About Nuno Andrade

In Short

I have lived on the internet since 1998, when I registered my first domain in an attempt to change the world. I taught myself how to code HTML and later, how to rank web sites highly in search engines through search engine optimization (SEO).

In 2005, when I left a well-paying editorial job in New York and moved to Miami on a wing and a prayer, my entrepreneurial (i.e. survival) skills kicked into high gear. It was then that I formed a small business web shop specializing in copywriting and web design. After only managing one client in the first three months and quickly burning through my savings, I took on a job at an online retailer of furniture that was to change the course of my professional life.

It was then that I discovered SEO and realized that it was possible to earn a living doing what I had been doing for free since 1998, dabbling with web sites. I also discovered one other thing: people bought furniture online. Those two revelations led to the founding of nikkoSHOPS.

The Early Years

I was born in Angola on October 7, 1979. At the age of six, my family left the country because of a decade-old civil war.

My mother, four siblings and I left to Portugal to stay with extended family in May of 1986. My father took a detour to the United States to lay the groundwork for our arrival.

In March of 1989, after three years of patient anticipation, the Andrade family was reunited in Providence, RI.

Work Ethic

My work ethic can best be explained by detailing that of my parents. After arriving in the United States in 1987 after a short stay in France, my father took on a job in construction. Previously an army officer with a privileged life, the transition was not an easy one, but nonetheless necessary. A year later, at the age of 50 and battered by a brutal New England winter, my father quit his construction job and took on a job as a Dunkin’ Donuts baker, a job he would have for 15 years until his retirement at age 65.

My mother was a stay-at-home mom for most of her life. When we came to the U.S., she took on her first job at a manufacturing company of watches and accessories. Yet even though she was employed full time, she never faltered in her home duties, waking up at four in the morning to prepare “dinner” for a husband that worked the night shift, going to her own job at seven and returning at four to prepare another meal for her husband and children.

Even with two parents employed, it was still not enough to support the family. As a result, my father worked 60-70 hour weeks for more than a decade, all for no more than $12 a hour. Arguably, with her in-home and out-of-home duties, my mother worked even more hours at a lesser hourly wage.

These are the people that formed my character. They are my inspiration and the reason I work as hard as I do.

College and Early Professional Life

I began attending New York University in September of 1998. Even with 75% of my tuition paid for through scholarships, I couldn’t afford NYU housing and lived off-campus with my sister in Newark, New Jersey, about an hour’s commute on the train into Manhattan.

The following month, I took on a job as an Administrative Assistant at a small publisher of software engineering and business management books, where I would be employed for nearly seven years. During the school year, I worked between 20 and 30 hours. During the summer, I worked full time.

By junior year of college, having been promoted to Editor and at age twenty-one, I was making enough money to support myself and moved to a small Brooklyn apartment.

By the time my college career was all said and done in 2002, I graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor in Journalism and Africana Studies.

Marketing Career

In April of 2005 I moved to Miami and took on a job as a Copywriter/Content Developer at one of Internet Retailer’s top 500 retailers of furniture and home decor products.

Shortly thereafter, I transitioned to a marketing role, performing SEO for ten of their twenty websites. After proving myself by ranking most of the sites on the first page of Google, I decided to move on.

In August of 2006, I took a position in the Media Department of Sapient Interactive, a global marketing company, where I am currently still employed as a Search Manager, managing Paid and Organic search efforts for companies like Citibank, Royal Bank of Canada, and Travelers Insurance.

In between, I took on stints doing SEO consulting for e-commerce companies large and small, some with one or two websites and some with two hundred.

Entrepreneurship

In September of 2006, I partnered with Jessica Matthews to form Nikko E-Commerce Solutions, LLC, a niche online retailer of furniture and home decor products.

Later that year, we launched PrimeFurnitureSource.com. In 2007, we purchased PadStyle.com, a modern furniture and home decor blog. Most recently, in early 2009, we launched nikkoSHOPS.com, a rebranding of Prime Furniture Source, as well as a modern furniture store at Shop.Padstyle.com.

The Future

Even with the state of the economy, as of this writing in early 2009, our company continues to grow. We recently launched two websites and hope to launch three more niche stores in the next three months. Stay tuned!

Need More?

If you’d like to learn more about me or, more importantly, tell me about yourself, feel free to connect with me on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn. Let me know how I can be of service. After all, in the words of Zig Ziglar: