Millennial entrepreneur Chinaemerem “China” Muoka, has been able to successfully sell Web platforms over the past five years, garnering support for ideas and turning them into revenue. His latest venture, Workistry.com, a Web-based recruitment resource, is his latest that will host what is being touted as the “Worlds’ Largest Online Job Fair.†Set for July 17 through August 17, Muoka and his team is inviting 30,000 employers from 98 countries to the event to connect with professionals across industries.
BlackEnterprise.com caught up with this savvy millennial tech entrepreneur about how he’s been able to successfully sell Web properties and his latest venture to provide a vital global resource for talent acquisition.
BlackEnterprise.com: Why did you choose to start this venue and what does it bring to the market?
China Muoka: I launched Workistry.com because I wanted to create a global platform where any employer can find anyone they wish to hire. Think of Workistry as your Google of job candidates. I’ve been a talent acquisition manager for more than five years, and every time I interview either for a new job or a new contract role, I’m always asked, ‘How do you find your candidates and where do you find them?’ Ninety-five percent of the recruiters in this world use the same tool, and no one is reinventing the wheel. The excellent recruiters are the ones that can actually close a candidate, not just attract them.
Another thing I’ve observed is that the resume databases of most job boards have the same candidate. The same candidates I find on Monster, I find on Indeed. So it does not make sense to have contracts with more than one job board if the candidates in their database are the same everywhere. I decided to launch a global candidate search engine. That will make it easy for candidates to have just one platform to interact with employers.
How did you get the platform started in terms of getting capital, hosting it on the Web, and gathering the parties to make it successful?
My online businesses are mostly bootstrapped, so the capital comes from my personal finances and savings. Â I do not like to take startup capital from companies or investors that will offer anything less than $1 million. Getting a startup capital of $500,000 will not really move the company to higher heights and this capital comes with a ton of equity. I’ve sold a business for $86,000 before, so I think have a few dollars left to fund a new business concept.
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What success traction have you seen so far in terms of usage, marketing or social media buzz?
The site is really growing. We launched February 5, and at this moment we have almost 3,000 resumes on the site and more than 2,000 employers that have signed up on the site as well.
You mentioned that you’ve sold a Web property for $86,000, and others you’ve developed as well. What would you say are three key things that drove the success of selling that property?
First, opportunity. Second, traction. And third, value.
The opportunity to sell came because of the traction the Website has built and the buyers saw the value of the business and made an offer.
Build traction or a following whether its social media fans, an email newsletter or something. You must show value. Investors do not read business plans when buying businesses. Your traction is your plan.
Most entrepreneurs spend a ton of time selling a potential to the investor when all an investor is interested in are your numbers. Forecasts are great, but what are your current numbers?
Also, credibility counts. Build yours in the startup community.
And lastly, your competitors matter. Identify them and develop a unique product or service.
Find out more about top niche needs in the market where tech entrepreneurs could see returns on the next page …
Would you consider yourself an entrepreneur who builds tech platforms to sell?
I don’t consider myself an entrepreneur who builds stuff to sell. Recently, I’ve observed that many public companies are interested in some of my ideas. They either wish to partner with me or buy me out. I have a big list of idea, hence I tend to sell. What I really want is a company or an investor that will give me access to capital, then with this capital I can hire high-impact team members and create global products.
Most times when a company is interested in my business concept, they always tend to buy out my business in its entirety. I’ve sometimes rejected such offers, and my business concept might suffer from there because my some of my concepts are bootstrapped by my personal finances and savings. I’m not planning to sell Workistry. My plan is to make the site a human IPO.
[Related: How One Tech Entrepreneur Raised $18 Million in Venture Capital]
That sounds amazing. So, what are three emerging needs or niche industries that tech entrepreneurs should invest in to see success in terms of revenue and profits?
Data Management & Security: The world is now a big avenue of data. Companies use a ton of data to basically interpret your life. It’s from such data they can offer solutions. However, with data you have to figure out how to effectively give out the right information to the right party and also how to safeguard that information.
Mobile: Any tool that will offer convenience, ease and fast access will always sell, and that’s where the mobile space comes in. Whether it’s the ability to negotiate deals online, virtually work, bet or watch live games, any service that can offer convenience, engagement, speed and affordability will be big money makers.
Recycling: It seems every minute a new technology device comes out, but what happens to the old products? What will happen to the old iPhone 4 or the Samsung R220 you’ve had for a while now? Recycling simply means taking a bad or old product and reproducing it to become something very useful.
To find out more about Workistry or how to use as a company or recruiter, visit Workistry.com.