1. Art and Diseño

PR your business Eight communication tips for entrepreneurs by entrepreneurs
Capital
gains
Flat6Labs
launches new
regional startup
accelerator
Ramez
Mohamed
Fickle
finance
Genny Ghanimeh
Social ventures
struggling to find
available capital
Empowering
excellence
Dr. Shamsheer
Vayalil Parambath
Founder and Managing Director of VPS Healthcare
invests in human capital
‘Trep Toolkit
Hack your
enterprise into 2015
Business plans, marketing
plans, outlook revamp,
niche predictions and
staffing for entrepreneurs
The Recap
Indian
Innovator
Awards
2014
Onboarding
clients
Five essential
steps to creating
content for your
company
James Reynolds
9 772311 541008 >
january
2015 Entrepreneur
1
JANUARY 2015
| ENTREPRENEURMIDDLEEAST.COM
| UAE AED20
JANUARY 2015
CONTENTS
Empowering excellence:
Dr. Shamsheer Vayalil Parambath
18
24
32
54
INNOVATOR:
Empowering excellence
THE RECAP
‘Trep Toolkit
Indian Innovator Awards
2014
The inaugural regional
Indian Innovator
Awards 2014,
Entrepreneur of the Year
staged in Dubai, UAE.
Hack your enterprise
into 2015
Business plans,
marketing plans,
outlook revamp, niche
predictions and staffing
for entrepreneurs.
TECH:
SHINY
Dr. Shamsheer Vayalil
Parambath
The founder and Managing
Director of VPS Healthcare
Group invests in human
capital.
64
18
#TamTalksTech
Gadgets and doodads
that you might’ve
missed out on, sourced
by a tech aficionado.
Yes, it’s okay to want
them all… and no, it’s
not our fault.
Catch of the day
507028
EMM Group’s Eugene
Remm and Mark
Birnbaum
The big boys of NYC
nightlife and dining
experiences are
coming out to play in
Dubai.
240582
12
24 The Recap: Indian Innovator Awards 2014
2
Entrepreneur january 2015
EDITOR’S NOTE
By Fida Z. Chaaban
54 WD
My Passport
Wireless
january 2015 Entrepreneur
3
CONTENTS
JANUARY 2015
80 Abu Dhabi’s ecosystem just
erupted, and your startup might
fit the bill
72
START IT UP:
WACKY IDEA
52
58
CULTURE:
TRAPPINGS
TRAVEL
‘Trep gear
The executive selection
for the entrepreneur
on your list that has
everything. Okay,
maybe for a little selfreward as well.
TRAVEL
Hang in there
Five reasons why taking
your vacation early in
the year is a bad ideaMay Rostom has been
there and done that.
4
70
LIFE
68
64
Leisurely lifestyle
Park Hyatt Paris
Vendôme’s GM Alessandro
Cresta wants you to visit
his glorious property for
business… and pleasure
Business book rundown
Amal Chaaban reviews
a few business books for
you before you hit the
bestseller aisle. It’s true
that not all executive
material is created
equally.
Artistic inclinations
MENA platform lets you
buy and sell fine art online, and the co-founders
are an imaginative
mother-daughter team!
74
STARTUP FINANCE
Rough ride
Social entrepreneurs
don’t have it easy raising
capital, and PiSlice
founder Genny Ghanimeh
has seen it first-hand.
88
Q+A
Bridging businesses
Emirati ‘trep Rashed
Harb’s talks about his first
foray into F&B, and what
sort of help Tejar Dubai
can give you.
80
STARTUP FINANCE
Put your cards on the table
Flat6Labs CEO Ramez
Mohamed talks about
their newest venture in
the UAE in partnership
with two-four 54, and
where he sees startup
success. Oh, and he’s very,
very frank.
52
Trappings
78
Q+A
Easy does it
MICEit wants to make
MENA event planning
seamless, and their
corporate background
has made it possible…
really.
Catch NY: The big boys of NYC nightlife and dining
experiences are coming out to play in Dubai
Entrepreneur january 2015
january 2015 Entrepreneur
5
CONTENTS
JANUARY 2015
40
50
42
84
‘TREPONOMICS:
SKILLSET
ESQUIRE GUY
MONEY:
ECON
YOUR MONEY
Keeping ‘treps in post
secondary
Melltoo Market cofounder Sharene Lee
on how colleges can
stay relevant in today’s
startup world. She’s an
academic, and she’s going
back to her roots.
56
MARKETING
How-to PR your business
The co-founders of DABO
& CO, Camilla d’Abo and
Lucy d’Abo, put forward
eight communication
tips for entrepreneurs by
entrepreneurs.
The problem with passion
Ross McCammon talks
about the reasonable
limits of being
passionate about your
enterprise… and where
you should be drawing
the line.
The 2015 MENA Salary
Guide
Bayt.com’s Suhail
Al-Masri on the
compensation, benefits
and rates of satisfaction
for the year ahead.
Buzzing about Beehive
Peer-to-peer lending
makes an entrance
in the GCC market
with the new Beehive
platform.
72 Artistic inclinations
66
FRANCHISE
Ins and outs
UAE-based franchise
expands outside of
the GCC, and a North
American franchise
launches its first outlet
in MENA.
60
Onboarding the right way
Five essential steps to
creating content that
works for your business
by SEO pro James
Reynolds. In brief: it’s
a process that pays for
itself in dividends.
56
Eight communication
tips for entrepreneurs by
entrepreneurs.
6
Entrepreneur january 2015
60
Onboarding the right way:
Five essential steps to
creating content that works
for your business
BLACK AND WHITE ILLUSTRATION: Untitled by Fadi Yazigi, Mixed Media, 70 cm x 140 cm
MARKETING
january 2015 Entrepreneur
7
MIDDLE EAST
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CREATIVE LEAD Odette Kahwagi
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Entrepreneur january 2015
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EDITOR’S NOTE
#MasteringYou2015
Priorities, putting yourself first,
and the unexplored potential of happiness
I
know a few ‘treps, wildly successful ‘treps, and yes, they’re hardcore
workaholics, but more than that,
these people are shining examples of
mastery. For the writers who are reading this, you’ll know how difficult it
is to find a “master” of anything. It’s
not a word I use lightly. I don’t think
I have mastered much in my lifetime;
I wish I had a long list of things that
I’ve mastered to share. The questionable grammar in my monthly note
to you all is a good indicator that I
certainly haven’t mastered that particular art- I manage to pass that off
as stylization (writers, again, that one
was for you). You might already know
that Aby Sam Thomas has joined our
team as Managing Editor- he’s got the
grammar part down pat, so you have
him to thank for salvaging the English
language in my letter each issue.
Those of you who talk to me on
Twitter will have already seen me
use #MasteringYou2015 on the
timeline. Basically, I am tweeting
things that I want to master- or at
least apply consistently to my life and
to my work. Some are easy to action
(sitting for a proper work portrait),
and some are seriously difficult and
will hopefully come to fruition over
12
Entrepreneur january 2015
the course of the year (make time for
Russian language classes at Berlitz).
#MasteringYou2015 is about really
applying all the ideas to better my
work and my life. Some of the tweeps
have shared their #MasteringYou2015
goals already, and they run the gamut
from travel to self-improvement and
education. @IsmailSakalaki is going
to try to learn to code, @JoesBox
wants to master photography,
@Mo_ForNow wants to complete at
least two modules of life coaching
certification, and @AdnanDawood
wants to visit Tajikistan. There are
tons more that have been tweeted
at me, so do check out the hashtag
to see what people are aiming for in
the coming year- it’s interesting and
inspiring stuff.
What do you want to master? If you
prioritize personal greatness- and
by this I mean your own personal
definition of greatness- then I think
you can possibly open up a world of
self-fulfillment and happiness. Your
own definition of greatness doesn’t
necessarily have to do with your
professional life, although I expect
if you’re reading Entrepreneur, it
most certainly will. I know that my
estimation of personal greatness does
include perfecting
my performance
on the job, as
when I do well
at work, it does
make me happy.
For the year
ahead, bringing
you the very best
business and
lifestyle content
is high on my agenda, and I can think
of little else that would prove as
rewarding.
Tweet your own aspirations for the
year ahead at me with the hashtag
#MasteringYou2015. I’d like to see
both your personal and your professional goals. Here’s to a productive
and proactive year ahead!
Fida Z. Chaaban
Editor in Chief
@fida
[email protected]
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january 2015 Entrepreneur
13
in the loop
Saudi Rail 2015 to highlight local and regional efforts in transportation developments
Arabia’s total construction expenditure
is going towards three major railway
projects- an estimated US$45 billion is
currently committed to upgrading existing lines and building new rail networks
across Saudi Arabia. Of course, Saudi Rail
2015’s timing is relevant not only to KSA’s
development plans, but also to the rest
of the GCC’s. 32% of the GCC’s overall
Plunging oil prices spark
global response
I
s this yet another episode of
price changes, or could this be
a serious indicator of what’s
to come for world oil? At the
moment, signs point to the latter. With ISIS making over US$3
million a day in oil sales vis-à-vis
the black market, and the market getting shaken up with the
boom of the fracking industry,
international oil prices this year
have plummeted to an all-time
low since 2009, a massive
14
Entrepreneur january 2015
49% drop. The United States
and Russia aren’t relishing the
challenge, and OPEC’s member
states (of which a third belong
to the GCC) are more divided
than ever. Each OPEC state has
a different budget, which means
that the members have different
oil producing and exporting
goals for economic stabilitylarger countries like Iran and
Nigeria require higher oil prices
to balance their budgets (over
spending on transportation developments
have been allocated to rail projects, totaling a whopping $298 billion.
$100 a barrel), as opposed to
smaller states like Kuwait and
Qatar (less than $80 a barrel).
But even before reaching a
consensus on a solution to fix
this problem, there is another
dilemma OPEC (Organization
of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries) needs to sort out: not
all of its member states consider
these price drops to be an issue
to begin with. GCC OPEC states
Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE, and
Saudi Arabia have shrugged
off concerns about these lower
prices, claiming that there is
no need to reduce oil production and output, despite daily
demand dropping to about one
million barrels less than OPEC’s
production target. With respect
to Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, businessman
HRH Prince Al Waleed bin Talal
has been quite vocal about the
Kingdom’s oil policy. He released
an open letter to the Minister of
Petroleum and Mineral Resources H.E. Ali Al Naimi, expressing
his concern on how the Kingdom
has downplayed the significance
of the decreased prices, noting
that the 2014 budget relies almost entirely on oil revenues at
90%. Another factor that needs
to be considered are the existence of influential oil-producing
states that aren’t part of OPEC:
the United States and Russia.
Over in the United States,
where hydraulic fracturing or
fracking has been the key technique of extracting oil, it isn’t a
matter of whether to maintain
current production or to cut
back. In fact, it’s the opposite.
Oil production is at its highest in
about three decades, and with
fracking being more cost-heavy
than conventional extraction
methods, they have to keep
on with the practice to cover
costs and debts. In fact, many
analysts claim that fracking
has played a significant role in
causing the oil price to plummet.
Whether the U.S. fracking industry gets through this or not,
most will agree that its “boom”
period is slowly coming to an
end. Finally, there’s Russia. It’s
only getting worse for them, and
the U.S.-European sanctions
played a huge role in making it
happen. Add that to plunging
oil prices, and you have a currency crisis, rapid inflation, and
a recession. This is obviously a
huge problem to this massive oil
producer, relying on oil and gas
for 70% of its export incomes.
While Russia is preparing for
a worsening recession in 2015,
President Vladimir Putin has
been adamant about not cutting
production, claiming that it will
be an opportunity for competitors to increase their share in
the market.
Despite all the grey areas in
this interesting chapter of the
world’s most valuable fossil fuel,
there are countries that will benefit from the price cuts, notably
China and India. While China’s
economy is starting to slow
down, cheaper oil is something
that they will definitely benefit
from, and it could ease a few
hardships they may face. India
relies heavily on oil imports,
importing about 75%, and it
too will welcome lower prices,
to ease costs that it faces. 2015
will be an interesting year for
black gold.
HIV virus in Botswana
reportedly a milder strain
C
A
hancellor of Germany Angela Merkel
made some critical remarks about
Russian President Vladimir Putin,
accusing him of interfering with Eastern European countries, notably Ukraine, Moldova,
and Georgia. Citing Russia’s interference
in Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea,
Merkel -described by many as the “de facto”
leader of the European Union (EU)- accused
Russia of trying to make certain European
states politically and economically dependent on Russia. Despite Moldova and Georgia recently signing economic deals with the
EU, Russia has also ratified strategic partnerships with the two nations. While both
Chancellor of
Germany
Angela Merkel
Russian President
Vladimir Putin
leaders speak each other’s native languages
and have had relatively productive meetings
in the past, the annexation of Crimea has led
to a more heated, publically-aggressive relationship between Merkel and Putin. Putin
clearly isn’t pleased about the Western-led
sanctions, but Merkel is confident about
its efficacy. In light of all this, publications
worldwide have recalled an incident in 2007
where President Putin, aware of Chancellor
Merkel’s fear of dogs, brought his dog Koni
to the meeting, making her uncomfortable.
But with everything that’s happened since
then, something suggests that the EU and
Russia will be throwing even harder diplomatic punches going forward.
team of scientists from the
University of Oxford have
seen some preliminary promising
results in their research on the HIV
virus, using Botswana and South
Africa as case studies for the same.
Taking history and evolution into
consideration, they’ve noticed that
the HIV virus in Botswana, which
has been dealing with the problem
long before South Africa, is milder.
Professor Philip Goulder of the
University of Oxford explained
that its ability to replicate is 10%
slower than the virus’ replication rate in South Africa, thus
being less infectious and requiring
more time to develop into AIDS.
So while it usually takes a decade
to evolve into its full expression,
this watered down form of the
virus could take an estimated 12.5
years. Medical developments plus
a weaker, less infectious (yet still
dangerous) form of the HIV virus
could means that there is hope for
controlling the deadly virus.
HIV virus
Abu Dhabi firm buys
historic New Scotland
Yard structure
I
VLADIMIR PUTIN IMAGE © SLAVKO SEREDA / SHUTTERSTOCK | ANGELA MERKEL IMAGE © 360b / shutterstock
audi Rail 2015, an international
exhibition for rail, metro lines, and
urban transportation, is all set to be held
from January 25-28, 2015 at the Riyadh
International Convention and Exhibition
Center. The event, which will display
some of the latest railway products and
equipment from international brands,
comes at a time when 20% of Saudi
HRH Prince Alwaleed bin Talal open letter published on his website www.alwaleed.com.sa
S
German Chancellor Angela Merkel publically critical
of Russian Federation intentions
t has been on the market for months, but
December saw the sale finally happen of
New Scotland Yard, the headquarters of
the London Metropolitan Police, to the Abu
Dhabi Financial Group (ADFG) for a whopping
US$580 million. (The New York Times) The
landmark deal will see the 600,000-squarefoot property, which has been the storied home
of the London police force for nearly half a
century, be now converted into “a world-class
multi-use development” that will be marketed
under the name, Ten Broadway. As for the Met
Police themselves, they will now relocate to
their new home at the Curtis Green building
on Victoria Embankment; a move that will,
according to London Mayor Boris Johnson,
save the police force about $9.4 million a year.
In a statement, Johnson said, “The sale of this
under-used and outdated building means we
can now not only protect that rich heritage,
but also fund the new HQ and kit out bobbies
with the latest mobile technology to secure the
future of the force. This landmark deal allows
us to preserve the past, whilst giving today’s
Met a vital cash boost so our officers can go
on keeping London safe.” And for those of you
wondering if the iconic “New Scotland Yard”
sign in front of the headquarters has also been
sold to the Abu Dhabi firm: worry not, for that
revolving triangular “jobby” will also be moved
along with the police force to their new home
on Victoria Embankment.
Batelco appoints Muna
Al Hashemi as acting
CEO for Bahrain
Bahrain’s primary telecommunications company Batelco has appointed Bahraini national Muna Al
Hashemi as the acting CEO for its
local operations. Al Hashemi isn’t a
new face at Batelco, having joined
the company in 1994 and heading
its consumer division since 2008.
She replaces Alan Whelan, who will
now focus on being the Group CEO
of the Batelco Group. The Batelco
Group, led by Chairman Sheikh Hamad bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, extends
well beyond the GCC island state,
with subsidiaries and affiliates
in Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia,
Egypt, and the Maldives.
january 2015 Entrepreneur
15
16
Entrepreneur january 2015
january 2015 Entrepreneur
17
INNOVATOR
Empowering
excellence
Dr. Shamsheer
Vayalil Parambath
Founder and Managing Director of VPS Healthcare Group invests in human capital
By Fida Chaaban
T
here are a few obvious
facts that everyone
knows about Dr.
Shamsheer Vayalil
Parambath. He’s quite
a young man, and he’s
an undisputed success in the UAE for-profit healthcare
space. He has been distinguished
many times over the years for his
company’s rapid expansion and brand
proliferation, his application of commercial innovation, for championing
the spirit of entrepreneurship, and
also for several CSR campaigns that
highlighted various VPS Healthcare
Group endeavors while at the same
time contribute to the betterment
of societal health and welfare. He’s
the son-in-law of one of the UAE’s
foremost Indian business leaders,
Mr. Yusuffali M.A., and at just 38
years of age, he has already cemented
his foothold in the GCC with both a
personal brand (check out his Facebook fan page), and a professional
one. Dr. Shamsheer is also known
18
Entrepreneur january 2015
to make his pet causes and opinions
public knowledge, using his social
media channels to convey his beliefs
and promote things both inside and
outside the healthcare arena, like his
recent championing of voting rights
for Indian expats.
The entrepreneur practiced medicine in Abu Dhabi for a year before
going solo, and has then been able
to surge forward with what is now
a conglomerate of synergistic commercial ventures that are able to cycle
customers effectively between them.
The first LifeLine Hospital opened in
2007, and since then, Dr. Shamsheer
has expanded his medical businesses
to include close cousins like outof-hospital care and medical event
services, and further sub-businesses
like the manufacture and sale of
pharmaceuticals. Once Dr. Shamsheer
gained a foothold in the UAE, the GCC
then became fair game- he has since
expanded his own brands and done a
great job of marketing them, and he’s
also waded into the franchise import
pool by gaining the rights to The Medicine Shoppe as its master franchiser.
His flagship brand, VPS Healthcare,
makes great use of the Internet and
they also advertise in a variety of
mediums- their ads present emotional
touch points with mass audience appeal, and gently ease the reader –all
potential clients- into the less-warm
medical side of things. The Group’s
portfolio brands demonstrate a good
web presence with user-friendly sites
that potential clients find packed
with simple and straightforward
information. The latter is especially
important in the healthcare business,
as customers are already wary; due to
the sensitive, intimate and discrete
nature of illnesses, marketing for
medical facilities must also be able to
demystify a procedure for someone
seeking treatment. All of these factors
have helped VPS Healthcare’s brands
become trusted and established,
subsequently paving the way for more
brands in spheres that cross over with
his existing businesses. >>>
january 2015 Entrepreneur
19
INNOVATOR
LifePharma Kizad Ground Breaking
20
Entrepreneur january 2015
“Family businesses are the backbone of the UAE
economy as they contribute major economic
activity in the country. One of the critical success
factor in family business is being well coordinated,
and sustained long-term strategy for growing and
controlling the business. What you established
over a period of time will ultimately remain with
you. Additionally, THE family business environment
provides valuable experience and insights to THE next
generation through informal learning.”
tomer base which has been nurtured
since inception. Additionally, our
margins are slightly higher due to cost
efficiency. In order to maintain profit,
private players like us have to provide
the best quality, service delivery, and
increase efficiency.”
Dr. Shamsheer says that three of
his personal strengths related to his
work are persistence, patience, and
the ability to delegate effectively, but
that also entails having a team that he
can rely on. “I’m personally involved
in the selection of senior level executives, and I’m always approachable to
my team.” He is a big believer in how
an organization can be shaped by its
employees, and that investing energy
and resources into those employees
pays for itself: “The people in any
business will make the difference
between success and failure. They are
the ones that add value, drive growth
and create innovation. Mentoring
people at VPS Healthcare is regular
affair and part of our culture; we are
a very young organization, almost
seven years-old, and we have enough
examples of people working with us
who have grown significantly from
entry level position to heading one
or multiple units as director.” That
doesn’t mean you need to pull off a
kamikaze work routine to get aheadhe’s a big proponent of work-life
balance, and says he ensures that it’s
encouraged across the Group’s ranks.
“Our organization currently is at very
rapid mode of expansion in healthcare
space and aims to achieve bed capacity of 5000 in the next five years. Each
project of VPS Healthcare is important to us, however my personal focus
is to uplift the standard of tertiary
care in the country to make difference
in the lives of people.” Making a difference in the lives of people doesn’t
just mean that of their clients and
commercial partners; it extends to his
management style with an emphasis
on fostering staff growth, hence developing a culture of company loyalty.
“VPS Healthcare is diversified group
with healthcare as our main stream
of portfolio. My personal attention is
always on development of the people.
To stay ahead in global economic environment, challenges are to develop
and retain professional team and
ultimately striking a perfect balance
between responsible business ownership and professional management.”
Dr. Shamsheer says that he strives for
excellence following a “dual strategy
that includes bringing [onboard] the
best people from the industry and
empowering them, and recruiting a
young and talented workforce in dif-
VPS HEALTHCARE WEBSITE
“My concept is simple yet effective,”
he says. “At the core are three main
features. First, to provide costeffective yet specialized and superior
quality healthcare services, complemented by personalized care and
individual attention to each patient
with an unparalleled passion and
commitment to serve the medical
needs of the growing population.
Second, establishing a comprehensive
healthcare network to enable a sustainable referral system. And, third,
to have a strong CSR program to give
our thanks back to those in the community who require some additional
help in their lives.”
When asked about the crowded
nature of the healthcare industry, Dr.
Shamsheer notes that a saturated
market doesn’t necessarily mean
a closed market, and instead says
that young entrepreneurs can get
motivated to establish businesses in
fiercely competitive markets by thinking things through: “There are competitors in almost every market, and
healthcare is not an exception. Most
of the competition has been with the
public sector and other private providers who have been in the market
for decades. Competition to us is a
challenge to make us stronger. Opportunities are always available, you
need to differentiate and constantly
innovate with fresh mind.” And how
well is VPS Healthcare doing in the
market? “Our benchmark EBITA
[earnings before interest, taxes and
amortization] for hospitals are above
industrial average due to loyal cus-
ferent disciplines, training and developing them under strong leadership to
take care of future expansion.”
Currently, VPS Healthcare has eleven hospitals operating, and a slew of
medical centers. “Our current growth
rate is better than industry average,
and going at our current speed, we
will definitely cross US$1 billion in
next year,” says Dr. Shamsheer, when
discussing VPS Healthcare’s commercial aim for 2015. Crossing the billiondollar threshold, taking into consideration that Dr. Shamsheer only
launched his first endeavor just under
eight years ago, is super significant. In
terms of allocating resources to facilitate growth, he says that taking into
consideration the constant advancements in medicine and technology,
deciding where to allocate expansion
resources is a two-tier method: “One
of the prime factors is to achieve
the best outcome for patients using
advancement of technology, and keeping in view our expansion plans, we
follow a multidisciplinary approach
in decision-making. Human capital
is one of the biggest assets at VPS
Healthcare, and we are maintaining
the right balance of human capital
and technology while allocating
resources. Our endeavor is to provide
world class technology to the medical
team, and constantly update them to
deliver the best.” There is also room
for more, says Dr. Shamsheer. He considers VPS Healthcare’s research and
development (R&D) arm unexplored,
and they’re already looking at how to
tackle it. “I feel our R&D is underdeveloped. Investment in R&D will allow
us a deeper understanding of the
Arab genome, genetic variants that
contribute to the health of the Arab
population. We have already created a
roadmap in this direction.”
According to the Managing Director,
some of the other challenges faced by
the healthcare industry in the UAE
include developing and providing
healthcare services for the growing
population of senior citizens, and
quality staff recruitment and retention. Some of the boons of basing your
healthcare business in UAE? “The
government support and backing, and
quick clearance of licensing, allow us
to grow faster and stay competitive
in global healthcare arena. Recent
clearance from the government about
visa on arrival for medical treatment
is just one of the examples of government initiative to boost the healthcare sector,” explains Dr. Shamsheer.
The Global Health Observatory Data
Repository (GHO) of the World Health
Organization (WHO) reports that
the private expenditure on health as
a percentage of total expenditure on
health was 30.5% in 2011, increasing
to 32.3% in 2012 including “voluntary pooled insurance for health
insurance as well as direct payments
by private agents.” The total UAE
expenditure on health as a percentage
of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
was 3.1% in 2011 and dropped slightly
to 2.8% in 2012; UAE’s GDP as of
2012 was $383.8 billion according
to the World Bank. Putting this in
perspective, the GHO reports that
Switzerland’s percentages for the
same measure were 11.0% and 11.3%
with a GDP of $631.2 billion (World
Bank), and for a regional comparison, KSA’s percentages for the same
years and same measure were 3.0%
and 3.2% with a 2012 GDP of $734
billion. The UAE’s general government
expenditure on health as a percentage of total government expenditure
remained stable for four years from
2009 to 2012 at 9.3%. “UAE stands
amongst the top 25 in world health
systems ranking by WHO, and the
government is very supportive to the
private players for creating the best
healthcare delivery system. Due to the
mandatory insurance standard, the
Emirates are on par with the best in
the world,” adds Dr. Shamsheer.
It also means that there is nowhere
to go but up for entrepreneurs in
the healthcare space, and those who
have businesses that cross over with
healthcare, including logistics and
construction. “United Arab Emirates
is one of the most developed economies in the world with a cosmopolitan
mix of people coming from all parts of
the globe. Overall, the UAE economy
has been performing well, and delivery of healthcare in the MENA region
and around the world continues to
evolve. Medical standards at VPS
Healthcare are at par with [the] global
benchmark, however we have already
started our work to strengthen the
talent pool and increase capacity. >>>
january 2015 Entrepreneur
21
INNOVATOR
CSR SAVVY
Dr. Shamsheer sees Microsoft founder Bill
Gates as a great example of entrepreneur
who also leads as a philanthropist. Much of
the doctor’s energies are devoted to giveback community initiatives centering around
health and wellness: education on preventative measures, actionable medical drives that
engage the community, and public relations
campaigns that create an inclusive environment to demystify illness. “We have leadership team to take care of various aspects
of business, however, my focus has always
been to return back to society by devoting
my time, energy and resources for welfare of
the community through various CSR initiatives. Community awareness is our capital
asset and our vision is to create sustainable
community welfare model. We have done
several CSR activities for different strata of
the community such as free heart surgeries,
free mobile mammography operations for
needy patients, and recently VPS Healthcare
has established a Guinness World Record
for largest simultaneous self-examination to
raise awareness for breast cancer.”
‘Trep tip
Window of opportunity 2015
The World Bank puts UAE life expectancy
rate at 77 years of age, meaning that elderly
medical care is another solid and lucrative
form of revenue, as is the yet relatively
nascent area of palliative care (PC). The
conversation in the GCC about palliative care
has thus far focused on the need to provide
the comfort and elevate quality of life for
patients in need of PC, but a gradual shift
towards profitable opportunity is on the
horizon. Middle East Experience in Palliative
Care, an article published in the American
Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine in
February 2013, reports that Saudi Arabia’s
healthcare industry was the first in the GCC
to offer PC to patients as early as 1992,
and presently, while it is offered in the
UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain, it is still largely
misunderstood by residents. The article
mentions that when PC was first introduced, admittance rates increased based on
medical professionals educating and then
referring patients to facilities. The same
article mentions that the healthcare industry
in the UAE faces a specific challenge- in
this instance referencing PC specifically:
“End-of-life problems of expatriate patients
with cancer are very different from those of
Emirati nationals, with expatriates having
limited social and emotional support owing
to the living statuses and the low incomes.
There is a need to study the social and psychological issues in the expatriate patients
with cancer in UAE.”
22
Entrepreneur january 2015
Expo 2020 is great opportunity for
everyone, and the healthcare sector
in particular will witness increase in
demand for quality healthcare services due to the influx of worldwide
tourists.” On the subject of medical
tourism, it’s important to remember
how reputation (and yes, advertising),
can help healthcare institutions cross
important financial markers. Patients
Without Borders estimates that the
“worldwide medical tourism market
is growing at a rate of 15-25%, with
rates highest in North, Southeast
and South Asia,” and lists the top
destinations as “Costa Rica, India,
Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, South
Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, [and
the] United States.” VPS Healthcare
is making itself known globally, and
could very well help to get the UAE
included in the top medical tourism
country list. Recently, Burjeel Hospital for Advanced Surgery (BHAS),
part of the VPS Healthcare Group
was awarded “Specialty Hospital of
the Year” at the ninth annual World
Medical Tourism Congress. “It’s the
leading international congress in
health and medical tourism attracting healthcare professionals across
the world, and the award recognizes
the efforts of BHAS for providing
exemplary care, innovation consistent
with vision of medical tourism, and
advocating for high quality healthcare
in the region. In short span of time,
BHAS has been the trendsetter in
Sheikh Khalifa Excellence
Award 2014
Middle East by offering advanced orthopedic surgery and sports medicine
using international medical expertise
and cutting-edge technology.”
The UAE’s diverse population, a
phenomenon echoed across much of
the GCC, means that the healthcare
industry is catering to very different
need-scenarios, almost on a caseby-case basis- straining corporate
systems and procedural development
and implementation. “Since we are
an integrated service, we can provide
healthcare requirements specific to
the areas in which we operate to meet
the expectations of the users. Our
service lines enable us to refer from
any of our facilities to a higher level
of care- for example from primary
care or emergency to secondary or
from secondary care to tertiary
care.” Dr. Shamsheer adds that a
spectrum of patients are catered to
by VPS Healthcare institutions, and
the budget of these same patients
runs the gamut and is dealt with
accordingly. Going forward, taking
customer budgets into consideration
is definitely important, but for-profit
healthcare providers will need to
consider populace trends and origins
when developing programs, and even
when building new facilities. If VPS
Healthcare’s current on-trend brands
are any indicator, it looks as though
they’ll continue to gain traction by
acting as the supplier for ever-shifting
market demands.
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
It is, without doubt, one of the harshest environments on earth: the Empty Quarter in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – the largest and most barren sand
desert in the world, spreading itself over four Arab nations and covering 650,000 km2 which is comparable in size to France. Temperatures range
from 50° to -1°C in the course of a single day and the sand and dust are relentless. The nearest city is 1000 kilometres away. So the construction
of a 256 kilometre road cutting through this wildnerness, linking Saudi Arabia to the Sultanate of Oman, called for an extraordinary solution.
The response: a fleet of 95 Volvo machines was assembled. Together, they shifted over 130 million m3 of sand just to build the bridge of the road –
an extraordinary feat in such harsh conditions, yet the quality and power of Volvo engineering was up to the challenge. The difficulties created
by the remote isolation of the worksite were answered with excellent customer support from FAMCO, the authorised Volvo dealer in Saudi Arabia,
which included the organisation of mobile 24/7 service workshops that moved forward with the construction operation. Discover a new way.
www.emptyquarter.volvoce.com
Main Office: Jeddah: Old Makkah Road Kilo 6, Tel: +966 12 680 4444
Riyadh: Khurais Road Exit 30, Tel: +966 11 233 3555
Dammam: Dammam-Khobar Highway, Tel: +966 13 859 8484
Abha: Khamis Mushayt - King Fahad Road, Tel: +966 17 227 4066
Makkah: Al Haaj Road, Tel: +966 12 542 8484
e-mail: [email protected] www.al-futtaim.ae
famco
www.2015 Entrepreneur
saudi.com23
january
INDIAN
INNOVATOR
AWARDS
2014
A PRODUCTION BY
WITH THE SUPPORT OF
Mr. Wissam Younane,
Director, BNC Publishing
O
n the occasion of the
first annual Indian
Innovator Awards,
BNC Publishing, as part of the
Entrepreneur MENA franchise, awarded businesses and
individuals across multiple
categories on December 9th,
2014 at The Westin Dubai
Mina Seyahi Beach Resort &
Marina. The relevant Indian
Innovators have established
themselves as clear industry leaders who have made
significant contributions to the
Middle East business arena,
and set the benchmark for
corporations operating across
the region.
Mrs. Anitha Nandini,
Consul– Commerce, Press
and Information, Consulate
General of India, presided over
the event as keynote speaker,
with the special guest of honor
being veteran UAE royal photographer, Mr. Ramesh Shukla.
In his speech addressing the
gathering on behalf of BNC
Publishing, Director Wissam Younane highlighted the
Indian expatriate community’s
wealth of talent. “SMEs act as
the cornerstones of flourishing
economies- it is said that any
truly healthy commercial space
has a wealth of both multinationals and SMEs working
hand in hand. The same can be
said about you, the innovators
distinguished this evening.
In this room, both large scale
and small scale enterprises are
represented, and you are the
force behind the growth of the
emerging economies that we
are successfully operating in
today.”
“Together with our valued
Allies and the Dubai Chamber
of Commerce and Industry, to
foster enterprise enrichment,
and in some specific
cases, even mentorship,
Entrepreneur’s MENA editions
will continue to applaud your
achievements,” Younane said.
“I thank you on a personal
note for your continued
support and commercial
trust, and I look forward to
welcoming 2015 together as
businesses going forward from
triumph to triumph.”
PLATINUM ALLY
GOLD ALLY
GOLD ALLY
GOLD ALLY
24
Entrepreneur january 2015
january 2015 Entrepreneur
25
indian innovator
awards 2014
Banking Innovation Dr. R. Seetharaman, Group CEO,
Doha Bank
Trading Innovation Dr. Dhananjay Datar, Chairman
and Managing Director, Al Adil Group
Consultancy Innovation Mr. Gaurav Sinha, Founder
and CEO, Insignia Worldwide
Construction Innovation Dr. Navjit Singh Anand,
Chairman, Goldline Group of Companies
Manufacturing Innovation Mr. Shaji Ul Mulk,
Chairman, Mulk Holdings
Information Technology Innovation Mr. Mahesh
Shahdadpuri, Founder and CEO, TASC Outsourcing
Insurance Innovation MR. Mustafa Oliyath Vazayil,
Managing Director, Gargash Insurance
Digital Innovation Mr. Ahmed Dawood, Director,
Phenomena
Fastest Growth Mr. Harmeek Singh, Founder, Plan B
Retail Innovation Mr. Ashraf Ali M.A., Executive
Director, Lulu Group
Ecosystem Innovation Mr. Vikram Shroff, Director,
The Regal Group, President, Entrepreneurs’
Organization, UAE and Finance Chair, India Club
Energy Innovation Mr. Yogesh Mehta, Managing
Director, Petrochem
Brand Penetration Innovator Mr. Khurshid Vakil,
Co-founder, Marina Home Interiors – International
Logistics Innovation Mr. Madhav Kurup, CEO-MENA,
Hellmann Worldwide Logistics
Niche Branding Innovation Dr. Michael Formenius, CEO
and Clinical Director, Dr. Michael’s Group
Thought Leadership Mr. Vikram Chadha, Vice
President, SME Marketing, du
Communication Innovation Mr. Avi Bhojani, Group CEO,
BPG Group
International Achievement Dr. B. R. Shetty, CEO and
Managing Director, UAE Exchange and New Medical
Centre Group of Companies
Lifetime Achievement Mr. K. Rajaram, CEO, Al Nabooda
Automobiles
Banking Innovation
Dr. R. Seetharaman,
Group CEO, Doha Bank
26
Entrepreneur january 2015
Energy Innovation Mr. Yogesh Mehta,
Managing Director, Petrochem
Energy Innovation
Mr. Yogesh Mehta,
Managing Director,
Petrochem
UAE royal photographer,
Mr. Ramesh Shukla
Information
Technology
Innovation
Mr. Mahesh
Shahdadpuri,
Founder and CEO,
TASC Outsourcing
january 2015 Entrepreneur
27
indian innovator
awards 2014
Mrs. Anitha Nandini,
Consul– Commerce,
Press and Information,
Consulate General of India
Communication
Innovation
Mr. Avi Bhojani,
Group CEO,
BPG Group
Brand Penetration Innovator
Mr. Khurshid Vakil,
Co-founder, Marina Home
Interiors – International
Niche Branding Innovation
Dr. Michael Formenius,
CEO and Clinical Director,
Dr. Michael’s Group
Construction
Innovation
Dr. Navjit
Singh Anand,
Chairman,
Goldline Group
of Companies
Manufacturing
Innovation
Mr. Shaji Ul Mulk,
Chairman, Mulk
Holdings
Digital Innovation
Mr. Ahmed Dawood,
Director, Phenomena
Fastest Growth
Mr. Harmeek Singh,
Founder, Plan B
28
Entrepreneur january 2015
Lifetime Achievement
Mr. K. Rajaram,
CEO, Al Nabooda
Automobiles
Thought Leadership Mr. Vikram Chadha,
Vice President, SME Marketing, du
Trading Innovation
Dr. Dhananjay Datar,
Chairman and
Managing Director,
Al Adil Group
january 2015 Entrepreneur
29
indian innovator
awards 2014
International Achievement Dr. B. R. Shetty,
CEO and Managing Director, UAE Exchange
and New Medical Centre Group of Companies
Mr. Wissam Younane, Director,
BNC Publishing
Ms. Fida
Chaaban,
Editor-in-Chief,
Entrepreneur
Middle East and
Entrepreneur
Qatar
Master of
Ceremonies
Mr. Stephen
Marney
Ecosystem Innovation
Mr. Vikram Shroff,
Director,
The Regal Group,
President,
Entrepreneurs’
Organization UAE,
and Finance Chair,
India Club
Logistics Innovation
Mr. Madhav Kurup, CEO-MENA,
Hellmann Worldwide Logistics
Ms. Pamella de Leon,
Columnist and
Mr. Aby Sam Thomas,
Managing Editor
Insurance
Innovation
Mustafa Oliyath
Vazayil,
Managing
Director,
Gargash Insurance
Mr. Diarmuid
O’Malley,
Group Publishing
Director,
BNC Publishing
Indian Innovator Awards 2014
staged by Entrepreneur Middle East
30
Entrepreneur january 2015
january 2015 Entrepreneur
31
Part one Mapping it all out
‘TrepHack
toolkit
Hack
your
enterprise
your enterprise
into
2015
into 2015
[The how-to]
Business plans, marketing plans, outlook revamp, niche predictions, and staffing
Y
ou may not have the formal business training acquired through in-market experience, but the basics can be learned quickly
enough. Focusing on these essential elements
gives you a pretty good idea of where to go, and
how to get there by fleshing out the essentials-
and yes, that means you need to sit down and
work it all out. If you’ve had in-market experience
from being part of a corporation, use this guide as
a refresher since you’re ostensibly working with
way less capital and staff than the company you
left when you joined the entrepreneurial ranks.
How-to build a business plan
A business plan is a written description of your enterprise’s future. That’s all there is to it- a document that describes what you
plan to do and how you plan to do it. If you jot down a paragraph
on the back of an envelope describing your business strategy,
you’ve written a plan (or at least the germ of a plan). About the
only person who doesn’t need a business plan is one who’s not
going into business. You don’t need a plan to start a hobby or
to moonlight from your regular job. But anybody beginning or
extending a venture that will consume significant resources of
money, energy or time, and that is expected to return a profit,
should take the time to draft some kind of plan.
Business plans can help perform a number of tasks for those
who write and read them. They’re used by investment-seeking
entrepreneurs to convey their vision to potential investors. They
may also be used by firms that are trying to attract key employees,
prospect for new business, deal with suppliers or simply to understand how to manage their companies better. So what’s included
in a business plan, and how do you put one together? Simply
stated, a business plan conveys your business goals, the strategies
you’ll use to meet them, potential problems that may confront
your business and ways to solve them, the organizational structure
of your business (including titles and responsibilities), and finally,
the amount of capital required to finance your venture and keep it
going until it breaks even.
Sound impressive? It can be, if put together properly. A good
business plan follows generally accepted guidelines for both form
and content. There are three primary parts to a business plan:
1. Business concept Discuss the industry, your business structure, your particular product or service, and how you plan to make
your business a success.
2. Marketplace section Describe and analyze potential customers: who and where they are, what makes them buy and so on.
Here, you also describe the competition and how you’ll position
yourself to beat it.
3. Financial section This contains your income and cash flow
statement, balance sheet and other financial ratios, such as breakeven analyses. This part may require help from your accountant
and a good spreadsheet software program.
Breaking these three major sections down even further, a business plan consists of seven key components:
1. Executive summary
2. Business description
3. Market strategies
4. Competitive analysis
5. Design and development plan
6. Operations and management plan
7. Financial factors
In addition to these sections, a business plan should also have a
cover, title page and table of contents.
Length
Depending on what you’re using it for, a useful business plan
can be any length, from a scrawl on the back of an envelope to,
in the case of an especially detailed plan describing a complex
enterprise, more than 100 pages. A typical business plan runs 15
to 20 pages, but there’s room for wide variation from that norm.
Much will depend on the nature of your business. If you have a
32
Entrepreneur january 2015
simple concept, you may be able to express it in very few words.
On the other hand, if you’re proposing a new kind of business or
even a new industry, it may require quite a bit of explanation to
get the message across. The purpose of your plan also determines
its length. If you want to use your plan to seek millions of dollars
in seed capital to start a risky venture, you may have to do a lot of
explaining and convincing. If you’re just going to use your plan for
internal purposes to manage an ongoing business, a much more
abbreviated version should be fine.
Stages of business and business plans
Startups
The classic business plan writer is an entrepreneur seeking funds
to help start a new venture. Many, many great companies had
their starts on paper, in the form of a plan that was used to convince investors to put up the capital necessary to get them under
way. Most books on business planning seem to be aimed at these
startup business owners. There’s one good reason for that: as the
least experienced of the potential plan writers, they’re probably
most appreciative of the guidance. However, it’s a mistake to
think that only cash-starved startups need business plans. Business owners find plans useful at all stages of their companies’
existence, whether they’re seeking financing or trying to figure out
how to invest a surplus.
Established firms seeking help
Not all business plans are written by starry-eyed entrepreneurs.
Many are written by and for companies that are long past the
startup stage. WalkerGroup/Designs, for instance, was already
well-established as a designer of stores for major retailers when
founder Ken Walker got the idea of trademarking and licensing
to apparel makers and others the symbols 01-01-00 as a sort of
numeric shorthand for the approaching millennium. Before beginning the arduous and costly task of trademarking it worldwide,
Walker used a business plan complete with sales forecasts to
convince big retailers it would be a good idea to promise to carry
the 01-01-00 goods. It helped make the new venture a winner long
before the big day arrived. “As a result of the retail support up
front,” Walker says, “we had over 45 licensees running the gamut
of product lines almost from the beginning.” These middle-stage
enterprises may draft plans to help them find funding for growth
just as the startups do, although the amounts they seek may be
larger and the investors more willing. They may feel the need for a
written plan to help manage an already rapidly growing business.
Or a plan may be seen as a valuable tool to be used to convey the
mission and prospects of the business to customers, suppliers or
others.
Determining the right plan for your business
Business plans tend to have a lot of elements in common, like cash
flow projections and marketing plans. And many of them share
certain objectives as well, such as raising money or persuading a
partner to join the firm. But business plans are not all the same
any more than all businesses are. Depending on your business
and what you intend to use your plan for, you may need a very
different type of business plan from another entrepreneur. Plans
differ widely in their length, their appearance, the detail of their
contents, and the varying emphases they place on different aspects
of the business.
The reason that plan selection is so important is that it has
a powerful effect on the overall impact of your plan. You want
your plan to present you and your business in the best, most
accurate light. That’s true no matter what you intend to use
your plan for, whether it’s destined for presentation at a venture >>>
january 2015 Entrepreneur
33
‘Trep toolkit Hack your enterprise into 2015 [The how-to]
capital conference, or will never leave your own office or be seen
outside internal strategy sessions. When you select clothing for
an important occasion, odds are you try to pick items that will
play up your best features. Think about your plan the same way.
You want to reveal any positives that your business may have and
make sure they receive due consideration.
Business plan formats and types
Business plans can be divided roughly into four separate types.
There are very short plans, or miniplans. There are working plans,
presentation plans and even electronic plans. They require very
different amounts of labor and not always with proportionately
different results. That is to say, a more elaborate plan is not guaranteed to be superior to an abbreviated one, depending on what
you want to use it for.
1. Miniplan A miniplan may consist of one to 10 pages and
should include at least cursory attention to such key matters as
business concept, financing needs, marketing plan and financial
statements, especially cash flow, income projection and balance
sheet. It’s a great way to quickly test a business concept or measure the interest of a potential partner or minor investor. It can
also serve as a valuable prelude to a full-length plan later on. Be
careful about misusing a miniplan. It’s not intended to substitute
for a full-length plan. If you send a miniplan to an investor who’s
looking for a comprehensive one, you’re only going to look foolish.
2. Working plan A working plan is a tool to be used to operate
your business. It has to be long on detail but may be short on presentation. As with a miniplan, you can probably afford a somewhat
higher degree of candor and informality when preparing a working
plan. A plan intended strictly for internal use may also omit some
elements that would be important in one aimed at someone outside the firm. You probably don’t need to include an appendix with
resumes of key executives, for example. Nor would a working plan
especially benefit from, say, product photos.
Fit and finish are liable to be quite different in a working plan.
It’s not essential that a working plan be printed on high-quality
paper and enclosed in a fancy binder. An old three-ring binder
with “Plan” scrawled across it with a felt-tip marker will serve
quite well.
Internal consistency of facts and figures is just as crucial with
a working plan as with one aimed at outsiders. You don’t have
to be as careful, however, about such things as typos in the text,
perfectly conforming to business style, being consistent with date
formats and so on. This document is like an old pair of khakis
you wear into the office on Saturdays or that one ancient delivery
truck that never seems to break down. It’s there to be used, not
admired.
3. Presentation plan If you take a working plan, with its low
stress on cosmetics and impression, and twist the knob to boost
the amount of attention paid to its looks, you’ll wind up with a
presentation plan. This plan is suitable for showing to bankers,
investors and others outside the company. Almost all the information in a presentation plan is going to be the same as your working
plan, although it may be styled somewhat differently. For instance,
you should use standard business vocabulary, omitting the informal jargon, slang and shorthand that’s so useful in the workplace
and is appropriate in a working plan. Remember, these readers
won’t be familiar with your operation. Unlike the working plan,
this plan isn’t being used as a reminder but as an introduction.
You’ll also have to include some added elements. Among investors’
requirements for due diligence is information on all competitive
threats and risks. Even if you consider some of only peripheral
significance, you need to address these concerns by providing the
information. The big difference between the presentation and
working plans is in the details of appearance and polish. A working plan may be run off on the office printer and stapled together
at one corner. A presentation plan should be printed by a highquality printer, probably using color. It must be bound expertly
into a booklet that is durable and easy to read. It should include
graphics such as charts, graphs, tables and illustrations.
It’s essential that a presentation plan be accurate and internally
consistent. A mistake here could be construed as a misrepresentation by an unsympathetic outsider. At best, it will make you
look less than careful. If the plan’s summary describes a need
for $40,000 in financing, but the cash flow projection shows
$50,000 in financing coming in during the first year, you might
think, “Oops! Forgot to update that summary to show the new
numbers.” The investor you’re asking to pony up the cash, however, is unlikely to be so charitable.
4. Electronic plan The majority of business plans are
composed on a computer of some kind, then printed out and
presented in hard copy. But more and more business information that once was transferred between parties only on paper is
now sent electronically. So you may find it appropriate to have an
electronic version of your plan available. An electronic plan can
be handy for presentations to a group using a computer-driven
overhead projector, for example, or for satisfying the demands of a
discriminating investor who wants to be able to delve deeply into
the underpinnings of complex spreadsheets.
It’s time for an overhaul
Seven reasons to update your existing business plan
1. A new financial period is about
to begin. You may update your
plan annually, quarterly or even
monthly if your industry is a fastchanging one.
2. You need financing, or additional financing. Lenders and
other financiers need an updated
plan to help them make financing
decisions.
3. There’s been a significant market change. Shifting client tastes,
consolidation trends among
customers and altered regulatory
climates can trigger a need for
plan updates.
4. Your firm develops or is
about to develop a new product,
technology, service or skill. If your
business has changed a lot since
you wrote your plan the first time
around, it’s time for an update.
5. You have had a change in management. New managers should
get fresh information about your
business and your goals.
See this article in its entirety at Entrepreneur.com
Source: The Small Business Encyclopedia, Business Plans Made Easy, Start Your Own Business and Entrepreneur magazine.
34
Entrepreneur january 2015
6. Your company has crossed a
threshold, such as moving out
of your home office, crossing
the US$1 million sales mark
or employing your 100th
employee.
7. Your old plan doesn’t seem
to reflect reality any more.
Maybe you did a poor job last
time; maybe things have just
changed faster than you expected. But if your plan seems
irrelevant, redo it.
Part TWO Getting the word out
How-to create a marketing plan
Firms that are successful in marketing invariably start with a marketing plan. Large companies have plans with hundreds of pages;
small companies can get by with a half-dozen sheets. Put your
marketing plan in a three-ring binder. Refer to it at least quarterly,
but better yet, monthly. Leave a tab for putting in monthly reports
on sales/manufacturing; this will allow you to track performance
as you follow the plan. You should allow yourself a couple of
months to write the plan, even if it’s only a few pages long. Developing the plan is the “heavy lifting” of marketing. While executing
the plan has its challenges, deciding what to do and how to do it is
marketing’s greatest challenge. Most marketing plans kick off with
the first of the year or with the opening of your fiscal year if it’s
different.
Timeline The plan should cover one year. For small companies,
this is often the best way to think about marketing. Things change,
people leave, markets evolve, customers come and go. Later on we
suggest creating a section of your plan that addresses the mediumterm future- two to four years down the road. But the bulk of your
plan should focus on the coming year.
Target audience Who should see your plan? All the players
in the company. Firms typically keep their marketing plans very,
very private for one of two very different reasons: either they’re
too skimpy and management would be embarrassed to have them
see the light of day, or they’re solid and packed with informationmaking them extremely valuable to the competition. You can’t do
a marketing plan without getting many people involved. No matter what your size, get feedback from all parts of your company:
finance, manufacturing, personnel, supply and so on, in addition to
marketing itself. This is especially important because it will take
all aspects of your company to make your marketing plan work.
Your key people can provide realistic input on what’s achievable
and how your goals can be reached, and they can share any insights
they have on any potential, as-yet-unrealized marketing opportunities, adding another dimension to your plan. If you’re essentially
a one-person management operation, you’ll have to wear all your
hats at one time- but at least the meetings will be short!
Cohesion What’s the relationship between your marketing plan
and your business plan or vision statement? Your business plan
spells out what your business is about- what you do and don’t
do, and what your ultimate goals are. It encompasses more than
marketing; it can include discussions of locations, staffing, financing, strategic alliances and so on. It includes “the vision thing,”
the resounding words that spell out the glorious purpose of your
company in stirring language. Your business plan is essentially the
constitution of your business: if you want to do something that’s
outside the business plan, you need to either change your mind
or change the plan. Your company’s business plan provides the
environment in which your marketing plan must flourish. The two
documents must be consistent.
Why have a marketing plan?
1. Rallying point Your marketing plan gives your troops something
to rally behind. You want them to feel confident that the captain
of the vessel has the charts in order, knows how to run the ship,
and has a port of destination in mind. Companies often undervalue
the impact of a “marketing plan” on their own people, who want
to feel part of a team engaged in an exciting and complicated joint
endeavor. If you want your employees to feel committed to your
company, it’s important to share with them your vision of where
the company is headed in the years to come. People don’t always
understand financial projections, but they can get excited about
a well-written and well-thought-out marketing plan. You should
consider releasing your marketing plan -perhaps in an abridged
version- companywide. Do it with some fanfare and generate some
excitement for the adventures to come. Your staff will appreciate
being involved.
2. Chart to success We all know that plans are imperfect things.
How can you possibly know what’s going to happen 12 months
or five years from now? Isn’t putting together a marketing plan
an exercise in futility, a waste of time better spent meeting with
customers or fine-tuning production? Yes, possibly but only in
the narrowest sense. If you don’t plan, you’re doomed, and an
inaccurate plan is far better than no plan at all. To stay with our
sea captain analogy, it’s better to be five or even 10 degrees off your
destination port than to have no destination in mind at all. The
point of sailing, after all, is to get somewhere, and without a marketing plan, you’ll wander the seas aimlessly, sometimes finding
dry land but more often than not floundering in a vast ocean. Sea
captains without a chart are rarely remembered for discovering
anything but the ocean floor.
3. Company operational instructions Your newest tech toy came
with a set of instructions, and your company is far more complicated to put together and run than your tablet. Your marketing
plan is a step-by-step guide for your company’s success. It’s more
important than a vision statement. To put together a genuine marketing plan, you have to assess your company from top to bottom
and make sure all the pieces are working together in the best way.
What do you want to do with this enterprise you call the company
in the coming year? Consider it a to-do list on a grand scale. It assigns specific tasks for the year.
4. Captured thinking You don’t allow your financial people to keep
their numbers in their heads. Financial reports are the lifeblood of
the numbers side of any business, no matter what size. It should be
no different with marketing. Your written document lays out your
game plan. If people leave, if new people arrive, if memories falter,
if events bring pressure to alter the givens, the information in the
written marketing plan stays intact to remind you of what you’d
agreed on.
5. Top-level reflection In the daily hurly-burly of competitive business, it’s hard to turn your attention to the big picture, especially
those parts that aren’t directly related to the daily operations.
You need to take time periodically to really think about your business- whether it’s providing you and your employees with what
you want, whether there aren’t some innovative wrinkles you can
add, whether you’re getting all you can out of your products, your
sales staff and your markets. Writing your marketing plan is the
best time to do this high-level thinking. Some companies send
their top marketing people away to a retreat. Others go to the
home of a principal. Some do marketing plan development at a
local conference space, away from distractions, so they can devote
themselves solely to thinking hard and drawing the most accurate
sketches they can of the immediate future of the business. Ideally,
after writing marketing plans for a few years, you can sit back and
review a series of them, year after year, and check the progress of
your company. Of course, sometimes this is hard to make time for,
but it can provide an unparalleled objective view of what you’ve
been doing with your business life over a number of years.
See this article in its entirety at Entrepreneur.com
Source: The Small Business Encyclopedia and Knock-Out Marketing.
january 2015 Entrepreneur
35
‘Trep toolkit Hack your enterprise into 2015 [The how-to]
Attitude adjustment
An opportunity for growth
Defining failure in the context of entrepreneurship
By Juan José de la Torre
D
uring my career, I have
had the opportunity
to work closely with
entrepreneurs, investors and
various companies in developing innovative new ideas.
Through these collaborations I have witnessed (and
sometimes been a part of),
the resounding fear of failure, with business as usual
set towards finding any way
to reduce and mitigate risk,
and in some cases almost
eliminating it all together.
This approach not only
directly affects growth prospects and freedom around
concept development (lower
risk equals lower reward),
but it also affects how entrepreneurs and executives
address new projects and
the value that these projects
can ultimately generate for
entrepreneurs, enterprises,
and society as whole.
We exist in a society that
worships success. From
36
Entrepreneur january 2015
athletes to politicians, to
executives and workers in
general, everyone wants to
be successful. We therefore
become accustomed to understand success as a viable
way to progress, to evolve,
to grow and eventually get
a better “status”. Success is
held up as the Holy Grail that
will help us to be better and
continue to evolve. Yet, this
same obsession with success
also leads us deny ourselves
failure; hide, and avoid it
at all costs. We reduce the
risks and replace outright
risk for “calculated risk”.
Calculated risk is in essence
when the risk factor has
been reduced to minimum
replacing uncertainty with an
“expected result”. Where is
the creativity when we follow
this approach? How can
we truly innovate when the
risk is zero? Does sustained
decreased risk ultimately
affect our ability to grow and
develop? By reducing the
risk of failure, and ultimately
avoiding it all together, are
we restricting our ability to
truly create?
Let’s view risk and the
possibility of failure as they
really are. In the MENA
region especially, failure is
not understood as a way to
learn, evolve and eventually
grow, but as a despicable
event worthy of pity and
shame. In particular, the
digital ecosystem is a world
of entrepreneurial failures. A
recent global survey showed
that 80% of new startups
disappear before the first 18
months, and of the remaining 20%, 95% cease to
exist after three years. As an
entrepreneur, investor and
mentor, I have been a part of
these statistics. These stats
should not scare entrepreneurs, but teach them that
one of the key characteristics
that they must have is being
able to learn from failures,
and persevere. There is a
Japanese proverb that I
think perfectly captures
this message: “Nanakorobi
Yaoki”, and it translates to
“I’ll fall seven times and rise
again on eight.” That’s the
resilience that a good entrepreneur needs to have.
The entrepreneur must
persevere despite difficulties
along the path to his goal,
because he is the motivator
and the vital energy of the
venture. An entrepreneur
knows that the big payoff
will only come if they are
able to cope with difficulties, challenges and the risk
therein. Facing the fear of
failure and turning that fear
into something positive will
build greater awareness
and acceptance of risk. An
entrepreneur should also
know that great rewards are
associated with a risk which
cannot always be minimized.
Finally, if good entrepreneurs
fail, they learn from their failure and use it to drive them
to success. From the standpoint of experience, both
investors and executives
and even teammates, prefer
entrepreneurs to have experienced failure. The uncomfortable situation of failure
tests not only the character
of the entrepreneur, but also
his or her ability to reinvent
and relaunch.
Tens of thousands of successful entrepreneurs have
failed, and will continue to
fail around the world. One
well known example is Steve
Jobs- he reinvented Pixar
and then returned to Apple
to turn it into the company’s
largest market capitalization
of NASDAQ. A true entrepreneur, Jobs was fuelled
by adversity and decided to
launch his own business and
struggle against bureaucracy
and cash flow, attract talent
and win customers. This
gave us a clear example on
how for some of the best
entrepreneurs, failure is the
only way to grow.
So, peruse your dream
knowing that failure is an
option! After which you will
only become better- especially when you’ve taken the
lessons you’ve learned into
consideration.
Juan José de la Torre is an expert
in innovation, entrepreneurship
and technology. A graduate
of Industrial Engineering IAU,
Master of La Salle and MBA
from INSEAD, Juan José has
developed his professional
career in the areas of
telecommunications, Internet
and media working in the U.S.,
Europe, Asia, and the Middle
East. Currently, Juan José is
based in the UAE as the Vice
President of Digital at Intigral,
one of MENAs leading digital
companies. Talk to JJ on Twitter
at @DeLaTorreJJ.
Part three Bringing in the best
How-to recruit and hire top
employees in 13 steps
As all employers quickly learn, there’s a world of difference
between a worker who’s correctly matched to their job and
their organization, and one who is not. But how do you find and
match the right people to the right jobs? By including, in your
comprehensive people strategy, a well-structured recruiting and
selection program. The key to successfully developing such a
program is to follow a proven recruiting process for the positions
you need to fill. Resist the temptation to omit steps, because
shortcutting the process can shortchange your results. Here’s
what you’ll need to do:
1. Develop accurate job descriptions Your first step is to make
sure you have an effective job description for each position
in your company. Your job descriptions should reflect careful
thought as to the roles the individual will fill, the skill sets
they’ll need, the personality attributes that are important to
completing their tasks, and any relevant experience that would
differentiate one applicant from another. This may sound fairly
basic, but you’d be surprised at how many small companies fail
to develop or maintain updated job descriptions.
2. Compile a “success profile” In addition to creating job descriptions, it’s important to develop a “success profile” of the ideal
employee for key positions in your company that are critical to
the execution of your business plan. These might include such
positions as team leaders, district managers and salespeople.
For example, let’s say you currently have 20 salespeople. Within
that group, you have four that are top performers, 12 that are
middle-of-the-road and four that aren’t quite making the grade.
If you could bump the number of folks in the top group from 20
percent to 33 percent, that could have a dramatic impact on your
company’s performance. To accomplish that goal, you need to
profile everyone in the sales group to identify any skills and attributes that are common to the top group but missing from the
other groups. Using this information, you’ll be able to develop a
profile to help you select the candidates most likely to succeed in
that position. Remember, you can’t tell if you’ve found a match if
you’re not matching candidates against a specific profile.
3. Draft an accurate ad Although some applicants will ignore
these requirements and respond regardless, including this information will help you limit the number of unqualified applicants.
The position post should describe the position and the key
qualifications required.
4. Opt for the right mediums Of course, the Internet has become
the leading venue for posting job openings, but don’t overlook
targeted industry publications and local newspapers. Post
the ad in the mediums most likely to reach your potential job
candidates- if you’re looking for hospitality staff, then seek out
platforms that cater specifically to that niche. If you’re in the
market for a new senior manager, your choice of platform makes
all of the difference.
5. Develop a series of phone-screening questions Compile a list
of suitable questions you can ask over the phone to help you
quickly identify qualified candidates and eliminate everyone
else. It saves precious face-to-face meeting time.
6. Review the resumes you receive and identify your best
candidates Once you post your ad, you’ll start receiving resumes
(sometimes many more than you anticipated). Knowing what
you’re looking for in terms of experience, education and skills
will help you weed through these resumes quickly and identify
potential candidates.
7. Screen candidates by phone Once you’ve narrowed your stack
of resumes to a handful of potential applicants, call the candidates and use your phone-screening questions to further narrow
the field. Using a consistent set of questions in both this step
and your face-to-face interviews will help ensure you’re evaluating candidates equally.
8. Select candidates for assessment Based on the responses to
your phone interviews, select the candidates you feel are best
qualified for the next step in the process.
9. Assess your potential candidates for their skills and attributes
using a proven assessment tool A resume and phone interview
can only tell you so much about a job applicant, so you’ll need
a dependable assessment tool to help you analyze the core behavioral traits and cognitive reasoning speed of your applicants.
For example, a good test will provide insights as to whether
the individual is conscientious or lackadaisical, introverted or
extroverted, agreeable or uncompromising, open to new ideas or
close-minded, and emotionally stable or anxious and insecure.
The success profile you’ve created for each position will help you
determine which behavioral traits are important for that position. For example, you would expect a successful salesperson to
be extroverted. On the other hand, someone filling a clerical position might be more introverted. These assessment tests can be
administered in person or online. Online testing and submission
of results can help you determine whether the applicant should
be invited for a personal interview.
10. Schedule and conduct candidate interviews Once you’ve
selected candidates based on the previous steps, schedule and
conduct the interviews. Use a consistent set of 10 or 12 questions
to maintain a structured interview and offer a sound basis for
comparing applicants. What is your process for making sure
they’re a good fit with your company’s culture? Decide whether
your approach to the cultural question should include a second
interview. Also, who else, if anyone, do you involve in the interviews to help make this selection and judge the candidate?
Your goal is to have a plan that will help you determine whether
you have a qualified applicant who will fit into your company’s
culture.
11. Select the candidate Make your selection by matching the best
applicant to the profiled job description.
12. Run a background check You need to ascertain that the
individual has been fully transparent. A background check can
help to uncover any potential problems not revealed by previous
testing and interviews.
13. Make your offer to the candidate The information you collected during the interview process will provide you with important
insights as to starting compensation levels and training needs.
If you want your business to attract and retain good clients, your
comprehensive people strategy must include a recruiting and
selection strategy that attracts and retains quality employees.
Following a well-thought-out, structured process will help you
best match the right people to the right jobs in your company.
Will you conduct pre-employment testing?
Before you start the hiring process, determine your strategy relative to how
people fit into your organization. How much is it worth for you to know an
individual’s strengths and weaknesses, not just as a hire/don’t hire test, but
as a coaching tool to help you determine their training needs and the best
approach to maximize the person’s productivity? Pre-employment testing is
often overlooked, when it could be a very valuable tool. For example, if you
find an applicant who fits the job description and appears to be the person
you want to hire, pre-employment testing can help you determine how to
work with them more effectively and move them along in your organization.
See this article in its entirety at Entrepreneur.com
january 2015 Entrepreneur
37
‘Trep toolkit Hack your enterprise into 2015 [The how-to]
Offline to Online
(O2O)
By Dr. Kieran Mervyn
lthough it’s tricky
to predict future
trends within
the e-commerce
field due to the speed and
development of mobile
information systems, digital
business infrastructures,
mobile data terminals
and enterprise business
models, the rise of Offline
to Online (O2O) Platform
Designers is worthy of
consideration because
the web is becoming a
significant interface for
offline transactions.
The complex e-commerce
space is witnessing a shift
to more fluid and horizontal
networked entities,
allowing for reduced risk
and greater sharing of
knowledge and intelligence
both internally and
externally. Simultaneously,
the scope of innovation
is expanding, and open
innovation provides access
to new knowledge and
enables the evolution of
new strategies that keep
firms agile and able to
respond to opportunities.
Designers of unique O2O
user experiences are
The complex e-commerce
space is witnessing a
shift to more fluid and
horizontal networked
entities, allowing for
reduced risk and greater
sharing of knowledge
and intelligence both
internally and externally.
O2O firms and collaborations encompass a range
of scales. Some of the
smaller O2O services
delivered are growing in
popularity in conjunction
with the spread of apps
and e-transactions.
38
Entrepreneur january 2015
The continuum of the O2O
model extends into postsales services: online
customer issues associated
with returns or faults
can be addressed in the
physical stores.
each website is a replica
of its offline stores. It
also follows a long-term
domestic and global
partnership strategy,
seeking to combine the
e-commerce market across
micro and macro contextual
levels. JD.com, a network of
convenience stores boasting
25 million customers and
6,000 national suppliers,
is creating e-stores on the
central JD.com e-commerce
platform. Its O2O strategy
allows any of its growing
customer bases simply to
collect goods from online
orders from any store
nationwide. Its innovative
delivery platform also
includes fast free delivery,
ranging from 15 minutes
to an hour after purchase
depending on the service.
Conventional retailers
will have a greater O2O
capacity to integrate a
whole-systems model of
the customer life cycle.
The continuum of the
O2O model extends into
post-sales services: online
customer issues associated
with returns or faults
can be addressed in the
physical stores. Significant
commercial gains can thus
be accrued by embracing
a whole-systems O2O
perspective. Mobile
data platforms such as
tablet computing devices,
smartphones and e-books
have blended with cloud-
based services to provide
richer user experiences
and innovative service
models. The O2O service
model provides fertile
ground in which customers
and potential customers
can engage with service
providers in a variety
of mobile information
platforms, both online and
offline.
Dr. Kieran Mervyn currently
teaches courses in leadership
in the online MBA program at
the University of Roehampton,
London. He is the leader for the
Learning and Leading in a Dynamic
Era module, where Roehampton
Online students examine skills
and best practices relating to
leadership in contemporary
organizations. He is also codirector of AM2 Partners Ltd, a
focused team of management
and research consultants.
Put it to work Actionable advice
WASSELNI.COM | YIWUGOU.COM
Trend
prediction
2015
A
focusing on the process of
e-bonding with customers
before they navigate into
the physical realm of stores
to purchase offline products
and services. O2O designers
also focus on overseeing the
post-purchase customer
relationship. This is a
complex socio-technical
endeavour underpinned by
innovative technologies,
big data, creative planning,
collaborative networking,
implementation and
evaluation. O2O firms and
collaborations encompass
a range of scales. Some of
the smaller O2O services
delivered are growing in
popularity in conjunction
with the spread of apps
and e-transactions. For
example, Wasselni, a
Palestinian startup for
local transportation, is
using offline and lo-fi
models to overcome the
lack of 3G communication
technologies and the
blockade of Gaza.
O2O strategies are also
being developed and
implemented by large
firms, thereby enabling the
attraction of a wider and
deeper customer base and
hence greater revenues.
Chinese B2C retailers
such as Yiwugouicom
.
and JD.com, Inc. are at
the forefront of O2O.
Yiwugou.com, an e-version
of the company’s large
physical store network,
is broadening its brand
recognition and increasing
daily traffic through a
carefully adopted strategy
that includes building one
virtual store per offline
shop. Using 3D imagery,
• To satisfy the end user’s growing interest in compelling,
engaging and interactive retail spaces and beyond, e-commerce
designers employed by retailers must seek novel ways to maintain the current customer base and attract new customers in an
aggressive global marketplace. This is important for customer
satisfaction and retention.
• Designers must identify new ways of translating product information and communicating enticements. Don’t rely on internal expertise; instead, seek knowledge and intelligence beyond
the confines of traditional silos normally associated with closed
innovation and a firm’s private research and development
practices. Considering that business survival rates are highest
among firms engaged in innovation practices, it is essential for
designers to ensure that customer buy-in and input take centre
stage from day one.
• Designers and service providers must focus on a range of
components such as the physical interface via innovative
prototyping techniques, real-time communication and enacting
ideas in the real world before evaluating their effects. Planning,
management and evaluation of the underlying logistics and
information platform will be a continuing challenge.
• Retailers must embrace social media with a robust strategy
to promote products and services in online settings in order to
generate offline sales. For example, digital coupons can be embedded into offline points of sales (POS) and mobile payment
through external QR codes.
january 2015 Entrepreneur
39
TREPONOMICS
ETHICS | ESQUIRE GUY | SKILLSET | MARKETING | PRO
Keeping ‘treps
in post secondary
How colleges can stay relevant
in today’s startup world By Sharene Lee
O
ver the past three decades,
the world has witnessed a
string of breakout successes
that have put tech entrepreneurs
in the spotlight: Apple, Microsoft,
Google, Facebook and the more recent
Tumblr, Instagram and Whatsapp.
The youth of today look up to
billionaire role models like Steve
Jobs, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg,
and Jan Koum, all college dropouts.
Of the top 400 people on Forbes
Billionaire list1, 63 are dropouts. Here
at home in the Gulf, governments
are anxious to encourage and foster
entrepreneurship, but colleges are
struggling to keep up. The pace of
innovation has marginalized colleges,
and the availability of non-traditional
learning via the Internet has made it
possible for entrepreneurs to learn
what they need to start successful
businesses. “When these incredible
tools of knowledge and learning
are available to the whole world,
formal education becomes less and
less important,” according to Sean
Parker of Napster and Facebook fame,
another college dropout.2
I am an educator by training, and I
taught five years in both primary and
tertiary education in the UAE and
Saudi Arabia before I left to found
Melltoo, a social network that helps
people buy and sell used things. Over
the course of seven months since
our launch in March 2014, we have
worked with nine youths between
1. De-emphasize structures
In the Gulf, college programs are
highly structured and inflexible.
Perhaps as a means to control quality,
professors are restricted when setting
curricular objectives and students are
expected to follow a rigid program in
order to graduate. The bulk of assessment takes place in the form of tests
which have right and wrong answers.
In reality, entrepreneurship is messy
and doesn’t follow a set pattern. Each
entrepreneur’s story differs from the
next. Flexibility and being able to
adapt are more important than following rules.
Colleges should introduce flexibility
into degree programs. One way to
do this is to allow students to create
their own degree programs within a
given discipline, a practice colleges
in the West are adopting. In order
to maintain quality, the final project should have the student put her
learning to use. For instance, if the
student is graduating with a degree in
marketing, she might take art classes,
graphic design, speech and acting
classes, in addition to traditional
marketing courses. Her final project
might be to create a marketing presentation for a business that incorporates multimedia and graphics, and
that is delivered to an auditorium full
of students.
2. Flip “theory before practice”
on its head
1 http://www.forbes.com/billionaires/list
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Entrepreneur january 2015
| 2 http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/231717
college courses can be structured similarly. Let the textbook be a reference,
make the curricular a semester-long
project that accomplishes practical
(not theoretical) objectives. Instead of
assigning problem sets in accounting,
get students to work with SMEs in the
community that need help with their
accounting. Most local “baqalahs”
or grocery stores probably do. The
learning might be messy and not uniformed, but you can be sure that even
the “C-students” will actually learn.
the ages of 17-25, from a variety of
educational backgrounds, including
six who were educated in the UAE.
My interns are a motivated bunch;
however, the majority of them needed
to be trained from scratch in things
that they should already have learned
in college. Having insight as both an
educator and a startup founder, here
are my takeaways on what colleges in
the region can do to stay relevant in
today’s startup world.
The existing model of education is to
first learn theory, then put theory into
practice. In today’s rapidly changing
business landscape, “theory before
practice” is way too slow. First of all,
academic thinking evolves slowly,
requiring multiple layers of review
before new ideas are accepted by the
academic community. By the time an
idea makes it into a textbook, it has
become obsolete. In business, good
3. Re-assess assessments:
get rid of tests
theory doesn’t always equal good
practice. Business and entrepreneurship is about time and place. Today,
businesses are fighting to acquire
users by giving their product away
for free. Amazon and Uber go even
further and lose money while selling
their product in order to crush competition and acquire users. Arguably,
theory would discourage this but time
and place demand it.
Entrepreneurs learn as they do. In
fact, many entrepreneurs only learn
what they have to in order to do what
they have to. Learning without applying means forgetting; and there is no
time to learn what cannot be applied
immediately. When Melltoo onboards interns, we conduct a one-day
workshop that paints in broad brush
strokes the strategy of the company
and where interns fit in. We provide
some theory, but no one really “gets
it”. The only purpose is to set context.
The real learning takes place when
interns execute assigned tasks, and
Many of the most successful
businesses of today were
started in college dorm rooms
by founders who later dropped
out. If college acted like an
incubator and made resources
available for these founders,
it’s arguable that they could
have completed their degrees by
founding a business.
Written tests and assignments are
easy and efficient ways to assess large
numbers of students. But they are
only good at predicting success at
one thing- test-taking skills. Right
and wrong answers also give students
incorrect impression that there is
always a right way or wrong way to do
things. This hampers problem-solving
skills since students can’t think out of
the box; they’re used to only one right
way to do anything.
In the real world, entrepreneurs are
tested constantly, but there is never
time to prepare for the test and there
is no right answer. What works for
Souq.com doesn’t work for Melltoo.
Souq.com acquires users through
advertising and paid ads; Melltoo,
as a startup with limited resources,
acquires users organically through
app store optimization and growth
hacking. What works for Melltoo today might not work for us tomorrow.
There isn’t one right way of doing
anything in business.
Tests are not only poor at assessing
skills, they also foster an anti-entrepreneurial mindset. Skills should
be assessed through demonstration.
Minimize testing and emphasize practical application of skills. Management courses should have students
managing people in achieving specified goals. Over the course of a semester, students can be placed into rotating teams where they each take turns
managing a small group to execute
a project (consider cross-curricular
integration). For instance, a group of
four students can group together for a
week-long project to craft a marketing pitch for a well-known product
targeted to a niche audience. The
following week, groups are reshuffled
with new managers and new projects.
Again, use the text as a reference and
the professor acts as a facilitator and
mentor. Grades are assigned based on
success of the project, self and peer
assessment against a pre-defined
management skills rubric.
4. Business programs should be
run like incubators
Dave McClure of 500 Startups, a
micro VC and accelerator based in
Silicon Valley, says, “Rather than pay
US$50,000 for an MBA to read about
other people’s businesses and not
learn much, why not let us give you
$50,000 to succeed or even fail at
your own business and learn a lot?”
Few people can argue that learning
by doing doesn’t work. If the goal is
to foster entrepreneurship, why not
incorporate starting up a business as
part of the curriculum? Many of the
most successful businesses of today
were started in college dorm rooms
by founders who later dropped out.
If college acted like an incubator and
made resources available for these
founders, it’s arguable that they could
have completed their degrees by
founding a business.
Startup incubators support founders
by providing workspace, mentorship,
and camaraderie among startups.
These elements are all available in
a university. Workspace is plentiful,
professors should in theory be the
best mentors, and camaraderie is
easy to build among college students
working and living together. If colleges
leverage their available resources, the
costs of starting a business are far
lower within a college setting than
outside. Visa fees, rent and utilities
are paid, there is access to a pool
of inexpensive labor (other college
students), users are easier to acquire
(other students, alumni, staff, the
surrounding community), the college
can subsidize marketing costs through
internal marketing channels (campus
newspapers, listservs, campus media),
and local partners and investors are
much easier to connect with through
the collegiate network.
If entrepreneurship is truly the end
goal, regional colleges and universities
have some programmatic adjustments
to make. The key to training future
entrepreneurs is to create an environment that is as similar to the business
world as possible. Loosening up structures, emphasizing skills other than
test-taking skills and learning while
doing are the way to go.
january 2015 Entrepreneur
41
money
ask the money guy | vc viewpoint | your money | ECON
professionals are not satisfied
with their income, with 45%
claiming to be dissatisfied
with their pay, compared to
just 3% who are highly satisfied with what they receive.
28% believe that men and
women receive equal pay for
doing the same work. The
majority (67%) of professionals surveyed believe that
the salary they receive is less
than what other companies
in their industry pay. Over
a quarter of MENA respondents (28%) do not expect to
receive a raise in 2014, though
37% anticipate receiving a pay
rise of up to 15%.
Across MENA, the most
common benefits received by
employees are personal medical insurance, bonuses and
transportation allowance. For
35% of MENA professionals,
foregoing part of their salary
The 2015 MENA salary
guide
The compensation, the benefits,
and the rates of satisfaction
By Suhail Al-Masri
D
oes your staff grumble that they feel
underpaid or that
they believe that
their work is worth
more money than
they are making? they’re
not alone. For 26.6% of
respondents in the Bayt.com
Employee Retention in the
MENA Workplace poll, February 2013, competitive salary
and benefits packages were
the most important factors
for employee retention in
the MENA region. Moreover,
45.2% of respondents in the
same poll left their last job
because they weren’t paid
enough. Bad pay and benefits
is selected in yet another poll
by Bayt.com, the Workplace
Dynamics in the MENA poll,
June 2013, by 20% of MENA
professionals as the top
reason why they would leave
their job.
In order to have a closer
look at the current situation
of working professionals in
the MENA region, Bayt.com
conducted its annual MENA
Salary Survey 2014. The
survey results –based on data
collected online from more
than 9,500 professionals
from the UAE, KSA, Kuwait,
Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt,
Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia– give insights into the
salary levels, compensation
packages, bonuses, and costs
of living in the region. The
survey also measures overall
employee job satisfaction.
that they receive a basic
salary plus benefits, such as
housing allowance, transport, children’s education
and more. For over a third
of respondents (34%) who
receive a basic salary along
with other benefits, the basic
salary consists of 51-75%
of their monthly salary, and
14% state that they also
receive a commission on top
of their basic salary and benefits. The preferred pay structure in the MENA is a 100%
fixed-pay structure (favored
by 53% of respondents).
A large proportion of MENA
Current salary
levels, satisfaction and
expectations
Across the MENA region,
53% of professionals surveyed in the Bayt.com MENA
Salary Survey 2014 indicate
to work more flexible hours
is something they would
consider.
According to 62% of
respondents, their company
does not pay for any overtime
they do. Companies that do
pay for extra office hours, for
the most part, pay a normal
hourly rate (43%), though
41% pay time and a half.
Only 22% of companies in
the MENA region pay employees for time spent doing
civil service.
advancement (40%), senior
management (35%), and
their colleagues (34%).
Drivers of loyalty
at work
End of service benefits
38% of respondents in the
MENA state that loyalty to
their company is not based
on the salary they receive.
Rather, they consider that
their loyalty is based on their
line manager (42%), opportunities for long-term career
Less than half (48%) of
MENA respondents receive
an end-of-service gratuity,
while 14% receive a pension
upon retirement. 31%, however, receive neither, though
51% of those who do not currently receive a pension state
that they are interested in a
pension plan to which they
would contribute a percentage of their basic salary, in
addition to the company’s
contribution.
Insurance plans
The majority of MENA
professional (68%) have
access to medical insurance for themselves through
their company, and 36% >>>
> Salary comparison
10
3
10
3
67
70
68
64
67
70
68
64
20
18
20
22
20
18
Total
UAE
Total
UAE
10
3
10
3
20
Saudi
Arabia
Saudi
Arabia
10
3
10
3
22
Qatar
Qatar
9
3
9
3
71
14
4
14
4
63
71
63
17
18
10
2
10
2
66
66
22
15
5
15
9
4
9
4
5
56
56
24
16
16
5
10
3
10
3
5
65
65
22
56
67
56
67
23
20
17
2
17
2
13
14
4
13
14
7
4
7
62
67
55
62
67
55
19
16
24
22
24
22
23
Kuwait
Bahrain
Oman
Lebanon
Jordan
Syria
Egypt
Morocco
Algeria
Tunisia
Kuwait
Bahrain
Oman
Lebanon
Jordan
Syria
Egypt
Morocco
Algeria
Tunisia
17
18
Competitive with what other companies offer in your industry
Lower than other companies in your industry
Competitive
with what
other companies
offer in your industry
Higher than other
companies
in your industry
Lower
than other
in your industry
Dont Know/
can’t companies
say
Higher than other companies in your industry
Dont Know/ can’t say
20
19
16
24
Base: Total (9537), UAE (2176), Saudi Arabia (2444), Qatar (484), Kuwait (422), Bahrain (114), Oman (176), Lebanon (295), Jordan (597), Syria (108), Egypt (1860),
Morocco (225), Algeria (474), Tunisia (162)
Base: Total (9537), UAE (2176), Saudi Arabia (2444), Qatar (484), Kuwait (422), Bahrain (114), Oman (176), Lebanon (295), Jordan (597), Syria (108), Egypt (1860),
Morocco (225), Algeria (474), Tunisia (162)
Q. For the work that you do, is your salary...
Q.
the work
that you do, is your salary...
All For
figures
are %’s
All figures are %’s
42
Entrepreneur january 2015
chart © bayt.com
10
3
10
3
january 2015 Entrepreneur
43
money
ask the money guy | vc viewpoint | your money | ECON
have access to insurance for
their dependents, too. For
the most part, companies
are responsible for payment on medical insurance
claims– both for personal
and dependents. Although,
a further two fifths of
respondents share responsibility of medical insurance payments with their
employer. Insurance plans
are active from the first day
of hire according to 41% of
respondents.
Top expenses
A large proportion of
MENA professionals is not
satisfied with their income,
with 45% claiming to be
dissatisfied with their pay,
compared to just 3% who
are highly satisfied with
what they receive.
Keeping your employees
once you have them is a
thorny problem. Although
it’s not only about the
money, it does play a fundamental role when comparing offers from potential
employers. Our studies
have shown, time and time
again, that top talents are
invariably first and foremost
seeking some degree of
medium to long-term job
security. These professionals look for companies that
provide a healthy degree of
career longevity and sustainability for their staff. Fair
compensation and benefits
fall under this bracket including a compelling salary,
performance-based bonuses,
personal (and family) health
insurance, retirement
schemes, and children’s education support.
Salaries and the rising
cost of living
83% of respondents in the
MENA predicted an increase
in the cost of living in 2014.
Among other factors affected
by the rising cost of living
in the region, this rise has
limited the ability to save.
In matter of fact, 36% of
MENA professionals claim
to save nothing from their
monthly salary. Despite this,
44% of respondents believe
that they are better off,
in terms of quality of life,
compared to other people of
a similar generation in their
country of residence.
61% of MENA professionals believe that salaries in
their country are on the rise.
This is considered to be due
to inflation and the rising
cost of living (62%), as well
as economic and opportunity growth (34%) and pay
rises in the public sector
(17%). Factors observed by
MENA professionals that are
inhibiting salary increases
include poor economy
(43%), employer-friendly
laws (35%), and poor corporate performance or decreased profitability (21%).
Overall, 29% of respondents
believe there is a skills
shortage in the region.
44
Entrepreneur january 2015
Dining out is considered to
be the top monthly expense
by 31%, followed by travel
(29%) and entertainment
(18%). Holidays taken by
MENA respondents in the
last 12 months have mostly
involved travel to local
destinations (33%). 36% of
respondents have not been
on holiday in the past 12
months.
Getting the salary
equation right
Suhail Al-Masri is the VP of
Sales at Bayt.com. Al-Masri has
more than 20 years of experience
in sales leadership, consultative
sales, account management,
marketing management, and
operations management. His
mission at Bayt.com goes in line
with the company’s mission to
empower people with the tools
and knowledge to build their
lifestyles of choice.
january 2015 Entrepreneur
45
INNOVATOR
The FitRepublik facility
in Dubai Sports City
Profiting from
passion
FitRepublik’s Ali Al Amine sees entrepreneurship
as the way forward By Aby Sam Thomas
I
t’s hard not to be taken in by the
enthusiasm resplendent in Ali Al
Amine’s voice as he talks about his
new venture, FitRepublik, the latest entry
in Dubai’s burgeoning health and fitness
industry. But do not dismiss FitRepublik
off as just another gym in Dubai- because
it is, really, a whole lot more than that.
Located in Dubai Sports City, FitRepublik
is a state-of-the-art sports facility that
spans over 100,000 square feet and
acts as a one-stop shop for a variety
of disciplines that include functional
training, strength and conditioning,
mixed martial arts (MMA), gymnastics,
swimming and more.
As the Managing Director of FitRepublik, Al Amine was understandably excited
as he talked about the facility, which,
at the time of this interview, was only a
few weeks away from its official launch
slotted for this month. As Al Amine sees
46
Entrepreneur january 2015
it, FitRepublik will stand out not just for
being a world-class sports center, but also
for being a community-driven enterprise
that caters to, well, everyone. Al Amine
stated that while FitRepublik has left
no stone unturned in its attempt to be
seen as an elite environment, he was,
at the same time, very emphatic in his
insistence that the facility is not just for
an elitist crowd.
“I think FitRepublik is not an intimidating place,” Al Amine said. “That’s the
most important component. Because,
usually, [places like] gyms, for some
reason, intimidate people. Because you
think, in the back of your mind, that you
need to fit to be fit. This is definitely not
that kind of a place. If you feel you’re not
fit, then come to FitRepublik, because
that’s where you’d fit.” But that’s not to
say that FitRepublik isn’t a good place for
fitness enthusiasts, professional athletes
and the like- on the contrary, this kind of
clientele is served just as well as anyone
else by this world-class facility and its
workforce of more than 100 people, which
includes coaches who are Olympians and
international record holders.
And getting FitRepublik to cater to
this kind of diversity is something that
Al Amine and his team have tried very
hard to achieve with the facility’s set-up
and operations. “FitRepublik houses the
diverse spectrum of including every potential person, because we believe fitness
is relative to one’s self,” he explained.
“We don’t benchmark except onto our
individual customers. Your aspirations
are your aspirations, and we believe that
if we can make you a better version of
yourself, then we have succeeded, and you
have succeeded as well. You’re happy, and
we’re happy. So rather than us come and
tell you what you should be doing, you
tell us what you’d like to do, and we will
partner with you to help you realize your
objectives. That’s a very big component of
our story.”
With this idea in mind, FitRepublik
has been designed as a quality environment that caters to the fitness needs and
interests of both adults and children,
while also playing host to supplementary
facilities that include a retail store selling
fitness and exercise-related products, accessories and dietary supplements. In addition, FitRepublik has collaborated with
“foodie nutritionist” Nathalie Haddad to
build an in-house café and kitchen within
the facility that will specialize in producing and serving healthy, nutritious meals
that will be mindful of each FitRepublik
member’s training goals and personal
preferences.
Given the features it boasts of, it may
seem a little curious that while Al Amine
calls FitRepublik “a place for everyone,”
he also notes that every individual that
becomes a member of the facility also
gets a customized plan in line with his/
her interests and goals. These two things
may seem to be at odds with each other,
but that’s where the FitRepublik backend shows its mettle. “We have invested
heavily on our infrastructure from an IT
perspective, which enables us to service
people subjectively,” Al Amine explained.
“What I mean by that is that when you
join FitRepublik, we are capable of identifying for you a tailor-made membership…
We take your psychological likes and dislikes into consideration, and from there,
we go on to your physiological capacity:
your age, your strength, your capabilities,
etc. And then, from that, we figure out
what is the best membership for you- so
that technology enables us to develop a
customized program for each individual.”
Al Amine’s ease when talking about
the technology aspect of FitRepublik
is reflective of his background in the
technology sector- in addition to his role
at FitRepublik, Al Amine is also currently
Ali Al Amine,
Managing Director,
FitRepublik
Nathalie’s Cafe at FitRepublik
the Consumer Channel Group Lead for
Microsoft Corporation in the Gulf. When
asked if he was worried that his new
entrepreneurial venture would interfere
with his existing job, Al Amine said that
he didn’t expect such a scenario to happen. “There’s no crossing over of these
two things, as they are two independent
subjects,” he said. “I am in love with my
job at Microsoft, and I am equally in love
with my opportunity as an entrepreneur.
Dubai is an economy that provides an
opportunity for people like me to be both.
So... happy days!”
Al Amine also noted that Dubai was
the right place for an enterprise like
FitRepublik to happen. “Dubai offers [a
kind of] greenfield infrastructure, where
you find it very easy to open a company,
to recruit people, to set up your business,
to market your business, to create a wordof-mouth and social environment around
what you do in a very pleasant, easy
way,” he explained. “The barrier to entry
is much easier in this part of the world,
because all the foundations are all laid
down in place. The economy is also a rich
one, and so that also helps a lot.”
But that also means that FitRepublik is
going to enter what is a fairly established,
but still growing, market for health and
fitness in Dubai. However, Al Amine isn’t
too worried about the competition. “I
think our concept stands out by its very
nature,” he said. “But at the end of the
day, this is a generous market. And more
importantly, there is a fight for quality.
The consumer in Dubai is a consumer
that seeks quality. And I think when we
compare ourselves to quality service
providers, I think there is an opportunity
for us to share the market and coexist in a
healthy manner.”
And if there are any doubts about the
Dubai population’s interest in something
like FitRepublik, then head over to the
company’s Facebook page, and its 17,000+
fans might help melt those worries
away. But perhaps a better indication of
FitRepublik’s viability as a business can
be seen in the people that have invested in
the project. “Our founders are the who’s
who of entrepreneurship in this part of
the world,” Al Amine revealed. “We have
Fadi Ghandour, who’s one of the iconic
individuals in the emerging markets, a
person we all look up to. He’s like a north
star when it comes to entrepreneurship.
Then there’s Arif Naqvi, who leads the
largest private equity firm in the Middle
East. This is a gentleman that has shown
all of us in this region that entrepreneurship is the way forward in this part of the
world. So both of these gentlemen have
been very inspiring and very supportive,
and they have left nothing on the table to
support us and put us in a position where
we can go and excel, and do what we can
do best.”
Given that FitRepublik has its origins
in an idea that was born more than
three years ago, it’s quite interesting
(and inspiring) to see the zeal and fervor
with which Al Amine talks about his
enterprise today. When asked about how
he navigated the hurdles and pitfalls that
are to be expected in the development of
such a grand project, Al Amine smiled
and said, “I’d say I’m a victim of passion.
I’m a victim of dreaming and having big
aspirations. I’m 39-years-old, but I dream
like a seven-year-old. So it’s in my nature
to be overworked, to have sleepless nights.
Because I think that’s the adventure.”
“It’s actually very similar to the logic
behind FitRepublik,” he continued. >>>
january 2015 Entrepreneur
47
INNOVATOR
“I think it would be a little bit of a disappointment for a human being to live his
life and not explore his true potential
physically. If you can be mobile, if you
can be balanced, if you can be stronger or
faster or more powerful, and you have all
these years of your life without experiencing that, then it’s kind of like a missed opportunity. I actually believe in that same
idea when I work. And so, I think if there’s
Pumping iron
The boutique fitness franchise
trend is taking off
By Tracy Stapp Herold
T
he world of fitness
franchising has grown
dramatically in recent
years, and in a landscape once
dominated by big-box gyms, the
boutique trend is rapidly gaining
ground.
On the surface, the appeal of
smaller, specialized facilities is
obvious: they cost less to open,
require fewer employees and are
easier to run than their largescale counterparts. But their
real strength lies deeper- in their
ability to attract a passionate
client base. “Whenever you have
that niche market, where you’re
not trying to be everything to
everyone, you’ll get enough
people that are excited about
being able to do that thing they
love,” says Michael Parrella, CEO
of Levittown, New York-based
iLoveKickboxing.com. “In a
big-box gym, they have grander
facilities and more equipment,
but you’re just a number. You
build a tribe with a boutique
fitness facility.” This is what
FitRepublik is determined to
prevent; their aim is to present a
large-scale health and wellness
model but operate on a clientby-client basis.
48
Entrepreneur january 2015
Nick Berry, president of Fitness
Consulting Group, the parent
company of Fitness Revolution
and Athletic Revolution, agrees.
“Consumers are becoming
more ambitious with their
fitness levels,” he says. “They’re
looking for that service of
fitness, not just access to
fitness equipment.”
Here’s a look at a few of the
specialties of the top new
boutique fitness franchises- the
trends within the trend.
Group training
Several top new franchises
offer group training, including
U.S.-based Fitness Revolution,
which evolved from the work
that Berry and his partner,
Pat Rigsby, did as business
consultants for personal trainers
and other fitness professionals.
“As a business, the one-to-one
[personal training] model has
always been kind of broken,”
Berry says. “It’d be very
difficult for a person to create
a true livelihood out of.” Group
training allows the trainersturned-franchisees at Fitness
Revolution to offer their clients
many of the benefits of personal
an opportunity out there that I can run
after, I will do it even at the cost of having
difficult moments in my life. Because I
think the joy of what I am doing really
overtakes everything else. So it has been
tough, but I wanted tough. I didn’t want it
any other way.”
And that’s the mantra that Al Amine
would advise for his peers in the entrepreneurial community of the region to
take up as well. “I think everything you
do should be an adventure,” he said. “You
have to always do your best, because your
life is short and you always have to have
fun, and you always have to try things and
fail. Failing is a very big part of having fun.
I think, for you to have an adventure, you
need to fail. I think people should be more
accommodating to failing, because failing
should not hurt you, it should make you
stronger. And as cliché it may sound, what
doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.”
training at a lower price. But
financial considerations aren’t
the only reason for the activity’s
rising popularity.
“There’s some real psychology
and motivation around a group
setting,” says David Long, CEO
of Fort Lauderdale, Floridabased Orangetheory Fitness.
“People get the instruction they
need to be effective, and there’s
a real big social element and
accountability to it, too.”
Kickboxing
Kickboxing is another wellrepresented trend in our list of
top new franchises, with three
companies comprising more
than 200 American franchise
locations. When asked why
kickboxing has become such
a popular workout, Parrella
notes, “There’s just something
empowering about it, something
primal and combative. It’s in our
DNA.” And it seems that sense
of empowerment is appealing
particularly to women, who
make up 85% of the customer
base of iLoveKickboxing.com.
In fact, it’s proved so popular
that Parrella has had to change
his franchise model, which
originally allowed existing
martial-arts facilities to cobrand with iLoveKickboxing.
com. The franchised kickboxing
classes quickly outgrew such
facilities, leading owners
to move them to separate,
dedicated gyms- and Parrella to
focus on offering stand-alone
iLoveKickboxing.com franchises
instead. “We now have facilities
that literally have waiting lists to
get in,” he says.
Interval training
The American College of Sports
Medicine’s annual survey
of fitness trends has a new
number one: high-intensity
interval training, described as
“short bursts of high-intensity
bouts of exercise followed by a
short period of rest or recovery.”
“The science behind interval
training is getting people in
certain heart-rate zones to
improve their cardiovascular
health as well as their ability
to burn calories and body fat,”
Long explains. For that reason,
personal-health technology
plays an important part in
Orangetheory’s signature
60-minute workout, alongside
treadmills, rowing machines
and weights. Clients’ heart rates
are monitored throughout the
workout and displayed on flatscreen TVs. “People like seeing
the results of their efforts,”
Long says. “We’re using a very
scientific approach to give
people much better results in
a quicker period of time.” As
other interval-based fitness
franchises start to crop up, he’s
certain competition will comeand soon.
See this article in its entirety on Entrepreneur.com
The FitRepubik facility
spans over 100,000 sq. ft.
january 2015 Entrepreneur
49
TREPONOMICS
ETHICS | ESQUIRE GUY | SKILLSET | MARKETING | PRO
some one-track mission to convince
everyone of your brilliance.
On the highway of enthusiasm, you
need to stop and stretch your legs
every now and then, take a restroom
break, buy some beef jerky. You need
to relax and look around. By acknowledging -even vaguely- that your idea
is not The Great Idea but one in a
cosmos of good ideas, you’re making
your notion even more appealing.
You’re placing it in a sane contextthe context of the rigor that it will
take to get the idea off the ground.
“I think you can own the part of
the wild-eyed entrepreneur to some
degree, as long as you can do it with
humor and levity and be clear you’re
not taking yourself so seriously,”
Manning says. “You need to do it
with enough humor so that people
understand you’re both in the part
and playing the part.”
Being wild-eyed is not a virtue.
Unmitigated passion is a marker associated with various psychological
disorders. You need to seem sane.
The best way to do this is to look at
your pitch or speech as a conversation. Your passion must be inclusive.
Otherwise you’re imposing your idea
on people, instead of helping them
understand why it’s so good for them.
In a conversation, you need to pick
up on cues. This is not a new idea;
in sales you’re taught to ask a lot of
questions to hone in on your audience’s needs. “If you just start talking
The Esquire Guy on
the problem with passion
By Ross McCammon
W
e take the value of “passion”
for granted. You have a
business? You have an idea?
Well, then you need passion when
you talk about it. You talk about it
with passion, you get “converts”.
You get converts, and those converts
“evangelize” for you. Passion begets
passion begets passion. And let the
people say: Hallelujah!
Ugh. There are those of us who don’t
respond well to extreme passion.
We’re the skeptics. And we’ve always annoyed the zealots: why won’t
they just listen?! Well, the passion is
making it hard to listen.
The problem with passion is that it
can cloud your message and overshadow your mission enough that it’s
no longer clear what you’re talking
about, or even what your business
is. The more passionate you are, the
less professional you seem- the less
human you seem. At some point,
passion begins to mask the humanity it seeks to express. Passion has
diminishing returns.
On the highway of
enthusiasm, you need to
stop and stretch your
legs every now and then,
take a restroom break,
buy some beef jerky. You
need to relax and look
around. By acknowledging
-even vaguely- that your
idea is not The Great Idea
but one in a cosmos of
good ideas, you’re making
your notion even more
appealing. You’re placing
it in a sane context- the
context of the rigor that
it will take to get the idea
off the ground.
50
Entrepreneur january 2015
The advantage, of course, is that passion costs nothing to implement.
It’s not a budget item. You just have
to muster it. And this is why it’s overused. Says Mike Manning, co-founder
and CEO of DealVector, an online
network for fixed-income investors:
“When you’re creating something
out of nothing, you’re often selling
a vision, because you don’t have the
metrics. So I think an awful lot of
being an entrepreneur speaking to
employees, funders [and] customers
is allowing that passion to substitute
for metrics.”
But there’s a way to be passionate. A method, even. It involves what
absolutely no expert refers to as the
“enthuse, temper, enthuse” approach.
The idea is to occasionally, and quite
explicitly, undercut your passion with
self-deprecation or, even, hedging.
The idea is: when you’re talking passionately about your product, idea
or business, you need to tone down
the enthusiasm, so that it’s obvious
to your audience that you aren’t on
KEY TECHNICAL MATTERS
> Use body language when expressing
passion.
> As long as it’s body language that
doesn’t involve raising the roof.
> Or pelvic thrusting.
> Or indiscriminate fist bumping.
> Or shielding your eyes as if from the
wattage of your own brilliant idea.
> Or chest beating, which has worked for
exactly two people: King Kong and Celine
Dion.
> Closing your eyes and reciting a quote
you found by Googling “passion quote”
will not make you seem authentically
passionate.
> Note that passion butts right up against
a lot of other, less positive qualities, such
without truly understanding your
audience, you run the risk of making
incorrect assumptions,” says Lee J.
Zane of the Department of Management at Rider University. “When I
used to do sales work when I had
my software business, we would do
conference presentations where we’d
invite 20 firms in and present our
software, and I wouldn’t start until
I’d asked a bunch of questions. Why
are they doing this now? What problems do they have? Then I could go
in and be reasonably enthusiastic in
a presentation, because I knew what
they were looking for.”
You can’t know what people are
looking for when you’re too busy telling them what to look for. Passion is
important, but it has to be tempered.
It has to seem connected to reality
and to your mission that was (presumably) thoughtfully considered and
rigorously executed. It’s good to seem
passionate. It’s better to seem driven.
See this article in its entirety at Entrepreneur.com
Unmitigated passion is a marker
associated with various
psychological disorders. You need
to seem sane. The best way to do this
is to look at your pitch or speech
as a conversation. Your passion
must be inclusive. Otherwise you’re
imposing your idea on people, instead
of helping them understand why it’s
so good for them.
Want Fervor With That?
as: mania, scumbaggery and an eagerness
possibly fueled by cocaine. Fine lines there.
> Words to use instead of passion (which
is an overused word): hunger, enthusiasm,
drive, excitement, zeal.
> Not-so-good words to use instead of
passion: obsession, infatuation, paroxysm,
strong urge, zealotry.
> Your general demeanor should be
somewhere between ardent and fervent.
> If you find yourself being merely keen,
then you are not passionate enough.
> If you find yourself being vehement, then
you are too passionate.
> If you find yourself being taken away
by the police, then you are way, way too
passionate.
We asked Loren Bouchard, writer and creator of the Fox
animated sitcom Bob’s Burgers, to tell us what makes Bob,
passionate owner of a hamburger joint, a well-rounded
character.
“The key to balancing passion is humility. When we write
a character who’s super-passionate, but we want them to be
likeable and relatable, too, we use doubt and humility as our
secret ingredients.
Bob knows he makes a great burger- a truly original and
creative burger. We’ve layered Bob’s character with all the
attributes of a real artist- a beef artist, let’s call him. And Bob,
like many real artists, has pursued his passion to the point
that he is actually trying to make a living at it. And that’s when
things get tricky. When the artist doesn’t immediately succeed
in his chosen field, doubt comes and visits him like a dark spirithe sees himself struggling, sees his family having to sacrifice, to
do without, all so that he might practice his art.
Now you have a relatable character. That guy is the guy you
want to meet. He’s humbled by circumstance, but does he still
make a great burger? Of course he does. He makes the best
burger around. He’s confident and resilient, and he’s making
burgers at the peak of his burger-making powers. You love his
burgers!
He just can’t pay his bills. He can’t afford that nice thing he
wants: the condo with the yard, maybe. Is he bitter? Well, define
bitter. He’s exactly the amount of bitter that many great flavors
are: coffee, etc. (Those are bad examples. You get the idea.)
Passion and confidence are great, but without humility they
seem naive, unrealistic, teetering toward narcissistic. Add a
healthy dose of humility, though, and you’ve got the stuff- the
makings of what we might call Character with a capital C. We
think real character is a good ingredient for storytelling and a
good ingredient for humans, too.” -As told to Michelle Juergen
(who is rather passionate about Bob’s Burgers)
january 2015 Entrepreneur
51
CULTURE
business unusual | LIFE | TRAVEL | DESIGN | TRAPPINGS
business unusual | LIFE | TRAVEL | DESIGN | TRAPPINGS
The executive selection
‘Trep trimmings
You’ve got baggage!
Mark Giusti carries-on
Mark Giusti’s diverse selection of everything from the carry-on
to weekender duffels make great options for ‘treps on the go.
Here are two of our top picks from the brand’s Bring Back Time
range, but there are a few more gems we’d like to call our own.
www.markgiusti.com
From better goods to boardroom
wardrobe bests, each issue we choose
a few items that make the approved
executive selection list. For the
first issue of the year, we present
deLaCour fine timepieces to
keep you looking sharp (and
on schedule).
“Since tomorrow”
If you’re not yet familiar with the
deLaCour range, we’re here to keep
you in the loop. Co-founded and
launched in 2003 by entrepreneurs
Alfred Terzibachian, Louai Kuzbari and
Pierre Koukjian, the Swiss timepiece
company caters to a niche clientele.
Available in the GCC, deLaCour
timepieces are released in limited
edition collections and crafted by hand
with attention to aesthetics, and of
course, to precision. The first showing
of deLaCour timepieces took place in
Basel, Switzerland, at the country’s
annual Baselworld international watch
and jewelry industry show, followed by
the brand opening their first standalone
Geneva boutique two years later in
2005. www.delacour.ch
CULTURE
OVERNIGHTER For the overnight
work trip, we like the Mark Giusti
Jet Set Leather Suit Carrier with
ergonomic multi-compartments.
Made of 100% grained calf leather
body and trim, the Leather Suit
Carrier is available in solid black
or a black and brown combination.
Part of the brand’s collection of
better leathers, it’s got an adjustable
shoulder strap and a reinforced
handle to prevent wear and tear. The
interior is lined with cotton sateen,
so it’s device-screen friendly. Pick
this piece up to satisfy both on and
off the clock needs.
FREQUENT FLIER The Jet Set Leather
Travel Bag with outside laptop
compartment might be just the ticket.
The roomy, clean-lined 100% calf
leather carry-all is just enough for the
on-flight essentials. In basic black, it’s
good-looking and sturdy- reinforced
handles with a cotton sateen lined
interior means it’s a long-lasting
investment. The large zippered
compartment has some give to store
extras, but keeps its shape overall;
perfect to go from the terminal and
straight to the boardroom.
deLaCour
Bichrono Tech
Just in time
Tenth Annual Middle East Watch of the Year Awards
Tenth annual Middle East Watch of the Year winners
52
Entrepreneur january 2015
The tenth annual Middle East
Watch of the Year Awards took
place in Dubai, UAE on November
27, 2014. Staged at The RitzCarlton DIFC in tandem with the
Salon des Grandes Complications
exhibition, the event awarded
11 categories across horlogeriespecific themes. The 12-member panel of judges included
timepiece journalist Roberta
Nass, Head of Christie’s Watch
departments Hong Kong and
Dubai Frederic Watrelot, and H.E.
Sheikh Mohamed Bin Abdullah
Al Khalifa of Bahrain. Organized
by MPP Middle East, sponsored
by Audi Corporate and supported
by Bang & Olufsen, the Watch of
the Year Awards distinguishes
brands for areas of design,
craftsmanship, and function.
january 2015 Entrepreneur
53
TECH
SHINY | WEBSITE TO WATCH | GEEK | MOBILE TECH | ONLINE ‘TREP | THE FIX
#TAMTALKSTECH
A new year brings new goals and aspirations, and your gadgets need to be able to meet your needs.
Check out this issue’s selection that enhance productivity and put you on the path to #MasteringYou2015.
Back it up
WD introduces wireless, portable storage
WD has expanded its portable storage
range to include My Passport Wireless, a
Wi-Fi enabled storage solution for all of
your devices. It allows you to save, access
and share up to 2TB of content from any
mobile device. You can backup media and
files as you create them. My Passport
Wireless is packed with features that
make it an ideal companion for on-the-go
storage. It broadcasts its own wireless
network which allows up to eight devices
WD
My Passport
Wireless
to connect at the same time, features a
high speed USB 3.0 connection when you
need to transfer large amounts of data
quickly and has a built-in SD card slot
to copy data from an SD card. WD also
added integrated FTP which allows the
drive to connect directly to compatible
wireless devices like cameras. Accessing
stored content is just as simple as saving
it using the WD My Cloud mobile app for
Android and iOS.
Make your mark
Montblanc develops digital writing instruments
In a recent collaboration,
Montblanc lent their superior
craftsmanship to Samsung’s
advanced S pen technology to
create two new gadgets: the
Pix Pen and e-Starwalker Pen.
Elegant upgrades of the original S
pen, the instruments function like
a stylus. The new pens give you
the flexibility of writing by hand
on both paper and a device using
a single instrument. Ideal for use
with the Galaxy Note 4, the Pix
Pen features an e-refill in blue and
black ink, while the e-Starwalker
Pen includes an e-refill and an
analog refill. iPad users are also
invited to join the revolution, since
the luxury Maison teamed up with
AKQA to create the StarWalker
Extreme ScreenWriter and
ScreenWriter app. The pen and
app work together to allow iOS
users to sketch and make notes
by hand. Revive handwriting –an
art form that runs the risk of
falling by the wayside- by making
your mark on an electronic device
with a timeless Montblanc writing
instrument.
Starwalker
Extreme Screenwriter
Give it your all ASUS Zenbook UX303
The new and improved ASUS Zenbook UX303 is thin, light, powerful,
and comes in smoky brown- a
stylish new color. This generation
of Zenbook wows with a 13.3 inch
full HD display, high-fidelity touch
actuators which are more than twice
as sensitive as the industry standard
and a fourth generation Intel Core
i5 or i7 processor. With NVIDIA
GeForce graphics, 2GB of video RAM
and SonicMaster audio all wrapped
in a sleek aluminum body, Zenbook
UX303 looks as good as it performs.
Whether multitasking or gaming,
this new Zenbook gives you the
computing power you need to get
things done.
Montblanc Screenwriter
App For iPad
ASUS Zenbook
UX303
Jean machine
Betabrand and Norton develop
RFID-blocking jeans
#TAMTALKSTECH
Tamara Clarke, a former software development professional, is the tech and
lifestyle enthusiast behind The Global Gazette, one of the most active blogs
in the Middle East. The Global Gazette has been welcomed and lauded by
some of the most influential tech brands in the region. Clarke’s goal is to
inform about technology and how it supports our lifestyles.
See her work both in print regional publications and online on her blog
where she discusses everything from how a new gadget improves day-today life to how to coordinate your smartphone accessories.
Visit www.theglobalgazette.com and talk to her on Twitter @GlobalGazette.
54
Entrepreneur january 2015
It’s been estimated that 10 million people
could be victimized by scams that retrieve and
misuse personal data. Betabrand, a crowdfunding clothier, has partnered with online
security company Norton to help you prevent
getting digitally pickpocketed (and falling prey
to identity theft) with RFID-blocking jeans.
So how exactly can denim keep your personal
data safe? Credit cards containing RFID chips
are vulnerable to skimming devices. The
READY jeans feature two pockets lined with
special RFID-blocking fabric which shields
your credit cards and prevents thieves from
stealing your information. Advertised as
subtly stretchy and machine washable, the
jeans are maintained just like regular denim.
Could fashion really be the next frontrunner
for preventing identity theft? Unlikely, but
cool all the same.
january 2015 Entrepreneur
55
TREPONOMICS
ETHICS | ESQUIRE GUY | SKILLSET | MARKETING | PRO
mouth tool at your fingertips and the
cheapest. Talk about your exciting
growth plans and encourage others
to be part of that journey. The more
people hear about you, the more
successful you are perceived to be.
Eight communication
tips for entrepreneurs
by entrepreneurs
6. Network and learn how to
“work a room”
How-to PR your business By Camilla d’Abo and Lucy d’Abo
T
en years ago, Lucy and I set up our integrated communications agency with a team of two (namely us),
in a one-bedroom apartment. A decade later, we are
a multi award-winning company with more than
60 talented team members, representing the world’s leading
international clients, running a digital division and are now
proud to be in much bigger and better premises. How did we
do this? Not through a large marketing budget or advertising
campaign. Not through international affiliations or local partners. The success of our business has been built through the
power of establishing a market-leading reputation. To build
this reputation we have focused on many of the tools that we
deliver to our clients; fantastic quality work, exceptional client
servicing, innovative creative ideas, and the power of good PR.
3. Amplify your reach
Our clients’ success has been our
number one priority, and in turn they
have been our best business development tool and have championed our
services amongst their own networks.
Fundamentally, we have grown
organically based on the strength of
our reputation and our dedication
to our work. To help other budding
entrepreneurs build their own reputation and benefit from the power of
PR, here are our top tips to get SMEs
on the radar of potential investors,
clients and talent:
1. Identify your news story
Think about what makes you special.
Are you the first to introduce a
service or product to the market?
How will this impact the wider business community? Is there untapped
potential in a certain sector that you
are able to meet unlike your competitors? Or are you the first SME
to breakthrough with a new service
for a specific demographic? Identify
your story– the reason why someone
should sit up and take notice of you.
Use this story to pitch to the media.
2. A targeted approach rather
than a scattergun one
Now that you have successfully
identified what makes you different to
your competitors, you can start sharing this with media. The key is to ensure you reach the right people. So in
other words, if you are a construction
company looking for investment, being interviewed on a travel blog is not
going to help you get funding. Search
online or buy local newspapers and
magazines. Understand who your target audience is, what they read, what
they listen to and then start targeting
that media. Although it will seem
daunting to make a journalist phone
call out of the blue, they are actually
a lot more accommodating than you
think, so give it a go.
56
Entrepreneur january 2015
Now that you have appeared in your
chosen publication, you should begin
to share links of your coverage to your
wider network. Encourage your network to comment and like your posts.
The more people who see you sharing
your success, the more they will want
to be part of that success.
4. Don’t shy away from tapping
into your own network
We all have personal networks,
whether it’s friends from university
or former colleagues. More often than
not, they want to hear what you are up
to and share in your successes. Send
out regular email updates. People
buy in other people. Today’s investor
doesn’t always wear a pinstriped suit
and sit in a bank, they are just as
likely to be sat at a café reading their
Twitter feeds on their iPad.
The key to successful networking is
having a genuine interest in people.
Fortunately, in this market you meet
people from a variety of backgrounds
and industries. Networking is a skill
in itself and one that does not come
naturally to most people, but one that
can reap dividends in terms of getting
a foot through the door in terms of an
all-important meeting with a potential
customer or client. Once you’ve got
that foothold, make the most of it.
7. Be prepared
Ensure that you have your “elevator
pitch” ready. This is a 60 second
overview of what your business is
and what you can bring to an investor
or client that no one else can. If you
can’t explain the benefits of what your
business can bring to the table, don’t
expect others to understand why they
should support you.
8. Substance and style
are crucial
Platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn,
Instagram or Facebook can be
harnessed to ensure you are on the
radar of potential investors or clients.
Use a blog to highlight your industry
expertise and start conversations
with digital influencers in your field.
Digital is the most powerful word-of-
Every interaction with any customer,
large or small, is an opportunity to
make a good impression. Ask yourself
whether you know your clients’ business back to front. How does your
product or service enhance their
portfolio? Do you have a presentation
to share with them? Is it slick? Would
it install confidence in them of your
ability to grow a successful company?
Camilla and Lucy d’Abo, Managing Partners
of DABO & CO, boast more than 15 years of
experience within their respective fields. With
Camilla overseeing all PR communications
and strategic campaign activities, and Lucy
leading all concept creation and strategy for
events region-wide, DABO & CO has grown
significantly over the past 10 years into one
of the leading integrated communications
companies in the Middle East, specializing
in PR, event management and digital
engagement. Inspired by a commitment to
strategic creative solutions and quality client
servicing, Camilla and Lucy and the team at
DABO & CO have accumulated an extensive
corporate and consumer PR brand portfolio,
including some of the world’s biggest brands,
such as Nike, Canon, BMW Group, HSBC,
Marriott and DHL. Company and personal
accomplishments between the d’Abo sisters
comprise of winning over 20 awards including
being named joint Entrepreneur of the Year at
the 2014 Gulf Capital SME Awards.
5. Embrace digital channels
Ready for business
du and Microsoft team up
to offer UAE SMBs low-cost
access to the Office 365 suite
of cloud-based services
By Aby Sam Thomas
W
hen you’re starting up a business in
the UAE, you may want to make use
of the latest technology tools and services in
your office; however, the cost and difficulties
involved in setting them up with the requisite
hardware, support systems, etc. can be seen
as a deterrent to such a plan. But now, a new
partnership between du and Microsoft is
hoping to help SMB enterprises in the UAE
get past the aforementioned issues by offering
them direct access to Microsoft’s Office 365
suite of cloud-based productivity applications
and services. Besides getting low-cost access
to a variety of enterprise technologies such as
business-class email, online meeting tools and
cloud storage space, customers signing up for
du’s Office 365-enabled packages will also be
able to purchase all of the services they need
from just one supplier, through one support
center, and then be charged for it all in one
consolidated monthly bill.
“We completely understand the needs and
challenges of SMBs, and from our experience,
we have seen that they are early technology
adopters, if products are packaged right,” said
Hany Fahmy Aly, Executive Vice President,
Enterprise Business, du. “By offering the
Office 365 suite of packages across all our
core mobile and broadband services through
our new collaboration with Microsoft, our
SMB customers will benefit from yet another
incredible effort to bring value-packed,
enterprise-grade solutions to this market.”
Microsoft’s Office 365 packages are being
offered by du across all of its mobile, device
and broadband portfolios.
www.du.ae/Office365
january 2015 Entrepreneur
57
CULTURE
business unusual | LIFE | TRAVEL | DESIGN | TRAPPINGS
Recommended by the GM
CORPORATE SPECS “Park
Hyatt Paris Vendôme features
a set of different conference rooms, including two
boardrooms. The latest and
most modern techniques are
available to meet the guest’s
requirements. We regularly
organize international meetings
for worldwide companies with
European offices based in Paris
with a connection throughout
the world with link-up facilities.
Our spaces are very functional
and adaptable to all kinds
of events, press junkets and
road-shows, and more. The
Park Hyatt Paris Vendôme
[has] a very large selection of
more than 80 amenities for our
guests, each of them adapted
to the nationality and the preferences and the profile of the
guest. This choice is based on
our past experience, and this
service is personalized as much
as possible.”
MUNCH “I love to have dinner
at Le Pur’ by Jean-François
Rouquette, our Michelinstarred restaurant, with its
intimate atmosphere and its
open kitchen. It is a must to
see the ‘ballet’ of all the chefs
preparing the dishes! My
favorite dish is his crispy veal
sweetbreads with white truffle
from the Alba region.”
EXEC STAY “Our personalized
service is essential to make
stays productive and enjoyable.
Park Hyatt Paris Vendôme
reflects the true value of the
companies through a unique
luxury experience. We have
nine Concierges in house; they
are all part of the prestigious
association Clefs d’Or and we
are proud to mention that our
Head Concierge is also the
President of the Clefs d’Or in
France, representing all national
and international events. Our
Concierges are attending to
more than 200 requests per
day.”
PLUSSES “The very central
position in the heart of Paris
is certainly a wonderful perk,
very next to the shopping area
of the Place Vendôme and the
Rue de la Paix, the Tuileries
garden, the Opera House, and
the bank and lawyers district of
the Parisian center.”
Suite Vendôme
Terrace
Leisurely lifestyle
Park Hyatt Paris Vendôme for business… and pleasure
A
lessandro Cresta, General Manager
of globally-renowned Park Hyatt
Paris Vendôme, says that while
over half the hotel’s guest roster
is business-related, it’s all about turning
your corporate trips into an opportunity
to promote work-life balance. Cresta
joined the Park Hyatt Paris Vendôme 18
months ago, having previously worked
in other French hospitality properties
and across the
European Union
including Switzerland, England, Germany,
Czech Republic,
and also here
in the region in
Dubai. “50%
of our business
GM
is business
Alessandro
travel related,
Cresta
but nowadays
58
Entrepreneur january 2015
people are mixing business travels with
leisure goals. We do welcome people from
this region all year around for business
and for leisure visits, and we are receiving official delegations as well at the
hotel.” Part of the Palace Hotels Group,
the Park Hyatt Paris Vendôme is only one
of their exceptional properties; Cresta
says that the Group’s Hôtel du Palais by
Belmond in Biarritz is another gem, citing
its location and arresting ocean view as
just two reasons to visit.
“One of the most important facets to
succeed in luxury is to anticipate the
needs of the guests, and to give a lot of
importance to the human being factorthe spirit and the values of the employees,” he adds, discussing their businesstravel marketing approach. Cresta notes
that the hotel’s staff excel at developing
personalized service strategies, and that
they consistently adapt their offerings to
suit guest needs. “On a very regular basis,
we organize meetings, conferences and
boards for French and international companies,” and for those guests they ensure
that all business-amenities are readily
available. It’s part of their larger aim to
facilitate a smooth corporate environment for visitors, and an overall pleasant
experience. And when you’re ready to
unwind after the conference is over?
Cresta suggests the following agenda for
your downtime: “Start by having a sports
wake-up in the morning followed by a
sauna [session] or a hammam, a healthy
breakfast at Les Orchidées accompanied
by international newspapers, followed by
a seat at La Terrasse to check email and
computer work. A snack at La Cheminée
is a must to taste the delicate dishes of
the kitchen of Jean-François Rouquette,
then you may go for two hours of shopping with a private driver. On your
return, have a Haute Couture Massage
or a Crème de la Mer treatment at our
spa, then enjoy a wonderful cocktail at
Le Bar, a dinner at lLe Pur’, and finally
indulge in a cigar at La Terrasse… Enjoy!”
One final nod to your busy schedule?
The hotel spa specializes in treatments
for jetlag. Pack your bags!
Suite Vendôme
Park Hyatt
Paris Vendôme Spa
Le Pur’ Restaurant
january 2015 Entrepreneur
59
TREPONOMICS
ETHICS | ESQUIRE GUY | SKILLSET | MARKETING | PRO
M
Five essential steps to creating content that
works for your business By James Reynolds
ost businesses are now aware
of the need to create fresh, new
content for their websites, perhaps in a bid to improve sales
or customer service, or to raise
brand awareness. However, not all
of these businesses are aware of just
how crucial it is to have a carefully
considered and organized strategy
in place for content creation. Before
going ahead and spending good money
and valuable time on content creation,
there is a lot to consider: audience,
reach, aims, timing, delivery, to name
but a few. These five essential steps
along with an all-important planning
document available below, will ensure
that each and every new piece of
content has been carefully organized
to ensure it reaches exactly the right
people at the right time in order for
you to maximize its efficiency and
meet your goals.
1. Define your goal
Content marketing can have huge
payoffs, but to make it work for your
business you must invest time, and
lots of it. If you want that time to be
well invested, it’s important that you
start with the end goal in mind. Before
you begin, get very clear on the goal
for your content marketing efforts.
With content marketing there are a
number of possible business goals you
can have:
1. Brand awareness
2. Lead generation and nurturing
3. Customer conversion
4. Customer service
5. Upsells
6. Subscribers
Depending on your scenario, each one
of these goals could be a good fit for
you. Perhaps you’re trying to create
a program that increases awareness?
Maybe you are looking to improve
your position in the search engine results, or simply drive more leads into
the sales funnel? Get focused on the
end result before you start and you’ll
stand a far better chance of building
an asset that works for your business
in the way that you want it to.
Get subscribers, get customers
When someone opts in to receive
email from you, they give you permission to market to them. Well-crafted
permission based email marketing
60
Entrepreneur january 2015
can allow you to develop one-to-one
relationships en masse, like no other
marketing channel can. Step one is to
acquire subscribers, then over time
through anticipated, personal and
relevant emails, you can turn those
subscribers into passionate buyers.
Soon after launching in 2008, the
Content Marketing Institute found
that their email subscribers closed
to customers three times faster than
non-subscribers. Since then they have
focused around the one goal of growing their email subscriber base. It now
stands at over 90,000.
How to get subscribers
In order to build an email subscriber
base, you will need to offer something
of value on your website as a fair
exchange for a new subscriber’s email
address. Few, if anyone, will give up
their email to be added to a newsletter, but many will happily exchange
their email to download a premium
piece of content such as an e-book, a
cheat sheet or an educational course
on a topic that’s relevant and interesting to them. To get more subscribers,
offer more content like this. A simple
cheat sheet or resource guide pro-
moted in your website’s sidebar and
on pop-up forms will do well, but by
far the best strategy I’ve found for
growing an email list is the content
upgrade.
Content upgrade
Recently I‘ve noticed a few of my
savvy marketing friends adding bonus
content to their blog posts. Brian Dean
who wrote a great blog post called
Google’s 200 Ranking Factors had
added a free Ranking Factors Checklist as a bonus to his post. I also saw
that LeadPages.net were giving away
free bonuses with all of their blog
posts. Not a generic bonus but a specific bonus with each piece of contentsomething that would help the reader
get even more out of the post and take
their learning to the next level.
I followed suit and implemented
the same strategy on my own website
starting with my podcast episodes.
Instantly I went from adding just a
few email subscribers to more than
80 per episode. I now create content
upgrades for every piece of content I
post to my blog, and if you are serious
about building an email list then you
should too. >>>
Pencil me in
Carbon Graphite as an alternative energy?
S
ometimes the most incredible things come from the most
unexpected sources. Manchester
University Professor and winner of
the 2010 Noble Prize in Physics, Sir
Andre Geim, has tipped graphene as
a huge game-changer in the hunt for
green energy. Graphene, considered
the thinnest material that we know
of thus far, has a strange quality that
allows positively charged hydrogen
atoms to pass through despite being
resistant to all other gases (hydrogen
included!). What does this mean? For
a while now there’s been much talk
about fuel cells, which use hydrogen
to generate electricity, and they’ve
been considered the ultimate green
technology that will eventually power
cars. This discovery means that
graphene can be the key to more
efficient fuel cells, and increases the
chances of fuel cells using hydrogen
fuel from the atmosphere. Generating power that way is carbon-free,
and leaves no hazardous byproducts.
Graphene could be the next source of
energy that we all rely on. Move on
petroleum?
january 2015 Entrepreneur
61
TREPONOMICS
ETHICS | ESQUIRE GUY | SKILLSET | MARKETING | PRO
2. Define your audience persona
If your content marketing is to be
a success then you must plan your
content to fill the wants and needs of
your audience, not your own. This is
an important point. Business owners
and marketers all too often bend their
content to their own thinking. If you
do the same, your content marketing
will fail. Before you begin your content
marketing program, get very clear on
who you are talking to with your content by developing audience personas.
Most businesses will have at least one
audience persona, but others will have
several. For example, a nursery school
will have all these audience personas:
children, parents, teachers and local
authorities. Content for each of these
personas would be very different. You
can develop your audience personas
by asking a few key questions of your
audience:
1. Who is he or she?
2. What information does this person
need?
3. What does this person care about?
Don’t assume the answers, instead
interview your audience. Take time
with this process but don’t shoot
for perfection, you just need to be
detailed enough to guide your content
creators.
3. Create a content
segmentation grid
In the past we would advertise our
businesses by blasting our message in
the general direction of our audience
persona. The theory went that if you
blasted loud enough and long enough,
eventually you would reach some of
your audience. While advertising does
still work, there is much waste, because naturally for most it will not be
the right time, the right place and the
right message. To ensure you deliver
the right content at the right time
you need to study your customer’s
buying process and your own sales
process. Consider what content your
customer needs when they first come
to know of you versus the final stages
of a negotiation. At each stage of
their buying process (and your sales
process) different types of content will
be required to help move them to the
next stage.
If you are a small business-to-business (B2B) company you may have a
62
Entrepreneur january 2015
simple sales cycle something like this:
Contacts People who have contacted
you or with whom you’ve been in
contact.
Leads People you have identified as
being in the market for your solution.
Qualified opportunities Qualified as
having a need and the budget for your
solution.
Finalists Considering your solution as
one of finalists.
Verbal agreement You are chosen.
Define your own sales cycle, and
then using a content segmentation
grid, map your content to the appropriate stage. Why is a content
segmentation grid important? It stops
you falling in to the “spray-and-pray”
trap. Instead of creating content and
throwing it out anywhere at any time,
the content segmentation grid helps
you plan and deliver relevant messaging (that moves people towards your
desired action) by ensuring the right
content is received by your audience
at the right time.
I should note that whilst the grid is
drawn in a linear fashion, don’t force
your audience through every step if
they are ready and willing to move
faster. If someone contacts you qualified and ready to do business with
you, give them your case studies and
product information, don’t send them
your white papers designed for awareness and education. Some will drive
slowly through your content cycle,
some will drive at break-neck speed.
Ensure you have a slow lane and a fast
lane set up for both.
4. Ensure all your content has
a call-to-action
Effective content that works for your
business will always give opportunity
for your audience to respond. Whether that be sharing your content via
social media, downloading your content upgrade, buying your product or
service or any other action you want
someone to take. If the body of your
content has served its purpose it will
have engaged, educated, inspired and
built trust with your audience. That
trust can be repaid to you in kind,
such as a share or comment on your
blog, or in business with the purchase
of your product or service. Always tell
your audience what they should do
next. Keep them moving through your
content segmentation grid.
Call-to-action tips
Here are a few tips to consider that
will help you craft calls-to-action that
elicit a better response:
Micro-commitments Early in the
buying cycle use small micro callsto-action such as “share this post on
social media.” New engagers are more
likely to make a micro commitment
and it makes them more inclined to
make a larger commitment later.
Ask questions End your content with
a question. It will encourage your
readers to post a comment (a microcommitment).
Clarity Make your calls-to-action very
clear. Use simple language and display
your main call-to-action in a stand
out color.
Reduce friction Use the minimum
number of form fields possible for sign
up forms. Make it frictionless for your
audience to take the next step.
You can see how I apply these rules
myself within the call-to-action I’ve
included further on.
5. Build an editorial calendar
If I have to name just one thing that
will be responsible for making or
breaking your content marketing, it is
the editorial calendar. For your efforts
to be successful you need to approach
content marketing less like a marketer
and more like a publisher. Instead of
short-term tactical content campaigns
you need a long-term strategy consistently delivered over time. I have been
using content marketing in my busi-
ness since the beginning, and whilst I
have had many successes during that
time, by far my best results have come
recently. When I compare my Google
Analytics statistics from October
2013to October 2014, every measurable metric is up: traffic, time-on-site,
bounce rate and conversions, they are
all improved.
While I made many small improvements to my content marketing approach over the course of 12 months,
the one big change I made was
consistency.
Consistency doesn’t mean more
In the past I published no less than
I do now, in fact give or take I probably posted more then, however the
frequency at which I published was
inconsistent. I now stick to a strict
calendar; my podcast is released every
Tuesday, my marketing cartoons
every Friday, and it’s a schedule my
audience have come to expect and
look forward to. Consider this, could
Entrepreneur magazine have built
such a large audience and subscriber
base if it published every once in a
while as opposed to every month?
Highly unlikely. You need to apply the
same consistency to your publishing
schedule, and the editorial calendar is
the tool to help you do that.
What exactly is an editorial
calendar?
The editorial calendar is much more
than just a calendar with content
assigned to dates. A good calendar
maps content production to audience
personas (see point 2), the content
segmentation grid (see point 3) and
the various media channels you are
using. Beyond dates and titles for
your content, your editorial calendar
should also include the following:
Prioritized list An inventory of
content. Could include content ideas,
content from third parties or old content you will repackage.
Content producers/editors Who is responsible for creating and publishing
the content?
Channels A list of channels where the
content will published, such as your
blog, Slide Share, e-book etc.
Dates When the content will be created, edited and published- setting
deadlines.
Set up your calendar in a way that
works best for you. I prefer to use a
simple spreadsheet which you can create with one tab for each month or all
on one sheet. Across the columns you
might have:
• Headline
• Content type
• Audience persona
• Person creating the content
• Date due
• Editor
• Channels
• Publish date
• Status (I like to color code this red,
amber, green)
• Notes
• Call-to-action
Whilst you can use software as a service offerings like Kapost, HubSpot,
Contently and others to manage your
editorial calendar, the best tool when
you are starting out is a spreadsheet. I
have our editorial calendar loaded to a
Google Drive spreadsheet where all my
team can access it online. It’s a simple
set up and very effective.
Using these five essential steps will
ensure that your content is efficient,
that it will be well-timed, and honed
to the audience that will make the
greatest difference in meeting your
goals. Once you put this simple
process in place, you’ll ensure the
same results from every new piece of
content. Your content really will work
wonders for your business! Has your
content creation thus far achieved the
goals that it set out to? What difference do you hope to make by using
these steps?
James Reynolds
is the founder
of Veravo which
consists of two
search engine
marketing
agencies; SEO
Sherpa and
Click Jam. He is
also the host of
the Traffic Jam Podcast. Reynolds is fanatical
about all things search, social and content on
the web. Visit his blog at Veravo.com and talk
to him on Twitter at @FollowJames. Reynolds,
a contributor to several leading publications,
mentors startup companies in his free time
to positively contribute to the MENA region’s
entrepreneurial ecosystem.
january 2015 Entrepreneur
63
innovator
CATCH New York exterior
Catch of the day
The big boys of NYC nightlife and dining experiences
are coming out to play… in Dubai
E
ugene Remm and Mark
Birnbaum are definitely
foodies, but more than
that, they’re foodie entrepreneurs. While we weren’t
able to get the most candid
interview with them –like
most U.S.-based figures of
business they’ve clearly had
media training- we were
able to get some strategic
info about their upcoming
UAE launch of CATCH, and
how they plan on addressing operations literally a
world away from their base
of success.
“Without a great food
product you are unable to
be successful in this business. After food comes service and then the environment- in that order. Doing
all three of those elements
64
Entrepreneur january 2015
well is the key to achieving
the allusive balance necessary for a dynamic hospitality brand,” says Remm, one
half of the EMM Group, a
hospitality-centric company
with several original awardwinning concepts in their
portfolio. The EMM Group
co-founders have teamed
up with local partners to
bring their concept to the
Middle East. “Our partners
at GHAM, [Global Hospitality Asset Management],
are established players in
Dubai, matching our experience in the U.S. with their
position in the local market.
Our relationship with them
has made it possible for
us to enter such a highly
competitive hospitality
environment,” says Remm.
While they will slightly be
adapting the concept for
the UAE’s market, “CATCH
is a global seafood concept
that plans on sticking to its
roots. Originality is what
sets us apart and what is
going to be the key to our
success,” says Birnbaum.
The duo are realistic about
Dubai’s market, and they
admit they’re going up
against established F&B
market players: “Being the
new kids on the block in
any market can be a blessing or a curse- how that
plays out has a lot to do
with how you approach the
challenge. I would not feel
comfortable entering Dubai
as a group from New York
without local partners who
are integrated into the com-
munity. The team at GHAM
have a great reputation
and some really fantastic
properties in their portfolio.
As I mentioned earlier, we
never would have entered
the market without a local partner, and we found
more than that in this
group. Their passion for the
worlds of restaurants and
nightlife, and understanding of the dynamic between
the two, is very similar to
ours which makes for a
great alliance and an ideal
partnership,” adds Remm
confidently.
Established in 2006,
EMM Group has several
globally-recognized hospitality concepts; their
portfolio includes Abe &
Arthur’s, SL New York, Tenjune, and The Chandelier
Room at the W Hoboken,
recently re-branded and
“re-conceptualized” as
LULU’s. In preparation for
their first project outside
of the U.S., Remm and
Birnbaum says that they
personally frequented
multiple existing high-end
venues in the UAE market
to get a handle on what
exactly they were up against
in terms of competition.
“We like to absorb things
firsthand and felt the best
way to see how CATCH
would fit into the Dubai
scene was to go and spend
some time there ourselves.
We visited Abu Dhabi and
Dubai about a year ago and
tried to take in as much
of the cities’ hospitality
culture as possible. We
dined at three restaurants a
night and talked a lot about
how CATCH would work
within the framework of the
culinary landscape.”
The two frequent their
own venues for both
enjoyment and business
purposes, and both have
a love of F&B business
being as much about the
overall social experience,
in addition to high quality
food and beverage offerings.
“We admire the dining and
nightlife scene in Dubai.
Its international appeal is
magnetic and we recognize
that pull, as it has already
attracted many of the most
respected and popular
establishments from around
the world,” says Birnbaum.
“Not only does Dubai play
host to the world’s jetsetters, moguls and socialites,
the city has one of the
fastest growing populations
in the world. People are
flocking here for its local
originality and universal
flavor. These people are our
target market.”
In brief
How much do celebrity
affiliation and
appearances affect
the success of a
hospitality outlet?
ER “Celebrities have enjoyed
CATCH New York since we
opened in 2011. Everyone
from Brad Pitt to Rihanna
has been to our venue.
It’s exciting for guests to
see famous people and
we respect that so we’re
happy to embrace them
when they come but also do
what we can to protect their
experience.”
MB “Tremendously. Every
notable personality I can
think of has been through
the door at CATCH New
York. From Jay Z and
Beyoncé to David Beckham
and Steven Tyler- it wouldn’t
be a Monday night at CATCH
without at least a few boldfaced names.”
Eugene Remm
and Mark Birnbaum
How much importance
do you give these
social media marketing
channels as F&B
entrepreneurs?
ER “We definitely use social
as a tool for communicating,
but we try not to overthink
it or make it too gimmicky.
Like anything else, if you
lose the authenticity that
is tied to the identity of the
brand, people stop listening.”
MB “While we do
acknowledge the importance
of social media, we focus
on keeping it authentic. We
post food we love and our
guests do the rest. With
so much out there in social
media, we aim to keep our
message short, sweet and
real.”
What is your idea
of a good time for
an evening out?
ER “A good time is a great
meal with a great group
of friends. I like being able
to try a lot of different
dishes in a family-style
environment in a lively room
with good conversation and
like-minded people.”
MB “Being at a big table
at CATCH NYC with many
friends, laughing over dinner
until the wee hours of the
morning is my favorite
thing to do!”
CATCH New York interior
“the city has one of the
fastest growing populations
in the world. People are
flocking here for its local
originality and universal
flavor. These people are our
target market.”
january 2015 Entrepreneur
65
FRANCHISE
FRANCHISE
Kcal interior
Healthy growth
Kcal Healthy Fast Food gets started on
its Middle East expansion
By Aby Sam Thomas
I
t’s not often that one gets
to see the words “healthy”
and “fast food” legitimately
associated with each other,
but co-founders Mark Carroll
and Andreas Borgman have
managed to do just that (and
achieve success as well) with
their Dubai-headquartered
food and lifestyle company,
Kcal Healthy Fast Food. While
Kcal’s restaurants have become known as a wholesome,
nourishing, and yes, tasty
alternative to the regular fast
food outlets seen in this part
of the world, its Kcal Extra
division helps people lead
better lifestyles by delivering
bespoke healthy meals directly
to their homes.
Since its launch in the UAE
in 2010 with a workforce of
just 12 people, Kcal is today
a 350-member enterprise
66
Entrepreneur january 2015
with seven restaurants in the
country, and it is now all set
to expand its operations in the
Middle East with the launch
of its first non-UAE franchise
in Egypt. Given the political
situation of the country, the
choice of Egypt to launch
Kcal’s Middle East expansion
may seem like a curious one,
but Carroll and Borgman say
the research they did about
the nation convinced them it
was the right place to grow
their business in the region.
“When we started looking
at Egypt, it wasn’t a great
time,” Borgman remembers.
“At first, we weren’t sure if it
was the right market to start
our global roll-out in, but our
minds were changed after we
visited the country. We saw
an energetic country with
huge potential, and of course,
people always need to eat. We
conducted a thorough market
study, which involved analyzing demographics, consumer
behavior trends and competitors, and realized Egypt was
perfect for Kcal. We have also
partnered up with a franchise
partner who is aligned with
our beliefs.”
But Kcal’s launch in Egypt
marks just the start of the
company’s growth plan. “We
have an aggressive expansion plan for 2015,” Carroll
says. “We want to roll out
more Kcal Healthy Fast Food
restaurants in Dubai, and we
are planning to launch Kcal
Healthy Fast Food and Kcal
Extra in the other Emirates
[of the UAE] and throughout
MENA. 2015 will see us
opening franchises in Qatar,
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and
Jordan. These are areas we
have identified, and [we] are
in the closing stages with
franchise partners.” And the
Kcal team is leaving no stone
unturned in their attempt to
ensure a streamlined, strategic rollout of their various
franchises in the region. “We
have partnered with the reputed franchising consultant,
Francorp Middle East,” Carroll
says. “Working alongside
them, we are working toward
implementing a sustainable
franchising model. Within our
franchises, we have area coordinators and a franchise team,
which will ensure proper
quality standards are being
adhered to.”
“In order to ensure the same
standards and quality [across
all our branches], we pride
ourselves on having a detailed
franchising manual describing operational procedures,
Co-founders
Mark Carrroll and
Andreas Borgman
marketing strategies, hiring
policies and everything else
that needs to be kept in mind
about the Kcal brand,” Borgman explains. “I’d also say
that having a good solid working relationship with our franchise partners is key, allowing
for communication lines to be
open. Having the right team
makes it so much easier.” But
that’s not to take away from
the important roles Carroll
and Borgman are playing in
building and growing the Kcal
brand- the two of them are
strong proponents for a holistic approach toward healthy
living and active lifestyles.
Kcal chocolate
banana treat
“As obesity numbers reach
alarming heights globally, urbanization and the sedentary
modern lifestyle are not helping the world cope with its
obesity problems,” Borgman
says. “We have identified that
there is real need for real food
and healthy alternatives in the
fast food category, particularly
in the MENA countries. Kcal
Healthy Fast Food fulfills that
need.”
“Today, Kcal is more than
just a foodie company,” Carroll
says. “Kcal embodies a lifestyle that caters for all those
who want to eat well and feel
good about themselves. Fast
food needn’t be boring or
restrictive. Quite the opposite,
because with Kcal, you don’t
need to sacrifice the food
you love to be healthy. We’re
passionate about conveying
this message, which lies at
our very core. We want to
capture hearts and minds, not
just locally or regionally, but
globally. We want to make the
world a better place. And we
believe Kcal is just what the
world has been waiting for.
Eat well. Be well. That’s all it
boils down to, really.”
Living it up
Jamba Juice taps into the GCC’s growing healthy
F&B market By Kareem Chehayeb
L
andmark Group is bringing in a new
brand to the GCC that they hope will
satisfy foodies and health freaks alike.
Jamba Juice, imported by the Group’s F&B
division Foodmark, debuted their first UAE
outlet at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Mall. According to
Shobhit Tandon, Business Head at Landmark
Group, they’ll be satisfying the existing
healthy indulgence market niche while simultaneously onboarding new health-conscious
customers who aren’t already familiar with
the global brand. “Foodmark, which is our
food and beverage division in Landmark
Group, has entered into a master franchise
development agreement in January 2014 to
develop Jamba Juice across the Middle East.
We plan to open a minimum of 80 Jamba
Juice stores across GCC over the next 10
years,” explains Tandon.
What’s your take on the healthy
F&B market in the UAE?
In the UAE, consumers are broadly divided
in two groups, one is the “Emerging Health
Conscious”, people who want to change their
lifestyle by adopting healthy habits in food
and daily routine, and the other is “Progressive Health Conscious”, people who work out
and eat healthy food routinely. We feel that
this category will only become larger and
stronger as we progress. While maintaining a
healthy lifestyle is desirable, there are limitations to maintain it. Health and wellness, in
the context of beverages and foods, is very
fragile, in terms of sustenance and resolve.
It’s not that people don’t want to have
healthy food and drinks. But there is a common perception -and to a large extent, reality
too, which plays the biggest hurdle- that they
will have to compromise on taste. In short,
people usually sacrifice health for taste when
they feel like indulging, and vice-versa, when
they feel guilty of the indulgence. Therefore,
it is a very evident need gap of the millennials
that Jamba has pitched in to fulfill. Jamba
Juice gives its consumers the guilty pleasures
of indulgence, but, at the same time, it is
guilt-free. Not just guilt-free indulgence, but
“healthy indulgence”.
How does Jamba Juice fit into
the UAE market?
Jamba Juice is the number one smoothie
brand in the United States. With over 850
store locations globally across the USA,
South Korea, Philippines, Mexico, Canada
and now the UAE, Jamba Juice is committed
to spreading health and wellness across the
world through delicious and nutritious beverages and food. Healthy living has become
an important part of people’s lives, and
Jamba Juice provides healthy and nutritional
food with a quality, price and convenience
that hasn’t previously been available in the
UAE market. At the core, Jamba Juice is a
provider of health and wellness in the context
of beverages and foods- a context that has
a direct impact on vitality and healthy living.
Jamba Juice follows the principle of being
global but thinking local, and in the UAE,
it will provide new flavors to appeal to the
unique taste profile of the region, including
special date-flavored smoothies and juices,
as well as healthy wraps based upon favorite
regional flavors. With Jamba we’re bringing
the world’s best smoothies to the Middle
East, and we believe all our customers will
have a fruitful day.
january 2015 Entrepreneur
67
CULTURE
business unusual | LIFE | TRAVEL | DESIGN | TRAPPINGS
Hang
in
there
Five reasons why taking your vacation early in the year is a bad idea
By May Rostom
I
f you’re anything like me (or
any other human being on
the face of this earth), you
treasure your vacation days as
much as a little kid treasures
their blankie. You hold on to
them like they’re you’re last
days on earth, and “spend”
them when you think it’s ab-
solutely necessary. However,
finishing up your vacation
days early on in the year could
possibly be the fastest way to
burn out and the worst idea
you’ve come up with. Here are
five reasons to make you hold
on to your vacation days a
little longer:
2. Blue moon
4. To the victor
Because you woke up tired
this morning and you really
can’t walk in a straight line.
Call it a hangover, a long night
in front of the TV or just a
bad flu, make sure you always
have two emergency days left
for days you feel under the
weather… or the blanket.
Because motivation is usually
needed by the end of each
fiscal year rather than the beginning of it. Reward yourself
for the hard work you’ve done
at the end of the year to get
yourself enthused, and to push
yourself to work harder to the
next reward.
3. Lone ranger
5. Midlife crisis
Take a vacation when everyone
else is vacationing, like summer for example. If you finish
up all your holidays early on
in the year, by the time you’re
worn out and actually in need
of some time to chillax, you
won’t be able to. Plan your annual vacation with friends or
family ahead that way you can
all enjoy your time together instead of wasting your precious
days off at the mall.
Because one day you’ll wake
up and feel so self-conscious
about your life choices and
job that you will not want to
get out of bed. On days like
these, you’ll question the past
15 years of your life and you’ll
probably want time off to reevaluate your whole direction.
Make sure you have a few days
set aside for days like these,
when things don’t seem to be
going your way.
1. Wild card
Because you never know when
your friends are actually
finally going to Yacht Week.
That trip you’ve always talked
about with the guys will eventually come up at the most
inconvenient time, especially
when you’ve used up all your
holidays chilling at home on a
couch on a staycation. Always
make sure to leave four days
aside as an emergency vacay
just in case your friends actually do plan to go somewhere.
Hospitality hub
Nikki Beach Marrakech
Nikki Beach Hotels & Resorts
announces Middle East property
F
or those of you in the Middle East
dreaming of Miami Beach, we’ve
got some good news to share: Nikki
Beach Hotels & Resorts is expanding to
Dubai in a partnership with development
company Meraas Holding. Announced by
Nikki Beach Worldwide founder and owner
Jack Penrod on CNN International, it’s
the first GCC expansion of the hospitality
hallmark brand. The 52,000 square meter
property will devote 400 meters to a white
sandy beachfront, and will boast numerous
F&B outlets onsite, the trademark Nikki Spa
by ESPA, and Tone Fitness Center. Designed
in collaboration with DSA Architects International and interiors by Gatserlia Design,
the five-star resort will be located on Pearl
Jumeira to give visitors the allure of island
solitude while still being connected to the
city (and sigh, the real world).
68
Entrepreneur january 2015
january 2015 Entrepreneur
69
CULTURE
business unusual | LIFE | TRAVEL | DESIGN | TRAPPINGS
READ BETWEEN
THE LINES
Me, Inc.: Build an Army of One, Unleash Your Inner Rock God,
Win in Life and in Business
Gene Simmons
There is no doubting that Gene Simmons can be
considered the best case scenario of the realization of the American dream. Brought to the
United States by his mother as a child, Simmons
learned early on the value of hard work and
ingenuity. Simmons has forged an empire that
includes one of the most successful rock bands of
all time (KISS), a clothing line, restaurants, and
various other commercially viable ventures. Detractors of Simmons have labeled him brash and
BUSINESS BOOK RUNDOWN
By Amal Chaaban
J
ust because an author demonstrates great sales doesn’t mean their
business advice is applicable in the boardroom or even good for
practical application otherwise. Our reviewer takes a look at some
of the titles getting hype recently and gives you the executive summary.
Before you hit the business bestseller aisle, read these reviews to see
which of these known books are actually worth your while.
Inbound Marketing: Attract, Engage, And Delight Customers Online
Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah
Getting noticed on the net and drawng customers
can be difficult, to put it mildly. MIT grads Halligan
and Shah have written a how-to book to take the
sting out of all of the work that goes into what is
essentially a quick view or transaction. Inbound
is made for those of you who wants to harness the
clout of the web, including the all-powerful social
media machine, to draw in those much-needed
clicks. Covering everything from website design
Employer Brand Management
Richard Mosley
In times past, people in the job
market had very few demands
of their employers- a steady pay
cheque, some good benefits, holiday
time and they were satisfied. That
was then. Now, job seekers have a
myriad of possibilities and their
expectations have gone up, way
up. It’s no longer enough to just
offer the basics. For an employer
to stand out, they have to manage
their reputation in much the same
way they do for clientele. Into this
fray enters Richard Mosley’s new
book with some solid advice on how
to create and manage an attractive
brand as an employer; he writes
concisely so that there can be no
mistaking his meaning or just how
seriously he takes this issue. Potentially the most attractive thing
about this book is just how simple
he makes it sound to build and
maintain a good brand. From the
get go, the employer is given three
basic tenets that should be a part of
building any brand with the note of
how these tactics have worked for
one of the most well-know fast food
franchises in the world. Employer
Brand Management is a great read
for any business looking to attract
(and more importantly keep) the
cream of the employment crop.
70
Entrepreneur january 2015
Dutch “iTunes for Journalism” startup
receives funding
N
ewspapers and magazines worldwide
are adopting paywalls, and they are
here to stay. A necessary evil for those
in the publishing business, one unified
paywall for all of a country’s major titles
might make the situation more tolerable
for readers and media outlets alike. A
startup in Netherlands has started it with
Blendle, a self-proclaimed “iTunes for
journalism” platform where users can read
BLENDLE SCREENSHOT BLENDLE.NL
ing the knowledge on how to get the best bang
for your advertising buck. Smith provides a clear
explanation of the pitfalls (and wins) of search
engine marketing, and also imparts some solid
info on what to do and how to do it. This is not a
book for laypeople in marketing as all the terms
and acronyms are confusing at best and dizzying at
worst. This is, however, the book every marketing department should read before launching any
sort of online campaign, as it does provide some
concrete how-to tips about ways to stretch your
marketing budget.
to creating strategy, the book is a well-written
and (somewhat) entertaining take on how to use
the web to create a successful sales strategy. The
language is clear, the ideas fairly easy to implement,
and most importantly, there are very few confusing acronyms for people who don’t actually have
a background in marketing. Notably, the “To Do”
lists at the end of each chapter help the reader stay
focused- do pay attention to these useful add-ons.
One paywall to rule them all
Targeted: How Technology is Revolutionizing Advertising and the Way Companies Reach Consumers
Mike Smith
In a world where attention spans are shrinking,
and where new technology is old almost before it
starts, it can be incredibly challenging for advertising departments to get their message out and to
make an impression on consumers. Nowhere is this
more evident than on the Internet- with a mere
mouse click, consumers can move away from a
page without ever having noticed your company’s
ad. With the number of adblockers available for
free online, it becomes doubly challenging to tap
into a market worth potentially millions of dollars
in sales. Targeted looks to address that by provid-
arrogant in the past, but this reviewer ventures
a guess that they are either highly envious of
his success or unaware of his incredibly humble
beginnings. Me, Inc. is a summary of his thoughts
on life and success, and while it is not a typical
business book (far too entertaining), it does have
really actionable points on what it takes to be a
success and get ahead. The average reader will
have no problem getting through this book and
with diligence, successfully applying his advice.
articles from the country’s variety of major
dailies and magazines, see what’s trending
among curators and friends, follow certain
topics or journos, and only pay for articles
that they want to read, with the option
of getting a refund. Upon registering,
new users can access €2.50 worth of
material for free with articles costing
€0.20 on average, and publishers keeping
70% of revenue. The product of two
former journalists, co-founders Alexander
Klöpping and Marten Blankesteijn wanted
to offer the option of consuming and
paying for a news article to be as easy
as downloading an all-access app. In an
industry where print readership, sales and
ad income is on the decline, there is hope.
In a piece released on Medium in October,
Klöpping wrote that one month after its
launch in April, Blendle had “more than
60,000 registered users” (50% of those
users are under the age of 35) with “20%
already converted to paying users.” At least
in Netherlands, it looks like millennials do
want to read and they’re willing to pay for
it, too. The Economist is the first English
language title to join Blendle and start
selling material in a pay-per-view model.
New York Times Co. and German publisher
Axel Springer have invested €3 million
and will jointly receive a 23% stake in
Blendle, giving the startup a valuation
of around €13 million (WSJ). According
to The Guardian, Klöpping has plans to
expand in another European country, and
optimistically needs to onboard “at least
60% to 70%” of the country’s print media
outlets for proper market penetration.
www.blendle.nl
january 2015 Entrepreneur
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Wacky idea | who’s got VC | Q&A | STARTUP FINANCE
Above: Untitled by Fateh Moudarres,
oil on canvas, 60 cm x 42 cm
Artistic
inclinations
MENA platform lets you buy and sell
fine art online By Pamella de Leon
W
ith annual art fairs like
Art Dubai and Galleries
Night, plus cultural districts such as Alserkal
Avenue bringing in visitors to
see regional and international
artists and showings, there’s
evidently a great interest in
MENA artists and artwork. It’s
an ideal time to start investing in hallmark works, but
when we think of buying art,
admit it, what comes to mind?
Quiet hallways and elitist artsy
72
Entrepreneur january 2015
types. This is where Artscoops
comes in, an online platform
specializing in buying and
selling art from MENA artists
and commercial galleries.
Being an online avenue, it can
reach the niche of art buyers
who are more comfortable
browsing collections in the
comfort of their homes sans
the intimidating mise-enscène of a gallery. When asked
about establishing an online
art space instead of having an
offline presence, co-founder
Raya Mamarbachi pointed how
there’s already major galleries
doing that effectively across
the Middle East. With online
art platforms becoming more
familiar internationally, there’s
a need for a platform dedicated
to MENA buyers too, adding
that Middle Eastern buyers,
“especially young buyers”, are
busy and would likely take
advantage of browsing online.
With access to an online global
market, lesser-known artists
can have a wider reach, and
first-time buyers can take the
initial step in acquiring their
first piece, which will be a step
toward art-buying becoming a
mass adopted cultural movement.
How did Artscoops get
started? Growing up in a
household with collectorparents, Raya Mamarbachi
-whose background is in digital and traditional marketing
and online ventures- always
had a penchant for galleries
and museums, believing art
to be a better investment
than stocks. While helping a
charity auction for Syri-Arts
in October 2013, Mamarbachi
checked with organizers to
determine the ratio of pieces
that were bought physically in
Lebanon compared to the ones
purchased online. The result?
“It was something like 30:70
with the majority being bought
on the Internet. This proved
there is a market for an online
art business.” Mamarbachi
decided to set that up with
her mother, May Mamarbachi,
an art collector and seasoned
entrepreneur, who has represented The Victoria & Albert
Museum of London for The
World Ceramics Show in Damascus. As a mother-daughter
Co-founder
May Bendki
Mamarbachi
team, their “start was challenging, but as our roles and
skills are complimentary; the
dynamics work well.” Raya
is responsible for the overall
day-to-day management
of the company, while May
handles managing Artscoops’
relationships with artists
and galleries featured on the
site. “When you work with a
family member, [the] most
important [thing] is to not mix
personal and business life.” As
art enthusiasts venturing into
the business side of a creative
industry, legal agreements
with artists and galleries took
time. Another challenge?
Their online payment gateway
proved to be difficult since
they wanted to be transparent
to their user base. Mamarbachi
also stated that there’s still the
“fear when buying art online”,
referring to people’s doubts
about the artwork authenticity and seller reputation. No
need to worry though, all of
the works on Artscoops comes
with a Certificate of Authenticity provided by the gallery
or the artist.
The numbers are looking
positive for them too. In an art
and finance report released
last year by Deloitte, it was
found that 79% of art collectors and 69% of art professionals think that the online
art auction market will become
a successful business model.
Artscoops’ revenue streams
include a mix of commissions
from the website’s sales,
having an art advisory/consultancy arm for corporations and
individuals and online auction
and offline themed popevents- the Holiday Pop Up
event, being the most recent.
When they first started, their
selection consisted of artists
they knew and recognized.
Currently, they are looking
for artists that are “analytical
about our world, its turmoil
and try to express this in their
art”, while also considering
their educational background
and issues expressed in their
art. In terms of their criteria
for artwork to be sold, it is
Co-founder Raya Mamarbachi
based on the subject and engagement with their mediumsbe it photography, oil and
acrylic paint, video or installations. As of December 2014,
the most affordable piece you
can get is Maya Hage’s oil
painting of Radiographie at
US$800. The most expensive
one is Hussein Madi’s Untitled
1 and Untitled 2 individually
priced at $57,000. Despite
being a young site (they
launched in September 2014),
their “multi-phase” marketing
approach helped them gain
momentum. Artscoops were
initially (and still presently)
using online media and mass
marketing, building followers
through their own networks
and social media and by
physically attending global
art events. They also welcome
competition, confident that
what sets them apart is
“continually updating their
database, offering additional
features on the website, independent content/weekly
editorials and our contacts
both with galleries and artists
alike.”
Notable mentions
FARHAD MOSHIRI
This Iranian artist is famous
for his distinct jars and bowls
painted with calligraphic texts
consisting of poetry snippets
or everyday terms from daily
life in Tehran. A regular in
contemporary Middle East and
Arab art auctions over the last
couple of years, his work is
part of The British Museum’s
collection.
KHOSROW HASSANZADEH
One of Iran’s leading artists,
Hassanzadeh creates
figurative paintings in
different mediums including
ink, collage, silk screens
and ceramic tiles. His work
is part of public collections
at the Tehran Museum of
Contemporary Art, the Tehran
British Museum or the London
KIT Tropen Museum.
HUSSEIN MADI
Born in Lebanon, Madi created
his first alphabet-themed
composition in 1973. He’s
since moved on from graphic
work and sculpture, focusing
on individual letters, rather
than words or sentences. His
work has been exhibited at the
Venice Biennale, the British
Museum and Tokyo’s Ueno
Museum.
NUMBERS “Artscoops’ portfolio
comprises of more than 160
works from 45 artists from the
MENA region.”
MEDIUMS “Photography has,
so far, been the favorite medium
of Artscoops purchasers. Selling
sculptures online is very difficult
as a medium. Buyers prefer to
buy up-and-coming names or
well established artists than
‘unknowns’. Furthermore, price
point is important online.”
Above: Untitled by Fadi Yazigi, Mixed Media, 70 cm x 140 cm
In an art and finance report
released last year by
Deloitte, it was found that
79% of art collectors and
69% of art professionals
think that online art auction
market will become a
successful business model.
artscoops website | artworks © artscoops.com
start it up
What’s on their agenda?
Besides looking for partners,
artists and galleries from the
MENA region (and abroad),
they’re planning to offer additional features for the website
and there’s an app in the
works too. The founders are
also looking into introducing
other mediums such as video,
installations, art books and
design objects.
january 2015 Entrepreneur
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Wacky idea | who’s got VC | Q&A | STARTUP FINANCE
of assessing risk, given the
unique nature of cultural
and business resource issues and investor networks.
Thirdly, and most importantly, investors usually
depend upon comparable
investment activity that
helps validate and support an investment thesis
around market opportunity
and valuation levels. That
backup and peer justification doesn’t exist in many
social venture markets,
where activity is a lot
patchier, and those markets
have yet to demonstrate
clear trends in delivering
investor returns. All of this
limits the availability of
capital in social ventures.
Secondly, regarding philanthropic money, it is a large
pool of capital that can be
tapped into. However, the
definition of philanthropic
money has shifted over the
years from being simple
donations, which are commonly seen today as an unsustainable way of giving.
The new direction for this
new wave of philanthropy is
today called impact investing. For entrepreneurs, this
source of capital is advantageous in that it requires
lower than market rate
interest or return targets,
and for the philanthropists,
a principle attraction in
that the returned capital
can be recycled into other
charitable activities. It
must be noted that the
concept of impact investing is still evolving, and as
such, it needs more time to
expand to accommodate for
the growing number social
enterprises.
Finally, startup competitions, accelerators, angel
investors and impact funds
are the new buzz words
in the industry, and they
provide valuable exposure
and mentorship leading to
capital for social ventures.
Good avenues to explore
would be university business plan competitions as
well as business incubators
and accelerators, which
are widespread in most big
cities, like Echoing Green,
Unreasonable Institute,
Endeavor Global, the Global
Social Venture Competition,
and the Hult Prize. Since
most of these initiatives exist so far on committed and
passionate donors, the challenge would be to identify
sustainable models.
The landscape is slowly
changing and we’re
witnessing private and
governmental initiatives for
budding entrepreneurship
ecosystems in almost all
countries in MENA.
Social entrepreneurs don’t have it easy raising capital
By Genny Ghanimeh
A
t one point, NGOs
and charity organizations were the
only options for
alleviating societal
ills, but in today’s
increasingly interconnected world, we’re
facing more complexity in
issues which require more
innovative and sustainable
solutions. This has led to
the rapid upsurge of social
entrepreneurship; now
socially-conscious entrepreneurs tackle local and
global social challenges,
while generating profits.
According to John Green,
“social ventures have at
their core a strategy to deliver explicit social impact
in combination with sus-
74
Entrepreneur january 2015
tainable business growth,
recognizing the power of
business in tackling social
issues around the world.”
In theory, social entrepreneurship is an amazing
concept but the practical
process in progressing from
an idea solution to a business ‘sustainable’ operation
has its most critical challenges, in particular during
the startup financing stage.
Social ‘treps face
their first challenge:
how do they get the
initial financing?
Typically, a regular startup
would turn to the following
channels of capital: network investments, banking,
equity debt, convertible
debt, crowdfunding etc.,
with a relatively straightforward process for funding
channels that are revenue
options models.
However, social ventures
don’t have the same flexibility in their identity
structure on leveraging
capital the same way as
regular startup ventures
do. First, equity or VC
financing usually expects
an exit strategy that does
not automatically exist in
social ventures that plan
on generating impact for
the long haul. Second, the
risk appetite for investors
adjusts with the existence
of proof of concept models.
However, social ventures
exacerbate the challenge
To access the aforementioned capital streams
mentioned before, social
ventures have to do several
things, including intensive
market research to prove
the need and execution
capabilities. But funding
roadblocks might arise, and
for that, social ventures
look into the following three
options: leveraging partnerships, philanthropy organizations and social cause
competitions and funds.
Firstly, regarding revenue
sharing partnerships, it involves social entrepreneurs
thinking innovatively and
identifying partners who
can bring economic value
to both parties. The partner
may share intellectual value
or property, which adds
value to the venture in a
completely unique way. The
beauty of this avenue is that
it is a win-win situation for
both parties involved.
pislice WEBSITE
Rough ride
What is the global
trend for social
ventures to clear the
financing hurdle?
startup competitions,
accelerators, angel
investors and impact funds
are the new buzz words
in the industry, and they
provide valuable exposure
and mentorship leading to
capital for social ventures.
How did we get funded
at Pi Slice?
In practice, what model
examples do we have of
social venture startups who
are securing financing? At
Pi Slice, when we went for
our first funding rounds,
we learnt from meeting
diverse investors to rely on
all funding channels. From
the beginning we had some
pre-seed angel money that
helped us to get started,
and allowed us with
Microworld.org from the
group PlanetFinance.org
to build a revenue sharing
partnership model– we’re
big fans of partnerships
and creating shared value.
We also participated in
different entrepreneurship
competitions, as much as
time and timing allowed
us to- the exercise of
preparing for a competition, being mentored and
presenting the case to the
jury is very beneficial to
reassess the model whether
one gets funded or not. We
still needed money, so we
approached philanthropy
capital while still pitching
the project focusing on
financial and operational
metrics. At the end of the
day, social investors or
philanthropists, like any
investors, need to know
that you can be sustainable, scalable and that
you won’t require any
other emergency rounds of
financing.
Finally, we also engaged
with VCs, and set together
future milestones to pitch
them at a time when they
would be interested to
come in- this is a very
useful exercise to set
standards and milestones
achievements in foreseeing
the growth of the venture.
Our experience has taught
us to knock on all doors
and try all funding models,
because each model has its
own added value and can
prove to be crucial for a
new trend to be successful.
What is the future
outlook of social
venture financing?
We all know today that
the MENA region has a
big unemployment/youth
unemployment problem,
and that realistically we
can help solve part of that
problem by creating jobs
through encouraging small
startups. The problem is
that startups struggle with
access to talent, markets,
and capital. The landscape
is slowly changing and
we’re witnessing private
and governmental initiatives for budding entrepreneurship ecosystems
in almost all countries in
MENA, fostering positive
trends related to these >>>
regarding revenue sharing
partnerships, it involves
social entrepreneurs
thinking innovatively and
identifying partners who
can bring economic value
both parties. The partner
may share intellectual
value or property, which
adds value to the venture in
a completely unique way.
january 2015 Entrepreneur
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Wacky idea | who’s got VC | Q&A | STARTUP FINANCE
challenges. That being said,
the gap between the capital
need of these startups and
available seed money and
support by investors or
institutions is still too big,
all more so for social ventures even though they are
needed to solve, innovate
and disrupt societal issues
and challenges. The change
is happening anyway, and
more and more people are
realizing the value of sup-
porting such startups while
creating impact for the
wider community. Maybe
the MENA region is still not
there yet in terms of global
standards and networks
for social ventures, but
societal issues -and the will
and commitment to solve
them- are definitely there,
and sometimes this is all
it takes for a movement to
be in motion and for the
change to leapfrog.
Following her passions for
microfinance and online industries,
Genny Ghanimeh founded Pi Slice
in March 2012 and negotiated
a partnership agreement with
MicroWorld from the Group
PlanetFinance to build and administer
the first microlending online platform
in MENA. Ghanimeh began her career
in Development Project Finance, and
later shifted her focus to finance and
business development, where she honed her entrepreneurial
skills in founding her first company Pro-ID in 2003. She also
consulted in setting-up and managing a financial security semigovernmental company in Dubai, and in 2007, Ghanimeh founded
and managed Pi Investments.
Social investors, social activists and social ventures talk back
What’s happening in MENA?
In analyzing the capital flow for
social enterprises, the picture
behind this reality around
the world adjusts depending
on what region you go to. In
the western markets such as
the U.S. or Europe, capital
structures are becoming more
inclusive for social enterprises.
But what’s happening in regions
such as MENA?
entrepreneurs in MENA seeking
financing not to overly pitch the
social aspect of their ventures
and instead to focus on financial
metrics when presenting their
ideas. I do envisage this will
change gradually over time
as the investment community
increasingly appreciates the collective value of the triple bottom
line, but we are not there yet.”
Badr Jafar
Crescent Group
“It’s tough. The funding circles
in our region do not yet see this
space as a robust enough asset
class to warrant serious attention. There is a broad perception
that there is a definite trade-off
between social impact and
financial returns, and so I have
heard many investors argue that
they would rather contribute to
social gains through straight
charity without mixing it up with
profit-seeking. For this reason,
I always advise budding social
Medea Nocentini
C3 Consult & Coach for a Cause
“Social entrepreneurs in MENA
have to make a choice when registering their license: either as
non-profits, in which case they
cannot raise funds from typical
investors or generate revenues
from trading activities (limiting
their opportunities to scale and
sustain themselves through
business activities), or as forprofits, in which case they are
not allowed to raise donations
or apply for grants (limiting
their opportunities to leverage
the powerful combination of
investments and donations that
their social enterprise status
could unleash). In a region
where social and environmental
needs are pressing, social enterprises have significant market
potential. We might not need
to label Middle Eastern social
enterprises as such, as they
represent attractive investment
opportunities by the nature of
the market.”
Badr
Jafar
76
Entrepreneur january 2015
Ali El Idrissi
J.P. Morgan Social Finance
“In MENA, there has been a
flurry of new initiatives supporting entrepreneurship from
competitions such as the Hult
Prize, the MIT Enterprise Forum
Arab Startup Competition or the
MIT Global Startup Workshop
to accelerators and incubators
such as Oasis500 in Jordan,
Flat6Labs in Egypt and international networks like Endeavor
and Ashoka expanding their
MENA footprint. However, the
amount and diversity of funding
still lags behind other emerging
markets and there is a significant opportunity for high-quality
MENA social enterprises to tap
into international networks and
funding sources, which rarely
have access to such investment
opportunities. In parallel, philanthropic capital in the region
should be used in a more strategic way and provide early stage
funding for social businesses.
There is an opportunity for large
philanthropic organizations and
corporates to act as pioneers in
providing this type of capital.”
Soushiant Zanganehpour
Skoll Centre for Social
Entrepreneurship
“From my experience advising
in the region, I see a range of
options available to SE’s for
their first financing. Regional
competitions like MIT Arab Busi-
Soushiant
Zanganehpour
ness Plan or Acumen Dubai’s
regional social venture challenge
provide chances for those with
a bit more than a simple idea
to compete for early stage preseed funding. Those with just
a pitch, a nimble business plan
or small working prototype, can
access the local accelerators like
Oasis500 and Flat6Labs for
early stage business development support and funding, usually for a 10-15% equity swap.
Bootstrapping is another option
that many SEs rely on; there is
no quicker way of testing a value
proposition and an idea’s efficiency when you’re using your
own funds. Finally, some SEs
do engage in an emerging and
informal angel network of high
net worth individuals for seed
or pre-seed financing in their
home countries. Success and
the existence of these networks
very much depend on the level
of local SE activities, the status
of the ecosystem (like awareness about the concept), as well
as the entrepreneur’s ability to
penetrate into various social
networks.”
january 2015 Entrepreneur
77
Wacky idea | who’s got VC | Q&A | STARTUP FINANCE
Easy does it
MICEit wants to make MENA event planning seamless
By Kareem Chehayeb
M
ICEit’s co-founders
were inspired by
a problem they’ve
faced working for over a
(combined) 23 years in the
hospitality industry. “We
have firsthand seen and
identified the troubles of
managing an event both as
service providers and event
organizers,” says co-founder and COO Rola Fayyad.
Fayyad, alongside founder
and CEO Mohammad Turki
Khalil, claim that MICEit
“will streamline the long
and hectic event planning
process”. Khalil has been
active in the hospitality industry for 13 years, mostly
in marketing and sales with
vast experience in MICE
(meetings, incentives,
conferencing, and exhibitions). Fayyad has been
involved in the hospitality
and aviation industries for
over a decade, primarily in
marketing, sales, and commercial management.
MICEit co-founder
and CEO Rola Fayyad
78
Entrepreneur january 2015
Here’s the thing though;
even after reading all the
online material I can about
MICEit, I still can’t wrap
my head around how extensive this portal is. You can
tell that their experience
in the industry has played
a huge role in making sure
that they cover just about
everything. It’s not just
booking venues, and sorting
out plane tickets and hotel
rooms; you can sort out
A/V services, registration
and ticketing services,
and even florists. Having
all your needs sorted out
through one portal is very
helpful, especially given
that you have the rates
and options right in front
their primary audience
has been “the top
300 corporate event
bookers”, and they’ve
received tons of
support from hosts and
vendors alike.
of you. Fayyad mentions
another benefit when she
points out that “one of the
biggest pains for event organizers is collecting various
quotations from multiple
vendors.” All the different
costs of an event will boil
down to just one bill.
Where better to launch
MICEit than in the
founders’ native Jordan?
MICEit’s co-founders said
that their primary audience
has been “the top 300
corporate event bookers”,
and they’ve received tons
of support from hosts and
vendors alike. So while they
are trying to bring Jordan
to the forefront, Fayyad
is also looking beyond
its borders, as they are
“focusing on international
clients to book in Jordan,
our service will simplify
their procedure as they
aren’t located here.” Being a
web-based portal, it comes
as no surprise that MICEit
hasn’t been a capitalintensive venture, though
it does come with its own
costs. Fayyad listed “operations, administration and
website development” as
their current pay-outs, but
expects their balance sheet
to look a little busier once
they work towards regional
expansion, in anticipation
of “more incurred costs
for travelling, marketing
and development.” As they
don’t have any angel investors, she admitted that she
is hoping to find one soon
to help fund MICEit’s next
stage, which is estimated to
cost US$150,000. Regarding ROI, Fayyad couldn’t
give us any numbers,
but said that MICEit will
“break-even in two years
from commencement.”
Setting numbers aside,
the portal itself is a priority: “Website development
started in September and
the MVP [model-view presenter] was out in November.” Fayyad and Khalil took
on offline events to “test
the product to confirm our
algorithm is correct.” The
website’s beta version has
since been launched, and
both Khalil and Fayyad have
been working hard on finetuning it since they began
in early 2013, when they
started conducting market
research. “We started
pitching to Oasis500 to get
seed funding at the beginning of 2014, and successfully joined their batch one
in August.”
Being a web portal, it’s
expected that a sound
marketing strategy can
truly make or break your
business. Fayyad further
delved into their marketing
strategy, whose main goal
is to “increase our visibility
in the market and influence
bookers towards technology
for events.” While breaking
old habits is no easy feat,
she claims that it hasn’t
been all that difficult. “In
Jordan, it’s easier since we
have the experience and
connections,” said Fayyad,
“so performing sales calls
closes deals and word of
mouth is strong.” That
said, she did say that their
approach would have to be
different in newer markets
that they expand to, giving
the UAE as an example. Social media also plays a huge
role in helping MICEit bring
in as many potential clients
as possible from as many
sources as possible. MICEit
currently has a presence
on Facebook, Twitter,
LinkedIn, and the everpopular Instagram. Their
most effective platform?
“Twitter gives us the best
results as we can target our
audience.”
A subtler feature of
MICEit that I noticed (and
appreciated) that I thought
played a positive role in
marketing is having a product or service Arabic-enabled. It sounds like something trivial for a venture
from the Middle East, but
you’d be surprised. Having
an Arabic-enabled MICEit
is a standout feature. “All
booking engines are in
English and rarely support
Arabic; we want to break
that habit and go local,”
referencing a 2012 Google
report that claimed that
Arabic-only web content
only makes up 3% of all
web content. Despite the
fact that MICEit is still at
a nascent stage, it appears
that they’ve achieved quite
MICEIT WEBSITE
start it up
a bit. They’ve organized
events in Jordan for Google
for Entrepreneurs, Google
for Developers, and Startup
Grind Jordan, and they have
already signed eight memorandums of understand-
ings with companies to be
their exclusive portal for
event planning. “Our sales
pipeline consists of up to
35 events for the upcoming
year, impacting on revenue
of $40,000!”
MICEit co-founder
and CEO Mohammad
Turki Khalil
MICEit will be making its
way into the GCC in Q2
2015, though Fayed didn’t
confirm which country will
be first, as they are trying
to find solid partnerships
to make the transition
smoother. “We are still
working on which country
to penetrate first, noting
top MICE countries are
UAE, Qatar and Oman.”
They also hope to diversify
the types of events on their
roster, with Fayyad hinting
at opening the platform up
to social events after the
third year. The co-founders
want to make seamless
events a reality- MICE
and easy!
It’s not just booking
venues, and sorting
out plane tickets and
hotel rooms; you can
sort out A/V services,
registration and
ticketing services, and
even florists. Having all
your needs sorted out
through one portal is
very helpful, especially
given that you have the
rates and options right
in front of you.
january 2015 Entrepreneur
79
start it up
Wacky idea | who’s got VC | Q&A | STARTUP FINANCE
mobile business app area of
Sarmady, a Cairo Vodafone
Company. A Computer Engineering graduate of Alexandria
University, Mohamed is extremely engaged in the spacea day after this interview took
place in the UAE, he was off
to participate as a panelist at
BDL Accelerate 2014 in Lebanon, a two-day startup conference. He is, like many successful people, realistic about
the kind of time investment it
takes to do things well. This
isn’t to say that just because
he works “between 16 to 18
hours a day”, and doesn’t take
weekends off that he expects
startups to do the same: “I’ve
been thinking about this a
lot- I don’t want to be preaching about work-life balance
and then doing something
different. A huge part of my
life is my career and seeing the
company grow and progress.
Almost all of my friends have
the same work cycle I do.”
He’s also got personal
startup experience: “It was
nothing exciting, but we
made some good money.” And
now he’s got the professional
experience- all of these factors
combined, paired with Mohamed’s realistic enthusiasm
helps propel Flat6Labs as a
whole, and subsequently their
startups case by case. “Two of
our great success stories are
Egypt’s PieRide –they’ve created a community and they’re
addressing the traffic problemand Nafham. Nafham is one of
the biggest educational platforms in the region; they have
more than 15,000 videos on
their website now. More than
100,000 lessons are watched
on Nafham per day, and
they’re partnered with Google
and Intel.” Nafham graduated
from Flat6Labs Cairo’s second >>>
Capital gains
Flat6Labs CEO Ramez Mohamed
Abu Dhabi’s ecosystem just erupted, and your startup might fit the bill
A
“
bu Dhabi is a perfect
fit as a rapidly growing
market. Abu Dhabi has
more than US$100 billion
earmarked for education,
housing, and transportation
under its 2030 Economic Vision. Abu Dhabi is also ranked
23rd of 189 economies for ease
The launch of
Flat6Labs Abu Dhabi
at the Abu Dhabi Media
Summit in November
2014. twofour54
and Flat6Labs have
partnered for the new
UAE accelerator.
80
Entrepreneur january 2015
of doing business. The UAE
is a highly conducive digital
market with 78% smartphone
and 94% Internet penetration- among the highest rates
globally. Beside the ample
government support in Abu
Dhabi, twofour54 has successfully become the home to
leading media companies and
a growing production base for
Hollywood films. Also, Abu
Dhabi is now becoming home
to large industrial companies
that could benefit from innovations generated by startups.”
That’s what Flat6Labs CEO
Ramez Mohamed has to say
about why they’ve chosen Abu
Dhabi as their newest venturebase. Mohamed agrees that
the newly appointed Managing Director of Flat6Labs
Abu Dhabi, Nina Curley of
startup-centric Wamda fame,
is perhaps what one would call
a dream fit for the operation.
Her extensive background and
network is one of the biggest
value-adds of the region’s new
accelerator. Mohamed smiles
as he mentions the flurry of
headlines that accompanied
the announcement of Curley
joining the company. “She
just recruited 50 mentors for
Flat6Labs Abu Dhabi; mentors on design, mentors from
LinkedIn, Facebook. She’s
amazing!”
The question, as Mohamed
puts it, is not why not Dubai,
but rather why not Abu Dhabi.
He doesn’t agree with the
pervasive idea that Dubai
is considered the region’s
Silicon Valley. He points out
(correctly) that while the upper management or business
development startup personnel are often based in Dubai,
their actual production hubs
are based throughout MENA
in their home cities that are
“as a founder, when
my development office
is in Beirut or in Cairo
or in Amman, I’m paying
them way cheaper
than what I would in
Dubai or London or San
Francisco.”
much more affordable, and
afford them a multitude of
plusses: “You can’t say that
Dubai is a ‘startup hub’. You
can say that it’s a place to find
opportunity to start a business, to scale and to develop
your business. Abu Dhabi is
similarly very well positioned,
and we saw that no one was
making use of that. As Arabs,
in our home countries, we
know the talent, we have market access, we know how to do
things there, and we are good
at it. We always make use of
this as a good sell to investors
when talking about our startups. So, as a founder, when my
development office is in Beirut
or in Cairo or in Amman, I’m
paying them way cheaper
than what I would in Dubai or
London or San Francisco.” The
30-year-old CEO’s background
in technology spans various
arenas over a 10-year period;
he’s worked in mobile applications and software, and his
passion for the MENA startup
scene is enough to keep you
riveted while he opines on
everything from the somewhat
pervasive startup “entitlement” attitude to where he
sees deficiencies, and still better, where he sees potential for
growth and expansion. Prior to
being recruited by Flat6Labs
for the regional CEO position,
he oversaw and developed the
FLAT6LABS WEBSITE
Flat6Labs CEO
Ramez
Mohamed
The launch of Flat6Labs
Abu Dhabi at the Abu
Dhabi Media Summit in
November 2014.
“You can’t say that Dubai is a
‘startup hub’. You can say that
it’s a place to find opportunity
to start a business, to scale
and to develop your business.
Abu Dhabi is similarly very well
positioned, and we saw that no
one was making use of that.”
january 2015 Entrepreneur
81
Wacky idea | who’s got VC | Q&A | STARTUP FINANCE
Flat6Labs Abu Dhabi launch
at the Abu Dhabi Media Summit
in November 2014.
cycle, and the videos covering
Egyptian, Saudi, Syrian and
Algerian school curricula are
aggregated by teachers and
volunteers. There are more
than 4,000 crowdsourced
videos “growing at a rate of
70% per annum, Nafham is
undoubtedly positioning itself
as the leading educational
platform in the MENA region.”
Mohamed also mentions KSAbased Sawerly as a significant
success story from Flat6Labs
Jeddah. “Sawerly graduated from Flat6Labs Jeddah’s
first cycle as one of the first
online marketplaces to book
photographers in the KSA
and the greater MENA region.
Sawerly has been making great
strides and expanded their
database to over than 350
photographers, and delivered
tens of photo shoots across
the Kingdom in the past few
months. Sawerly have made
numerous media appearances,
attended many conferences,
and recently won the first
place prize for ArabNet Riyadh
2014 and the Get in the Ring
Competition in Saudi Arabia.”
Launched in Cairo in 2011,
Flat6Labs celebrated their
three-year anniversary in
October of last year. After
Sawerly has been making
great strides and expanded
their database to over than
350 photographers, and
delivered tens of photo
shoots across the Kingdom
in the past few months.
82
Entrepreneur january 2015
while the upper management
or business development
startup personnel are often
based in Dubai, their actual
production hubs are based
throughout MENA in their
home cities that are much
more affordable, and afford
them a multitude of plusses.
Cairo, Flat6Labs Jeddah was
developed in partnership with
SME-champions Qotuf Al Riyadah in KSA. Their new base
in Abu Dhabi isn’t the only
announcement; late last year
they announced that an early
stage investment company is
on the agenda. The goal? To
invest 50 million Egyptian
pounds (approximately $7
million) in 100 startups over
the next five years. In the same
announcement, Flat6Labs also
stated that they have plans
to get even bigger with later
expansions across MENA,
including Turkey.
What does it take to make
Mohamad warm up to your
startup idea? “I don’t look
at the startup as a ‘person’. I
don’t feel like I have to be personally attached to the startup
or like them to be able to deal
with them on a daily basis. It’s
mainly about the team: are
they really passionate about
this? You can really see it in
their eyes- are they hungry to
make this work? Do they know
what they need to get this up
and running? Do they have the
skills? Do they have the right
people on their team? Some
startups haven’t even Googled
the competition; they don’t
know the market that they’re
trying to enter! This is the
most frustrating part of our
work- they don’t do the research to see and understand
what they can offer better
than their competitors. We
mainly counsel our startups to
be as professional as possiblewe have many sessions and
mentors on everything from
communication to the more
detailed parts of business.
We offers training and tons of
sessions.”
Ultimately, Mohamed is clear
on what the new accelerator
sees as a recipe for successful
startup candidacy: your business needs to have the right
elements, in the right order,
and that includes dedication
and know-how. If your startup
has the potential, then they’re
behind you all the way with
everything from skill-building
to financing. Startups heading
to Abu Dhabi, you’re about to
capitalize on the region’s newest (and possibly most proactive) ecosystem in the region.
Their philosophy starts at the
very top, and it pervades every
aspect of the process.
BY THE NUMBERS
57 The number of companies created
across Egypt and KSA by Flat6Labs
Jeddah and Flat6Labs Cairo.
160 The number of entrepreneurs
behind these same companies.
15 Amount in millions of Egyptian
pounds raised in funding in Egypt alone.
400 The number of jobs created in KSA
and Egypt by these companies.
50% The percentage of Flat6Labs
companies registered regarding their
follow-on funding rate.
40 The number of different investors
from across the globe to date.
60 The number of mentors and speakers available to provide tutelage to
Flat6Labs startups, in addition to more
than 30 local, regional and global part-
ners, prior to the launch of Flat6Labs
Abu Dhabi.
7,000 The number of training hours
given to Flat6Labs startups over a
three-year period since inception.
80 The number of companies Flat6Labs
Abu Dhabi is targeting for launch over
the next four years.
www.Flat6labs.com
H.E. Noura Al Kaabi,
CEO, twofour54,
at the launch of
Flat6Labs
Abu Dhabi
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
PARTNERSHIP “Flat6Labs Abu Dhabi
SAWERLY WEBSITE | FLAT6LABS WEBSITE
start it up
will utilize twofour54’s local expertise
and facilities combined with insights from
Emirati business leaders, global technology
experts, local and regional investment
experts and leaders to be one of the fastest and easiest routes to set up digital
businesses in the UAE. twofour54 has
also seen Flat6Labs as one of the best
accelerator models in the region to grow
a startup ecosystem based on innovation
in the capital of the UAE. twofour54 is
supporting Flat6Labs Abu Dhabi with seed
capital, facilitated licensing, and regulatory
services, office space, access to media production facilities, exposure to twofour54’s
network of experts and mentors, integration with twofour54’s training programs
and access to venture capital for graduated
startup companies.”
MISSION “Flat6Labs Abu Dhabi’s vision
is to be a global hub for digital innovation
that will support a generation of entrepre-
neurs from the UAE and abroad to launch
media and digital businesses in Abu Dhabi,
and scale to regional and global markets.”
WHO “We accept startups in any stage:
idea, prototype or released product. Its
main focus will be on digital content and
ecommerce, social media and citizen
journalism, media and video production,
and mobile applications. Flat6Labs Abu
Dhabi will be open to any entrepreneur
from around the world to apply. We don’t
have specific quota based on a certain
demographic, although we would love to
see more local entrepreneurs applying
to join the program as we always work
closely with different local ecosystem
stakeholders in markets we operate in to
support local entrepreneurs. We believe
that the community is the main pillar for
the long-term success of any accelerator
program, so we are planning several
programs and activities to engage the
local community and encourage local
entrepreneurs to launch their businesses
through Flat6Labs Abu Dhabi.”
BENEFITS “We will provide each one that
joins Flat6Labs Abu Dhabi accelerator program with seed funding of up to $50,000
for equity of 10% to 15% with opportunity
for matching funds upon graduation.
We are also providing them with a large
array of services like strategic mentorship, a creative workspace, legal support,
a multitude of perks that are worth more
than $300,000, facilitated visa acquisition, licensing, and regulatory services,
entrepreneurship-focused business training, and directly supporting them through
an expansive network of partner entities,
mentors and investors.”
CRITERIA “We usually focus on three main
criteria when selecting teams to join any of
Flat6Labs’ programs. Firstly, the idea; how
innovative and disruptive it is. Secondly,
the market; how big the target market is,
the potential for growth and scaling, and
how the competition looks like. Third,
the most important of all is the team, its
members’ background, and if they possess
the skills needed to successfully build the
product, enter the market, and scale the
business in the future.”
INTAKE “Our model is based on an accelerated pace of investment cycles. We
will be running four month cycles twice
every year- in each cycle, we are expecting
to accelerate 10 startups. We opened the
application of the first cycle during the Abu
Dhabi Media Summit in November and we
january 2015 Entrepreneur
83
ask the money guy | vc viewpoint | your money | ECON
The buzz
about
Beehive
Peer-to-peer lending makes a GCC entrance
By Aby Sam Thomas
I
f the discussions conducted at the Entrepreneur
Middle East Enterprise
Agility Forum in November last year were any
indication, then one of the
biggest problems that SME
owners in the region face is
raising capital to grow and
develop their respective businesses. This is especially true
in the economic ecosystem
of the UAE- a recent survey
of 157 SME owners, founders
“Although the UAE has a
healthy SME sector, [with]
there being around 300,000
SMEs representing around
60% of GDP and over 90% of
employment, they still suffer from a lack of relevant
funding options.”
and CEOs in the country by
souqalmal.com found that
only 28% of respondents
had taken financing from a
bank, of which 58% found the
process to be an arduous one.
With this being the scenario,
it should come as no surprise
that SME owners in the region
are keenly looking out for
alternative financing options
to grow their businesses,
and so, the newly launched
UAE-based peer-to-peer (P2P)
lending platform, Beehive,
seems to be an answer to their
prayers.
P2P lending, also known as
marketplace lending or social
lending, refers to the practice
of investors lending money
directly to borrowers without
going through a financial
intermediary such as a bank.
While the practice is today
quite prevalent in the U.K.
and the U.S., it is still quite a
novel concept in the Middle
East. Beehive claims to be the
first P2P lending platform for
SMEs in the UAE, and it is designed to be an online marketplace that allows businesses
to get direct access to lower
cost finance, while also being
a place where investors can
diversify their investments,
manage their risk and get better returns as well. However,
it must be noted that Beehive
is not aimed at startup or preprofit businesses- it’s instead
targeted toward established
businesses that have been in
operation in the UAE for over
two years, and are now looking
for expansion capital to fuel
their growth.
“By using our innovative
software platform, we’ve been
able to streamline many of
the processes required as part
of the SME funding journey,”
says Craig Moore, Founder
and CEO, Beehive. “We believe
both businesses and investors benefit from our online
marketplace, in the form of
reduced finance costs and better investment returns.”
“For many investors in
Europe and the U.S., P2P
lending forms a part of their
alternative investments as
part of a diversified portfolio,
especially as saving rates have
been historically low,” Moore
adds. “Beehive thus offers local investors an opportunity to
support UAE business growth
while benefiting from attractive rates of return.”
“Also, because investors can
lend from as little as AED100
to creditworthy businesses,
they can diversify their investments across a portfolio of
companies that helps manage
investment risk,” he explains.
“Beehive offers businesses
the opportunity to reduce
their cost of finance and accelerate their time to finance
by reducing the cost and
complexity of conventional
finance sources.”
84
Entrepreneur january 2015
Craig
Moore
“Each loan will make monthly
repayments providing a steady
income stream for investors.”
But it’s not just the investors
that benefit from BeehiveSMEs stand to gain a lot
from it as well. “There is a
significant funding gap across
the MENA region, estimated
at over US$200bn,” says Rick
Pudner, Chairman, Beehive.
“Although the UAE has a
healthy SME sector, [with]
there being around 300,000
SMEs representing around
60% of GDP and over 90% of
employment, they still suffer
from a lack of relevant funding
options.”
“Beehive offers businesses
the opportunity to reduce
their cost of finance and accelerate their time to finance
by reducing the cost and
complexity of conventional
finance sources,” Pudner says.
beehive website
money
“Because investors bid to lend
in a reverse auction process, it
means that businesses receive
the lowest rates available from
the crowd.” And the platform
that Beehive offers is indeed
getting noticed in the marketsince its soft launch in October last year, the company
has funded six UAE-based
businesses, providing each of
them with a cash injection of
between AED 100,000–AED
500,000, which was culled
from more than 500 local
investors. One of the companies that got funded through
Beehive was change management consultancy GENYX,
which was seeking capital to
bring new associates on board
as part of its client portfolio
development strategy. “We
found the Beehive process to
be customer-friendly, easy to
execute, and swift,” says Dave
Dimmell, Managing Director,
GENYX. “Many banks are
not focused on SMEs; those
that are have bureaucratic
processes or often seemingly
unhelpful managers who don’t
clearly see SME requirements.
Beehive is making a very
“P2P lending is estimated
to originate around $9
billion of loans globally
in 2014, but with current
growth rates, this is
projected to be $1 trillion
in the next ten years.”
valuable contribution to the
SME community in the UAE,
and we see them as a strategic
partner for SMEs.”
Dimmell’s comments are are
representative of the market
reaction Beehive has seen in
the past few months. “We’ve
had a fantastic response to
Beehive,” Moore says. “All of
our businesses have reached
their funding target in 14
days or less and at highly
competitive rates, which has
delighted our clients. Our online marketplace directly connects SMEs who need credit,
with investors who are eager
to provide it.” According to
Pudner, who was formerly the
Group CEO of Emirates NBD,
the timing is right for UAE
SMEs to take advantage of the
Beehive concept to grow their
businesses. “P2P lending is
estimated to originate around
$9 billion of loans globally in
2014, but with current growth
rates, this is projected to be $1
trillion in the next ten years,”
Pudner says. “We feel the
timing is right for the UAE to
embrace and take advantage of
this technology to drive local
economic growth.”
“With the prospect of Expo
2020, in addition to some of
the regional initiatives, we
feel there’s a real spirit of
optimism amongst SMEs,”
Pudner adds. “And by bringing investors and businesses
together, we’re really excited
that Beehive can help foster
mutually beneficial partnerships for growth across the
UAE community.” As for Beehive itself, it does seem safe
to say that the buzz about the
company is only going to get
louder- Moore says there are
plans underway for Beehive
to grow beyond the borders
of the UAE, and more. “We
do have plans to expand, not
just geographically, but also
our product range,” he says.
“Conversations are already
taking place in markets that
we believe will benefit from
our innovative approach to
help solve SME financing.
Watch this space.”
Rick
Pudner
How Beehive
Works
Beehive’s online marketplace
facilitates flexible funding
for established businesses
seeking investment between
AED 100,000 and AED
500,000. Individual investors can invest from as little
as AED 100 and bid to lend
money, choosing how much
they will lend and at the
interest rate. Beehive then
facilitates the loan agreement between the business
and investors, charging a
small percentage fee of the
loan amount. The business
receives funding typically
in around seven days, and
investors receive monthly
repayments at target rates
of between 8% and 12%.
www.beehive.ae
january 2015 Entrepreneur
85
RAK Free Trade Zone
Providing Global Reach for Successful Businesses
W
ith more and more companies
choosing to set up on UAE shores,
Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone’s (RAK
FTZ’s) status as a leading regional business
gateway is driving strong interest from
entrepreneurs, SMEs and large corporations.
The benefits of setting up within a UAEbased free zone are numerous, and with the
country’s laudable 23rd place ranking in the
World Bank Doing Business 2014 report, the
nation’s star is rising.
Companies registered with RAK FTZ
enjoy numerous advantages, with 100%
ownership and 100% tax-free status as solid
draws for individuals and companies with
their eye on expansion into the region.
With a nearly 15-year pedigree and an
international community of more than
86
Entrepreneur january 2015
8,000 registered companies, representing
over 100 countries, the free zone has a
successful track record that can be traced to
several crucial factors, RAK FTZ CEO Peter J
Fort says.
“Location is everything, and with access
to the rapidly developing emerging markets
of the Middle East and Africa, and the UAE’s
long-established reputation as a vital link
between East and West, RAK FTZ is primed
to help companies capitalise on trade
opportunities on our doorstep and farther
afield,” Mr Fort says.
The fact that the emirate is a mere
45 minute-drive from Dubai and the
UAE’s other major logistics hubs is an
added bonus. Significant government
infrastructure investment in recent years
has further boosted road, air and maritime
connectivity.
“RAK FTZ is here to help make it faster and
easier to start and grow your company,” Mr
Fort says.
This means going the extra mile to
fast-track the bureaucratic process and
eliminating unnecessary red tape. Thanks to
its close co-operation with local government
entities, RAK FTZ is able to help new
businesses get up and running with minimal
delay.
This handholding approach extends all
the way from initial registration and the visa
process to office set-up, human resources
assistance and IT support.
Ras Al Khaimah’s own established
industrial and commercial base covers
a wide range of industries including
pharmaceuticals, ceramics, plastic
products, aluminium, steel, cement,
construction materials, real estate, health
care, and tourism.
“This economic diversity is directly
reflected in our set-up, with a collection of
specialised locations specifically created
to service the wide-ranging needs of our
client base and supported by tailor-made
packages for individual consultants through
to industrial manufacturing companies,” Mr
Fort says.
It is also a well-documented fact that the
costs of living and doing business in Ras Al
Khaimah are markedly lower than in other
emirates, and the decision to set up at RAK
FTZ can be achieved at a significantly lower
cost, thus allowing clients to achieve the
maximum return on their investment.
The free zone’s quartet of specialised
locations comprise an Academic Zone,
Business Park, Industrial Park and
Technology Park with a comprehensive suite
of available set-up solutions.
The Flexi Facilities package with access to
shared networked stations and offices, is
ideally suited to SME clients. The Executive
Office option targets medium-sized
businesses and offers UAE residence visas
as well as competitively priced office space.
Peter J Fort,
RAK FTZ CEO
Industrial Park
Short- and long-term leasing opportunities
with tracts of available land are on offer
at the Industrial and Technology Parks for
industrial, logistics and service industry
purposes. Accessibility is also key to the
success of these two business parks, with
both sites located close to the emirate’s
airport and seaports, customs department
and government administration offices.
In addition, RAK FTZ is the only free zone
in the UAE that allows clients to build
their own labour accommodation on site,
eliminating the risks and costs associated
with transporting labour.
“The overarching theme that connects all
areas of the expanded RAK FTZ operation
is our commitment to providing a costeffective solution for every type of business,
and our client diversity endorses this
flexible approach,” Mr Fort says.
Providing a helping hand to businesses
is also a core element of the RAK FTZ client
support mandate, with value-added services
such as advertising, procurement, event
management, recruitment and training
assistance available to the free zone’s
partners.
“We also understand the importance of
international awareness in driving economic
opportunity for the emirate and commercial
opportunities for our partners,” Mr Fort says.
“Our presence on three continents, with
liaison offices in Germany, India and Turkey
as well as an active calendar of delegation
visits and international seminars designed
to showcase our facilities and clients, is a
clear measure of our continued intent to
take business to the next level.”
The liaison offices in other nations act as
an extension of the RAK FTZ service offering,
and can also help potential clients to start
the registration process, without having
to leave their home country. Additional
support is provided by satellite offices in
Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and multilingual
client service team members.
“With transparent and investment-friendly
laws and regulations, lack of restrictions on
profit and capital repatriation, affordable
cost of living, and a cost-effective businessfriendly approach, we take our business,
and our clients’ businesses, extremely
seriously,” Mr Fort says.
RAK FTZ Business Park
january 2015 Entrepreneur
87
Wacky idea | who’s got VC | Q&A | STARTUP FINANCE
certified graduate
sponsored by dubai chamber
in the spirit of facilitating emirati
achievement via entrepreneurship
Bridging businesses
Emirati ‘trep Rashed Harb’s first foray into F&B
E
mirati entrepreneur
Rashed Harb says that
while he’s franchising an existing successful
model, it doesn’t make
his business any less a
brick and mortar startup:
“Even though Alouette
Crêperie is a franchise, I
still consider it as my own
startup and a beginning
to many other businesses.
Since this has been my first
actual business experience,
the hardest part was the
early stages where I had to
gather a lot of information,
and reach out to some
people and sometimes get
rejected.” Abu Dhabi-based
Alouette Crêperie, an
original concept by Majed
Al Marzoqi, is exactly what
it sounds like- a Frenchinspired dessert-lover’s
haven. The 24-year-old
entrepreneur approached
Al Marzoqi for franchising rights, and hopes to
begin welcoming guests
at his Dubai location in
late February of this year.
“The idea of franchising
originally came from my
passion towards establishIn terms of finances, Harb is
the sole owner and managed
to get his project off the
ground alone with the help
of Tejar Dubai. “The projected
ROI will be after two years
of operating, and the total
investment is AED1.2 million.”
Rashed
Harb
88
Entrepreneur january 2015
ing my own business, but
since I didn’t have enough
experience in this matter
I decided to franchise an
established business to
gain an understanding of
how the market works. I
believe in fighting for what
you’re passionate about
and following your dreams
as far as they go, hence I
approached Mr. Majed, who
was very welcoming in negotiating a franchising opportunity in Dubai.” Harb,
an undergraduate of AUD
with a Coventry University
MBA, says that his Alouette
Crêperie will reflect the
theme and menu of the
original outlet, mentioning
that Al Marzoqi undertook
extensive research to develop the menu and décor
for the F&B business.
In terms of finances, Harb
is the sole owner and managed to get his project off
the ground alone with the
help of Tejar Dubai. “The
projected ROI will be after
two years of operating,
and the total investment is
AED1.2 million,” explains
Harb. The new location of
the Alouette Crêperie will
be on Al Athar Road in
Jumeirah, and Harb says
social media is playing a
heavy role in his marketing
tactics. “While discussing
the marketing tools with
the franchisor, we agreed
that social media is one
of the most effective ways
of communicating with
our customers in the UAE.
Social media tools provide
businesses with maximum
exposure, and helps the
customer realize what your
business has to offer. In
this modern world, marketing through the social
media channels is the most
appropriate way to expose
a product, where you
can reach the maximum
amount of potential customers while saving some
expenses on your marketing
budget.”
‘TREP TALK Q+A
How do you stay motivated?
Reading about success stories and analyzing successful businesses has been
my greatest motivator. Whenever I feel
pressured and overwhelmed, I read
about how small businesses with small
ideas that made it to the finish line and
became globally recognized.
What do you think is the
biggest challenge facing
Emirati entrepreneurs?
I believe that the greatest challenge
facing Emirati entrepreneurs is translating their ideas into businesses. Even
though many of them have the potential, the knowledge and the vision, they
face the fear of taking their ideas to the
next level. Taking the first step into the
business world needs a lot of courage
and help, and Tejar Dubai provides you
with the perfect help, amazing support,
and complete guidance. You, on the
other hand, need to believe in yourself
and step up for what you’re passionate
about. Some of the largest businesses
in the world started with an idea that
someone thought was a silly idea,
but turned out to be a million dollar
business. H.H. Sheikh Mohammed
bin Rashid Al Maktoum is supporting
and encouraging entrepreneurs across
the UAE in various forms, which led
to a huge increase in the number of
entrepreneur’s in past couple of years.
Following His Highness’ vision, the
country is developing a lot of opportunities and possibilities for young entrepreneurs to enter the business world.
Alouette Crêperie INSTAGRAM © INSTAGRAM.COM | Alouette Crêperie WEBSITE
start it up
What process did you go
through with Tejar Dubai?
In order to gain Tejar Dubai’s assistance, I had to go through couple
of steps, which were interesting and
challenging, but important to build
the entrepreneur’s knowledge and
acknowledgment towards starting a
new business. Dealing with Tejar Dubai
was like joining a new family where
every member of the family supports,
cares and mentors the other from every
aspect. From the beginning, Tejar Dubai
showed me the milestones of starting
a new business and the possible obstacles that I might face to prepare me
for the journey. They helped me prepare the business plan, financial plan,
and find the most suitable location for
my business. Finally, after gaining the
confidence and knowledge through
various workshops, they provided me
with the financial support to transform
my ideas into reality. Tejar Dubai transforms every entrepreneur’s dream into
a reality by providing all kinds of support, starting from the business plan
up to implementing the business. Even
after starting the business, Tejar Dubai
continues to monitor and provide the
needed help to insure that the business
is going towards its projected plan.
Tejar Dubai is a development program committed
to nurturing potential UAE nationals into
becoming entrepreneurs. Launched last year
under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Majid bin
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman
of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, the program
identifies, develops, and mentors promising UAE
nationals to expedite the growth of an embryonic
business idea and advance it to the point of being
ready for immediate implementation.
www.tejardubai.ae
@TejarDubai
TejarDubai
january 2015 Entrepreneur
89
the switch
4. Get a mentor
Get yourself a mentor or a
business coach, someone who
can be there during the tough
periods you may go through.
And for a startup, there will
be several such periods,
and they will last for a long
while. I might sound a bit
depressing, but then again,
not all businesses or business
owners strike gold. Many
of us struggle, and many of
us quit, or have to quit. Of
course, there are also proven
methods to start a business.
I suggest checking out The
Lean Startup by Eric Ries.
5. Trust your intuition
Nothing ventured,
nothing gained
Five things to know as a fresh ‘trep
By Jawad Sajwani
W
hen I ventured into the
land of entrepreneurship, little did I know
that the experience was going
to yield profound learning
that would thereafter impact
every aspect of my life. Before
I started my own business, I
was an executive for 12 years,
and while I had seen a lot of
success and there was plenty
more of it on my horizon,
I still felt that something
was missing. I wanted to do
something for myself, and
by myself. Hence, I made the
Having an innovative model
is of no use if the industry
is not ready or not willing
to accept it. If you’re
adamant enough to stick to
your model, then ensure
that you have the stamina
and the resources you
need to run the business
for a long time.
90
Entrepreneur january 2015
decision to start a business.
Now, after four years as an
entrepreneur, I look back and
feel a sense of fulfillment
and satisfaction. I’m not a
millionaire yet, and I’ve not
achieved all my goals either,
but the journey has been truly
amazing. Here are five things
that I learned during my time
as an entrepreneur, which, I
hope, will be of benefit to you
all as well:
2. Know your industry
Do your homework on the industry you are venturing intoand this means real research,
not a Google search. Know
your competition, and know
how the industry works. Get
to know what type of business
models work and what do not.
Having an innovative model
is of no use if the industry
is not ready or not willing to
accept it. If you’re adamant
enough to stick to your model,
then ensure that you have the
stamina and the resources you
need to run the business for
a long time. These resources,
be it human capital, financial
resources or IT infrastructure,
will be the fuel that you will
run on, so be prudent and
have a long term plan.
1. Start small
3. Know your customers
First of all, have faith in the
idea you have for your business. Make it a small one, so
that if it does fail, you can
go back to it, improve it and
bring about changes to your
business model to make it a
successful one. If, in any case,
this cannot be done, then you
can still pull the plug on it at a
minimal loss, since it’s a small
venture.
After all, they are the ones
who will buy your product or
services. So, make sure you
understand how they think
and what would make them
buy your service. Also, be prepared to tell your customers
why you are better than your
competition in the market.
You need to have a clear idea
of who your clients are, and
what they want.
Your intuition, your gut feeling, is a very strong weapon
that you have in your business arsenal. Many times, it
will seem to fail you, but rest
assured that such experiences will provide you with
valuable life lessons instead.
Sometimes, no matter how
much data you may have, your
gut feeling will be the crucial
factor in making a decision, so
trust in it.
Jawad Sajwani, a MBA graduate
of Bradford University, is the
co-founder of Authenticity
Coaching & Consultancy, and
is the first Emirati male coach
to obtain Accredited Certified
Coach Certification (ACC) from
International Coaching Federation
(ICF). As an executive and
entrepreneur coach, Sajwani
works with individuals who want
to create a sustainable focused
business or a career using DiSC®
assessment tools as part of his
one-to-one entrepreneur coaching
program. His passion is to learn
and to share his knowledge and
experience as a former executive
and current entrepreneur.
january 2015 Entrepreneur
91
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january 2015 Entrepreneur
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