Jehan Ara, President of P@SHA flew all the way to Lahore and got us this fantastic, inspiring, MOVING interview with Umar Saif and the founders of Seen N Report and Chopaal. You absolutely, positively MUST watch!
ITLOW: Umar Saif, SeeNReport.com and Chopaal.pk Tell All!
- Posted on 07.7.09
- Featured, In The Line of Wire
(4 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
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13 Responses to “ITLOW: Umar Saif, SeeNReport.com and Chopaal.pk Tell All!”
good luck you all, for being the heros of seenreportcom
Good Luck Guys!
Looking forward to meet you soon at SCI
Great effort!!
If any company or team is struggling with software quality or project management issues. I can help (of-course for free)
I am based in Karachi so we will need to work out the logistics …
[...] team comprising Sharjeel, Adil and Yaser amongst others have worked hard to get to this stage. I interviewed them on ITLoW earlier this month to talk about what it took to start up the venture and get to where they are. [...]
What I liked most about these kids and their leader was the excitement that they feel about what they have developed and are continuing to develop – and yet there is an openness to accept criticism so that they can enhance their products. As Yaser says Value Creation is the goal – and of course the big bucks would certainly be welcome but it isn’t the primary driver.
Umar Saif has allowed these kids to explore their creativity and the brilliance that he has recognised in them. More power to him and to Sharjeel, Adil, Yaser, Asim and all those involved in SeenReport, Chopaal, Bumpin and Findalong. We wish them the best and it was a privilege interviewing them.
Thanks everyone.
@Rabia: These are really important questions.
We do realize we are in a very strange market where there are too many competitors to name. From media organizations to citizen journalism services, from micro blogging to content publishing platforms. BUT … We have a strong belief that future is not about competition rather its about Collaboration. Another thing that we really believe in is (and that has helped us through all the tough times) that its not the competition, its the way you deal with it.
About the second point of being funded. Well it really removes the financial barrier and will help us in unleashing the real potential and creativity in us. ROIs are really important and must be end result of every successful business but from day one we had the strong belief in Value Creation (money eventually follows if there is good enough value proposition). This is something we love to do and passion is what drives us. Community feedback has helped our product to mature and it will remain as the major component for our future enhancements
@RG I’ve not seen any site like see’n'report yet! you are right that there are a lot of sites focusing on social aspect i.e the user generated content which means that social media is hot. So going social with an all new aspect is what that’s needed!
Since my first interaction with see’n'report, during the long march, I have compared it with many social sites. I can say SnR rocks yet! I had been believing that it is the next big thing in the world. And after listening to these guys, my belief is more strong now. Because they have “the” passion! they were very much excited to tell about their work. So, I here predict that within next 3 years seenreport.com will be in the list of top 500 sites of the world!!
Once again, thumbs up to all of you guyz!!
First of all, Jehan Ara, thank you so much for FINALLY grabbing a hold of these guys for the interview! It’s been extremely overdue!
My question is this – though your products are popular and used by hundreds of thousands of people, they aren’t necessarily unique. There is a new User Generated Content website up every day. Though you were confident that you’d eventually become successful, how do you deal with the frustration of the business?
Also, now that you guys have funding, which is GREAT!!, you think the passion will still drive your business? Or do you think the commerce and ROI will take over? What’s your ideal scenario?
Can there be a machine in the world that can praise a person too much?? A tape recorder doesn’t fulfill the requirement!
So,I think, I should make a twitter bot to tweet ater each minute:
“@jeha_ara is the bessht!!…. no praise …. no, no money can pay her volunteer efforts”
Thanx a lot Ms. Rabia Garib for setting up such an awesome studio which has its doors wide-open!! So when are you adding a dressing room to it?
I’ve really got excited! Even I don’t feel like sitting in my seat!! It seems, I’ve finally found my “Maseeha”!!
Can’t wait to meet Dr. Umar! Just need a few suggestions…. I’ve already burnt all the boats… start-up idea ready…. name finalized… and yes, its unique in the world so far! So, Mr. Steve Jobs! I’m waiting for the day when you’ll take an appointment to meet me!!
Oh! The show ended? How did 79 minutes pass in 5 mins??
Lets Watch again!! Yaya!
Good Luck Guys!
Looking forward to meet you soon at SCI
Great Interview. Umar is highly accomplished and a role model for all of us.
Just a small factual error that creeped up during the discussion. It was mentioned that Pakistan has the world’s 4th largest SMS usage. Factually Not true.
This stat may be true for festival season. But, in overall usage China, U.S., India and Phillipines are well ahead of Pakistan.