It can be quite a hassle exchanging contact information with everyone we meet. Add to that the range of communication mediums we use, the whole process of connecting with someone else can become really time consuming and awkward as well. In order to solve all these problems, Umer Tariq Bashir, a student at Suleman Dawood School of Business (SDSB), developed and launched Ingrum ID.
Ingrum ID is a mobile application that allows you to share all your contact information instantly. You can customise your profile and add all your contact information including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Snapchat usernames and then share it with another person through a tap, scan or an input through your mobile phone. Explaining how the app helps you connect with other people, Bashir said, “Through Ingrum ID, users will be able to share their contact information in minutes and will also have the flexibility to customise different share buttons so that they share only the contact details they want to share with the receiving person. It is not only environmentally friendly but also removes communication barriers and removes the hesitation in sharing and connecting.”
The App also enables users to set up disruptive business cards that follow the same principle. Bashir credited SDSB and its focus on innovation and entrepreneurship that allowed him and his team to build the product, file for a US provisional utility patent, incorporate the company, and market the brand from scratch. “Honestly speaking, I didn't even knew the term entrepreneurship when I came to LUMS, but after seeing the enthusiasm and ambiance of the LUMS Centre for Entrepreneurship now the National Incubation Centre (NIC), LUMS, and the focus on entrepreneurship in our classes, I gradually started gaining interest in this field,” shared Bashir.
Bashir said that the faculty at LUMS is quite welcoming to all initiatives and are always an email or a door away whenever one needs help. He recalled, “I still remember two years ago, how I was talking to my instructors about my first venture, which had many flaws, but still were so encouraging once I explained it to them. I can’t really imagine myself being what I am today and I will always be grateful to this institution for the drastic change.”
Bashir has plans to launch Ingrum ID globally. He elaborated on his plans and said, “Once we gain some traction here, we will be launching it globally, we are already in talks with startup incubators abroad and there is a huge chance that we will get our startup incubated there. Moreover, we are in the process of creating a logistics department that will be responsible for the manufacturing of Ingrum business cards, Ingrum keychains, restaurants and hotels advertising slabs etc.”
As for other students at LUMS who might have entrepreneurial ambitions, Bashir had this to say, “They should fully utilise LUMS resources and network with the diverse and highly intellectual community here. Be a change maker and in this community of job seekers, be a job creator. You all have it in yourself, just trust yourself and take the jump, and unless and until you don't, you will never know where you could have been.”
