Apple Acquires Nigerian Tech Entrepreneur's Startup HopStop(cp-africa.com)
cp-africa.com
Apple Acquires Nigerian Tech Entrepreneur's Startup HopStop
http://www.cp-africa.com/2013/07/20/apple-hopstop-com/
32 comments
I thought it was an Nigerian startup, but it's just that the entrepreneur is Nigerian. Somehow that feels less newsworthy.
[deleted]
Why? TechCrunch publishes stories every day about US companies acquiring US companies. These stories are newsworthy. But if an entrepreneur who happens to have been born in Nigeria sells his company to Apple it is not newsworthy? Did he have to be living on a tree and subsisting on wild fruits and nuts in the Niger Delta swamps for it to be newsworthy?
Relax, bro. He just means that the US-based founder's country of origin is not that significant to this audience, since many American startups have been founded by immigrants from all over the world. This came up because the title of this submission emphasised the founder's country of origin, which in turn is because the post was originally written for a Nigerian audience, for whom the founder's country of origin IS newsworthy.
Yep.
What tptacek, rdouble and james_madison said is accurate.
Also I don't consider most acquisitions all that interesting, but I would have been interested in reading about the Nigerian startup scene (if there is such a scene).
Also I don't consider most acquisitions all that interesting, but I would have been interested in reading about the Nigerian startup scene (if there is such a scene).
What tptacek, rdouble and james_madison said is accurate.
Hmm? I love being accurate but I didn't post anything to this thread.
Hmm? I love being accurate but I didn't post anything to this thread.
Indeed oO
I meant cncool, clark-kent and seunosewa.
Must have looked at the wrong section of the page or the wrong page or I don't know.
I stand behind everything I've said in this thread 1000%.
There's a very small scene, yes. It's growing.
He means that it's not newsworthy to include that the founder is Nigerian in the headline. The big news is that Apple acquired HopStop.
He said "less newsworthy", not "not newsworthy".
... and Immediately Drops Windows Phone Support
http://www.windowsobserver.com/2013/07/19/apple-buys-hopstop...
http://www.windowsobserver.com/2013/07/19/apple-buys-hopstop...
Shameless plug: For more stories like these check out http://AfriTech.com
What's interesting here is that there's value in providing better solutions than the official ones.
Every transit system on HopStop has its official site, with its (usually crappy) website. I assume most of the info in HopStop is either scraped or consumed through undocumented APIs.
Every transit system on HopStop has its official site, with its (usually crappy) website. I assume most of the info in HopStop is either scraped or consumed through undocumented APIs.
Good! Transit directions coming to Apple Maps. That's great news for bus-takers everywhere.
Irrespective of what people would want to agree with, there is pattern matching going on. It is not exclusive to this thread or HN. See other blogs and the absence of comments. If it was a randon former Stanford grad and ex-Facebook employeee, he would have been a toast of the US tech world and definitely the HN thread. If it were a post about deciphering the motivation or techniques of scammers, everyone will have an opinion.
This is not the first time I am seeing this here and on the tech circuit. When a Nigeria company BASED in Nigeria raised $8 million, the tech newswire and HN was quiet. Do any of you remember this story? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3810466
It is nobody's fault or responsibility so I cannot or will not apportion blame. It is just how things are. It is only a reminder.
I am proud of Chinedu not only because he we attended the same High School with me, but that he surmounted the odds and has had a massive successful and useful exit. Hopefully, he will serve as an inspiration and motivate more Nigerians/ Africans to tackle problems on a gbobal scale.
PS: I actually mentioned him 3 years ago when I wrote about the dearth of black founders of globally renowned startups. http://oonwoye.com/2010/04/05/black-founders/