The Journey of a Thousand Miles

People say, "The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step," but for me, I’d say that’s not totally correct. Instead, I believe "The journey of a thousand miles begins with taking tough decisions."

I started 2024 with some tough decisions, crazy mindsets 🤯, and funny dreams 🤣. These decisions became some of the hardest choices of my life but also the best ones I could make. They didn’t change everything overnight, but they definitely set things in motion.

One of the funniest dreams I had back then was to make at least one million naira in a SINGLE business transaction. Back then, that amount felt like a lot—HUGE even! 🥲😂. We were so childish to think a million naira was some kind of unreachable fortune 😅😂. (And no, don’t ask me if I ended up making that amount—my lips are sealed! 🤐😂).

Anyway, I’ll keep it short because I’ve lost my writing spark and can’t write for too long anymore 😭.

So yeah, I started 2024 with a mindset to make money 💸 (don’t laugh! 😂) and to build a business that would actually run. By March/May, when my Dad sent me the balance for my house rent 🏠, I decided to use that money to start something. I wasn’t even sure it would scale, but I’ve always believed in taking risks—calculated risks 🎯.

I had to tell him what I wanted to use the money for, though. Scared? 😅 Yes. But I was also determined. I explained everything, and luckily, he gave me his approval. 🙏

By June, I started SwiftyHost, a web hosting startup. A few months later, we launched our MVP 🚀. We didn’t have a huge customer base to start with—most of our early customers were just friends and techies we knew. But that was enough to get things rolling.

By August/September, things got even more exciting 🎉. We partnered with two companies—one in India 🇮🇳 and another in the United States 🇺🇸. These partnerships were a BIG step for us. One of them, in particular, opened doors we never thought possible when we first started.

October/November came, and things went to another level 🆙. One of our partner companies decided to fund us 💰. That funding helped us scale up our systems, upgrade servers 🖥️, and expand what SwiftyHost could do. Seeing how far we had come in such a short time was amazing.

Shoutout to Abiola Azeez, my Co-founder & COO @renzo, while I am the Founder & CEO.

But honestly, it wasn’t always smooth. While building SwiftyHost’s infrastructure (especially the servers), there were nights I didn’t sleep 😵‍💫. I stayed up from 12 a.m. to 4 a.m. 🌙, debugging, fixing, and pushing through problems because I believed in what we were building. Giving up wasn’t an option for me 💪.

I looked so tired and weird back then that some of my coursemates told me I wasn’t normal 🤣. They’d say I looked like someone who hadn’t rested in weeks—and they weren’t wrong 😂.

After SwiftyHost got funded, we leveled up 🥂. We expanded our infrastructure, improved our services, and even got merch for the SwiftyHost team. Today, SwiftyHost is running smoothly as a business. Feel free to check us out on our social handles:

• Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/useSwiftyHost
• LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/swiftyhost?
• Twitter: https://x.com/SwiftyHostHQ

Moving on, I took another leap—I scaled my freelancing journey 💻. I’d been trying to make freelancing work since 2023, and by the end of 2024, things finally clicked. But that’s a story for another day 😊.

Balancing school (as an Engineering student) and tech isn’t easy, but I’ve learned to make it work 🤓. Since I couldn’t commit to a full-time job, remote work was perfect for me.

2024 wasn’t an easy year, but it was worth it. For everyone who worked with me, you know how much effort I put into everything I do 💯. You’ve seen me at my busiest and my most exhausted, but I never gave up 🙌.

So here’s to 2025—more tough decisions, more growth 🌱, and more milestones to achieve.

Attached are some slides you can swipe through. Cheers! 🥳