In the Line of Wire

Do you think Faisal Qureshi and Imran Zia are eyeing my plate of mouth-watering pasta? Hmmm … and I thought they were my friends!

Those of you who know Jawwad Farid have either seen him in a hawaiian shirt/t-shirt/sweatshirt and shorts/jeans. I caught him on camera the other day as he headed out to see a potential customer in Lahore dressed in totally different garb. I thought I would share this photo with his fans. Seen with Jawwad are Imran Zia CEO of VahZay and Imran Chishti who has recently made the mistake of joining Jawwad’s team.

Much as we had wanted to be at SI#3, it was not to be. However, we decided this time that there was no way we could miss SI#6. So we huddled into Imran Zia’s Honda Civic with him at the wheel, and set off on our way from Islamabad to Lahore, early on Sunday morning while normal people slept in and began their day launguishing (a true sign of madness on our part i must admit).

Jawwad has already described the trip somewhat so I will not dwell any further on it. Actually I am trying with great difficulty to get over it

Hardly had time to check into the PC and have a quick lunch before we headed in the direction of LUMS. Here is a snapshot of our enthusiastic group on our arrival at LUMS.

My friend Subroto Bagchi, co-Founder and COO of MindTree Consulting in Bangalore, writes in the Preface of his book The High Performance Entrepreneur:

I like to see myself as a journal-keeper of sorts. When MindTree Consulting was started with nine other co-founders in 1999, I felt that I had two duties. One, helping with the task of building the organization. Two, watching the process unfold, so that it could be narrated to people who could benefit from our experience and in turn launch their own endeavours.

Exactly what the entrepreneurs who have been panelists at the SI sessions have been trying to do! (SI enthusiasts may be interested in knowing that I have already convinced Subroto, during a recent visit to Mumbai, to speak at an SI session in Pakistan - maybe Jawwad and he could do a double act since they are both authors).

So what actually happened at LUMS? Various blogs have said it better than I could:
http://blog.alchemya.com
http://adilsaleem.blogspot.com
http://lahore.metblogs.com

What amazed me more than anything was the Management of LUMS who are often referred to as a very bureaucratic bunch. They were anything but that. Dr. Zahoor ul Hassan, the Vice Chancellor was warm and welcoming and made us feel right at home. Then he just sat back and let things take their course. No interference. No trying to steer the discussion in any particular direction. In the true spirit of the event, he let the young audience take control. Thank you Dr. Zahoor. We will be back.

And as for Dr. Umar Saif, the combination of professor & entrepreneur - he was an absolute darling! I don’t think I have ever seen him without a smile - except maybe in this picture where he seems to be in a contemplative mood - must be something FQ said!

With his experience as an entrepreneur, he added value to the discourse - although for most of the time he just sat back and listened, totally absorbed and maybe a little amused by our passion and excitement. Eh Umar? Thanks to him for volunteering the LUMS venue and working with Imran Zia on making it happen.

Zia is of course something else! He not only drove to Islamabad to be with us at SI#5 and the P@SHA CEO Lunch in Islamabad, he drove us, as Jawwad has reported, at the acceptable motorway speed limit, to Lahore AND much more important than anything else, he provided the Pizza Hut pizzas and soft drinks at the event. What a chap! Great guy to know. He is not as loud as the rest of us but his background is an impressive one - a graduate of Cornell University, seven years at Oracle in Silicon Valley, a failed venture in the Valley before he moved to Lahore to chill out and decided to stay and start VahZay. We are so glad he did. His new business is a roaring success, P@SHA is lucky to have him and we count him amongst our greatest supporters and friends. He also plays the role of UN Peacemaker whenever required.The best part of the event for me was meeting some of the people I had only known via blogs - Adil Saleem of 2’s Complement, Hasan Mubarak from Lahore Metblogs, the team from Shophive.com and several young men and women who are comtemplating starting new ventures. My fellow panelists - Zafar Khan of Sofizar, Jawwad Farid of Alchemy, Fahd Bangash of Amaana, Imran Zia of VahZay, Faisal Qureshi of Kolachi, Umar Saif of Bumpin’ and ChOpaal, Imran Chishti of Alchemy and Nadeem Malik of Infotech (referred to as the marketing guru by Jawwad) - patiently answered all questions fired at them from different parts of the room. And surprisingly, they actually paid attention to the yellow cards which were used to steer us back onto the topic at hand whenever we started to waver. And, boy, did the kids use them! Empower a room full of young men and women and they go bonkers!

FQ and Jawwad were brilliant as usual and more conversations took place during the refreshment break and after the event as groups of young people surrounded all of us to try and get specific input on issues, to get advice on the direction their businesses should take, or just to bounce off ideas.

We missed our regulars - Adnan Agboatwalla or PixSense, Osama Hashmi (our SI partner at Green&White), Mansoor Adenwalla of KMB and Ali Raza Sheikh (they have tried to be a part of multiple city events - next time Lahore is a must guys!)

I have received a few calls in the last couple of days asking whether Internet users in Pakistan and elsewhere can lodge an FIR against PTCL and PCCW for spamming, spoofing, system damage, malicious code and interruption of business - a la the new E-Crime Ordinance. Hmmmm … good question! What do you think guys and gals?

BTW I wonder how many of you watched Breakfast at Dawn on Dawn News this morning. Faisal and Ayeshah discussed the YouTube blockage and its implications with Dr. Umar Saif of LUMS. Some of the things that were discussed included the futility of any government blocking any website because there are always ways around getting to content if one really wants to.

Another point that came across was that the content isn’t being pushed onto people. You have to go looking for it so if it is something that you don’t like, or something that offends your religious, ethical or moral sensibilities, don’t go looking for it. After all there is a lot of stuff out there that is available in other forms that different sets of people may not approve of - books, movies, photos, art, audio tapes, conversation - don’t go view it, don’t buy it, don’t look for it. Then your sensibilities will not be offended.

What next? If a government doesn’t like someone’s face, should it be banned from public view too? We live in a world that is full of people with a variety of interests and beliefs. We don’t have to like everything that is out there but who are we to tell people what they can or cannot put up? Who are we to censor what is spoken or written about or shown? The more important question is “Who is the WE and what qualifies THEM to decide what our sensibilities are and what we should or should not watch or read?”

Friends, Netizens, countrymen, lend me your ears;

I come to bury the Net, not to praise it;

The evil that men do lives after them,

The good is oft interred with their bones,

So let it be with the Net … The noble centurion

Hath told you telecom was essential:

If it were so, it was a grievous fault,

And grievously hath the Net answered it …

Here, under leave of the centurion and the rest,

(For the centurion is an honourable man;

So are they all; all honourable men)

Come I to speak in the Net’s funeral …

He was my friend, faithful and just to me:

But the centurion says he was essential;

And the centurion is an honourable man….

Telecom hath brought many businesses home,

whose earnings did general services fill:

For this, did the Net seem essential?

When that the poor have cried, the Net has wept:

Blasphemy should be made of sterner stuff:

Yet the centurion says he was essential;

And the centurion is an honourable man.

You all did see that in this century

It thrice presented us unfettered access to knowledge,

Which we did thrice refuse: was this essential?

Yet the centurion says it is essential;

And, sure, he is an honourable man.

I speak not to disparage what the centurion did,

But here I am to speak what I do know.

You all did love him once, not without cause:

What cause withholds you then to mourn for him?

O judgement! thou art fled to brutish beasts,

And men have lost their reason…. Bear with me;

My future is in the coffin there with the Net,

And I must pause till it come back to me.

Yes … following on from the announcement regarding the SI session in Islamabad, we discussed it internally today and decided that it would be interesting to take the team to Lahore the very next day. On a Sunday, you ask? Why not? It is the perfect day for everyone - a holiday from the normal stresses of work. No other distractions. Totally relaxed day for an animated discourse.

The following panelists – who are well known for their passion, their success, as well as their idiosyncracies – have already agreed to be there:

Faisal Qureshi, CEO, Kolachi Advanced Technolgies
Zia Imran, CEO, VahZay Pvt Limited
Jawwad Farid, CEO, Alchemy Technologies
Salim Ghauri, President & CEO, Netsol Technologies
Osama Hashmi, CEO, CDF Software
Jehan Ara, President, P@SHA
Fahd Bangash, CEO, Amaana
Zafar Khan, CEO, Sofizar
Dr. Umar Saif, Founder ChOpaal, BumpIn.com & Associate Professor, LUMS

And if this is not exciting enough (although I would challenge anyone to tell me this is NOT an absolutely fantastic list of panelists) …. more distinguished panelists will confirm their attendance tomorrow and I will add them to the list as their confirmations are received.

Date: February 24, 2008
Time: 3 pm - 6 pm
Venue: Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)
Room A11 & A10, Ground Floor, Main Academic Block

This second part of the nationwide Startup Insiders’ series focuses on answering the most frequently asked questions …

Who is my customer?

How do I find him or her?

How and what do I sell?

A three hour session focusing on 30 – 40 minutes interaction on each question. All budding entrepreneurs, young startups and asipiring entrepreneurs are welcome.

Yes it is time for SI #5 already - it shows, doesn’t it, that P@SHA and Green&White are really excited about these sessions. A fabulously energized team is converging into Islamabad for this one - Faisal Qureshi, Jawwad Farid, Zia Imran, Adnan Agboatwalla, Osama Hashmi and moi (these are our regulars) and then there are some new and very important faces - Dr. Qasim Sheikh, the head of the National ICT R&D Fund, Amir Jehangir of the Competitive Support Fund, and the CEOs of NexSource, Palmchip and E-Health. For more details of the event, read Osama’s post on Green & White. The sponsors for this session are Telenor and the National ICT R&D Fund. See you there!

You know how it is when you enjoy something so much that it just doesn’t feel like work? It is simple, unadulterated fun … extremely fulfilling and totally effortless. It leaves you on a high that is beyond anything any drug could possibly do. Well that is what the Startup Insiders sessions have been like from Day 1. Busy entrepreneurs who spend 24×7 trying to build multi-million dollar companies and lead extremely busy lives, not only show up at the SI events, they actually stay on for long afterwards, offering advice, interacting with young people, answering questions, sharing anecdotes or just listening if that is what is needed - and enjoying each moment of it.

Friday’s Startup Insiders session at the Karachi Marriott was sponsored by Alchemy Technologies and it was exactly like that - full of energy, passion and loads of fun. Over a 100 young people got together with a handful of entrepreneurs from Karachi and Lahore to learn, to absorb new information, to network, to be a part of a growing, successful and innovative industry.

Some of these young people are already bringing innovation and exciting new ideas to an industry that is at a stage where growth is in double and triple digits, where home-grown entrepreneurs, and those who have returned from the US, Australia and Canada, are taking their companies to much higher levels than was thought possible a few years ago hence creating and spreading an aura of success and excitement in the young people of this country.

“We did it” they all said yesterday “and there is no reason you can’t if you have the hunger, the passion and the perserverence.” That was the key message. Humility filled the room as Faisal, Salim, Jawwad, Zia, Adnan and Amer shared their stories (Salim Ghauri and Imran Zia had flown in from Lahore for the event).

After the introductions were out of the way and I had done my normal “turn off your mobile phones otherwise I will take them - even though i now have an iPhone” bit, the entertainment began. To my delight, Jawwad started the proceedings with the Apple 1984 video. Who was Apple addressing, what was the USP (Unique Selling Proposition), why did the ad work resulting in the creation of millions of Apple evangelists and users? This was followed by the FedEx, Lexus and VW ads. Lots of discussions ensued on the marketing idea behind all these ads, what was it that clicked or didn’t, lessons learnt, etc. The ideas had started to flow, the minds were now engaged.

And then ……. we broke for tea, coffee and snacks to let it all mull in. Several youngsters came up to us during the break to say that they wanted to be involved in all the SI sessions, some had delightfully weird ideas (note - weird is a compliment in my book) - all fresh, all absolutely amazing. We listened and will be discussing it on the SI platform and will be calling on some of you to help us implement these ideas.

See the picture above of my friend Adnan Agboatwalla? On Friday Adnan was playing the role of struggling young entrepreneur - unshaven, in denims, unpressed shirt, looking as if he hadn’t slept for days - which could possibly be true since he has had one foot on a plane to Beijing, Barcelona, Dubai … and so on. More was revealed at SI4 regarding the PixSense story - from the plans on a napkin at Starbucks, to the setting up of the development arm here in Karachi, to the first sale.

How many of us have heard over the years that people fear making presentations more than they fear death? The truth of that came out when Adnan described how he had to present the first demo of the PixSense product in front of a large audience at a conference/exhibition - it was torture. “I am not a presenter … I get nervous … I don’t have the pizaz … and I don’t like being in front of lots of people.” And yet … when his presentation at the conference was followed up by a visionary Japanese chap talking about the future of mobile technology, and describing the PixSense product to the tee, PixSense got its first breakthrough.

As an entrepreneur, Salim Ghauri went to pitch to his first customer dressed in a suit and tie. The meeting was by the poolside of a luxury hotel with the customers dressed more appropriately in swimming trunks! Sweaty-palmed and anxious, young Salim (yes he was young once ) presented Netsol’s skillsets (at that time a team of 4) with a passion and keenness that struck paydirt. He got the business, delivered it on time, and has never looked back. He spoke about the importance of servicing a customer and ensuring that one under-commits and over-delivers so that repeat business and referrals take the company to the next stage. He knows what he is talking about guys and gals. Mercedes Benz now uses Netsol’s award-winning Leasesoft product in 8 different countries.

If you have never met Amer Hashmi, you cannot imagine the passion and faith in Pakistan that one individual can exude. Having grown up in Toronto, Canada, this young man returned home to set up Si3, bringing back with him a few dozen expat Pakistani professionals. “There is amazing potential in this country,” he said “we are at a stage in history where we can make Pakistan the next success story … if only we would believe it.”

Well, Amer believes it. He is on his way to making a world class company - developing professionalism and work ethic in young people not only in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad but also in Balochistan where Si3 is setting up a large data center. “A small number of us cannot make this into the kind of industry that’s needed … we need to join forces, to add on to the numbers, to collaborate and to create new companies and consolidate existing ones,” said Amer.

“My first start up in Silicon Valley failed,” admitted Imran Zia. Why did it fail, he was asked. Yup, we were ruthless with the questions He said it was timing. He started the company in late 2000 and then 9/11 happened and his company didn’t have a chance.

He came to Pakistan thinking he would stay for 4 months, meet old friends, just unwind. While here, he got a call from a friend in the Valley asking if he could get some work done for him. “I was lucky”, he said. “My first contract literally fell in my lap”. He got the work done, then something else came his way and before he knew it, he had started VahZay Pvt Ltd and the months turned into years and the business bloomed. “I am still a small company”, said Zia (who is also the Vice Chairman of P@SHA) - “we are about 20 people working out of an office in Lahore but we are doing well - it was the connections I made in the US, the people I knew who trusted my abilities and my professionalism who decided to send their work my way.”

So can you only be successful if you have lived, studied and worked in the US or some other developed country and made contacts there? “Not at all,” said Jawwad Farid. “All the customers I have today are because of the connections I have in Pakistan through family, through friends, through people I went to school with in Pakistan. They recognize and trust me as an individual and us as a team.”

Jawwad’s wife and primary investor Fawzia interjected at this point. She told us a story about the early days of Alchemy. They had returned from the US after blowing a million dollars and owed close to US$30,000. They were at a customer meeting and really needed the work when ‘angry’ Jawwad asked the team to get up and leave the room. Anger management is an issue with Jawwad - he has spoken of it often. You know one thing though? It is the anger that generates the passion for the things he does. And I have never known him to be angry for no good reason.

Know when to walk away, was his message. Nothing is worth your dignity or that of your team’s. There will always be other opportunities. And so there have been!

I have personally always believed that nothing is worth losing your dignity over. I remember when I got a job in Hong Kong many years ago. It was a good offer and one I was really looking forward to but I was haunted by the first interview I had at the organization. The big boss, an Englishman - Adrian Batten - who later became a good friend, was throwing around 4-letter words - he was angry about something. I thought as I considered taking the job “Would I be able to handle that kind of verbal attack? Did I even want to no matter how much money there was in it or how much opportunity it offered?” I could have turned down the job. I didn’t. However, at the final interview I told my soon-to-be employer “This is a new field of work for me. I am bound to make mistakes. When I do I want you to point them out and I will make sure I don’t make the same mistake again, but please never raise your voice because the day you do, I will walk out and never come back. My dignity is all I have.” He looked at me (a young, itsy bitsy girl with checkered experience) and said “Is that an ultimatum young lady?” I nodded, a little scared but not willing to back off. He smiled and said “You’re on!” I worked for him and with him for 9 years and we had a number of disagreements but NOT ONCE did he raise his voice.

I think I started my entrepreneurial journey at that company because after a couple of years, Adrian lost interest and “found” himself as those in the West often do. He went to a number of soul-searching sessions and then decided to set up a Spiritual Healing Centre in Bali with his Italian fiance. He made me the Managing Director and I ran the whole region from my base in Hong Kong. I made the money and he spent it but I loved running the show - all the pain, the stress, the uncertainty was well worth it at the end of the day. That is why I started ET with a friend when I came back to Karachi in the early nineties. I wanted to work for myself. I wanted to be responsible for my failure or my success, to create something that was uniquely mine, that I identified with. I guess that is what entrepreneurship is all about. But I digress ….

Everyone who was at SI4 must be wondering why I left out Faisal Qureshi. That is probably why he is glaring at me in this photo.

I left Faisal Qureshi for last because I don’t quite know what to make of the guy. He is funny, he is passionate, he has very strong beliefs. Some people adore him, others hate his guts but one thing’s for sure, no-one can ignore him.

Faisal is the Chairman of P@SHA this year. He also runs a tech shop by the name of Kolachi Advanced Technologies (actually Imran runs it, Faisal is just a visitor whose primary task is to come in every day, have coffee, fly to Singapore and Hong Kong to party with customers from time to time, hold their hands and make sure all is hunky dory). He is an activist of sorts, a media personality and a self-professed geek. He is also extremely passionate about Pakistan and is very vocal about what needs to be done to turn things around.

Faisal made quite an impression at the first SI session and at the 4th one on Friday things were no different. He talked about many things. Ammar has put up some of the most interesting stuff on PakMarkaz.com. Thanks Ammar. Ali, we are waiting to see all your videos. We actually had the entire proceedings videoed and will be putting that up soon. Zia has also given me half of the SI3 proceedings on DVD. Will put that up too … eventually.

Back to Faisal. He talked about many things - about the first customer he converted - someone who started off hating him but was won over because he stuck to his guns and did not comprise with his dignity. One thing about selling is, said Faisal, sell to a point and when you see that you are not getting through to the chap, leave. Come back to fight another day. As an example, he said even toddlers who are asking their moms for something, know within seconds by looking into their mothers’ eyes whether they will get what they want. Read your customer, see if you are getting through, if not then head for the exit. Come back another time.

Unfortunately Salim and I had to leave for CNBC at 9 pm (which is when this session was supposed to end). It carried on for another hour (there were still 4 or 5 young people there when I went back to pick up my car) and, you know something, although I was on the roof under the moon and stars recording a show on a beautiful set with Salim Ghauri and Asif Iqbal of Post Amazers, I was wishing that I was back at the Marriott in the highly charged atmosphere that we have all come to love.

All those techies and non-techies out to change the world … one pebble at a time. I feel lucky to have been part of SI1 and SI4 and have decided that there is no way I am going to miss any of these events no matter which city they are in.

Thank you Jawwad and Alchemy for hosting it. Thank you Faisal, Salim, Amer, Zia and Adnan for being there and sharing. But most of all thanks to all the young people (and the few old ones) who keep coming back and making these events such a joy for us all.

Imran Zia, Vice Chairman of P@SHA and CEO of VahZay Pvt Ltd Lahore is trying to catch a flight in the morning (if PIA/Air Blue cooperate) to be here for the Startup Insiders session. We are keeping our fingers crossed that he gets on the flight. Let us give Imran Zia and Salim Ghauri a warm Karachi welcome despite the freezing cold!

My intelligence network is working really well. I heard that Salim Ghauri, President & CEO of Netsol Technologies is going to be in town tomorrow (Salim wanted to know how I knew - hey we bloggers don’t reveal our sources ) so I asked him if he was free between 6 and 9 pm. He was initially quite suspicious and guardedly asked me why, but when I told him about the SI session, he immediately agreed to join the rest of the team at the Marriott on February 8. Isn’t that great? Thank you Salim. Rabia Garib Editor of Netexpress and Reba Shahid Editor of Spider Magazine will also be there. See you guys tomorrow.

Wow is all I can say! Registrations have flowed in from the minute we put up the posts. Due to limited capacity we are only going to accept another 10 registrations so hurry up and register now or hold your peace until the next event.

The SI sessions initiated by P@SHA and Green&White in Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore were all well-attended and the feedback was “Let’s not stop now … let’s have more… and more … and more!” Keep the momentum going - change the format a bit to make them a little more structured … yet keep the interactive parts alive.

The infamous Jawwad Farid has volunteered to host the next session in Karachi on February 8, 2008. Details as follows:
Venue: Marriott Hotel, Karachi
Time: 6:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Date: February 8, 2008

The entrepreneurs who will be available are:

Jawwad Farid, CEO Alchemy Technologies
Faisal Qureshi - Chairman P@SHA & CEO Kolachi Advanced Technologies
Jehan Ara (that’s me) - President, P@SHA
Adnan Agboatwalla - Co-Founder, PixSense
Amer Hashmi - Founder & CEO, Si3
Yusuf Jan - CEO, Mixit Technologies

We are trying to convince Osama Hashmi of Green&White and Imran Zia of VahZay Pvt Ltd to join us. Come on guys - it’ll be fun!

It promises to be a wonderful 2 to 3 hours - engaging, exciting, full of passion and new ideas, revealing tips and tricks on how to come up with an idea for a product or service, how to identify and land your first customer and how to develop a marketing strategy.

The format will be along these lines:

Identifying pain: 30 minutes
Finding customers: 60 minutes
War stories from the sales front: 30 minutes
Interaction
Yummy Snacks/Coffee/Tea

Registration is required for this event. No fee will be charged but since there is restricted space, we need to know how many of you will be there. Please email secretariat@pasha.org.pk your name, email address, phone number and status – are you a student, an entrepreneur or an employee? Your registration will be confirmed by email. We need all registrations in latest by the morning of February 8. See you there!