Tag: Entrepreneurship

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Event

IPN BootCamp : Skokie, IL on Saturday-Sunday, May 6th-7th 2017

IPN BootCamp is an educational program which engages the Jamat in a structured manner through a startup pitch competition.

The process the Midwest participants will partake in:
• Form a team with complimentary skills and decide on an idea to pursue
• Engage with coaches who will provide continuous guidance from ideation to pitch creation
• Create an investor pitch and present the idea in front of a group of judges

To register for the event click Here!

IPN BootCamp engages Jamati members across the career spectrum from seasoned professionals to independent business owners. There will be several keynote speakers part of the program. One of those speakers is Rudy Karsan, an Ismaili entrepreneur who started his HR Technology company Kanexa in 1987 which was acquired by IBM for $1.3B. Rudy Karsan being a dynamic and successful entrepreneur will provide guidance for individuals ranging from An aspiring entrepreneur looking to launch your startup to existing small business owners. IPN BootCamp allows Jamati members to develop and engage your leadership skills, strategic thinking skills, and communication skills. Above all, you will get an opportunity to network with other Jamati members to gain an insight in their industry as well as expanse the knowledge horizon.

IPN BootCamp will allow professionals or entrepreneurs to break boundaries and see entrepreneurship as a limitless opportunity.
IPN BootCamp’s mission is to also create a network of business leaders that not only have the skills but also the knowledge to create opportunities for Jamati members.

IPN BootCamp is not for a select few people within our Jamat, but for everyone. IPN BootCamp being held on the weekend of May 6th and 7th at the Skokie Public Library, so register now for this event via the link below, the IPN BootCamp website, or through your local Jamati IPN representative. We hope that you are able to participate and benefit from this unique opportunity and we are looking forward to seeing you there.

Here is a glimpse of Rudy Karsan in action, and stay tuned for information on more speakers or visit our website at www.ipnbootcamp.com

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Event

IPN BootCamp : Carrollton, TX on Sunday, April 9th 2017

The monthly IPN BootCamp Speaker Series, will bring highly successful business leaders from a variety of industries to share their experiences and give advice to professionals, students and other entrepreneurs on topics ranging from “building a venture around intellectual capital” to “successful entrepreneurship in large organizations” and “socially responsible leadership.”

Our mission is to support and inspire entrepreneurs to achieve success through a community that promotes faster connections between talent, ideas and capital. Together, we will fuel Ismaili’s rise to startup in the U.S.

Stay tuned for more details on the IPN BootCamp Speaker Series to be held in Carrollton, TX on Sunday, April 9th 2017 from 11:00am- 1:00pm CDT.

Click Here to register!

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Event

IPN BootCamp : Chicago, IL on Saturday, February 18th 2017

The monthly IPN BootCamp Speaker Series, will bring highly successful business leaders from a variety of industries to share their experiences and give advice to professionals, students and other entrepreneurs on topics ranging from “building a venture around intellectual capital” to “successful entrepreneurship in large organizations” and “socially responsible leadership.”

Our mission is to support and inspire entrepreneurs to achieve success through a community that promotes faster connections between talent, ideas and capital. Together, we will fuel Ismaili’s rise to startup in the U.S.

MEET: Rizwan Sheikh, Co-founder of AustinCSI

Website: https://www.austincsi.com/

Rizwan Sheikh was the finalist for Entrepreneur of the Year from the Greater Dallas. He is responsible for providing strategic direction for AustinCSI. With over 25 years of experience in the industry, Rizwan has held several executive level positions where he has advised senior level executives in a range of industries related to financial services, telecommunications, consumer products, and manufacturing.

He will be coming to Chicago on February 18th, 2017, specially for our Limitless Speaker Series event to engage with the community in an intimate setting to discuss the challenges, moments of inspirations, and strategic decisions he took to develop as a leading executive.

Please join us at Chicago Social Hall on Saturday February 18th, 2017 at 8pm.

Please register Here!

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Spotlight

Irfaan Lalani

IPN Spotlight: Irfaan Lalani (Chief Executive Officer, Vibe Restaurants)

A graduate of Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration, Irfaan is the CEO and Co-Founder of Vibe Restaurants. They currently own and operate 61 Little Caesars locations in 8 states and 2 Which Wich Superior Sandwiches.

What skills have helped you in your career?
The entrepreneurial spirit which I got from my parents at a young age along with leadership skills have helped me the most.

What do you wish you had known or done differently throughout your career?
I wish we had grown a little more slowly. Unit count is vanity, but cash flow is king. If I were to do it over again, I would invest more in our training platform.

What is next for you in your career?
To bring on a seasoned restaurant COO to help run Vibe Restaurants, which will allow me to focus on our company culture and diversification. To develop new brands.

What do you do for continuing education and improvement?
I am a board member of Washington DC’s Entrepreneur Organization (EO DC). Through EO I am to meet other entrepreneurs from a wide range of industries, hear thought provoking talks with industry leaders and coaches, and learn to be a better husband and parent.

What advice would you offer to others?
Do what you are passionate about, don’t focus only on the financial results, those will come if you are focused and love what you do.

Areas where you can help other Ismailis:
• Franchising
• Restaurants
• Scaling
• Hospitality

If you would like to nominate someone to be a part of the spotlight, click Here.

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Event

IPN Facebook Live Broadcast : Thursday, December 15th 2016 – Shama Hyder

 

Join IPN for the first Facebook Live AMA (Ask Me Anything) with special guest Shama Hyder!

Date: Thursday, December 15th
Time: 6 PM CST

Learn about Shama’s entrepreneurial journey and how to build a brand, plus chat directly and ask your own questions, LIVE! Simply follow the steps below to get notified as the presentation starts, then watch live directly on the Facebook page.

Shama Hyder is the founder and CEO of the award-winning agency, The Marketing Zen Group, an integrated web marketing and digital PR firm. She is a highly acclaimed international keynote speaker and a regular media correspondent, often featured across all major media channels, including MSNBC, Fox Business, Forbes, Inc. and The Wall Street Journal. She is also the best-selling author of The Zen of Social Media Marketing (4th Edition) and Momentum: How to Propel Your Marketing and Transform Your Brand in the Digital Age

How to participate:

  1. Click here to visit the IPN Facebook page
  2. Scroll down to the section titled “Posts”
  3. Click on “Get Reminder”, which will provide you a reminder a few minutes before the broadcast begins on Thursday at 6pm CST
  4. On Thursday at 6pm CST, visit the IPN page where the broadcast will be live.  You can ask questions directly in the chat!
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Spotlight

Kamruddin Shams

IPN Spotlight: Kamruddin Shams (Entrepreneur at The Shams Group)

Originally from Chittagong, Bangladesh, Kamruddin Shams came to USA with $29 in his pocket and the American dream. In his early years in the country, he started off as a janitor and then got in to Minneapolis Fed which got him interested in technology and innovation. He studied BS Quantitative Methods and Information Systems and MA in Health Administration. Early in his career he was in to IT and transformational management for health systems in ILL and CA. In 1989 he founded and is currently the Chairman of The Shams Group, a healthcare consulting and software firm which serves hospitals around the world and has operations in North America, & Asia. Since then he has been a serial entrepreneur engaged with IT, healthcare, education and real estate start-ups, investments, and innovations. Kamruddin Shams’ volunteer roles include IHPA, YSB, Past Chairman Nizari Progressive Federal Credit Union (NPFCU), IPN Bootcamp, & Chairman Worldwide Education Fund, providing education opportunity to over 2000 orphans and needy children around the world.

What skills have helped you in your career?
The ABCDE of skills that has helped me are:
A—ability to self-assess, be accountable for ones goals, be adaptable
B—be bold, big vision, balanced, benevolent and blissful
C—communication, collaboration, computing and critical thinking
D—disciplined, decisive, determined, dependable and dedicated
E—engaged, efficient, energetic, endurance, empowered and entrepreneurial driven

What do you wish you had known or done differently throughout your career?
No second guesses and regrets. Every career has its share of challenges, struggle and adversities. I have had my share, and I have always tried to be self-aware, knowledge driven, and adaptable to adjust the best I can, so I would not change a thing.

What is next for you in your career?
I look at each 10 year as a chapter in one’s life. The next chapter for me can be called the 3Vs. The 3Vs stand for Volunteering (transforming poor children lives via education and vocational training around the world http://wef.world , Vacationing (Travel the world, & learn), and Venturing (entrepreneurship and investing). I try to do this via a balanced lifestyle, and a philosophy of Tan, Man, Dhan and Fun.

What do you do for continuing education and improvement?
Read ferociously, travel extensively, network, stay humble, be open minded and non-judgmental and constantly learn from others.

What advice would you offer to others?
Understand who you are, and what your ‘calling’ is. Assess yourself, skills, potentials, abilities periodically, and know the difference between what you want, and what you are willing to work for. That is often the difference between success and failure. I coach a lot of professionals, who want to pivot in their career or become an entrepreneur, and I ask them—do you have the Phd (passion, hunger and discipline). We all have Phd for something. The question is finding out what that something is, and then executing it the best way you can, to be the best you can be.

Areas where you can help other Ismailis:
• Career Coaching
• Business Strategic Planning
• Mentoring on how to be the CEO of your life
• Entrepreneurship

If you would like to nominate someone to be a part of the spotlight, click Here.

Categories
Event

Southwest IPN BootCamp : Houston, TX on Saturday, October 29th 2016

The Ismaili Professionals Network (IPN) in collaboration with South Asian Chamber of Commerce (SACC) is holding a Boot Camp for Ismaili Professionals (IPs) and SACC members who have an interest in starting their own professional ventures. The objective of the Boot Camp is to provide current or aspiring entrepreneurs with tools and knowledge to help transform ideas into reality.

This event will take place in Houston at HPC Social Hall on Saturday, October 29th, 2016 from 8pm-10pm. The event will include dinner and networking followed by business plan pitches by five teams that have gone through the start-up boot camp over the last three weeks. Participation fee is $10 that includes dinner and competition attendance.

Industries covered:

· Real Estate

· Social Media

· Education

· Marketing

· Customer Service

IPN-SACC Bootcamp PitchDay

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Register here!

For more information, please visit www.ipnbootcamp.com/houston

Categories
Spotlight

Shahzil Amin

IPN Spotlight: Shahzil Amin (Managing Partner at Karlani Capital)

Shahzil Amin, who goes by Shaz as many people butcher his real name, is the founder of two companies on two different ends of the spectrum. The first is Blue Track Media, a mobile advertising company which he started right out of high school. The second is Plugged, which is a premium headphone manufacturer that he started during his senior year in college. In April 2014, Blue Track Media was acquired by Karlani Capital, where Shaz now takes on the role of managing partner where he focuses on investing in passionate entrepreneurs with great ideas.

What skills have helped you in your career?
I focus more on my traits than my skills, as my skills aren’t anything that others don’t have. First, I’m obsessive. Once I’m sold on an idea all I can do is think about how I’m going to make it big while tackling all the possible hurdles that may appear. Second is my ability to think outside of the box to solve problems and create partnerships. The ability to routinely find creative streams of revenue and cost-effective solutions to problems is something I pride myself in. But that trait comes from my ability to obsess and completely indulge myself in the opportunity or problem. Last but clearly not the least, it’s my genuine and blunt nature that’s helped me tremendously. I give 10x more than I get back. I see the best in people until they prove me wrong. And most importantly I’m blunt and I remove myself from negative people and negative situations. Not many people will highlight the types of things that have helped me in my career but these traits were crucial for my success.

What do you wish you had known or done differently throughout your career?
I wish I had known how mentally and emotionally taxing the entrepreneurial journey is. Most people think that business issues, such as sales, employees, etc are some of the toughest things for entrepreneurs. I agree they are, but in my opinion the mental toll that the journey takes on them is just as tough. Imagine working 18-20 hours a day and seeing slow progress. Imagine losing friends and family due to their inability to understand what it takes to be successful or the envy that secretly builds up on their end. Imagine being responsible for the life of the employees you hire as well as their families’ well being. I wish I had known how all these issues would come to shape my life and my future.

What is next for you in your career?
It’s hard to predict the future, but what I want next for me is to work on an “Elon-type” of problem, something far greater than I can realize myself. Everyone wants to be Elon and will talk about him, but there are very few people who are willing to devote their life tackling grand issues. There was an interview that Elon gave a couple years ago where he said his wish was that the world’s best and smartest entrepreneurs and developers would stop working on internet companies and tackle the next big issue. That stuck to me. I’m not looking to create another Facebook or Instagram. I want to create another Tesla, SpaceX or Solarcity. I want to wake up and know I’m making a difference in millions of lives around the world. I’m not sure what I’ll be doing, but I gave myself a goal to figure it out by my early 30’s. However usually the best ideas just come to you without you chasing them.

What do you do for continuing education and improvement?
I audit classes at local universities. I don’t need another degree or an MBA, I just like to learn, especially when it’s free and there are no grades involved. As an entrepreneur, you’re constantly learning on the job.

What advice would you offer to others?
Many founders start a company for themselves, but I think about it differently. Start a company for someone else, someone you deeply love. Because most of the time you’ll eventually get over letting yourself down. But when you’re doing it for someone you love, you’ll work that much harder just to make sure you don’t let them down.

Areas where you can help other Ismailis:
• Entrepreneurship
• Venture Capital
• Talk Therapy

If you would like to nominate someone to be a part of the spotlight, click Here.

Categories
Event

Southwest IPN BootCamp : Houston, TX from October 8th-29th 2016

The Ismaili Professionals Network (IPN) in collaboration with South Asian Chamber of Commerce (SACC) is holding a Boot Camp for Ismaili Professionals (IPs) and SACC members who have an interest in starting their own professional ventures. The objective of the Boot Camp is to provide current or aspiring entrepreneurs with tools and knowledge to help transform ideas into reality.

This event will take place in Houston from October 8th to October 29th, 2016. Kick-off mixer will be held at Station Houston (map link) on October 8th, 2016 at 10:00 AM. There is no participation fee for attending the Mixer, however, registrations are required. Participation fee for 4-week Boot Camp is $25 (includes workshop material, food/drinks/snacks).

This educational program will be structured as a startup pitch competition. Over a series of 4 weeks, participants will:

· Form an entrepreneurial team and decide on a startup idea to pursue

· Build the foundation of a business model on how to bring the idea to market including: market analysis, operational plan and financial plan

· Engage with an experienced subject matter experts who will help the team focus on important areas of research and develop an investor presentation

· Create an investor pitch and present in front of a group

· Participate in full day workshop which features guest speakers and coaches

Key Dates:

Mixer                                               Oct 8, 2016
Exec Summary Submission Oct 11, 2016
Qualification Decision           Oct 13, 2016
Startup Workshop                   Oct 15, 2016
Flex Week                                     Oct 22, 2016
Pitch Day                                       Oct 29, 2016

For more information, please visit www.ipnbootcamp.com/houston

Categories
Spotlight

Fahim Naim

IPN Spotlight: Fahim Naim (Founder at eShopportunity)

Fahim is an e-commerce/start-up professional and advisor. He launched eShopportunity, an e-commerce consultancy partnering with companies ranging from the Fortune 500 to start-ups. Fahim speaks regularly at e-commerce conferences and advises several start-ups in the field. In addition to e-commerce, he launched an online dating service called SneakPeek Dating, focused on live video conversations.

What skills have helped you in your career?
I started my career in corporate finance and was fortunate to gain high executive exposure at a young age, which was a catalyst to growing rapidly at my company. Having solid quantitative skills is extremely valuable in most industries, particularly in Retail. Additionally, the lean startup method has been a huge asset for my personal endeavors and advisory roles. This has taught me that you don’t have to sit idly by when evaluating a business idea or concept. Instead, you can test a “MVP” (minimum viable product) and get quick data (i.e. create a launch page for your product and see if you get traffic/feedback) before investing too much time and resources.

What do you wish you had known or done differently throughout your career?
While brand-name work experience early in your career has definite advantages, if you are passionate about an idea and have the desire and prowess to see it come to market, then take the leap of faith. Also, while it is fine to stay at a company for several years during your early years, ensure that you are constantly proving to yourself why this company is worth staying at and understand what other opportunities are out there so you can make the evaluation regularly.

What is next for you in your career?
In addition to scaling the e-commerce consultancy, I am evaluating taking a senior role at an emerging e-commerce platform or growing the SneakPeek dating service.

What do you do for continuing education and improvement?
I subscribe to several industry related newsletters, attend conferences, comment on articles, and meet with industry professionals very regularly. There is always information imbalance within an industry, so be at the forefront of the news, stats, etc. so that people come to you when they have questions and ideas.

What advice would you offer to others?
Find other smart ambitious people to be around, especially technical ones if you are interested in tech start-ups. You will increase your chance of success dramatically by having people to lean on and join.
You will undoubtedly fail in your first attempts at a start-up, but you will learn tremendously valuable lessons through that process. Embrace the lean startup principles (MVP, fail fast, etc.) and keep churning.
Be bold, don’t settle, and have the confidence that you will accomplish anything you set out to do (as long as you are willing to put in the work for it)

Areas where you can help other Ismailis:
• E-commerce related questions (i.e. starting out a new e-commerce company/idea, optimize selling on Amazon, etc.)
• Startup advising (B2C focused)
• MBA admissions
• Personal financial planning