Vijay Tirathrai Inspires Aspiring Entrepreneurs at NICL, 91
On August 10, 2023, the National Incubation Centre Lahore (NICL) at 91 hosted Vijay Tirathrai, Managing Director, Techstars to talk to aspiring entrepreneurs. The engaging session, ‘Decoding for Growth: Navigating the Business Landscape for Accelerated Success’ was a great opportunity for entrepreneurs to gain insight into how they can unlock their potential to effectively scale their start-ups and build sustainable organisations. The session was moderated by Ahmed Hussain, Director, Service Sales Corporation and Advisory Board Member, NICL.
Mr. Tirathrai, a seasoned CEO, investor, and ecosystem builder, serves as the Managing Director and Head of MENA, Turkiye, Pakistan, and India at Techstars. With a rich entrepreneurial background, he oversees a diverse start-up portfolio worth $180 billion, focusing on fintech, e-commerce, and emerging technologies. With over 50 investments, he champions sustainability, climate action, and innovation. Mr. Tirathrai played a pivotal role in cultivating the Middle East start-up landscape through accelerator initiatives and partnerships. Formerly the Global CEO of Entrepreneurs’ Organization, he has connected 20,000+ entrepreneurs worldwide. With four decades of hands-on experience across seven industries, he's a visionary leader fostering global entrepreneurship based in Dubai, while also advocating for non-profit organisations.
Mr. Hussain, a tech enthusiast, and computer security expert, holds Computer Engineering degrees from Carnegie Mellon University. He amassed 4 patents during his 5-year stint at Microsoft. He joined his family's footwear business and propelled it into a prominent industry player. Engaging in Pakistan's tech sector, he advised start-ups at NICL for 5 years and has also been an integral part of YPO Indus for 6 years, serving as Chapter Chair in 2021.
Mr. Tirathrai started the session by appreciating the 91 campus and facilities. “It’s such an honour to be here at 91. I was given a tour before coming here to the session and one word for the experience: inspired. It’s great to be here.”
Sharing his journey and what led him to entrepreneurship, Mr. Tirathrai narrated anecdotes about his early years, his family business and how at a very young age he was drawn towards becoming a ‘self-made’ entrepreneur, following his father’s footsteps. “My first venture at the age of 26 or 27 was manufacturing and distribution of safety helmets. I was a cyclist and I thought this is an accessory I want to build.”
He shared that many were surprised when he gave up building companies, something he had done for around 35 years, to becoming an investor. “I asked myself what I would do in the next half of my life. How do I capitalise on my experience? And I figured that being an investor is a great way to channel all the experience and energy and give back to the community. I set myself to help entrepreneurs succeed and that turned into my life vision.”
When questioned about the characteristics of a successful entrepreneur, Mr. Tirathrai said, “Great entrepreneurs are great hustlers. They don’t take no for an answer. They know how to get stuff done.” Talking about how he figures out which entrepreneur has that grit to make it, he said, “I think to be a successful entrepreneur, one fundamentally has to have an obsession about solving a problem backed by some degree of insights. If I can see a twinkle in the eye and a motivation that they want to solve a problem, and that they are ready to take any risk for it, I’m sold.”
Mr. Hussain asked what all goes into setting up a successful start-up; is it the traits or the personality of the entrepreneur, the tenacity and willingness to see things through, the idea or the problem that they are trying to solve, or is it one without the other or the complete package. Mr. Triathrai responded, “From an investor’s mindset, the idea probably ranks number 4 in the hierarchy. The first is the caliber of the team, the second is the caliber of the team and the third is the caliber of the team! That is the key differentiator, particularly for early-stage companies.”
He added start-ups need to be examined based on their team’s ability to execute the vision. The discussion continued about the assumptions that new entrepreneurs make, and in what ways they can emerge in a market like Pakistan. He also talked about Pakistan’s growing economy and benefits for entrepreneurs to work in a market that is currently in the process of developing.
In response to a question regarding what makes Techstars invest in a start-up, Mr. Triathrai called on Zohair Haider, founder of Jalebi to share his journey. Mr. Haider talked about how he hustled for 12 years in Dubai and his struggles as he established his start-up, “I dreamed about becoming an entrepreneur for a very long time. I started my first venture in 2005 which was a catastrophic failure. I bootstrapped my second company which was a digital agency that my wife and I had for about 8 years and then about 2.5 years ago I started Jalebi with fantastic co-founders, one is based in Lahore and the other one is in Dubai.” His journey and passion for starting his own venture led him to Mr. Tirathrai and currently Jalebi is flourishing with support from Techstars. “This opportunity is phenomenal. Taking our ideas to different stages of life, we got investors to come on board thanks to the Techstars programme,” shared Mr. Haider.
The session concluded with a QnA session, where Mr. Tirathrai addressed pertinent questions by entrepreneurs. Mr. Hassan Mubarik from Kalpay highlighted a major challenge faced by start-ups: transitioning from start-up to small-scale business which takes away the entrepreneur’s liberties. Mr. Tirathrai responded by saying that he doesn’t see it as an issue of liberty. “Entrepreneurs start with gut feelings, but as business scales, data-driven decisions take over. Transitioning swiftly from intuition to insight is key for growth. It's not about liberty, but about embracing transformative change and focusing on vital metrics,” he added.
