P@SHA Entrepreneurship Seminar

So, here I come again with yet another live blog (yes i’m alive and so is Ideas Hut – we all were just being dormant) . Today, I’m going to live blog from the P@SHA Entrepreneurship Seminar with two seasoned entrepreneurs from Idris Kothari and Saeed Kazmi visiting from Silicon Valley. You can find details of this seminar on Jehan Ara’s blog here. For the live coverage, however, stay here! You can participate online as well and I shall try my best to forward you questions/comments to Idris and Saeed; and ah get their answers as well :-) P@SHA – Entrepreneurship Seminar

P@SHA – Entrepreneurship Seminar (07/29/2009) 
5:23 Hey All, the event is abt to begin in a few minutes
5:24 [Comment From Awais Naseer keyani]
We are tuneddd…….
5:26 I can see JehanAra, Mystakool, Inspirex, Talha Izhar, Munir Usman and others here, people are gathering up!
5:26 [Comment From Faisal.K]
watching from ideas hut :D
5:26 [Comment From Guest]
tuned and ready :D
5:26 [Comment From Awais Naseer keyani]
I wish refreshment could also be live-blogged :P
5:28 [Comment From Awais Naseer keyani]
Sigh sigh sigh!! I wish I was a Kracheit!!! :(
5:28 We are trying to setup live video/audio streaming
5:30 [Comment From Awais Naseer keyani]
Gud gud!! weldone!! But plz try to make the sound clear!! Picture doesn’t matter!
5:30 So, the seminar has finally begin
5:31 [Comment From Faisal.K]
kool please put the url here so i can post to my site also
5:31 begun*
5:32 Introducing the speakers, Mr. Idris and Mr. Saeed who are here on a personal visit but has spared some time for us. Thank u guys
5:33 Over to Mr. Idris now
5:34 Idris is a guy in black printed shirt – not my fault guys, this is how JA is introducing him :P
5:35 Idris and Saeed sharing their story – both did the bachelors from NED
5:36 Mr. Saeed sharing the considerations that one needs to make before diving into the world of enterpreneurship
5:36 Spark, Personal traits and risk factors
5:37 See if u really hav the spark to be an enterpreneur or for the area u need to work in
5:38 See if u r ready to take risk
5:38 Identify opportunities, ROI etc.
5:39 Once this first phase is done, the second phase is to pick the right team
5:39 Pick the people stong in areas that u r weaker in :)
5:40 [Comment From Awais Naseer keyani]
LOL :D
5:40 [Comment From Awais Naseer keyani]
….. and went to US afterwards! ;)
5:40 [Comment From Awais Naseer keyani]
1) Risk = I’m Ready
5:40 Build trust among ur teammates, define roles and discuss ownership
5:40 Form business plan and then arrange funding
5:41 U can get self-funded, bank loans, leasing firms or VCs
5:42 But don’t get disheartened if u don’t get funded – try to self-fund urself and this is where ur motivation level can come into play
5:42 @Faisal. K @Awais Video/Audio streaming cudn’t be setup here guys..sorry for that
5:43 Saeed talking abt the Sales and Marketing perspective now
5:43 He says don’t decide the price on the cost basis but rather on the value basis – what r ppl willing to play for it
5:44 Develop Marketing Collateral – brochures, presentations etc etc
5:44 Once this ground work is done, u r ready to sell the product
5:44 Be careful abt marketing dollars u spend
5:45 Focus on developing reference customer sites
5:46 Be part of trade organizations, industry groups, use web marketing
5:46 use email campaigns, seminars and webinars
5:46 these r cheaper ways of marketing urself
5:47 Once u want to spend more, u can go into Trade shows, get Magazine ads published
5:47 Once u r a successful startup and ppl r buying ur product(s)
5:47 then the next phase begins – put more structure in ur organization
5:48 set up professional organization and departmental structure
5:48 hire professional managers and staff
5:48 change the culture – introduce processes
5:49 all good qualities of a startup (no processes, no hierarchy) are detrimental for a grown up company
5:50 Lol – we r on hold at the moment – weird noise coming from the VoIP phone
5:50 seems like somebody is reading news
5:50 a burst of laughter and JA pulls out the plug
5:50 so, the pres resumes
5:51 Saeed sahib showing a graph
5:51 abt how a company goes thru a transitions
5:52 He says as the company grows, u might feel ur hold/ownership decreasing but don’t worry abt that, as long as ur net company worth is increasing, go ahead!
5:53 Saeed sahib discussing the Exit Plan – if and when u need it
5:55 Consider Mergers and Acquisitions, IP, Ownership buyout etc depending upon the market situations etc
5:55 [Comment From Aaqib]
Very high level points.. ask them to explain in detail :P
5:55 [Comment From Awais Naseer keyani]
Funding?? :O Many start from a “taat” like Faizan Buzdar of iScrybe, like Bill Gates… so and so….
5:56 [Comment From Faisal.K]
no problem we are following it and im spreading the url via twitter “live blog” on !!
5:56 [Comment From Awais Naseer keyani]
OK NP!:)
5:56 [Comment From Awais Naseer keyani]
yes yes, bring on! How to market a webstartup successfully?!
5:56 [Comment From Awais Naseer keyani]
[re: 5:44] *sigh* this thing was not a success for me! :(
5:56 [Comment From Faisal.K]
u go to vegas to celebrate?
5:56 [Comment From Faisal.K]
have u caught a signal? hehehehe whats the hashtag for this thing?
5:56 [Comment From aMmAr]
Good going Faree, always nice to read ur blogomentry
5:56 [Comment From Faisal.K]
u always need an exit with setting up something in #Pakistan
5:56 The presentation ends and QA session starts
5:57 @Faisal Hashtag is #PSEV
5:58 I asked a question abt discussing ownership within team – he says discuss beforehand who’s going to hav , how much share of a pie
5:58 Faiz asking abt branding of a product
5:59 Saeed says if u r an engineer, don’t think abt how cool a product is, see how much ppl r willing to pay for it – identify need and value
6:00 Idris asks “How many of u know Student Biryani and Star Bucks?”
6:00 Al most everyone raises hand
6:00 He adds “How old is Biryani and Coffee?”
6:00 LAUGHSsss :D
6:00 Moral : Create value
6:01 Question from Munir Usman: How many yrs shud a business plan focus on
Ans: At least 3 to 5 yrs – u need to spend this amount of time to create and polish ur project
6:02 [Comment From Awais Naseer keyani]
@Faisal.K lol at Las Vagas! :D
6:02 [Comment From Zeeshan]
Please ask what how realistic VC funding is in #Pakistan scenario? Can we get funded for a product to cater local market? Appreicate if the steps could be highlighted.
6:03 @Zeeshan – asking ur question
6:04 Farzal asking question abt service companies market themselves
6:04 @Zeeshan – i do it as soon as Farzal’s ques is answered
6:05 Saeed answering Farzal’s question
6:05 When u r a service company, u need to focus on ur market as well as geographical locations that u r offering services in and market accordingly
6:05 [Comment From Aaqib]
My Question : What is the right time to reach VCs? and with what ? an idea or initial structure or good built product ?
6:05 [Comment From Zeeshan]
Thanks
6:06 Saeed says , we r week as in nation in QA and testing and don’t pay much attention to it
6:07 So, when r u setting up a pricing structure, include operational, QA, all costs in that
6:07 Idris says, don’t undersell urself!!
6:07 Always see what others r willing to pay, what is the market willing to offer
6:09 A question comes from audience – an enterpreneur asks how imp is branding? I hav products better than Oracle, how to sell it?
6:09 Saeed says, big names r negatives, don’t compete with them directly, build ur own value
6:10 Actually the enterpreneurs question was, ppl prefer brand names – how to tacke that
6:10 Saeed says, distinguish urself and build upon the differentiation
6:11 Tell prospective customers for e.g. my product is like Oracle or any other big company but additionaly offer 24/7 service/support
6:12 He says don’t underestimate Services and Support section, use that sector for ur benefit
6:13 Imitiaz says, it’s not just abt big names, sometimes, they r preferred bcoz of compatibility as well
6:14 Imitiaz says, IT managers at most managers r trying to save their a** only
6:15 and ooppss…here comes a banking guy to defend the banking sector – his names is Salman/Saleem (didn’t get it properly) Malik and he heads Phone banking dept at HBL
6:16 He say we prefer big names sometimes to avoid piracy issues as well
6:16 [Comment From Faisal.K]
ask this pls, in a market as volatile as Pakistan where we are not even aware of whether we will have power tom, how does one forecast the market scenario? i.e as to whether the market likes something one day and then the product goes poof the next day because logistics mess up?
6:16 [Comment From Zeeshan]
wheres’ my answer? :(
6:16 [Comment From Faisal.K]
woooohooo corporate ruckus.. hand out gloves
6:17 @All – hot discussion going on here, everybody speaking from here and there – guys will get ur answers perhaps at the end :$
6:18 Munir asking a lot of questions
6:18 He asks, who decides where to spend the money in a company
6:19 Saeed says, there is a board to decide where and how much money should be spent? The board consists of founders as well as VCs or those who hav funded u
6:19 Mr. Azhar Rizvi talking now
6:20 Idris says, their r VCs and there r good VCs
6:20 once u start interacting with u, after sometime they’ll be knowing more abt ur product then u do
6:21 they do their research and have enterpreneurs like us on their payroll called Enterpreneurs on residence
6:21 [Comment From Zeeshan]
@Faisal.K just like people forecast in Nigeria, Afghanistan and Iraq
6:21 [Comment From Faisal.K]
no prob.. sounds fun… i get what jehan and nawaz were saying earlier.. u know how to liveblog like mad!
6:22 Azhar Rizvi adds: don’t just look for VCs, look for VCs that hav expertise in ur area because they end up being great partners
6:23 [Comment From Faisal.K]
umm the CFo usually…
6:23 [Comment From Faisal.K]
with bank financing going at around 16% how is a person supposed to launch a new company and keep it profitable? there is a huge diff in silicon valley financing and financing here
6:24 Talha asks a question: We hav a product that caters to a niche in the hospital industry, the problem we r facing is in selling that product, we r 4-5 ppl company with no sales person in team
6:25 Saeed’s answer – get a good sales person who perhaps doesn’t want high salary but a heavy commission – offer him a good commission
6:25 Saeed says – a good sales man is always commissioned
6:25 [Comment From @Sharj]
I just joined. I would say don’t look for VCs if you are at early stage of your startup instead look for business angels
6:26 Saeed says, in case of all software products, don’t think abt one time selling, think abt an annuity model
6:26 Annuity model – so that every year u get to earn something and keep building up on it
6:26 [Comment From SKDev]
good point ;d sorry for being so late.. but well I am here.. *waves to jehan ara mam and farihaa twitapi*
6:27 @SKDev
Waves back tweebro :-)
6:29 Zeeshan asked ur question
6:31 Azhar saying: right now in Pakistani’s scenario, we try to fund companies who hav been into business for 2-3 yrs since the VC funding in Pak is still in its infancy
6:32 so for startup, the best funding is what u get from ur Customers
6:33 asked Aaqib’s ques: the best time to reach a customer is when u hav product, or a later froma customer that says i’m going to buy this prod if it exists
6:35 @Faisal – ur anser is – banks never finance startups here
6:36 so its pointless going to banks
6:36 Munir asks: how u can attract VCs?
6:36 Idris: Hav u ever heard of Greed?
6:36 He he :P
6:37 [Comment From Faisal.K]
All of the points mentioned are great but i do not see how they apply in our environment, here as a software house the biggest problem u face is copyrights, u launch one thing it gets copied re branded and is quoted for half the price the next day…so the entire forecasting ala management stuff goes out of the window!
6:37 [Comment From Zeeshan]
If we don’t have to go to VCs whats the use of this Seminar? I thought we’d get practical tips on how to attract VCs / do Business Planning/forecasting etc.
6:37 [Comment From Zeeshan]
IMO its better to launch startup on shoe-string budget and then expand slowly. OR have a revenue stream side-by-side (part time job / freelance work / some other product/serivce to sell etc) until the startup finally leaves incubator
6:37 [Comment From Zeeshan]
@Azhar: In the internet age, who calls a company startup after 2-3 years in busienss :)
6:37 [Comment From Faisal.K]
did someone ask mine??
6:38 [Comment From @aem76us]
distribution depends on product. Software can be distributed at low/no cost thru Download.com and Tuccows.com For medical devices, there are distributors too. But to export has huge regulatory barriers, eg inbound call ctr support, so 3rd party is almost a must.
6:38 [Comment From Zeeshan]
“so for startup, the best funding is what u get from ur Customers ” Twitter: are you listening?
6:38 [Comment From @aem76us]
VC funding is moving into ranges previously seen for Angles, eg $200k-$1 million. Many startups will never need true VC, can gain escape velocity on only angel funding cuz startups are so much cheaper now.
6:38 [Comment From Aaqib]
Thanks !!
6:38 [Comment From Zeeshan]
Who says bank never finance startups? Wrong! SME Bank was launched for that purpose and Women Bank was doing that as well.
6:38 [Comment From @aem76us]
Banks can give securitized loans against assets such as real property.
6:38 [Comment From @aem76us]
Best time to reach out to customers is, first off, before you start building the thing, cuz there may not really be demand for it.
6:38 [Comment From Faisal.K]
so who finances start ups in Pakistan??? does anyone do it?? A credible financial institution?? where is a person supposed to go here?
6:40 @Faisal – they say Founders, Family, Friends – a suggestion, don’t ask for money from prof ppl, they hav wrong expectations, and u might get into trouble if their suggestions are not fulfilled
6:40 [Comment From Faisal.K]
customers don’t finance start ups in Pakistan either
6:41 Munir asks: how do u keep ur team motivated in a startup
6:41 Idris says: let me tell u how we started
6:42 Long time back, we a bunch of stupids gathered, had biryani and at 2 a.m. decided to start a company
6:42 Next morning, only us two were together
6:42 So, my advice is “find a partner”
6:42 LAUGHSSSS
6:43 He says “How many of u sing in shower?”
6:43 Ur own voice sounds too good to u and same is the case with ideas
6:44 unless u show them to someone and they say on ur face “ur idea su**k*”
6:45 Saeed telling abt his companies: first company deals in building chips for computers
6:45 Idris shows an ebook reader very much like kindle: they built it 18 yrs ago and it was a complete FLOP!!
6:45 because at that time no body was interesting in reading books like that
6:45 so that’s what the 2nd company did
6:46 their 3rd company is Vertical System and Idris adds “We play company comapny” :P
6:46 JA: Why do u do that?
6:47 Idris: Saeed and I try to retire, sold one company and sat at home – two weeks later, our wives kicked us out and said..go work
6:47 [Comment From Faisal.K]
ok thanks..
6:47 [Comment From Zeeshan]
@Faisal.K banks do finance startups in Pakistan against collateral. Don’t go for the crap delivered in this seminar. Look into your family/friends/colleagues to finance your idea.
6:48 [Comment From @aem76us]
I’ve proposed that some of the US AID funds be applied for capacity building in the private sector and that would include angel-level (less than $1 million) for early stage companies. The USAID process requires institutional support and continuity, eg from biz assocs and endorsements from govt agencies.
6:49 [Comment From Faisal.K]
i know zeeshan hence i was asking..this is my point exactly their ideas are grt but their knowledge about our business environment seems a tad limited.
6:50 Idris says: When it comes to building a product that u can sell or selling a product that u hav built: always try to build a product that u can sell
6:51 Munir ask YET another question :P
6:52 Munir says: Should we go for MBA or a technical education
6:52 Idris says: U don’t need an MBA but perhaps a crash course – finance is much easier to learn than engineering, everything well-defined so u can learn easier
6:53 Saeed says: find ppl who r good in marketing communication, good english etc because that goes a long way
6:53 [Comment From @aem76us]
The trouble with asking for institutional support (USAID/Govt of PK) support for early stage high tech companies is that the initial headcounts are low (often less than 12). The bias is towards ‘investments’ in operations with huge headcounts, but those can have big risks.
6:54 [Comment From Zeeshan]
@Faisal: We usually get awe struck by “experts” from abroad, who don’t know a dime about our ground realities and try to impress us with their success stories. This is not US of A, man.
6:54 Idris says: Be honest, if u cannot sell an idea to urself, u won’t even be able to sell it to urself
6:54 Munir asks YET ANOTHER QUESTION :D
6:55 How do we get legal knowledge, hav u ever faced any serious legal issues?
6:55 Saeed says: get the basic paperwork done as soon as u can, make sure the structure is set properly, what kind of company we r going to have, what kind of stocks we r going to get
6:56 Both Saeed and Talha says: we don’t know a thing abt all this
6:56 Idris: Any lawyers here? :D
6:56 No lawyers here…aww! :P
6:57 Suggestions: Get mentors, P@SHA, MIT-BAP, TiE etc
6:59 Saeed says: who writes these forms? the forms are already there, u just need to copy and along the way u will also be told how to copy it
6:59 forms here = legal forms people
7:01 Imtiaz aka inspirex talking abt the marketing side of different things
7:01 He says don’t let customers take more than 20% of ur revenue
7:02 [Comment From @aem76us]
Huge regulatory barriers for some types of export oriented businesses. Eg call ctrs need half a million dollars up front to do many types of work in US. Collections and AR work is multiples of that.
7:02 Mr. Makil from HBL says : information is freely available now a days, learn to use that information
7:04 @ALL somebody in the comments said: customers don’t fund startups here in Pakistan. People we have Shahjahan Chaudry here whose startup got funded by a customer ..so stay positive! :-)
7:05 Idris says: When u r enterpreneur, u shud be very good at what u do!
7:06 so that u can’t be beaten
7:06 Saeed says: patenting is not important in my opinion, execution and timing is more important
7:06 Another question from audience: Are at u at this time in a position to fund any startup?
7:07 Saeed: Sometimes may but not always because it is a full-time job to fund someone else
7:07 so, it takes a lot of time to understand that business u r looking fwd to fund somebody other’s business
7:09 VCs specialize in different segments, some do just Web 2.0, some XYZ etc and likewise
7:09 Another question: Howz the business environment in US?
7:10 Saeed: I can giv u a silicon valley perspective; what has happened in the last 30-40 yrs has brought abt a land shift
7:10 [Comment From @aem76us]
First thing many VCs look at is: the team. Have they implemented a project together before? Any project? Painted a wall, dug a ditch, anything?
7:12 Saeed says: there is a lot of talk abt Solar energy, wind energy but not much talk abt companies with large business model that can make large money
7:12 No major trend that ppl r investing in, they r holding back
7:12 So, i can’t really tell u go and invest in this
7:13 Idris says: Too much technology has been created in a past 20 yrs but applications have not been built to use that tech
7:13 Saeed: Focus on Services, tech is just a vehicle
7:14 Azhar asks, how do u see mobile apps business?
7:14 [Comment From Zeeshan]
I have a large business model. Its about waging wars/sell arms and then get lucrative development contracts. Need a VC.
7:15 Idris: Opportunity is in making things easier
7:15 Create interfaces and software packages that can make it easier for ppl to use 2-3 apps using one interface, they can be highly successful
7:16 @All Saeed has kept saying throughout the session, he does not hav much idea abt the Pakistani scenario, so u can spare him now guys, plz :P
7:17 Azhar asking: We have seen internet wave moving from pcs to cellphones, approx what %age of business has moved from pc market to cellphone market
7:18 Saeed – Mobile phone interface is a great thing to work on in pakistan, perhaps: build an app to see traffic patterns etc
7:18 Munir was stopped from asking questions
7:18 Now he raises his hand slowly and gets the permission to get YET another questions :P
7:18 [Comment From @aem76us]
Next big things: location aware services and augmented reality.
7:20 …and the session ends
7:20 claps
7:20 all get up..ready to go out
7:20 [Comment From @aem76us]
Most VC investing in last year has been to support existing startups. Lots of down rounds. Funding is increasing, however.
7:20 [Comment From @aem76us]
The almost total lack of IPOs is discouraging too, reduces exit options.
7:21 JA annouces, there r snacks and coffee outside – ENVY us Awais :P
7:22 Before i got to rush to home now before my mommy comes and kills me here :$
7:25 Thanks for joining in guys and girls….err no girls :(
7:25 [Comment From @aem76us]
great work Fariha, thank you!
7:25 finally ending the beelaaag! cya IA on during someother live blogging session :)
7:26 @aem76us Thaks a lot – this is what keeps motivating me to blog again and again
7:26
 

 
Written by Fariha Akhtar on July 29, 2009 3:22 pm  //  Comments (2)

2 Discussions

  1. July 29th, 2009 at 4:21 pm #Awais Naseer Keyani

    Waitinggggggg!!! :)

  2. July 30th, 2009 at 10:52 pm #Awais Naseer Keyani

    Unfortunately, I had to leave yesterday but I’ve read it all now.

    So aweful err.. awesome coverage!!! I feel like I’ve attended the seminar myself! I no more envy Karacheits!!

    BTW, Fariha If you agree to cover most of such events, I can agree to treat you with McFlurry! ;)

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