When I grow up I want to be…. Muhammad Nasrullah and Faizan Laghari share their journey to star entrepreneur status
Early Environment
It the dream of many Pakistanis to be doctors, engineers and accountants, a similar dream of legions across the Indian Subcontinent.
Faizan Largari was no different – he dreamed of accountancy, but Muhammad Nasrullah was fascinated by the idea that you could create something out of nothing and dreamed of being a great inventor. Lego sets and science books purchased by his father fuelled make-believe into reality.
- Lego sets and science books purchased by Muhammad Nasrullah's father fuelled make-believe into reality
Another gift from Dad was his first Atari, an early gaming console and he was hooked. Believe it or not, this young lad was not just playing but was making the games his own with the question: How can I make these? He became a slave to the manuals and books and read widely.
Hero Figures
Something both Faizan Larghariand Muhammad Nasrullah have in common is their hero Bill Gates. Muhammad Nasurllah is candid as to the specifics – Bill Gates is enormously rich due to sheer intelligence, hard work, tech savvy and without family wealth.
Overcoming Mental Obstacles
The lesson from Bill Gates: hard work and curiosity would eventually lead to massive success. Muhammad Nasurllah feels that has helped him overcome the general negative atmosphere that prevails among many young Pakistanis – who are resigned to the idea that hard work does not pay off, that you need a safarish (internal recommendation or contact), and that playing fair doesn't pay back as much as shortcuts. Muhammad Nasrullah takes the stance that he could do anything, but he admits that he could make this belief real because he is really good at programming and didn't know any programmer that was any better at coding than he is.
By the age of 13, Muhammad Nasrullah had written complete Dungeons and Dragons games and his own Graphical Libraries. By the age of 14 he had already made up his mind he was going to start his own company in computer software.
When he was 15 he won second place as “Young Scientist” under 16 in Saudi Arabia for a magnetic motor design, and in the same year he was also the runner up as the fastest programmer in a competition held in Lahore.
Entrepreneurial EssenceEntrepreneurship to Muhammad Nasrullah is about problem solving. There are always many obstacles but creative entrepreneurs will find a way around them.
“I can't really single out a particular obstacle, suffice to say it will always be an uphill task to innovate,” he adds.
Faizan Laghari lives by the motto “Why not?” and regards himself as a technopreneur – an entrepreneur in the tech field since 18. According to Faizan “Entrepreneurship is TOUGH! It has its perks, but it's so much tougher to go against the grain, so getting shot down repeatedly, listening to 'NO' and still going down the same road is something not for everyone.”
He adds: “To be a successful entrepreneur, I think one has to be thick-skinned, keep at it and not give up. Of course, all that is only worth it if your idea/business is worthwhile and you've done your homework. But mostly, anyone who doesnt have the ability to keep at it even when things look down will probably not make it!”
Pillars of SupportWhile Muhammad Nasrullah and Faizan Laghari feel that there is not an entrepreneurial environment in Pakistan, both have created pillars of support by either being members of organisations that aim to help entrepreneurs or have won awards that endorse their business brand.
Muhammad Nasrullah’s company has recently been named as one of Asia’s top 100 most innovative companies by Red Herring: redherring.com/red-herring-asia/asia-2012-finalists/
Their mobile platform's Ad campaign was selected among seven from all over the world for the Most Effective Campaign in London: http://mobilemarketingmagazine.com/content/effective-mobile-marketing-awards-shortlist-revealed (Sony Music, Peugeot, Vogue Magazine, Warner Brothers were among the others)
Tied InFaizan Laghari has joined organizations that he feels are more targeted towards entrepreneurship as opposed to business in general which is the perception of the role of chambers of commerce. Faizan has plumped for charter membership of TiE Karachi which focuses upon entrepreneurship and networking around this.
Daredevil Shot“Entrepreneurs, I'd say, are the daredevils of the business world!” believes Faizan Largari. You have to ask yourself are you a daredevil?
More on Muhammad Nasrullah
ReplyDeleteMuhammad Nasrullah is the founder and CEO of Pakistan’s biggest social network Pring – pringit.com with more than 4.5 million Pakistanis. Pringit has caught the imagination of millions in the last three years and currently over 12 million text messages are generated daily!
Pring is a product of e-Business (Pvt) Ltd.
http://www.ebusiness-pg.com/
The Lahore-based Muhammad Nasrullah offers an explanation as to why some entrepreneurs don’t succeed and it is a case of the old adage of don’t spread yourself so thin and lose focus. His exact words: “There are many budding entrepreneurs. They're working hard but not many have much to show for it yet. It's typical for local entrepreneurs to get involved in 3 to 4 different ventures without getting any single one at a significant place. I attribute this to lack of focus and trying to do too much.”
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