Daredevils of the statrtup world! Two Asian entrepreneurs reveal simple to daredevil secrets

Early Environment
It is the dream of many Pakistanis to be doctors, engineers and accountants, a similar dream of legions across the Indian Subcontinent.

Faizan Largari was no different – he dreamed of accountancy, but Muhammad Nasrullah was fascinated by the idea that you could create something out of nothing and dreamed of being a great inventor. Lego sets and science books purchased by his father fueled make-believe into reality.

Another gift from Dad was his first Atari, an early gaming console and he was hooked. Believe it or not, this young lad was not just playing but was making the games his own with the question: How can I make these? He became a slave to the manuals and books and read widely.

Hero Figures
Something both Faizan Larghari and Muhammad Nasrullah have in common is their hero Bill Gates. Muhammad Nasurllah is candid as to the specifics – Bill Gates is enormously rich due to sheer intelligence, hard work, tech savvy and without family wealth.

Overcoming Mental Obstacles
The lesson from Bill Gates was a great inspiration: hard work and curiosity would eventually lead to massive success. Muhammad Nasurllah feels that has helped him overcome the general negative atmosphere that prevails among many young Pakistanis – who are resigned to the idea that hard work does not pay off, that you need a safarish (internal recommendation or contact), and that playing fair doesn't pay back as much as shortcuts.

Sturdy Stance
Muhammad Nasrullah takes the stance that he could do anything, but he admits that he could make this belief real because he is really good at programming and didn't know any programmer that was any better at coding than he is.

By the age of 12, Muhammad Nasrullah had written complete Dungeons and Dragons games and his own Graphical Libraries. By the age of 13 he had already made up his mind he was going to start his own company in computer software.

When he was 15 he won second place as “Young Scientist” under 16 in Saudi Arabia for a magnetic motor design, and in the same year he was also the runner-up as the fastest programmer in a competition held in Lahore.

Entrepreneurial Essence
Entrepreneurship to Muhammad Nasrullah is about problem solving. There are always many obstacles but creative entrepreneurs will find a way around them.

“I can't really single out a particular obstacle, suffice to say it will always be an uphill task to innovate,” he adds.

Faizan Laghari lives by the motto “Why not?” and regards himself as a technopreneur – an entrepreneur in the tech field since 18. According to Faizan “Entrepreneurship is TOUGH! It has its perks, but it's so much tougher to go against the grain, so getting shot down repeatedly, listening to 'NO' and still going down the same road is something not for everyone.”

He adds: “To be a successful entrepreneur, I think one has to be thick-skinned, keep at it and not give up. Of course, all that is only worth it if your idea/business is worthwhile and you've done your homework. But mostly, anyone who doesn't have the ability to keep at it even when things look down will probably not make it!”

Pillars of Support
While Muhammad Nasrullah and Faizan Laghari feel that there is not an entrepreneurial environment in Pakistan, both have created pillars of support by either being members of organisations that aim to help entrepreneurs or have won awards that endorse their business brand.

Muhammad Nasrullah’s company has recently been named as one of Asia’s top 100 most innovative companies by Red Herring: redherring.com/red-herring-asia/asia-2012-finalists/

Their mobile platform's Ad campaign was selected among seven from all over the world for the Most Effective Campaign in London: http://mobilemarketingmagazine.com/content/effective-mobile-marketing-aw... (Sony Music, Peugeot, Vogue Magazine, Warner Brothers were among the others)

They were also shortlisted for innovative mobile marketing work by Pakistan's Advertiser's Society award for media innovation: http://blog.pringit.com/2012/04/23/pring-gets-nominated-for-media-innova...

Tied In
Faizan Laghari has joined organizations that he feels are more targeted towards entrepreneurship as opposed to business in general which is the perception of the role of chambers of commerce. Faizan has plumped for charter membership of TiE Karachi which focuses upon entrepreneurship and networking around this.

Daredevil Shot
“Entrepreneurs, I'd say, are the daredevils of the business world!” believes Faizan Largari. You have to ask yourself are you a daredevil?