PUHLEAZE PEOPLE

Yes, 2nd time in a row. You know my lovelies – I don’t do this – But I am desperate. And desperation makes you do strange things. But no, I am not “ashamed”. As Barney said and I reverently quote:

In my body where the shame gland is, I have second “Awesome” gland”

I NEED a VA who can provide support to a Malaysian-based startup. VERY cool people – Silicon valley can’t wait to get their hands on ‘em but being nearly as awesome as me and Barnacle dude, they obviously flip their hair and say “No”.

OK – so to the point.

Need a VA to work from home to work from 9 AM to 6 PM US Pacific Time. Good money – I assure you. US accent a must. Doesn’t matter what gender you are (or are not). Simple work for someone with common sense (ever wondered why its called “common sense”? Seems pretty uncommon to me).

If you know someone have him/her contact me ASAP. Of course want a Pakistani national. Come on my pretties – help a fellow girl in need. If you don’t like helping fellow humans, I am gonna try the “Puss In Boots” on you.

Thank youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

 

Do you Wanna be a Transformer?

Excited Finalists with Judges and the GIST Team

Remember GIST? The wonderful organization that was responsible for my annoying whining for longer than I am proud to admit? Yeah, the peeps who ran the “I Dare” business plan competition(BPC), the one where I had absolutely no hope of ever making it into the semi-finals never mind the finals, have announced a new competition called the “Tech-I“. It’s sorta like a BPC … actually its exactly what it is, but unlike “I Dare” where we had to submit full biz plans this one is asking only for an executive summary and a 2 min video pitch. Interesting, eh?

The flyer below will give you a good summary of the event:

If you click on the image above it will take you to the official competition page.

I am telling you, if you have a business idea and its tech-related, you don’t want to miss this. I had absolutely no hope of getting into “I Dare” but I did. What if I hadn’t applied? What if I had let my doubts and lack of confidence get the better of me? Well, for one I wouldn’t have had 2 free trips to the UAE … mwahahahahahahaha ….. and secondly, I would have missed out on a huge opportunity to connect with other startup owners, hear all about their plans and their challenges and realize how despite the geographical and cultural and religious changes all of us had almost identical problems.

With the GIST, MITEF Asia, and MITEF Pakistan Team
5 of 20 semifinalist teams were from Pakistan and 3 of them were led by women!

Then of course there were all those mock pitching sessions with people from Google and Seed Startup and Etisalat. There were people with titles longer than their names; first, middle and last combined. Hell I even got some business from there; some real, other not. But Etisalat’s top honcho saying he wanted to do business (and then never replying to phone calls or emails) or Google UAE’s Mr. Big Shot telling me the same was enough to give me an adrenaline rush. I mean where else would I meet those people?

Look! You have nothing to loose. Just apply. Either you get through or you don’t. It will be one of the 2. If you don’t, eh … who cares. If you do … PARTAYYYYYYYYYY … TAKE THAT SUCKERZZZZ. Ahem!

And remember, when you get selected to go to Dubai, don’t forget to bring me candies from the Candylicious store in Dubai Mall. Also, I have developed a weird weakness for souvenir pencils and mugs. *hint,hint

OK BYeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Recipe for a Delicious Dinner

I am supposed to guest post once every two weeks but this was just too good to resist. Ladies, I met Sajjad Kirmani over email through a friend. And am I glad I did. He is definitely a great entrepreneur but more than that he is a wonderful human being who exudes a warmth and sincerity hard to find in people these days. I am so excited about this post. Without further ado … tuck in  

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Defining successful entrepreneurship has always been a combination of many words. A few stress on focus and leadership, some preach motivation and aggressiveness, while some sell innovation and planning. We can always argue on the composition and percentage of all attributes discussed but one thing is for sure that successful entrepreneurs know how to cook the delicious dinner without bothering too much about the recipe, ingredients and their composition. What makes them special is that, while collecting all the praises for that “delicious dinner”, they always relate to the hardships and sufferings they faced in the kitchen and yet they are full of advices in case someone else wants them to share the recipe.

During my career of 28 years in information technology, I had heard a lot of such recipe, at times ingredients were easily available too, yet the decision to actually move in to the kitchen was a difficult one. In later part of 2011, I decided to get into entrepreneurship and finally launched “INFOGISTIC” in Feb, 2012. Since then, it has been an amazing ride, days full of excitement, nights full of thoughts, with the focus to strike that perfect balance to make my delicious dinner. The journey no doubt can be long, definitely tiring but I have learned how to overcome my fears, how to absorb pressures and still able to smile and innovate.  Believing in the people, faith in the ideas, I am moving on and in a short time have been able to create the “Appetizer” for my delicious dinner. The company that started with a small footprint in Pakistan is now able to attract a good customer base in Middle East competing with best of the best.

Besides focus, determination, leadership and innovation, belief has been the key component of our journey. For a start up like us, we had to ensure flexibility yet drawing the line between changing and spinning. With a notion to invest in the people, we have been able to develop a mature and scalable IT services model and with the willingness to invest in technology we are on our course to develop a cutting edge software product based on cloud paradigm.

Summing up, Technology entrepreneurship has its own flavor that does not require heavy machinery, massive labor, and huge capital. With the advent of technology and business transactions taking place over cyberspace, there are numerous opportunities for budding entrepreneurs to be a part of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Even in a developing country like Pakistan, there are platforms that facilitate entrepreneurs to convert their innovative ideas into their delicious dinner.

For me personally, it’s been a thoroughly fulfilling journey so far and most certainly one of the best decisions I have taken to setup my own kitchen.

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Sajjad Kirmani is the Founder and CEO of INFOGISTIC, an emerging IT company that focuses on providing information security, enterprise portals  and banking solutions to its customer across Pakistan and Middle East. He has over 28 years of IT experience with several years of senior leadership experience in the IT industry. He won the CIO of the Year Award in 2010 for his outstanding work as Director IT & Operations at NetSol Technologies. During his 14 years tenure with NetSol, he was instrumental in carrying out several groundbreaking initiatives, including NetSol´s emergence as the leading IT exporter and the first CMMI Level 5 Company.

Sajjad holds a Master´s degree in Computer Sciences from University of London along with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from IBA. He is the President of IBA Alumni Association and has been the Vice President of Pakistan Software Houses Association (PASHA). He has a passion for gardening and maintains one of the best spring gardens in Lahore.

Mantra for Entrepreneurs

And I am back with a second guest post and from someone I’ve admired for a long time. Atif Mumtaz needs no introduction at least so far as the Pakistani IT industry goes. My fav thing about him besides the fact he is a “flashing lights” guy – his ingenuity. He is usually very quiet about his ventures but for this post he came out of his shell a bit and I am ever so grateful to him for taking out the time to write this. Without further ado – read on my lovelies! 

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Entrepreneurs are the crazy ones. They thrive on innovation and standing out from the crowd. At times, they even invite controversy with their radical new ideas and how they see the world changing. Who would have thought in 1990 that Internet could be so big when Tim Berners-Lee proposed it and built the first web page? Steve Balmer (Microsoft CEO) famously laughed at launch of Apple iPhone in 2007, saying its a device with no keyboard and no future. Look where it is today.

Entrepreneurs do things that others cannot easily understand or fathom. If someone else understood what they are doing, then someone would have already done it. They are ahead of everyone else in recognizing potential of an idea and building it into a success.

Entrepreneurs are also different from typical businessmen. They innovate and create something new. They do not follow others, they lead. In Pakistan’s case, BrightSpyre (a company that I founded in 2002) was innovator in Pakistan for introducing online recruitment. They created something new, something different. It was a time, when internet was still dialup and job advertisements were only available in Sunday Newspapers. Hence, they were truly entrepreneurial and innovative. Ahead of everyone in Pakistan, changing the way recruitment is done in Pakistan. All other companies that came afterwards (Rozee etc) are simply businesses that took on what BrightSpyre had created. They are not entrepreneurs in the true sense. So if you really want to be an entrepreneur, create something new, something different and something innovative.

To be a successful Entrepreneurial startup, I recommend the following mantra:

• Innovate: Have an innovative and radical new idea. An idea that can change the world, literally. Think hard on what you want to build and run to achieve it.
• Build an awesome team: Team is the key. If you have a winning team, you will go places in a matter of weeks. But if you have a weak team, you will never succeed. And if your team consists of parasites, those who rely on your brilliance to achieve anything, then you will at best be mediocre. Having started numerous companies and worked with all sorts of players, I have noticed that when I had co-founders who thought they were great but were really poor in execution, the company went down in the long run and could never sustain its growth. They will never let the company achieve its true potential. They are quick to blame others for their failures and will never try to do anything right. Avoid them, even if they are your best friends. Only select the best. The winners.
• Conserve cash: This is very important. You will not earn a lot in the first few months of your entrepreneurial venture. It is essential you have the cash to last the distance. For that purpose, you need to spend thriftily. If targets are met, if clients are happy, give yourself rewards at the end of the year, otherwise, do not spend. Conserve. And in today’s tight economy, there is no alternative to conservation of cash.
• Built it, Don’t think it: You will be skeptical of how your idea will thrive in the market initially. Most of this skepticism will come from family and friends who think you are crazy doing it. Don’t worry. Just follow your heart and just do it. Do not over think it. Or someone else will do what you want to do. So just build it, don’t think it.
• Belief in Allah: No entrepreneurial course will ever teach you this. But believe in Allah and you will see good things happen. When chips are down, when stress is at its peak, when friends abandon you, when your founders go against you, Allah will be there. Ask for His help and believe that everything will be alright in the long run. You will succeed.

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Atif Mumtaz is a co-founder of Personforce, a leading job board provider in the Silicon Valley, California, USA. He is also running a non-profit, UM Healthcare in rural Pakistan that provides affordable healthcare to those who cannot afford it. He can be reached online at: http://www.twitter.com/amumtaz 

Disclaimer: All views and opinions expressed in this post belong to the writer. PakiMom takes no responsibility.

How to Create a Profile on oDesk

No honey, you’ll never look so glam working outta home. You will most prolly spend the entire day in your PJs and brushing your hair will be a herculean effort. Making good money working online is tough. But, lets take small baby steps towards it.

I’ve been talking about oDesk right from the day I started this blog. Although there are other portals out there like Elacne and Freelacner but somehow I am biased towards oDesk. Maybe coz it has a simpler, easy-to-use interface. Maybe because its where I got my first contract. Dunno! If you read my blog and you don’t already have a profile on it, GO DIE! No wait! Don’t die just yet. Keep your lazy behinds where they are, holler out to someone to hand you the laptop, and SIGN UP!

1. Once you go to www.oDesk.com, simply click on the ‘Sign Up’ button on the top right of the page as seen below.

2. You will then be given two choices:

a. I need a contractor: Find, hire, manage and pay for help, on-demand. And,

b. I need a job: Find work, earn money, and grow your career.

3. Sign up with the “I need a job” option, which will lead you to the next step. You can choose whichever option is suitable for you. If you are looking to hire people, the first option will be better suited to your requirements. However, if you are looking for a freelance job, you should go on to select the second option.

There is an option of signing up with your Facebook username, this makes things extremely simple and easy if you have an existing Facebook account. Simply follow the instructions to signing up with your Facebook and you will have an oDesk profile in no time!

4. Creating a new profile is a little different but equally easy. You will need to enter your name, email address, city, country, username and password, how you heard about oDesk and lastly you have to enter the code given. Just fill in the relevant details to the best of your abilities and click “Create an Account.

5. You will be asked to verify the email address you submitted with the rest of your information.

You will have to go to your inbox and click on the link sent by oDesk which will redirect you to the next step of the procedure. Ideally you should not face any problems during this step as it is fairly simple. However, if you are experiencing any difficulties, paste the URL into your web browser instead of clicking on it.

6. The following step is fairly simple; you click on “Create your Profile” which will take you on to the next page where you can fill out more information which will help you land jobs related to your field of work and experience.

7. Picking out your areas of interest and expertise is very simple; just check the relevant boxes as seen below.

Fill in your address, zip code and phone number and click ‘Save Profile and Continue.”

9. An email will be sent out to you by oDesk after you have saved your profile with the basic information. You will be given tips on how to improve your profile further and get the best out of your oDesk profile.

10. As far as making your profile goes, you are finished. You will be asked to either

Complete your profile by

a. Take a test to show your skills or,

b. Take the oDesk readiness test.

My dear peeps, I hate cheating on these things and really believe taking the readiness test on your own is a good practice in learning how oDesk works. However, if you are really impatient to get started, you can find a cheat-sheet to the readiness test online.

Happy oDesk-ing. Don’t forget to share your profiles in the comments below. Will be fun to see what you put in there. I might even feature the best of the lot and interview you for me blog.

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This blogpost was written by my lovely assistant, Hanifa Tareen. I tweaked here and there but all credit goes to her. 

Pakistan Yet to Start Its Journey from Livelihood to Entrepreneurial Culture

My dear Always-Quiet-Never-Commenting-But-Very-Loyal-Readers, I’ve started a new segment where I am going to have guest bloggers talk about entrepreneurship in Pakistan with a focus on – you guessed it right – women entrepreneurship. Below is the first blog in the series. Tell me what you think. Who would you like to see featured here? Leave a comment. Top 100 comments get a free iPod 3 – IN THEIR DREAMS! But still. Happy reading!

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For many years there have been talks about developing women entrepreneurs in Pakistan. Donors such as USAID and others are spending money on women entrepreneurship development, I believe in millions of US dollars. The recent USAID program (which is almost rolled back) had a major component focusing on this subject. SMEDA started women incubation centers, and many NGOs are busy in running training programs for women entrepreneurs.

But why despite all these efforts, we do not see many women entrepreneurs in the country – why do people fail to understand that a shop owner is not an entrepreneur, she is only an owner manager? Having worked with women entrepreneurs and women chambers in Pakistan and in South Asia, I wonder what keeps Pakistani women away from making money by entering into entrepreneurial career.

The country is considered as a male dominated society and being a male, generally I am not accepted as someone who would be professional enough to talk about women entrepreneurship development. In one of the major focus group meeting held in Islamabad last year, when I tried to help women participants from NGO groups to focus on policy issues and what enabling policies are needed in Pakistan for the development of women entrepreneurs – I was accused of being biased. I told them that enough of complaints! We can move in the right direction only if these groups stop complaining and start talking about policy reforms.

Astonishingly, they did not know that in Pakistan’s SME policy, there is no special provision for women! So shall they not be talking about including women in this policy? Alas, those who can do it do not understand it!

Now in my view, if we really want to move forward and encourage more women to contribute in the economy, the focus needs to be shifted from livelihood to working with progressive women. The concept is simple – It is easier to train educated individuals with a bit of experience then complete newbies. The current donor and NGO focus on livelihood will never create a culture for women entrepreneurship in Pakistan. Moreover this group is large and scattered, needs more efforts and yields feeble results.

How about working with girls studying in business schools, engineering colleges and universities? Are they not the right target group for creating the entrepreneurial culture?

Educated youth is technology savvy, they are better communicator, they can move in the society. Those who argue that women are a marginalized segment in Pakistan (and I do not disagree with them), the great news for them is that educated youth has almost overcome these issues, so let’s work with them!

If funds are re-directed to help the educated youth, I am sure we will see a significant improvement in the number of women entrepreneurs entering in the mainstream economic activities in Pakistan – But perhaps, NGOs and donor agencies have some other focus or due to some unknown reasons they are not interested in exploring this route!

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Hammad Siddiqui is a passionate blogger and an expert in the field of institutional capacity building. He is the Deputy Country Director at Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE). Hammad has written over 300 articles on entrepreneurship, social media and policy reforms. You can follow him on Twitter @HammadS. 

Of Flashing Lights, MIT Professors, Scobleizer, and Anne Frank

For those of you wondering – yes I made it into the finals of the GIST I Dare Business Plan Competition along with 4 of the other 5 teams from Pakistan. Going to Beirut, Lebanon end of June if the visa comes.

Attended a workshop on “Global Strategies for Ambitious Pakistani Entrepreneurs” with Ken and Laura Morse. Met a lot of my “Flashing Lights” peeps.

Check out what Ken is holding in his hand – ready to dig in!

Just have to include this. This gentleman was feeding on some rather queer mints the entire two days … he was hilarious.

Did I tell you about the workshop I gave on Business Basics at the IWCCI (Islamabad Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry)? Yeah – used the course content developed by 10,000 Women Program and Project Artemis. Was supported by the wonderful Bryce Barrows, CoFounder of The Recruiting Experts. Again, proof below …

Their kids don’t have time to teach them how to email.WDL’s solution? I am bringing them Google in July. No honestly, I am!

The wonderful Bryce Barrows.

Plus, plus, Robert Scoble sent me a friend request on Facebook! Story goes … I was at the workshop with Ken Morse right … and Ken asked us to pick one person we want to pitch to … any person at all … but make sure we knew his/her’s mother-inlaw’s name, fav color etc etc. So of course I sent a msg to Scoble asking him for that info. As luck would have it, he didn’t let me in on all that but he did add me. Am planning on trying this tactic on other random people on Facebook … let’s see what happens. Will keep you posted, my lovelies.

See – he is my kinda guy.

Was interviewed by Voice of America Pushtu service.Ummm … what a pity … I didn’t realize up until that time I had no vocabulary for describing my business in pushtu. Plus, the dialect issue is always tough.

My cousin passed away yesterday. She was the same age as me.

Do you see where I am going with this?

Phases in the life of a startup, dodos! You will have success. Things will accelerate. The adrenaline will start working overtime. Bush fires will erupt. But remember, when setbacks come along, grief strikes, for a good few hours you can’t breathe from the pain exploding inside your heart … be kind to yourself. You are human after all. As a startup you may not have the luxury of a big team – never forget your clients are also human. Tell them. It’s highly unlikely they’ll kill you for taking time out to attend a funeral.

Am ending the note with a few lines from Anne Frank who has been a source of inspiration for a long, long time. I’ve never been good at meeting new people. I am awkward and it shows. It’s not anyone’s fault. It’s just how I am. At such times I take great solace in Anne’s words – hope you also find comfort in them.

“A voice within me is sobbing, “You see that’s what’s become of you. You’re surrounded by negative opinions, dismayed looks and mocking faces, people who dislike you, and all because you don’t listen to the advice of your own better half.” Believe me, I’d like to listen, but it doesn’t work, because if I’m quiet and serious, everyone thinks I’m putting on a new act and I have to save myself with a joke, and then I’m not even talking about my own family, who assume I must be sick, stuff me with aspirins and sedatives, feel my neck and forehead to see if I have a temperature, ask about my bowel movements and berate me for being in a bad mood, until I just can’t keep it up anymore, because when everybody starts hovering over me, I get cross, then sad, an finally end up turning my heart inside out, the bad part on the outside and the good part on the inside, and keep trying to find a way to become what I’d like to be and what I could be if . . . if only there were no other people in the world.

“I want to go on living even after my death! And therefore I am grateful to God for this gift, this possibility of developing myself and of writing, of expressing all that is in me. I can shake off everything if I write; my sorrows disappear; my courage is reborn. “

“People who have a religion should be glad, for not everyone has the gift of believing in heavenly things. You don’t necessarily even have to be afraid of punishment after death; purgatory, hell, and heaven are things that a lot of people can’t accept, but still a religion, it doesn’t matter which, keeps a person on the right path. It isn’t the fear of God but the upholding of one’s own honor and conscience. How noble and good everyone could be if, every evening before falling asleep, they were to recall to their minds the events of the while day and consider exactly what has been good and bad. Then, without realizing it you try to improve yourself at the start of each new day; of course, you achieve quite a lot in the course of time. Anyone can do this, it costs nothing and is certainly very helpful. Whoever doesn’t know it must learn and find by experience that: “A quiet conscience mades one strong!”

“In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart. I simply can’t build up my hopes on a foundation consisting of confusion, misery, and death. I see the world gradually being turned into a wilderness, I hear the ever approaching thunder, which will destroy us too, I can feel the sufferings of millions and yet, if I look up into the heavens, I think that it will all come right, that this cruelty too will end, and that peace and tranquility will return again.”

“Riches, prestige, everything can be lost. But the happiness in your heart can only be dimmed; it will always be there as long as you live, to make you happy again.
Whenever you’re feeling lonely or sad, try going to the loft on a beautiful day and looking outside. Not at the houses and the rooftops, but at the sky. As long as you can look fearlessly at the sky, you’ll know that your pure within and will find happiness once more.”

OK byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Social Enterprises – Disillusionment

Yes, your favorite entrepreneur is a little down. Disillusioned! Anyone who reads this blog (which isn’t every many people) know about my romance with social enterprises and with startups in general especially those related to the IT sector. But lately, things have been a little different …

Contrary to popular belief I am the MOST social person ever. I hate attending social gatherings. I don’t like visiting friends or family. Talking on the phone is torture. Even when I do meet people I am extremely awkward and do and say crazy stuff. People make me nervous. That’s why I love social media. I can stay in touch with everyone who matters and everyone who doesn’t matter at all but like to think otherwise.

But since May last year I have been pushing myself to go out there and meet people because it’s important for business. And people at the end of the day are just that, people. Humans! Which means, they are “humane” as well. Compassionate.

Sadly, I have started feeling like no one cares. I may be wrong of course but I don’t hear anyone talk about helping others. If you dare to do that they look at you like that kid in junior school who talks about becoming a doctor to help the ailing humanity. Stupid! Naive! Dumb! Value proposition means saving big bucks in the most innovative way. My biggest competitors are sitting in India and Philippines so I am asked, “We can get the same services at the same rates at the same quality from Gurgaon. Why you?” And I naively say, “Because WDL is a social enterprise. We do everything they can do for you but we also bring you personal gratification.” *Roll on Floor Laughing* right? No one cares. Maybe if I said, “They are doing it for $1/hr. I’ll do it for $0.50 which means these young women in some remote village will barely make enough to buy groceries but  hey, you’ll save a tiny bit more for serving fancier wine at that dinner party for 50 you have been planning for 2 weeks now“. Now THAT will bring in the work, eh?

Also, I have meet “social entrepreneurs”. Online of course. You know what the common thread is? Marketing! Marketing black and yellow faces to white ones. Posting big website banners with smiling photos of people in non-western clothes sitting in front of computers saying to the world, “Look, I am the new monkey specie in the zoo … see how I can hold a banana and eat it almost like you would.“

Here is what someone I have been following for a long time had to say on the whole social entrepreneurship thing:

To start, i have had a problem with the frame of “social entrepreneurship” as it is generally an elitist frame. “Cultural entrepreneurship” would seem to dig the hole deeper…. Who but the privileged? Do we not as humans all want to make a positive impact with our efforts? Lots of my colleagues living on less than $5 a day make a difference in their community with their enterprise, but wouldn’t be seen in this priviledged air. As this term has gained currency from funders, I find myself grudgingly in a growing market established itself around this “social entrepreneurship” frame. Secondly, as a change agent and an academic trained in cultural anthropology, the frame of “cultural entrepreneurship” as an innovation newly born in the context of capitalism is so disconnected from the many bodies of good work by practitioners in applied social sciences, that I don’t even want to get started.

Elitist! Feeding on others misery. Making money off it. Asking for their stories so they can manipulate them and do business. Make the next million for the VC breathing down their necks for return. If this is how I wanted to sell - telling sob-stories about my team – I’d be well on my way to making it into the Big League. BUT I AM NOT SELLING ANYONE’S DIGNITY FOR DOING BUSINESS! This is the whole idea behind WDL. Hire us because we are good at what we do. Not because of issues in our personal lives that you can milk for your next CSR campaign.

My way may not be the way taught by professors in universities. My way may also not be the fastest way. But I’ll get there and will keep my humanity intact as well.

For now, I go back to listening to soppy 80s songs and picking up online fights with random people over nothing.

Social Versus Cultural Enterprises

I got to meet Sharmeen Chinoy – cool, eh? It was a US Embassy and HEC joint seminar about Acid Attack Victims (of course). I am sorry I almost snoozed through most of it so am not a good judge of how it went. Don’t even remember who was present. If interested, read this excellent roundup by Zainab Khawaja here. You may see me in some of the photos she has put up ..

Also met the US Ambassador to Pakistan’s wife, Dr. Marilyn Wyatt.

We are BFFs now. Proof =========================================>>>>
Read an article recently in Social Edge that made me sit up and go … huh? Everyone knows know how big a supporter I am of social entrepreneurship. In a turbulent country like Pakistan business coupled with social good really is the elixir we are looking for. At the recently held Youth Entrepreneurs Conference a lot of the kids thought a social enterprise is a not-for-profit. KILL ME SOMEONE! NO, social enterprise is NOT synonymous with a not-for-profit – though a a #socent may also be a not-for-profit. Put simply a social entrepreneur is made when she (the feminism continues!) notices a problem in society like energy crisis or lack of clean drinkable water or women empowerment and comes up with a solution for it. The next step then is to find out if the solution is sell-able – if it can solve the ‘pain’ of a customer. For example, with Women’s Digital League, I am working on economic empowerment for educated Pakistani women who are discouraged from working outside their homes. At the same time WDL is providing affordable digital services to clients based around the world. At the end of the day, whatever the purpose, at the core of every business lies profitability and scalability. If I receive millions of dollars every month but can’t pay my utility bills  how long would I be able to sustain my love for helping humanity? And paying salaries is the same as profit – as you grow you pay yourself more the same way you would take home more when you start getting more profit.

The article introduced a new concept to me – cultural entrepreneurship. Here is how it defines it:

Cultural entrepreneurs … solve problems by disrupting belief systems—using television shows like Glee to initiate viewers into the disability or GLBTQ rights frameworks or the Twitter campaign #mensaythingstome, designed to expose anonymous misogyny online.

It’s hard for me to distinguish between the two. Ain’t Women’s Digital League changing mindsets by giving women the opportunity to work from home? That’s a shift from the conventional way Pakistanis are used to working. So where do I put WDL? So how is a TV show like Glee an enterprise? Or how is a Twitter hashtag campaign an enterprise? I find the whole business vs. enterprise thing very confusing.

So an enterprise is a “purposeful endeavor”. Then why isn’t a business the same too? Isn’t creating a new product, increasing profits, scaling, permeating markets an endeavor with a purpose as well?  And if by ‘purpose’ we are referring to ‘social good’ then what’s the point of separating social enterprises from just enterprises?

I am losing it. Help!

On a less thought-provoking note, am waiting for the list of finalists for GIST I-Dare Business Plan Competition which will be held in Lebanon (fingers crossed / Palms together / whatever whatever). Am holding a one-day quick session on leveraging the power of Internet for free marketing – this is in collaboration with Islamabad Women’s Chamber of Commerce and is targeting SMEs by local women. Applying for a grant from the US Embassy for Pakistani Alumni for my Hunza people … oh I how love them and wish I’d see them one day. Also, I turned 33 this month. Yippppeeee.

OK Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

TEDxMargalla – A Journey in Tweets

This guy's t-shirt says it all.

This guy’s tee is the best way to describe a TED event! Ordinary people, extraordinary ideas!

TEDxMargalla had me tweeting like a woman possessed! There was just so much to talk about and tell people despite Wi-Tribe’s best efforts to stop me thanks to their sucky connection.

I am going to tell the entire awesome story of the event through my personal tweets and others. So without further ado – here we go!

@Saher Tariq – Host

2001 – got accepted to Yale University – all previous ideas of becoming a doctor went out the window.  9/11 happened while I was there. The changing world didn’t make any difference to me. I was committed to coming back to Pakistan. Wild boars became timid before the bombers. (Quoted from Man in the Arena by Roosevelt). (I could help doing) A simple thing like showing up for work every day and doing your work with honesty and integrity. I welcome you to this arena called Pakistan.

You are obviously very talented – not everyone gets a scholarship to Yale – but you are a Mobilink employee which was the official sponsor – the  curator being a Mobilink-er I can understand, you being the host I can also understand, but you giving a TEDx Talk I can’t.

@Flora Mahmood – Drama-writer, Teacher

Tale of a Pakistani girl (raised in Scotland) who hated Pakistan with her whole heart. Her feathers weren’t just plucked out but were cruelly pulled out. She was suddenly told to consider a future entirely different form the one she had anticipated since a kid. She was told to consider wedding proposals. The evils in this story are not people – the evil in this fairytale is fate itself. Was accused of International parental kidnapping for committing the heinous crime of being a mother.  Why have I received Only this – Only through this you will receive that – Rumi! Rethink yourself – not Pakistan. (Pk) is a country she stole into frightened – like Jonas in the belly of the whale; instead it took her back like a child into its womb.

Dear Flora, this was very touching and thought-provoking but where was the idea? What was the idea? The tale of a ‘princess’ who was cruelly forced to face real life and go through some very challenging times to become an independent woman and learn to love the country the very thought of living where was stifling for her just doesn’t make for a TED talk.

@Asad Umer – CEO Engro

Asad had this wonderful voice that just made me want to sit up and listen to him. He was the first of the 3 speakers so far who were actually dressed casual. He caught my attention with this line: “The President’s address to assembly made me think, Sounds like a damn good country to me.” – yeah, that was funny or maybe it was just the way he said it. But here is my problem – he used TEDx as a self-promotion platform – the reference to Engro and how it was all ready to face Amul head on was a no-no. And what is it with the Pakistan vs India thing anyway? Looking back through my notes I recall him saying, “I truly believe that Pakistani people are destined for greatness!“ and also “Power needs to be distributed amongstpeople of Pakistan! We must stand up for the less fortunate!“ Yes, we know that, Asad. The question is, HOW? What ideas do you have for attaining just that? Statements are easy – solutions are tough.

@Romano Karim – Filmmaker

Sighhhh … he didn’t even give a TED talk – he merely used it as a platform to show his no-doubt riveting documentary on Rehana Sehgol called “The Petman Girls”.

@Khalida Brohi – CEO of Sughar

And now we are talking! I have shouted it out in a hall full of people and I’ll shout it from rooftops if I need to – THIS WOMAN IS PHENOMENAL! When she came on stage I thought to meself, “Ugh, a wanna-be Rumi, eh?” HOW WRONG I WAS!

Where is God they ask me? I dont have to respond or if I do I just smile. Because right there in that moment he is also smiling. These women (working at Sughar) learn to say NO to the traditions that are against them. We’re not doing a lot but the little change that we are bringing everyday is very beautiful.

After the talk I went up to her and gave her a huge hug. I hope I was able to channel all my love and appreciation through it. There was so much I could relate to but she had the courage to stand up there in front of a hundred people and more watching on a live webcast and talk about the problems and challenges facing women in her village. Ms. Brohi, you have won yourself a huge fan and your talk truly encompassed the spirit of TED. Salute!

@The Thespian Alliance – Mime Troupe

Now I am not a big fan of mime – actually I am not a fan of the thing at all. But these guys were AWESOME I tell you. I mean you couple the word “mime” with “Pindi” and you think “boyzez” but they gave a stellar performance and left the audience mesmerized.

@Adil Najam – VC Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)

This is the best time to be a Pakistani. I didn’t say it was the easiest time. I don’t want to talk about rethinking Pakistan but about making Pakistan. (To do that) we will have to rethink the way we think about the rest of the world.  Imagine you are on another plant and looking down on this planet called Earth and looking at it as a country. (You will see that) You live in a country where 2 billion ppl live on less than $2 a day. Your country Earth isn’t just a poor country but a degraded country. You live in an insecure country. If the US State Department had a say on travel to Earth they would say catch the first rocket out of here. We live in a third world country on a third world planet. Development is not GDP but dignity. Number of Indians troops killed in 60 years of Indo-Pak conflict is less than kids killed in Delhi in 1 year due to dirty water. Development is health, wealth and knowledge. Only one number counts – the number 1 because the one is you, me, and someone who says I am not going to wait for someone else to bring a change.

Based on the random excerpts from his speech from my Twitter feed I don’t have to say how this is a superb TED talk at so many levels. He was eloquent, charming, knowledgeable, and I am no tree-hugger but he made me sit on the edge of my seat. Adil got a standing ovation and a well-deserved one. However, we could have done without the reference to stats from LUMS and the watermark logo on all slides.

@Sami Shah – Funny Guy and Marketing Dude

Have you noticed how people hug nowadays? It’s a defense posture. The suicide jacket is mummy’s hug. We have become tourists of the past. Pakistan is (an) obnoxious kid now and we are the panicking parents. We all have uncle munawar in our families – he is the uncle who believes in conspiracy theories. One guy emailed me (and) he asked, “Do all Pakistanis live in caves”? Think about the irony “He emailed me”. By ridiculing things we are frightened of, we beat them.

The first stand-up comedian who did not use religion to get laughs. He didn’t use sexual innuendoes either. He was just plain funny. I heard this was a much mellowed down version of his usual performances but hey – he was perfect that evening. Of course, I spoke to him afterwards and he was so down-to-earth and so-not-snide and those, my friends, are rare qualities in a person who uses the eff word liberally in his tweets and speaks good English in Pakistan.

The event host quoted from the Man in the Arena again and if last time it was cheesy this time it was painful.

But … I LOVED THE EVENT! Yes, they had an average host, 1 average speaker, 1 disaster, 1 non-speaker (???), a brilliant performance, 2 absolutely magical talks and a genuinely funny talk with no cringe-worthy moments – don’t you see why I am going ga-ga?

OK Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

P.S. I wonder if Adil Najam moisturises his hands with Vaseline and keeps them in cotton gloves overnight coz a handshake with him made me want to run for that manicure.