The Guardian
The Guardian
Robert Nikic Featured in The Guardian
The Guardian on how Robert Nikic went from never hearing of e-commerce to building a platform designed around why startups fail, often within 30 days.
At a glance
- Outlet
- The Guardian (Nigeria)
- Format
- Article
- Topic
- Building against the reasons startups fail
- Robert's role
- Founder and CEO
- Advice
- No overnight riches
- Theme
- Discipline
Last updated
What The Guardian reported about Robert Nikic
Never heard of it
The Guardian Nigeria starts with a detail that surprises readers: when Robert arrived in the United States, he had never heard of e-commerce. Everything he later built, he learned from scratch.
Designing against failure
After many failures of his own, the article reports, he built his platform around the reasons most startups fail, many of them within their first 30 days. Instead of hoping new sellers would avoid those traps, the platform was meant to remove them.
No overnight riches
His advice to readers is blunt. There are no overnight riches. "You have to get up every morning determined to give your business 110%."
Related: Mario Lopez on failure as fuel · The European Business Review on removing barriers
"You have to get up every morning determined to give your business 110%."
In Robert's words
I hadn't even heard the word e-commerce when I got here. My family came as refugees from the Balkans and started over with nothing. My teenage startups failed, some of them fast, and I worked 18-hour shifts in between. So when I built a platform, I built it around the ways I'd failed. We grew it without outside investors, and it made the Inc. 5000 at #418 and #35. The advice I gave The Guardian still stands: you have to show up every morning ready to give it 110%. Since 2026 I've worked on SDG 8 & 9, including second chances.
Robert Nikic
Key takeaways
01
Started from zero
He had never heard of e-commerce when he arrived.
02
Built around failure
The platform targeted the reasons startups fail early.
03
No shortcuts
His advice: no overnight riches, just daily effort.
Where this fits in his story
2011
First platform launched
2018
Relaunched as a full platform
This feature
2023
Inc. 5000 debut at #418
2024
Climbs to #35
2026
Steps away to work on SDG 8 & 9
Where it led
Then, he designed against failure. Now, under SDG 8.5, he works on second chances for people whose first attempts didn't work. The Guardian's story is about learning from failure, and his current work is about making sure the system lets people try again.
Then
Then, he designed against failure.
Now
Now, he works on SDG 8.5, second chances for people whose first attempts didn't work.
See Robert's SDG 8 & 9 workQuestions
What did The Guardian report about Robert Nikic?
That he had never heard of e-commerce on arrival and later built a platform around the reasons startups fail.
What advice did he give?
There are no overnight riches; give your business 110% every morning.
What does Robert Nikic do now?
He works on SDG 8 & 9, including second chances under SDG 8.5.
Original article
Read the original article · Published in The Guardian
About The Guardian
The Guardian is a Lagos-based Nigerian daily newspaper founded in 1983. Wikipedia
About Robert
Robert Nikic is an entrepreneur, TEDx speaker and Advisory Council Chair at Reseated Councils (United Nations SDG 8 & 9). He came to the United States as a refugee, and from 2011 to 2026 he built and led an e-commerce company that was twice named to the Inc. 5000. Today he works to make it easier for anyone, anywhere, to start a business and grow it.