Picture this, techies: We, as a nation are interestingly very genuine to fall in love, when its our own baby, we love it unconditionally. A talk, Teaching Tech to Pakistani Aspiring Students: From the Booklet of the Silicon Valley, arranged at Habib University.
Now see this: There is a much-loved startup, great founders, having great vision, good initial trajectory and having pinnacle of success in mind and reaching that peak!
Consider this: Pakistan, itself is a great startup, Jinnah was a great founder, his ideals that were inculcated in the foundational years, at the birth of the country were immensely extra-ordinarily gem-stones, one should treasure, leading to reaching to the top of the peak, cases in perspectives PIA and the Pakistani cricket team. How brilliantly focused approach was it? It was. But with every success and significance, comes a down-turn, the spiral wave, but with this fall, you still plan to rise and can garner hope for going back to the top. To place this story, courtesy of Mr. Umair Khan, who assembled this thought. Mr. Umair Khan, Founding Partner at Mentors Fund was here at the talk.
The August Gathering listening to ‘This Silicon Valley Insider’s View of Pakistan’s Tech Ecosystem’ keenly.
This talk, ‘This Silicon Valley Insider’s View of Pakistan’s Tech Ecosystem’ was held on late Friday evening, at Tariq Rafi Hall, Habib University. The University collaborated with Folio3 in allowing the young students of the institute a chance to see what the panel of experts (read: leading techies) had to say about economic uncertainty that is prevailing in the country and yet it is giving the feel to this particular community, the Pakistani techies to rise and plan a start-up!
People intent to know, how Tech is the road ahead. Welcoming the road to digitalization in most perspective.
Besides, Mr. Umair Khan there, were two other panelists, namely Mr. Eram Khan, CITO, Engro Corporation and Mr. Furquan Kidwai, CEO of Dawaai and the panel was moderated by Dr. Anzar Khaliq, Associate Dean, Teaching and Learning, at Habib University.
Mr. Khaliq from Habib University, in talks with Mr. Kidwai, CEO of Dawaai.
The chief of Mentor’s Fund, Khan, said that, “Why would you want to have a start-up in the first go? But if you as a youngster are really involved in doing so, it must inculcate three things in you fundamentally about the project, because it essentially requires three things within you to have a) desirability, b) viable project and c) feasibility.” Going forward and giving an idea that can be structured around the surface, “You see you live in Karachi; the city is not clean at all. This is your home. Do something about it? Basically, there should be a strong demand in the good market of Karachi, to make it (neat)” Khan has about 60+ startup that he has mentored and 10+ alone are based in Karachi.
Taking this cue forward Eram Khan observed that, “Entrepreneurship is all about product failure or pass. The desire should be given in the form of Demand and Supply, which in itself makes Entrepreneurship an exciting thing, to begin with!”
Mr. Furquan Kidwai, briefly shared his trajectory of life, while he was based in London in 2014, he desired to comeback to Karachi and start his own startup company where he saw the fact that he “could work with cheap labor and skilled labor. Where I could upgrade it and this became my resolve to continue. If we don’t do it now then when? One needs to dared to try and just do it. The key factor here is Resilience and earning money, should not be the mantra but rather solving the problem.”
Mr. Eram Khan, CITO, Engro Corporation focusing on a technical and digital world of today; hearing him is Mr. Umair Khan, Founder and Partner on Mentor’s Fund.
What makes the startup click is the, “Fact that you have a good idea and a solid space. Plenty of it can happen,” stated Mr. Umair Khan. Where patience and resilience was given a major thought, Mr. Eram Khan stressed on the need to “Please learn, to get to learn. Because that’s how you will get there.”
Where Umair Khan, had initially talked about Pakistan as a great case-study, for a start-up, he shared yet another story of a man called Abdul Sattar Edhi. “With Pakistan a success story. Edhi yet another success story. But remember, not everyone can be Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates!”
Also, “try keeping Cash Flow, positive, “said Mr. Eram Khan and remember “Investment is not a Revenue,” a retained thought by Mr. Umair Khan.
Time is ripe for start-ups to begin functioning, for after every major recession, the new model of economic changes takes place. Besides after “Every Success Story leading to Significance comes down to being in-significant,” Mr. Umair Khan stated. Which in entirety “leads to understand Your Value which Determines Your Destiny, of Success and Significance.”
Dr. Khaliq moderated the event and closely observed the thinker’s attitudes and deliberation which in itself created a host of opportunities for the critical mind of young student, attending the forum, to realize the potential of being a critical thinker, in this regard.
