And Loot maar it was!

When you put up a poster like this, what do you expect? A stampede no less! And that is exactly what happened (after the first few incredulous looks from non-believers) at SZABIST on 26th January when Adnan Haider and the Lootmaar.com team decided to go live with the first ever online auction to take place in Pakistan. There were 80 bids in 3 hours. The objective of the event? Captive user feedback and product develoment. Way to go Adnan! What an innovative way to launch Lootmaar! We expected nothing less from you young man. What a beginning!

Since its beta went up a few months ago, Lootmaar has tested and adjusted its modus operandi several times to ensure that customer feedback was incorporated. As Adnan says “Your users are smarter than you are”. It was an online space that started with auctioning new and used electronics. It has now moved on to include books. Try selling or buying an item and you will see that our home-grown eBay is well on its way.

Captured on camera - the winner, Imran, is all smiles as he unloads the iPod shuffle and a Lootmaar tshirt from Lootmaar co-founder Noman.

Reminder - Startup Insiders Session in Islamabad and Lahore

 

P@SHA and G&W are holding Startup Insders Session in Islamabad and Lahore on January 31 and February 1. Details below.

ISLAMABAD - January 31, 2008 - 6 pm to 9 pm

Sponsor:

Venue: LMKR Auditorium, LMKR Corporate Office,
3rd Floor, Evacuee Trust Complex, Sir Agha Khan Road,
F-5/1, Islamabad.

Entrepreneurs who will be there include:

Ovais Ashraf, CEO, Trivor Software
Zahid Mirza, General Manager, Netsol Technologies
Faizan Buzdaar, CEO, Scrybe
Saeed Qadri, Director, Voxel Communications
Mansoor Khan, CEO, Makabu
Faisal Chohan, CEO, Brightspyre
and of course
Osama Hashmi, CEO, CDF Software

LAHORE - February 1, 2008 - 6 pm to 8 pm

Co-Sponsors:

Venue: VahZay Pvt Ltd.
19-A1, E-II, Gulberg-III, Lahore

Directions: From the Liberty roundabout on Main Blvd. Gulberg, go towards Qaddafi stadium.
When you get to the roundabout just before the stadium gate, make a left. The Hockey stadium should now be on your right.

Go about 200 meters and make a left in the first street you see on your left. There is a Punjab Book Board office at the corner with a big sign up-front, hard to miss.

Go 100 meters and the first gate on the left is VahZay. There is plenty of parking along the wall that runs in this street from the turn all the way to VahZay gate.

Entrepreneurs who will be there include:

Imran Zia, CEO, VahZay
Kewan Khawaja, co-CEO, Techlogix (I just ran into Kewan in Karachi and he said yes!!! Difficult man to get hold of because of his schedule but he has a great deal to share)
Monis Rahman, CEO, Naseeb Networks
Osama Hashmi, CEO, CDF Software
Sajjad Kirmani, VP, Netsol Technologies
Fahd Bangash, CEO, Amaana
Hasan Rizvi, CEO, Five Rivers Technologies
Shehzad Ahmed, CEO, Descon

Don’t miss it! Be there!

Presentation Skills workshop by Zak

How many times have we asked ourselves these questions? How many times have we all complained about the Presentation/Communication skills of managers, of executives, of people young and old in the IT industry and in industries across the board. Well, here is an opportunity to improve those skills - to learn from someone who is known for making presentations that are truly stimulating.

P@SHA is organizing this half day workshop on the following days:

Karachi - January 26, 2008 - 2 pm to 5 pm - Marriott Hotel - SOLD OUT!!!

Lahore - January 28, 2008 - 2 pm to 5 pm - Vahzay Pvt Ltd, 19 - A1, E-II, Gulberg III, Lahore - GOING FAST!!!

The workshop outline is available here. Register now by emailing secretariat@pasha.org.pk or phoning (021) 5418121

Workshop rates:

for P@SHA members Rs. 4,000 and

for non-members Rs. 6,000

We will do a special deal for students - email me directly at president@pasha.org.pk

Update: 29 delegates registered for the Karachi workshop already!!! WOW!

Startup Insiders Session in Islamabad & Lahore

Startup Insiders Session in Islamabad sponsored by LMKR

Date: January 31, 2008

Time: 6:00 pm - 9 pm

Venue: LMKR Auditorium, LMKR Corporate Office,
3rd Floor, Evacuee Trust Complex, Sir Agha Khan Road,
F-5/1, Islamabad.

Entrepreneurs who will be there include:

Ovais Ashraf, CEO, Trivor Software
Zahid Mirza, General Manager, Netsol Technologies
Faizan Buzdaar, CEO, Scrybe
Saeed Qadri, Director, Voxel Communications
Faisal Chohan, CEO, Brightspyre
and of course
Osama Hashmi, CEO, CDF Software

Startup Insiders Session in Lahore co-sponsored by VahZay & Naseeb

Following on from the success of the Startup Insiders Session in Karachi on January 17, P@SHA and Green&White will be holding sessions in Islamabad on January 31st from 6 pm to 9 pm and in Lahore on February 1 from 6 pm to 9 pm.

The Lahore session is being co-sponsored by VahZay Pvt Ltd. and Naseeb Networks and will be held at:
19-A1, E-II
Gulberg-III
Lahore
0321-849-2306

Amongst the entrepreneurs present at the Lahore session will be:

Zia Imran, CEO of VahZay
Fahd Bangash, CEO, Amaana
Monis Rehman, CEO of Naseeb Networks
Hasan Rizvi, CEO of Five Rivers Technologies
Osama Hashmi, CEO, CDF Software & Founder Green & White
Faisal Qureshi, CEO of Kolachi Advanced Technologies & Chairman of P@SHA
Jehan Ara, President of P@SHA
(More are being lined up)

The sponsor for Islamabad is LMKR - venue details will be provided tomorrow. Entrepreneurs present at the Islamabad event will include:

Ovais Ashraf, CEO, Trivor Software
Faizan Buzdar, CEO, Scrybe
Osama Hashmi, CEO, CDF Software
Zahid Mirza, Netsol Technologies
Saeed Qadri, CEO, Voxel Communications
Faisal Qureshi, CEO, Kolachi Advanced Technologies
Jehan Ara, President, P@SHA

A wonderful Coffee Session

No this didn’t happen at the at the Startup Insiders session but it just seemed like the right photo to start with - actually some of the discourse reminded me of a ping-pong session - for those who don’t know these two clowns, allow me to introduce Ali Sabzwari of Si3 and Jawwad Farid of Alchemy.

The Startup Insiders session (our version of the Silicon Valley BarCamp) was set for 6 pm yesterday. Imagine my amazement at seeing some of the CEOs starting to show up at 5:30 pm (this in a country not really famous for its punctuality), and youngsters started to trickle in soon after. All day Jawwad, Osama, Adnan and I had this feeling of anticipation of something thrilling and exciting that was about to happen. And boy were we right!

The atmosphere was electric. There was a buzz. Everyone seemed to be on a high (no liquor and drugs were not on the menu). Around 70 entrepreneurs and wanna-be entrepreneurs together in one room, popping questions, sharing experiences, expressing doubts and concerns, dishing out advice, some agreeing, some not - all in good humour. Faisal Qureshi being controversial yet speaking from the heart, Jawwad Farid trying not to offend as he passionately talked about flexible working hours and styles and Pakistan being the place where opportunities abound, Adnan Agboatwalla talking about having to make that final leap from a well-paid day job to not getting a salary for a year so that he could chase that dream, Osama bringing in the pains of those first weeks and months of developing a product forgetting to eat and sleep for much of the past 3 years.

The session started at 6.15 pm. By then the room was full- standing room only. Everyone had been given a sticker with their name on it for easy recognition during the networking break. The proceedings began with the laying down of just a couple of basic ground rules - all phones on silent (with the threat that any phone that rang was going to be mine since my phone is on the blink and i desperately need a new one); the panel of entrepreneurs would stick to responses that were not too long so that discourse could take place (I had said 2 minutes but didn’t have the heart to stop passionate outpourings of experiences that were crying out to be shared).

Questions included things like:
1. How do i know i am cut out to be an entrepreneur?
2. How much money do i need to start up?
3. Is it easy to raise capital?
4. How do i put together a team?
5. How do i sell my product or service?
6. What kind of support structures exist?
7. Should I seek VC funding - when is the right time?
8. Is a Business Plan necessary and how do i put one together?
9. Should I develop a product for which I know there is no market right now because it is ahead of its time?

….. and a whole load more.

Answers included:

1. To be an entrepreneur you need passion, you need drive, you need to be prepared to take a risk, you need to believe in yourself… and so on and so forth
2. How much money did they start with? Jawwad said US$15 loans from wife, mother, father, uncle, friend. Adnan said US$10,000 which they got from their savings. Others said just a laptop and a roof over your head, some food, coffee and an Internet connection.
3. It is not easy to raise capital until you have a proof of concept, your first customer.
4. Putting together a team is difficult - if you can find people who are as crazy about the idea as you are and have different strengths, and will stay with you because they have a stake - financial or otherwise, that would be ideal. Otherwise do what we do - hire, train, lose them, hire again - just don’t let it break your heart and DON’T GIVE UP!
5. Use networking opportunities like the events P@SHA has, Green & White, Startup Insider sessions like these
6. VC funding - Stay away if you can for as long as you can
7. Business Plans are not always necessary. Sometimes you put one together for an investor, at other times you do it to focus your own thoughts. Templates are available, come to P@SHA and mentors for help, bring a friend who is a business graduate onto your tech team.
8. Selling your product requires knowing your customers pains, his problems and the money and time your solution can save for him. You need to think on your feet, be able to switch stories that fit a certain scenario (or in Faisal Qureshi’s words ‘be a bit of a con-artist’)

So there it is - only a sampling of what was discussed at this extremely energized session. The Mulazzamat.tv guys were there too to share their experience. We had Faisal Khan CEO of Netxs who came forth with invaluable ideas as did Nauman Sheikh, Dr. Zahir Syed and Azhar Rizvi. We also had the Dawn News team there, the Editor of Spider Magazine Reba Shahid, Rabia Garib Editor in Chief of Netxpress and Asif Qayyum of Si3. Everyone added energy to the discussions. And let us not forget some of the perspectives put forward by Imtiaz Noor who walked in late because he had meetings he couldn’t get out of.

Coffee flowed as did tea and there were chips, samosas, cookies and kulfi - thanks Adnan! The networking break had people huddling up in groups, getting to know each other and sharing ideas on a one-to-one and one-to-many basis. I loved it and can’t wait for the Lahore and Islamabad ones to happen. Thanks to everyone who showed up and special thanks to Jawwad, Osama, Adnan and the two Faisals. For more on the session, do visit Desi Back to Desh and Green & White.

We forgot to take people’s email addresses yesterday so if you were there, and you are reading this, send us an email and let us know so we maintain the contact and we can also let you know about the next event.

Some of the CEOs who were there yesterday and are prepared to mentor, to help with ideas, to look at demos are:
Faisal Qureshi - fq@faisalqureshi.com
Jawwad Farid - jawwad@alchemya.com
Adnan Agboatwalla - adnan@pixsense.com
Osama Hashmi - hashmi@coreframeworks.com
Jehan Ara - jehan.ara@gmail.com

Wanna see the action? Here’s a sampling.

Coffee for Startups - and lots more!

Adnan has made it easy for you to get to PixSense at 6 pm. We’ll be waiting. All sorts of people have confirmed their attendance. You have motivated us even before we motivate you.

Food, motivational discourse and coffee await you (and I am not telling you about the other surpises we have in store! Wanna know? Then show up!

NIDU website launched

This is what the National IT Development & Promotion Unit (NIDU) website states on its Home Page:

Moving in accordance with the IT policy to harness the potential of Information Technology as a key contributor to development of Pakistan, Ministry of IT has initiated a development project “National IT Development and Promotion Unit (NIDU)” targeted at seeking out areas of key importance and multi-stake holder input on the same before devising policies and guidelines for the better use of ICT.  Distinctive persons (this includes me and Rabia Garib so you know just how distinctive this group is ;))from different walks of life like Public Sector, Corporate, Financial Institutions, Academia and Legislation etc. have been gathered under the umbrella of NIDU to contribute towards the national policies.

NIDU states the following Aims & Objectives:
The aim of this project is to create a, ”Think Tank”  to advise, research and analyze the issues having relevance for the realization of goals set in the National IT Policy and IT Action Plan. Major functions of the Unit are to:

• • Arrange sessions with the experts of the relevant IT disciplines to analyze and collect ideas on the assigned issues.
  • Identify experts from the public and private sector so that their expertise can be used to address national issues relating to IT. These experts are organized into working groups designated to come up with concept papers, recommendations or outlines of project proposals.
  • Organize seminars on clearly defined issues. Invite papers from experts to be presented in the seminar. Divide participants into syndicates in order to facilitate formulation of findings and recommendations. This is followed by discussion & analysis in the general assembly. Each seminar concludes with a report including all findings & recommendations. Such reports will be submitted by NIDU to the Government.
  • Engage consultants where required on contract to handle major issues which need critical consultation and inputs for decision making. The assignment of the consultant will be clearly defined in advance along with all other conditions of the contract.
  • Give suggestions and recommendations to the executing agencies of IT projects in various domains. Based on this PC-Is can be prepared.
  • Assist the IT & T Division and other government bodies in identification and materialization of IT related initiatives and IT projects within specific areas.

There are 4 Working groups that you can register for:

E-Commerce
IT Security
IT Law
Content Development

I really think that as many of us as possible should register on this group so that we can give our input to MoITT. Let us start with the E-Crime Bill for instance and then move on to other areas. Let us not merely criticise. Let us get involved to ensure that change is enacted.

Startup Insiders Session - don’t miss it!

P@SHA is happy to announce an exciting new initiative that we are starting in partnership with Green & White called Startup Insiders.

As we all know, there is no dearth of talent in this country and entrepreneurial spirit is on the increase - easily seen with the number of new ventures sprouting all over the country - 2 or 3 man shops coming up with innovative solutions. Bright, energetic and passionate entrepreneurs or wanna-be entrepreneurs who have innovative ideas that they want to convert into businesses - young people needing direction, needing answers to some age-old questions.

On the flip side there are successful entrepreneurs wanting to share, wanting to answer questions that are never put to them - how to put together a business plan, how to get access to finance, how to pitch your idea, how to put together a solid team, questions regarding IP and patents - in fact, anything and everything that a start-up needs to know but was afraid to ask.

Whereas formal mentoring certainly has a role to play, informal get-togethers sometimes generate a lot more discourse resulting in a lot of questions being raised and tackled. And that is the idea of these Coffee sessions.

The format we will be adopting is:

- A Startup Insiders meetup will be organized in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad at least once every month - in Coffee Houses, Restaurants, Board Rooms - wherever space is available.

- CEOs, experienced leaders and possible investors will be invited to those sessions.

- We welcome young entrepreneurs (and older ones too), students, ideas, questions, myths, fears, product demos and pitches.

- Coffee & snacks will be provided free and you will have a chance to exchange ideas - argue, concur, relate anecdotes, fears, challenges

- Each event will be sponsored by one software company which picks up the check. The company’s reps will also be present to talk to anyone who shows up.

This is a model that has apparently helped entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley, and P@SHA and G&W is bringing this home to Pakistan for the first time.

Thanks to Osama Hashmi and Green&White for partnering with the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) on this initiative. Team work always bears fruit.

We’ll be kick starting this in Karachi:
Date: Thursday, January 17, 2008
Time: 6 pm
Venue: Pixsense, 172/P Najeeb Corner, 4th Floor, Block 2 PECHS, Karachi 74400

Entrepreneurs who have agreed to share:

Jawwad A. Farid (Alchemy Technologies),
Faisal Qureshi (Kolachi Advanced Technologies),
Adnan Agboatwalla (PixSense),
Yusuf Jan (Mixit Technologies)
and Osama Hashmi (CDF Snip and Green&White).

Oh by the way, I will be there too! PixSense is hosting the event - this includes the food too! Three cheers for them - hip hip hooray! hip hip hooray! hip hip hooray!

More about this on Green & White and Desi Back to Desh.

For those who don’t know where PixSense is, Adnan has put together a map to lead you to this wonderful event.

The E-Crime Bill has been enacted

We hear that this Bill has been passed as an Ordinance by the President but no signs of the new draft appears to be available on any of the government websites. A number of us have tried to get hold of it through sources in the Ministry of IT & Telecom as well as the PSEB but to no avail. However, the author of the Bill has appeared on some television channels to laud its passing as an Ordinance.

I really cannot comment on it until I get my hands on the current document. In the form that we saw it last, it was definitely not a piece of legislation that should have been passed without a complete review.

These are presentations made by Barrister Zahid Jamil at a Civil Society meeting at T2F to give business people and other professionals, students and journalists an idea of why the Bill should not be enacted in its present form.

Zahid Jamil’s Presentation:

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

One-to-One Q/A with Civil Society

Recommended Reading:

Cyber Crime FAQ | Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act | Letter to Cabinet

Good news for the Pakistan tech sector

Gartner, which never really had Pakistan on its radar, has in a recent report put Pakistan amongst First Category countries for outsourced services. Apparently cost arbitrage and competitive telecom costs as well improved infrastructure have been cited as the reasons for this.

The upcoming P@SHA study will however provide subsantial reasons and statistics relating to growth, professionalism, maturity, employment. The study, which has been conducted by Athar Osama, a PhD from the Rand Policy Institute, is a 5-6 month effort to start an annual initiative to document the Pakistan IT and ITES industry. It widely documents through a rigorous process of online surveys, phone surveys as well one-to-one conversations, where the Pakistan industry is at, how it has grown in the past 3 years as well as projections for the future. We will finally have hard facts to deal with instead of gut feel and vague optimistic forecasts. Watch out for it!

P@SHA launches blog & newsletter

The Pakistan Software Houses Association for IT & ITES (P@SHA) started the year with a flourish by launching its new blog - P@SHA Online - and a monthly newsletter P@SHA Newsline (this is also availabe as a pdf download on the blog).

The Pakistan IT industry has been growing exponentially over the past 4 years - growth rate 50%+ each year. The growth has not been limited to existing players alone. New innovative startups have popped up in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad attracting local and foreign investors and highlighting once again the talent that exists in this country.

By launching two new communication vehicles, P@SHA will be able to more effectively project this innovation and growth both locally and internationally.

The authors and designers realize that this is just the beginning - and a lot of work is needed for these vehicles to evolve. However, P@SHA Online has already got a mention on Green & White (before it was launched - OA, you certainly have an amazing intelligence network!) and Netexpress Online. Industry stalwarts have also hailed the launch of the new vehicles - slick, nice and cool are the words used so far

The resilience is amazing!

Perhaps I am easily pleased but driving through Karachi today, going about my normal business day, meeting up with friends and colleagues, seeing shops open, the daily-wage worker going about his business, heavy traffic on the street, people laughing, children playing on swings and slides, my city full of activity … gave me a sense of relief and calmed, to some extent, the tension and unease that had engulfed me during the past few days.

The people of Karachi, the people of this country have always been resilient and that came through clearly as I went through different parts of the city during the course of the day. I am proud of this country and its people. Whatever challenge or calamity comes our way, we try and rise above it, look beyond the bleakness of the moment and work towards the promise of tomorrow. I hope and pray that this is the beginning of a year of peace and progress for Pakistan and for us all.

Peace, Joy & Prosperity in the New Year

2007 has been a tough and challenging year for all of us. There have been moments, though, when the sun has shone through. Friends and family have brought joy and laughter into our lives. The success of new and innovative businesses have made us proud. The brilliance of our young people has given us hope. The continued success of more established technology companies has reiterated our faith in our sector.

As a new year begins, I am ever optimistic that we ’shall overcome’. There is reason for optimism. All of us need to continue to do our bit to make a difference by sharing knowledge and expertise, by instilling values in the young people we meet and work with, and by providing counseling and guidance whenever and wherever possible

We need to continue to work within our communities to alleviate poverty and pain, to offer assistance and hope, to empower, to spread joy, peace and friendship. Happy New Year. May it be a peaceful and joyous one for us all.