OPEN’s New Beginnings

The Organization of Pakistani Entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley or “OPEN” (SV) as it is known (www.opensiliconvalley.com ), held its most ambitious gathering yet on the West Coast of the United States at the campus of SAP in Palo Alto on June 5, 2004. And as 300 of the best and brightest minds in science and technology that the Pakistani-American community here in Northern California (and beyond) is proud to possess gathered at this venue for an all-day affair, the conference titled “New Beginnings” celebrated the entrepreneurial success stories of the past and aspired to pave the way to the future for young engineers and scientists. Sponsored by SAP, The International Organization of Pakistani Women Engineers (IOPWE), Clickmarks, Barbed Wire Technologies, Rahima Foundation, Rotee (San Francisco) and Jaiza, the OPEN Forum 2004 New Beginnings invited three high profile speakers, Peter Levine, Former California Governor Jerry Brown and last but not least Hatim Tyabji.

The list would be too long to include all organizations present, but in passing let us mention here groups like The Citizens Foundation, De Anza College youth, Barbedwire Tech., the Human Development Foundation, of North America and the miniature paintings and photographs by Usman Saeed titled Zeyb presented through www.greencardamom.net.

After the breakfast kickoff, Zia Yusuf a SVP at SAP bid everyone welcome. “This is your event and I hope that you enjoy it,” he said. He also introduced the morning keynote speaker Peter Levine. Peter is a Managing Director at Mayfield and has held a number of prominent positions in the past at Veritas. Mr. Levine presented an energetic and informative talk on “Back to the Future. A View of Silicon Valley” during which he made comparisons of Venture Capital investments, IPO’s and MA’s over the past few years (e.g. VC investments in the year 2000 were over $105 Billion and were just over $18 Billion last year in what seems like a cliff dive). He spoke about exits and how only high quality deals are currently being funded, most in the in the 4 to 6 million dollar range during early stage investment. He also reminded everyone that many of today’s great companies started during very lean times (like now). He added that some companies which have been funded recently have outsourced immediately.

The conference schedule was broken down into three keynotes, three “Fireside Chats”, two panels and five workshops. Not all can be incorporated here in this news report due to space constraints but let us visit some of them.

The first Fireside Chat (hosted by Shahid Khan) was with Hasnain Aslam and Nadeem Elahi both of The Resource Group (TRG). TRG buys companies that are pretty much on the margin and rehabilitates them to profitability. They also employ people in Pakistan to help them cut costs, which sounds like a winning formula for all. A lot could be written about Hasnain and Nadeem, two young Harvard graduates who certainly appear to possess the confidence and business acumen necessary to sell Pakistan abroad. There are still many real positives in Pakistan for business growth that the perception of well known negatives does impact. But as was said during this session, during the war on terrorism and much more, not a single day of work was lost at the TRG facility in Pakistan.

The first Panel titled “Lies and Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at Venture Capitalism” was moderated by Faysal Sohail. The Panelists Amra Tareen, Adnan Durrani, Ayaz Haque and Safi Qureshi brought much enthusiasm and wisdom to the listeners. On what VC’s look for in making a decision Safi Qureshi said “Some of us look for Chemistry.” Amra Tareen represented the Pakistani-American businesswoman very well here while explaining what she herself or her company look for when making funding decisions.

The workshop on “Offshoring Case Studies” was especially interesting as it was a teleconference coordinated here by Umair Khan and addressing the room were Zia Chisti, Omar Saeed and Awais Leghari, Pakistan’s Minister for Information Technology. Zia, the CEO of TRG is known for his contagious optimism and from Islamabad, Pakistan it appeared that this optimism is being shared by Minister Leghari. The teleconference room was overwhelmed by the numbers of attendees which should be a reminder for future planning.

The after Lunch Keynote speech was given by the current Mayor of Oakland, Former Governor of California (and the future Attorney General of the State?) Jerry Brown. Jerry is very popular in South Asian political circles and with his wit and humor continued to extend his popularity amongst the Pakistani-American community on this day. After having unsuccessfully run for President of the US on a number of occasions, Jerry Brown seems to have resigned himself to running for our State offices. Offering many words of encouragement to our community to wholly participate in the open politics present here in California, Jerry touched on a number of immigrant success stories including our present Governor Arnold Schwarzeneggar. “I was a very memorable Governor,” he said. I have learnt that it is not good to be memorable,” he joked. “After that we had a series of very dull Governors” (till Arnold), he added. Mayor Brown ended his speech on a reflective and philosophical note.

The second Fireside Chat was also very interesting. On the topic of “Dude, Where’s My Country?” it brought together Dr. Ali Minai, Prof. Azim Nanji and Asif Alam of the AOPP. The host was Hammad Nasar an art entrepreneur from the United Kingdom. On the important topic of the media image of Pakistan in this country and its impact on Pakistani Professionals and what can be done, a number of interesting observations were presented. The idea of “Branding Pakistan” and why people avoid it was discussed at length. Dr. Ali Minai asked some interesting questions on the Pakistani- American identity. He stressed the need to participate in the entire spectrum of American society and not just in the areas of interest to us. “The onus is on us,” said Asif Alam. He mentioned that the GDP of Pakistani-Americans was equivalent to that of Pakistan and stressed the need for continuing our link with the home country and work on the image problem here, since it was no longer possible for us to ignore our Pakistani identity. Professor Azim Nanji was extremely articulate. “You live in a country that is 228 years old. You came from a country which is less than 60 years old. Your history is much longer then that,” he said. He asked that we plan for the long term and establish linkages through literature and music so that our grandchildren will find some of their history here in America in the future.

The workshop on VC’s by Waheed Qureshi and Bob Williams was well received, and the “Showcase Showdown” proved very informative. Outsourcing took center stage at a workshop by Imran Qidwai and Brett Hann and the third Fireside Chat with Aaref Hilaly and Basil Hashem proved quite illuminating. The Media Image of Pakistan popped up again in a Workshop titled; “Caught Behind in a No Spin Zone” with Asif Alam again, Khalid Saeed (of PAKPAC) and Omar Khan of Jaiza.

After tea “The Entrepreneurial Ecosystem was discussed at length by Joanna Wang, Rina Raman, Ram Nidumolu and Alan Nolet in an energetic session moderated by Deb Ahlgren. The last Workshop “Crossing the Chasm: The Sales Challenge” looked at what it takes to get your first 10 customers. This was facilitated by Kevin Sachs and Jayaram Bhatt.

The evening Keynote Speech by Hatim Tyabji dealt with the “DNA of a Successful Business Leader.” And after hearing such a memorable speech by Mr. Tyabji, we get a clue about that very winning DNA, because within his persona is an excess of that essential ingredient. South Asian fatherly wisdom, a winning mindset/approach, a lack of fear of flying (literally) and a focus on the purpose of being, all fell into place in his half hour talk, one that only increased the respect that Mr. Tyabji already enjoys in our community. Mr. Tyabji charted out the basic essence of an entrepreneur 1) Freedom of Self. 2) Sense of Purpose and contribution and 3) The LAST element is wealth creation. He went through his own history of success in Silicon Valley, his founding of Verifone, his dealings with fellow employees, and his original aims and ambitions. But amongst it all in answer to a question on what mistakes he has may have made, he said, “I regret not having spent enough time with my wife and children.”

Idris Kothari, the President of OPEN closed the meeting with some parting thoughts of his own. Idris invited others to join the organization and looked forward to seeing many more of such conferences in future.

In conclusion OPEN and its expanding chapters in the US produced a winner here in Silicon Valley. In promoting the utilization of the brain power of Pakistanis here in the United States and in Pakistan (so that both can succeed), OPEN should find much encouragement. And on Pakistan’s current image as an impediment to business development let us borrow a few words from Hatim Tyabji. He said, “If somebody tells you that it can’t be done, prove them wrong.”