying to this program. No other place in North America offers such a value-driven program specifically for e-commerce founders.
For e-commerce technology founders looking for customers, being part of the Elevate program gives you access to over 2,000 D2C businesses. There’s a Slack community where you can chat with any D2C founder. I often browse the directory and find potential customers. By joining the program, you can easily find your first 500 customers and get all the connections you need to onboard them to your platform. The Elevate team is always more than happy to facilitate these connections.
Is there anything else you want to share about your experience or company?
Regardless of how your conversation goes with the Moneris team, it’s always a win. Patrick and his team are willing to go above and beyond. If they see there’s no good fit between your product and what they do, they’ll make introductions to other founders or companies you need to talk to. It’s refreshing to find a company that genuinely wants entrepreneurs in Canada to succeed. This supportive spirit is clear in both Elevate and Moneris.
When I applied to the program, I knew there wasn’t a specific dollar amount attached. I anticipated gaining value beyond money. The mentorship hours I received from experienced mentors with extensive connections were invaluable.
I can’t thank the Elevate and Moneris teams enough for the exposure and experience they’ve provided. It’s hard to quantify or describe because it’s more about the experiences that shape our growth. Pitching to a company like Moneris has prepared me for future interactions with large organizations. They have given me a proven formula for success.
We encourage you to follow Olu’s journey with Social Store as it expands and grows. If you want the chance to work with Moneris and get expert coaching for your tech company, apply to our next Tech Accelerator.
