Loud Thinking

Archive for April, 2015

Mr. Prime Minister this is highly alarming and an eye opener.

New ventures: In the global start-up culture, Pakistan remains behind.

Quote.”
Where does Pakistan stand on ‘start-ups’? One key data source is the World Bank Group’s report on “Doing Business”. Starting in 2014, a new measure to track entrepreneurial activity has been included. If you look at the bar chart for “New Business Density”, which is defined as the number of newly registered corporations per 1,000 working-age people (those ages 15–64), Pakistan is last at the bottom of all South Asian countries, worse than Bangladesh, Bhutan and even Afghanistan.”Unquote.

By Saad AmanullahPublished Express Tribune: April 20, 2015

Link:- http://tribune.com.pk/story/872620/new-ventures-in-the-global-start-up-culture-pakistan-remains-behind/

KARACHI: Start-up is a temporary organisation created to focus on driving an idea into a scalable and sustainable business model.

It is important to make sure that the idea is not a ‘copy-cat’ or a clone of an existing idea, but an innovative or creative concept that creates value and stands on its own feet. Clones shrink the pie, provide low value and have slow growth rates, while innovation-driven ideas are high risk, but can exponentially increase the pie, experience high-value-addition and faster growth.

Start-ups are critical for any economy as they act as fertilisers for employment and have many socio-economic benefits. They help create a practical backdrop for budding entrepreneurs and in driving interest in entrepreneurship as a viable career option. They also serve as job creators and a much needed source of employment.

To check out the impact on employment, lets look at two globally famous start-ups, Apple and Google and an established company like P&G. Over a 10-year period, using 2004 as a base, P&G work-force has pretty much remained flat, whereas

Apple has grown at an impressive 24% per year, and Google at a mind-boggling 53% per year; Google employee base increased 70 times in 10 years. P&G today is 177 years old, while Apple and Google have been operating for a mere 39 and 27 years respectively; a clear indication of the positive role new start-ups play in providing jobs.

On the other hand, when we look at the value creation or the impact these new start-up companies have on the US economy where they all operate in, is simply astonishing. Apple today is worth 3 times what P&G is worth, and is 139 years younger. Same situation with Google and Microsoft versus 100+ year-old companies like Coke and IBM.

A classic case of exponential value-creation is of Instagram, which in a mere 18 months of its creation was bought by Facebook for a whopping $1 billion, while only having 13 employees. This kind of exponential growth was just not possible in the 20th century but is happening across the globe.

Pakistan’s case

Where does Pakistan stand on ‘start-ups’? One key data source is the World Bank Group’s report on “Doing Business”. Starting in 2014, a new measure to track entrepreneurial activity has been included. If you look at the bar chart for “New Business Density”, which is defined as the number of newly registered corporations per 1,000 working-age people (those ages 15–64), Pakistan is last at the bottom of all South Asian countries, worse than Bangladesh, Bhutan and even Afghanistan.

Entrepreneurial activity is a pillar of economic growth, and it is no surprise that there is a clear correlation between the aforementioned start-up data with the continued poor economic growth of Pakistan economy (see table). The situation is further compounded by Pakistan’s having the highest population growth rate amongst all South Asian nations.

Entrepreneurial activity is a pillar of economic growth. The data from US and many other countries confirms that Pakistan needs to urgently fix its entrepreneurial ecosystem.

If one looks at the survey by World Bank Group on Pakistan’s “Ease of Doing Business” some glaring facts on why people don’t want to start a business or become an entrepreneur come to light. The ranking in this survey of 189 economies clearly highlights the plight of Pakistan business people and community.

Pakistan’s government must set goals for each of these “Ease of Doing Business” indicators, share them publicly and create strong accountably by naming a minister level person, with credibility and authority, whose sole job will be to fix this issue urgently. Else Pakistan will be left behind, as we can see, while other countries continue to progress at supersonic speed in this new knowledge economy era.

THE WRITER IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE CORPORATE SECTOR AND A SUPPORTER OF MANY SOCIAL ENTERPRISES AND FOUNDATIONS

Employment

2004

2014

Annual Gwth%

Apple

11,700

98,000

24%

Google

800

55,000

53%

P&G

110,000

118,000

1%

Time Period

1987-1995

1996-2006

2007-2013

GDP Growth (%)

5.2

4.3

3.0

Published in The Express Tribune, April 20th, 2015.

“Instead of living your life on the edge of desperation and numbness, live your life in the center of inspiration and aliveness.

farrah

A MUST READ FOR PEOPLE IN TROUBLE

Power of confidence – a motivating anecdote?

A business executive was deep in debt and could see no way out.
Creditors were closing in on him. Suppliers were demanding payment.

He sat on the park bench, head in hands, wondering if anything could save his company from bankruptcy.

Suddenly an old man appeared before him.
“I can see that something is troubling you,” he said.

After listening to the executive’s woes, the old man said, “I believe I can help you.” He asked the man his name, wrote out a cheque, and pushed it into his hand saying, “Take this money. Meet me here exactly one year from today, and you can pay me back at that time.” Then he turned and disappeared as quickly as he had come.

The business executive saw in his hand a cheque for $500,000, signed by John D. Rockefeller, then one of the richest men in the world!

“I can erase my money worries in an instant!” he realized.
Nonetheless, the executive decided to put the cheque in his safe first. Just knowing it was there, would give him the strength to work out a way to save his business, he thought.

With renewed optimism, he negotiated better deals and got extended terms of payment from creditors. Soon he could close some big sales. Within a few months, he was out of debt and making money once again.

Exactly a year later, he returned to the park with that uncashed cheque. The old man did not appear for some time yet the business executive decided to wait for a while more. A while late the old man came along the way but seemed to be unmindful of the business executive. He stopped the old man and was about the hand over the cheque with a few words of thanks as well as share his success story.

At the same time, he saw a nurse come running up and grabbing the old man. “I’m so glad I caught him!” she cried. “I hope he hasn’t been bothering you. He’s always escaping from the rest home and telling people he’s John D. Rockefeller. “And she led the old man away by the arm.

The astonished executive just stood there, stunned.

All year long he’d been wheeling and dealing, buying and selling, convinced he had half a million dollars behind him. Suddenly, he realized that it wasn’t the money, real or imagined, that had turned his life around. It was his newfound self-confidence that gave him the power to achieve anything he went after.

He understood that Confidence is nothing but the distant vision held positively no matter what comes in between.

It comes from one’s own commitment and dedication and entirely internal.

Received with thanks from Farah Wankadia-Mumbai.

“You can never have enough garlic. With enough garlic, you can eat The New York Times.”

— Morley Safer