Why I'm Building LeeX Instead of Another Social Network - Oscar Awowari

By Oscar Awowari – Founder & CEO, LeeX
Every year, thousands of new startups are launched around the world. Many of them are social networks, messaging apps, marketplaces, or AI tools competing in already crowded industries. While I admire the innovation happening across technology, I found myself asking a different question: Does the world really need another social network?
My answer was no.
What I believe the world needs is a better way to discover the places around us.
My name is Oscar Awowari, and I am the Founder and CEO of LeeX. Instead of building a platform focused on connecting people with people, my goal is to build a platform that connects people with places. That simple shift in perspective became the foundation of LeeX and continues to shape every decision behind the platform.
When we think about the biggest technology companies in the world, each one organizes a different part of our lives. Google organizes information. YouTube organizes videos. LinkedIn organizes professional connections. Spotify organizes music. These platforms succeeded because they made something easier to discover.
But cities remain surprisingly fragmented.
Every city contains thousands of businesses, hundreds of events, public infrastructure, tourist attractions, restaurants, hotels, schools, hospitals, parks, entertainment venues, and countless experiences. The information exists, but it is spread across maps, websites, social media platforms, directories, and word of mouth. Discovering what a city truly offers often requires switching between multiple apps and sources.
That observation inspired LeeX.
LeeX is being built as a city discovery ecosystem centered around three core pillars: Businesses, Events, and Infrastructure. These pillars exist in every city, whether it is Port Harcourt, Lagos, London, Dubai, or New York. Together they represent how people experience places every day.
The objective is not to replace maps or social media. Maps are excellent for navigation. Social networks are excellent for communication. LeeX focuses on something different: discovery. It is designed to help people understand what exists around them and uncover opportunities they might otherwise never find.
A local restaurant should be easier to discover.
A community event should be easier to find.
A landmark should tell its story.
A public facility should be visible to the people who need it.
A growing business should have the opportunity to be seen.
This is the problem LeeX aims to solve.
Like many early-stage startups, the vision begins with an experimental phase. That phase is LeeX Beta. LeeX Beta is where ideas become working systems, where features are tested, where city databases are created, and where the foundation of the ecosystem continues to grow. It is an opportunity to learn, iterate, and improve before scaling further.
Building LeeX Beta has taught me that creating a discovery platform involves much more than placing pins on a map. Every location needs structure. Businesses require categories. Events need dates and venues. Infrastructure must be organized logically. Search needs relevance. Discovery needs context. Good user experience depends on how all of these pieces work together.
Looking further ahead, the roadmap includes LeeX AI.
The long-term goal of LeeX AI is to make discovering cities feel more natural through intelligent conversation. Imagine arriving in an unfamiliar city and asking questions like:
"What businesses should I visit today?"
"What events are happening nearby?"
"Show me interesting places within walking distance."
"Which locations are popular with families?"
Instead of manually searching across multiple platforms, an intelligent discovery system could understand your request and provide contextual, location-aware recommendations.
That is the direction I see for LeeX AI.
Building a startup is rarely about having all the answers on day one. It is about identifying a meaningful problem, committing to solving it, and improving every single day. Every feature, every design decision, every database entry, and every lesson learned through LeeX Beta moves the platform one step closer to that vision.
Technology has transformed how we communicate, shop, work, and learn. I think the next opportunity is transforming how we discover the physical world around us.
That is why I am building LeeX instead of another social network.
The journey is still in its early stages, but I am excited to continue building, learning, and sharing that journey publicly. If you're interested in startups, geospatial technology, product design, AI, or city discovery, I'd love to hear your thoughts.
What problems do you think technology has overlooked that deserve more attention?
Oscar Awowari
Founder & CEO, LeeX
Building LeeX Beta | Exploring the future of LeeX AI