Tech Entrepreneurs: 3 Actions to Ensure a Profitable Startup in Pakistan

The startup scene in Pakistan led by technology & digital media has been booming for the past few years and we have seen startups like Patari, Beauty Hooked and Zameen come up with innovative solutions to insightful consumer problems. As an aspiring entrepreneur and graduate student of Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern Medill, I have found two articles that provide insights into the startup scene of Pakistan which can help budding entrepreneurs.

In his article Going Critical, Jawwad Farid presents the startup phenomenon in Pakistan. Mentor programs and technology incubators such as NEST IO & Plan9 have encouraged young entrepreneurs to start their own businesses which provide technology based solutions to consumers. There are now over 1,800 technology based startups in Pakistan, however these startups come with their own challenges of ever changing government policies and a somewhat primitive financial system. It should be interesting to see how young entrepreneurs emerge through these challenges. 

Image Source: TechFlier

Mehreen Omer’s article introduces us to Bilal Ather, a 26-year-old Pakistani who founded a multi- million dollar company. His startup Wifigen is a tool that gives free Wi-fi to consumers in exchange of their information.  Bilal’s story exemplifies the entrepreneurial mindset of today’s youth and the positive steps they can take to reach success.

Based on these two articles, here are 3 action items I want to suggest to young entrepreneurs who are hoping to start their own enterprise:

• Network with Experts: Find people that share your interests and passions, who are experts in the field and learn from them. Investing in a network will pay-off in today’s interconnected digital world.
• Learn from Failures: Realize that not all your ideas are going to be worth a million dollars and it’s okay to fail. Bilal’s first startup Ikhtira failed but he didn’t let that dissuade him. Learn from your failures, brush it off and move on.
• Be Consumer-centric: Research, research, research till you know your consumers and what their pain point are. Look at data, discover insights and win over investors with hard evidence.

If you are an aspiring Pakistani entrepreneur, consider these three points as you develop your start-up to ensure a better chance of success. 

Komal Ashfaq is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Integrated Marketing Communications with Medill at Northwestern University. She is interested in digital technologies, entrepreneurship and traveling. After graduating in December, 2017 she hopes to return to Pakistan and work with tech start-ups to which are working on creating sustainable solutions to consumer problems. You can follow her on Twitter or LinkedIn.

Tech Startup CEO/CMOs: Three pitfalls you should watch out when launching your product

As an executive at a start-up, you know that it is often tricky to introduce a new technology into the marketplace. 

As a masters candidate of IMC(Integrated Marketing Communication) in Medill School, Northwestern University, I have identified two articles that can help you bypass the pitfalls with ease and grace. 

In the first article Failure Is the Best Thing That Could Happen to Google Glass, The author Marcus Wohlsen points out the first blunder Google Glass committed is to target the wrong group, the lack of insightful user cases is to blame.  The author believes that google was crippled by an typical engineer kind of pitfall: Overconfident in “the sheer force of its(the products’) awesomeness” to loosen the purse string of the customers while overlooking user case and customer insight analysis. Google Glass may have been better suited in specific industry context, But Google played the wrong card —they put too much effort in creating the hype in the B2C section.

                                                             (Resource: The Forbes )

While Google Glass represents the most recent hallmark failure in the domain of disruptive technology, Google+ is another lesson Google present to tech marketers in the red ocean. Danny Crichton, a former employee at Google, has spoken out his thoughts over Google’s notorious failure in entering the social landscape. Danny acclaimed “focus is absolutely everything” in his A Personal Reflection On Google+, contending the lost of focus is fatal to Google+. In his perspective, the big internal chasm between engineer culture “where data and algorithm reign supreme” and the demand of everyday users also takes its toll in pushing Google+ one inch closer to the brink of failure.

After reviewing these articles, and based on my experience through the graduate program at Northwestern Medill IMC, here are three action which you should think about to shunt away botched product launch:

• Connect your customers - It’s not only about making awesome product, but also making it applicable to your customers in their day-to-day use cases.
• Gap the internal chasm. it’s paramount for tech start-up to build an effective way of communication between its key engineering people and marketing/business crew.
• Keep your goal simple.  Don’t try to overcomplicate your product -it will only confuse the customers and scare them away.

Rina(Xiaoru) Lin is a full-time IMC student at Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism. I'm passionated about “connecting the dots”, combining the data and consumer insight and turn them into actionable strategy. I'm interested in tech market because I believe the power of technology makes the world a lot better, and I want to be part of it. 

@ her at twitter! @RinaXiaoruLin

Why So Few Women in Tech?

Too few women are employed in the technology field, whether it be software development or information technology. As a student at Northwestern University, I have been exposed to technology, and discovered two news articles that begin to tackle the question of, "Why so few women in tech?'

In "Technology, Man's Problem", New York Times writer Claire Cain Miller notes that lack of encouragement for women to pursue education is not the only culprit for the lack of women in tech. Instead, a sexist, alpha male culture seems to pervade, which makes many women feel like outsiders in their own profession. Many women face unwelcoming environments, harassment from male counterparts, and for one woman, even death threats.  Despite having the expertise to succeed, more than 50% of women leave tech by the middle of their career.

In a CNN article, "5 Reasons Technology World Needs More Geek Girls", Teo Kermeliotis and Jessica Ellis talked to Regina Agyare, one of Ghana's first female tech entrepreneurs about why girls should join the technology field. Agyare left a lucrative career in banking to found a software company, and understands the difficulties women face in blazing their own path. She outline these five reasons why tech needs more women: improving technical innovation, reducing social inequalities, teaching girls leadership skills and critical thinking, stopping the workforce exit, and the low numbers of women currently involved in tech. She sees technology as being a gateway for women to become stronger forces in society. 

After reviewing these two articles, I believe that the technology industry can support women further by taking these three actions:

• Eliminate Unwelcome Environments- Men and women alike, but especially men must work to create a welcoming environment for anyone interested and qualified to join tech.
• Support Women in Technology- Women currently in the field must encourage younger women to join the field and explain the diverse benefits, from high paying positions to networking opportunities.
• Create Benefits for Women to Stay in Tech- Too many women leave tech because it doesn't allow them to balance their professional and personal life, create incentives for women to stay. 

Technology is a diverse field with many disciplines, but the one common thread appears to be the lack of welcoming environments for women. Women must be encouraged to stay in the field through creation of safe work environments, support networks and incentives for longevity. 

Parul Kapoor is a senior Economics major and IMC (Integrated Marketing Communications) student at Northwestern University from Saint Cloud, Minnesota. She will be joining Oracle Corporation in July 2014. To contact her, please email her at pkapoor@u.northwestern.edu or on Twitter @parkapoor.