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Reshmi Menon / Mumbai
He is the conventional NRI who returned to
his home country to make it on his own. The only drawback being
that 24-year old Faisal I Farooqui like other young entrepreneurs
latched on to the dotcom boom. After returning from the US Faisal
established his own person-to-person (P2P) portal mouthshut.com.
The young CEO says that though he jumped into the hyped e-business
bandwagon, it is with a difference.
Thus Faisal's brainchild mouthshut.com is
a portal wherein consumers can write in their reviews about various
products and services available. Every reviewer gets two points
for writing in his opinion (he collects 10 points on registration).
On accumulation of 600 points he then becomes eligible for discounts.
He also has to be a member for six months of the portal. The database
and the review are then sold to the respective manufacturer.
Indeed a unique concept the idea struck Faisal
while he was in New York. He had appeared for a 'Magazine Writing
Test' where in his papers were not assessed by the professors but
by the remaining 19 students who appeared for the exam. (Vice versa
he also corrected their papers). After a month the articles were
handed over to the respective writers. Some of them even found place
in certain magazines. Faisal's too came published in a local magazine.
This was enough motivation for the young mind to send his grey cells
get cracking. "I pondered over the whole procedure of this
assessment. My article was checked by 19 others and with their suggestions
and clarification I could modify my article and make it credible
enough to be published. I thought of applying the same concept to
the manufacturing industry where the reviews of the consumers would
help them better their product."
Then there was no stopping to Faisal's enthusiasm
to convert his idea into reality. He spoke to his management there
but they didn't evince much interest. Finally he put in his papers
and caught the next flight home.
Leaving a highly paid job did create a little
frustration in the young entrepreneur's heart but soon it was overcome
once work began on mouthshut.com.
Commence with investments from strategic
alliances (one investor being an American company, the other being
Middle East) Faisal is seeking out venture capital fund for going
international. Money has been carefully invested in people and in
acquiring the right infrastructure for his strong technology backed
portal.
Faisal is well aware that when he established
the portal, the dotcom boom was at its peak whereas today it's a
dot-gone era when every other day there is news about one or the
other portal shutting shop. But Faisal is confident and says that
he has a strong revenue model for sustenance. "The P2P model
is expected to be $6 million by 2004. By the next three four years,
mouthshut.com will be well positioned to be a leader," he defends.
Why this unusual name, we ask? "There's
a reason behind it," he clarifies. "Consumers have always
been told to keep their mouth shut by the vendors. But with my portal
they (consumers) are going to voice their opinion and they are going
to tell their vendors to keep their mouth shut. So it's a reverse
role this time," he laughs.
There are 120 categories of products and services
available with about 15,000 products on the portal. Every branded
products — be it calculators, motor cycles or services like
music, restaurants, or tour operators has found a place for reviewing
on the site. The other unique thing about the portal is its in-built
software SORT (Society's Opinion Rating Trust) that helps filter
genuine reviews developed by his core team in the US. "A person
if found to give negative remarks consistently could be a spy out
to tarnish his rival company's image. In order to stop this unhealthy
practice, he can be put in a distrust list. His reviews thereafter
will not be taken into account," explains Faisal.
Though very young for his age to lead a company,
he said that his liking to work with people has helped him sail
through efficiently taking on the leadership baton. He says that
his young age has never been a disadvantage to him. Instead he says
that the greatest advantage is that people of my generation foresee
the future with a clear mind. "There are no bad experiences
and no inhibitions. Everything is in explored and we are passionate
about technology," he says. A team-oriented person, he says
that the success formula behind every venture is to effectively
gather a team and lead the bunch.
We remind him that due to lack of experience
young entrepreneurs are quick to burn their figures. Faisal has
an answer to that too. "Nothing can replace experience. Consultants
provide their valuable advice and help us steer clear of any complications
in the business model. That is the beauty of the economy, when experience
meets passion, you get a beautiful product," says Faisal.
A workaholic he finds his work to be very
exciting giving him utmost satisfaction at the end of the day. As
many would guess this 'Generation Next' entrepreneur isn't the partygoer
type. Surprisingly, he enjoys long walks and loves to sit by himself
thinking. And as you guessed these days his thoughts are centered
on his portal!
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