For quite a long time Lumoe was an abstract, an idea that we talked about, obsessing over it and devoting untold hours to our new found endeavour. Then it started to accrete, ideas turned into notes in the margins of our lives, then an ever bigger hole in our admittedly sparse wallets, then thousands of lines of bug ridden expletive inducing code. Sometime later it was an investment pitch as well as something you would ask us about – this made us feel good so please continue. Anyway this week we added another milestone; we’re now talking with (insert big name company) who are eager to and I quote “use Lumoe as another platform to raise our brand’s profile” Not bad huh?

Given the level of interest from you as well as from these companies I started thinking of the kind of entity we’re going to be. The sort of place that makes work a pleasure, promoting and nurturing your own interests and incorporating them into the things we do where appropriate, basically everything that is anathema to the Nigerian workplace. Then I thought of how much it will largely be a reflection of ourselves. At first this was quite daunting, you guys know we’re hardly poster boys for maturity but then it occurred to me that same immaturity, channeled properly will set us apart from the kind of companies we had no interest working for.

We like to talk a lot, most of you know this and we intend to carry this over and this is non-negotiable – our bid for world domination starts with you, our world is you, we are here to make each and every one of you happy, we will listen, we will make stuff you want, if you don’t we will go away and work on it till it’s likeable. You will always be able to reach us and if you have a problem we will not rest until it’s solved, this doesn’t include psychological/ emotional or any chemically induced problems though we can give numbers for those. That said we will learn from you and our service will be a perpetual effort to make life easy for you. We may need to throw the occasional party to blow steam from our incessant crisis management but you will always have an invite.

We’re also quite determined to not be one of those places that typify the ‘daily grind’ so though we may have an office, the term applies loosely as we’re quite happy working in cafes, at home in the dead of night as we are wont to do. Consequently we do not work nine to five; it involves early morning traffic and too much caffeine. Hopefully in a few months some of you will see our wisdom and come work with us. That would be something. Later/