Jumoke’s story begins just as she graduated from the University of Lagos with a first-class degree in Architecture. She had just taken up an internship and was now falling out of love with the idea of spending the rest of her life as an architect. She experienced firsthand that it was not as engaging as she thought and began searching for another profession that would ignite her passion.
Her burst of inspiration arrived while attending an Interior Design Conference in 2016. While at the conference, she bumped into some Japanese and American designers who weren’t so pleased with Africa. They generalized the continent as being made up of only consumers who produce nothing.
What others would see as an insult, Jumoke saw as a challenge. Right there, the idea of Taeillo began to form inside her mind.
With a Master’s in architecture ahead of her and Taeillo being nothing more than a dream, Jumoke had to ask herself “How do I start a furniture company with no capital”? You can’t believe what choice she made next.
Jumoke used all the tuition for her Master’s program! That’s what you call faith in your dream.
With a solid business plan, a mind buzzing with creativity, and her newly gotten capital, Jumoke set to work on creating her first furniture piece.
That was the spark that lit the fire that is Taeillo. Today, her company is responsible for creating breathtaking furniture pieces that combine African motifs with modern furniture design.
For her, Taeillo can be summed up as a company that creates furniture for Africans by Africans. In a recent interview, she says her vision is to imbibe the Nigerian piece into everything she produces so your furniture reminds you of a bubbling Owambe.
Taeillo excels at one thing and that’s the fact you never get a case of “what I ordered” vs “what I got”. Its ability to build trust by focusing on delivering quality in every piece no matter its sale price has brought the company overwhelming success.
Don’t believe us? Taeillo has a simple table called the Amakisi Table that sells for N30,000. In 4 months, Taeilo can sell up to 450 pieces. That’s a whopping N7.5 million naira from just one piece! If you stick to producing quality goods, Nigerians will embrace your business with open arms.
Despite her overwhelming success, Jumoke’s dream doesn’t end here as she seeks how to expand her customer base across Africa. In her words, she envisions Taeillo one day becoming the IKEA of Africa. With IKEA being one of the largest furniture providers in the world, her dream is something we can’t help but be inspired by,
For more inspiring stories of Nigerian entrepreneurs making their dreams come true, stay tuned to Moniepoint!
