A Workshop on Entrepreneurship was organized at NIC Lahore with Mr. Umair Khan, Founding Partner at Mentors Fund, a Silicon Valley based seed venture fund. Mr. Khan is also Chairman at Folio3, a software design firm, Visiting Professor at UC Berkeley where he teaches Entrepreneurship at the College of Letters and Science, and co-owner of Zareen's Restaurant (a Michelin guide recommended restaurant). Mr. Khan is also a "Henry Crown Fellow" at the Aspen Institute. From humble beginnings in Karachi, Mr. Khan went on to receive Bachelor's degree in Mathematics and Masters degree in Computer Engineering from MIT. He has diverse experience in running social and business ventures, and is enthusiastic about educating future entrepreneurs.
The workshop was an insiders’ guide that covered various aspects of entrepreneurship, covering everything from developing an idea and adding tangible elements that make it worthwhile to developing a startup, to growing a product or service that is desirable, feasible, and viable. Challenges facing entrepreneurs and innovators, such as raising funding and entrepreneurship in different settings (such as "intrapreneurship" within organizations) were also discussed. After a mutual Introduction, Mr. Khan began the workshop by discussing the many faces of entrepreneurship and introduced the concept of the "Ethical Persuader". He also elaborated the concept of "Most Viable Product" (MVP) and how to find the right fit between design, sustainability, and viability. The Lean Startup method was also covered during the workshop. Various aspects of building successful teams and enhancing collaboration were discussed. This was followed by the anticipated round covering fundraising, scaling sales and Growth Hacking.
The workshop was followed by a question and answer session, identifying what takes an entrepreneur to reach milestones, and why it is important to understand the problem statement at its core.
