Seeding the startups

These days one finds plenty of local startups hoping to make it big. But many run into issues early on, thus failing to take off. Reasons are mixed. Some don’t get the necessary, initial mentoring to see through the teething problems. Others hit a wall when they seek outside financing to seed their fledgling entities. The notion that fortune smiles mostly at the already-fortunate is true in Pakistan as well.

[caption id="attachment_375288" align="alignright" width="300"] Hand writing Start-up concept with black marker on transparent wipe board.[/caption]

Based on BR Research background interactions, it seems that the local startup scene is not short of brilliant ideas. But where it lacks is collaboration within, and financial linkages without. The sector needs to band together and sort out issues of mentoring and financing the prospects that stand out. Several startup incubators and accelerators are now found in major metropolises, but there is a need to do more.

There is some evidence that the startup community may itself be waking up to those issues. Earlier this year one saw ‘Idea Croron Ka’ – a business reality TV show – go on air on television. During the show, aspiring startups presented their ideas to investors and mentors. Last month, Careem partnered with the show for an activity called ‘Idea on Wheels’.

Earlier this month, Uber Pakistan organized an ‘uberPITCH’ activity in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad (KLI). During short Uber rides, founders of over 30 startups pitched their entity’s potential to judges, who belonged to different functional and organizational backgrounds. The initial screening had short listed about 150 startups, with qualifying criteria of being in business for at least 12 months, having a workforce of less than 25 employees, and raising an investment in the range of $0-2 million.

BR Research participated as an observer in one such pitch in Islamabad. It would be a stretch to think that a pitch on a brief ride alone would have convinced an experienced entrepreneur to consider putting an angel investment in a startup. But, to the extent of a quick mentoring session, uberPITCH would most likely have provided the startup founders with some serious food for thought.

What next? Uber Pakistan told BR Research that the winning startup from the exercise would get all-expenses-paid trip to Dubai to promote and feature in ArabNET Digital Showcase. The company also said it was planning to turn uberPITCH into an annual event to provide a platform to innovative minds and encourage the youth’s entrepreneurial ventures.

Seeding the startups that haven’t really broken out yet but possess the prospect of cultivating a competitive advantage could be a great opportunity for angel investors. Such startups have a clean slate, so due diligence is easy and formal structure can be promptly put into place. But for that, serious investors will need to do some digging, which means going beyond the available universe of established incubators and accelerators.