British Pakistani schoolboy rejects £5 million for his website

LONDON: A British Pakistani schoolboy, 17, has rejected £5 million for website he created in his bedroom in just six months – and he is confident his website will be worth a lot more in the future.

In an interview with Geo News, Mohammed Ali, who lives with his parents in, Dewsbury, Yorkshire, said the offer of £5 million came from a US company which he rejected. He confirmed, however, that he’s holding talks with various companies, hoping that he will be able to sell his consumer-friendly site - weneed1.com - for more than what has been offered so far.

Ali said the offer was made when he, along with his 60-year-old business partner Chris Thorpe, met a group of Americans in London to discuss an investment, they instead offered to buy the company for more than £5million. The technology enthusiast claims that his website provides “real time quotes instead of the normal pre-fixed quotes you find on insurance sites”.

The A-level British Pakistani student said that his website is for the whole world. “My website saves money of consumers and gives advantage to buyers and consumers. It protects privacy of the users and visitors unlike many other big giants. My website offers car and motor insurance, properties, rooms, everything to share and save.

Ali told Geo News that his website saves users’ money and uses a unique code, which connects both buyers and sellers together. “It's an algorithm that connects buyers and sellers together to help them save money. I am a proficient java and PHP developer.”

Initially, not many believed that the 16 years old Ali had created all the technologies involved in the creation of his website. These days he gives talks at hi-tech IT and programming events in London and elsewhere. He was a guest speaker at the recently held Millennial2020 London conference.

He said: “Almost 30 thousand users a day visit my website and they are all unique, they save money because prices are always updated for them. You create my website and create a need and that data is stored for the users.”

Ali says his website is for the whole world

Mohammad Ali shared that he did not get formal programming education from any source. “I learnt programming from YouTube and books on my own. I developed this website within 6 months; it really has paid off though. My website protects data of consumers under the Data Protection Act 1998.”

Mohammad Ali previously made £40,000 after creating his own video game and a financial app for the stock market. The technology mad teen is now set to launch a price comparison site with Chris Thorpe and claims it is unrivalled by competitors.

Ali thanked his parents Nisar and Nadia for buying him a computer at the age of six.

The website was originally founded in 2009 as a reverse marketing platform designed to introduce buyers to sellers of goods and services in the UK but Ali started coding the website when he met his business partner during an appearance on BBC News in Yorkshire. The site alerts both buyers and sellers of available products, everything from properties to electronic items, with constantly updated prices.

About his future plans, Ali told Geo News: “My future plans are to support charities after selling my company in the next few months with technology instead of money as technology is money. I also want to build more innovative technologies to help create a better world. In addition, I have been working with a firm that is improving cyber security. I do visit Pakistan occasionally and have already thought about investing in the next few years to improve its infrastructure. Poverty in Pakistan will never end unless there is investment in human development and modern technology. Pakistani government should be investing in the people and technology.”