Problems worth solving is a concept worth spending time on. Building an other app for chatting is a trivial problem, 1 likely not startup worthy. The key is to think about the process of finding problems worth solving. If it has a low barrier to entry 4 U it does for others 2.
Dont chase the same rabbit as all others, find things that from the outside in are extremely challenging to scale but likely can. It might be better to focus on something very hard at first sight, something unsexy and messy. All the world's problems if looked at from a tech lens
Will continue to make u think that all problems are technical problems. Just like we all read the same blogs, follow the same popular tech news we continue to be a curated version of the world's technical output. This makes us shortsighted in terms of the problems of this world.
The key to win is to start to look outside the narrow window of the startup mainstream. New companies and ideas are growing every day in the 'old economy' use the tech lense to solve for that. Good things will happen if we looked outside this startup mainstream. But most dont.
Within our circle of relevance of geeks we glamorize growth hacking and APIs, and CPM, think about it, isn't it or wont it be hard to find a distinct advantage over others in a group of peers all wired the same way? There are more startup opportunities than we can visualize but
We must re configure our disposition from looking away from tech oasis to tech desserts. When u have water u go sell it in the dessert vs next to a natural spring. So find ur deserts. Be the outsider in other people's industries and apply ur tech skills in helping them scale.
I'm confident that an outside view will likely prove to be more scalable & help industry natives rely on you for better outcomes. A fresh pair of eyes with a technical mind set is likely to succeed more. Be the lost tech tribesmen in different deserts vs being a me2 agent at home
We live in a utopia of one click card payments,a place where every 1 has apps for collaboration & for tokenizing info & are tech literate. It's this fantasy that will get us killed. Don't be misled that tech is every where, u are lucky that it isn't, it's still finding its way.
Don't pay to play. Founders who will win will go after hard, dirty, unsexy industries likely due to the fact that no VC money is being announced daily in their vertical meaning no competition breathing down their neck. How to spot the unsexy?
Simply look at 1) deep offline processes with automation or efficiency potential 2) manual work with dying skills 3) severe localization and reliance 4) things the wealthy do/need 5) things with decade old grandfathered contracts or processes /regulated
U know u have won when..
The top players in all of the above verticals would say that they do not need technology. That is ur market product fit right there. The upside for the right solution at scale will be disproportionate as will the effort required to win. These niches won't find u, u must find them
Every one Talks About Elite Capture in 🇵🇰 but most don't do any research to find out what it really means or where it started or how it impacts us daily
We are quick to blame
Lazy to action
Indifferent to learn from history
Heres a 🧵 an attempt with some facts & data points
The concentration of business ownership has been an interesting economic case study in 🇵🇰 ever since 1968 when Dr. Mahbub( then the Chief Economist of the Planning Commission) Named Pakistan’s 22 Families that dis proportionately controlled its economy.
A report by KASB in 2018 stated the following with some in-accuracies. The top 11 family-controlled groups have 53 listed companies which have a collective market cap of $27bn, which means they account for around 35% of the market capitalization of Pakistan Stock Exchange.
The Economic crisis & its impact explained in simple terms.A guide for Millennials & Gen Z.🧵
Boomers will tell you, they have been hearing since time immemorial that "the country is at the brink of disaster"
What they don't tell you:
1)Their lack of contribution to fix things
2)Their inability to call a spade a spade
3)Their lack of involvement in street level community building let alone national
4)Their lack of ownership from any thing that "didn't impact them" economically
They are right in one thing for sure. We didn't get here over night, their entire life was spent "hearing things are bad", but it was also spent ignoring that same message.
How many took any "action"?
Every one buried their head in sand and said "sanu ki" this too shall pass.
Despite years of poor governance, economic difficulties, security challenges, and internal issues, the average Pakistani remains optimistic that better days are coming. This response highlights the deep bond between man and his creator and the belief that things will improve.
Another possible explanation is the lack of education and access to understanding economic fallout. Because we have always "heard things are bad". But clearly things have continued to go on..
I was today years old when I found out what a 'designer' "lawn" suit costs🧵
15-20k Price points for an outfit + cost of tailoring
Made me question my professional choices & of many other entrepreneurs
Perhaps the best thing to do is to build tech around lawn ..
For niche designers this is how the process works:
1)Call ahead
2)If you are an old customer(no deposit)
3)If you aren't well heeled then you may need to do a bank transfer to hold(with more niche designers albeit)
4)On the designated day show up
5)Avg cart size is 5 outfits
The name “lawn cloth” comes from the French city of Laon, which was where this textile was first woven. (says the internet)
At first, lawn cloth was primarily made with linen, which was more abundant in Europe at the time. material.
YouTube Black Outs & Curious Case of Destroying Startup Value(ations) 🧵
Without the who/what/why of blocking,understand this,there is an other side to this saga that is slowly going to kill startups
What? Really?Let me take you & the powers be on a Journey of value destruction
Be it popular media, social media, political parties, influencers, opinion makers or the government it self. One thing is clear. Youtube outages happened (happening in🇵🇰).