Guest Post
Several tech startups in emerging markets have managed to cut through the fog without following the standard Silicon Valley rhetoric. Zoho.com from India is a multi-million dollar company that [hasn’t raised a penny] from investors to date. Mont5.com is a local startup that has managed to make a couple of million dollars without even talking to a single VC. Then there is Markhor.com, Dastawezat.com and the list goes on and on.
I have been studying such tech companies lately. They all have some traits in common that make them stand out. I have compiled those common traits in a methodology that I call [Progressive Startup Methodology]
These companies prove that the Silicon Valley way isn’t the only way to succeed. You can manage to build a profitable tech business out of your own limited resources. All you need is a passion to solve a problem and iron nerves, everything else would follow.
Here are the 15 rules that – if followed in true spirit – provide a framework of building a tech startup in an emerging market.
Special thanks to Farrukh Malik of MONT5 / Discretelogix Private Limited and Wajahat Imam of Dastawezat.com for sharing their stories with me in detail and helping me out in this regard.
About Awais Naseer:
Awais Naseer is a serial entrepreneur and Startup coach who started his first tech company at 19 years of age. He has since been involved in Pakistan’s startup scene for past 11 years. His core area of expertise is Lean Startup Methodology. He runs a Special Interests Group on Lean Methodology with OPEN Islamabad. You can follow Awais on Facebook to keep in touch with his activities or like his page to learn more about the Progressive Startup Methodology.
