the BYLC blog

Recently BYLC has extended its network by partnering with Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST), a global initiative to spur economic advancement through science and technology-based innovation in Muslim majority countries. As the regional partner of GIST, BYLC arranged the new organization’s first workshop on January 20, 2012 at the BYLC Headquarters. The workshop was on developing an executive summary for the participants who are eager to present their business plan in an international platform through GIST’s “I Dare” Business Plan Competition. The workshop was attended by forty-five participants.

Ivdad Ahmed Khan Mojlish, director of youth leadership programs at BYLC, welcomed the participants and highlighted the main purpose of this event, namely to equip striving entrepreneurs with the skills and strategies to develop a business model for the upcoming GIST business competition. He introduced the instructors of the workshop, Saifur Rahman, CEO of Maayas Secutronics and Bijon Islam, financial analyst at Citibank, N.A. Both instructors are also strategy affiliates of BYLC.

Saifur Rahman spoke on technology-based entrepreneurship and shared the risks and challenges of starting his own business, especially as a fresh graduate. He gave a presentation on how to model a business from scratch and placedan emphasis how business ideas are generated. He explained seven steps in developing an idea: identify the problem, set goals, compile ideas, categorize ideas, filter ideas, modify ideas and lastly finalize the idea.

Mr. Rahman then addressed the importance of understanding the nature of an idea. This requires identifying whether it is evolutionary or revolutionary, and whether it is simple or a complex. Grouping the ideas into categories helps to develop the next steps of the plan. To elucidate the entire process, he conducted an interactive brainstorming activity and within few minutes, the audience generated fourteen business ideas.

A young entrepreneur’s most challenging phase is to secure funds for the start-up business. Mr. Rahman shared his personal experience of starting Maayas Secutronics, which is now one of the fastest growing electronic security solutions companies in Bangladesh. Since electronic security systems were a new concept in Bangladesh then, electronic parts which are rarely found in the country had to be imported. Mr. Rahman had to be prudent when approaching banks for financing. The business plan was presented to the bank just as any proposal for an electronic appliance supplier business but the originality of the idea drew much of the investment for his business.

During the open discussion round, Manik, a Buliding Bridges through Leadership Training (BBLT) 5 graduate, asked how the market has responded to Mr. Rahman’s innovative business especially since technology based security is a new concept in Bangladesh. The presenter then shared his enterprise’s business scheme. For example, he provides his customers the security service but not the product itself, thereby providing convenience and at the same time protecting his intellectual property.

Mr. Rahman encouraged the participants to think about social development and personal satisfaction while designing a model, rather than focusing only on monetary profit. He also emphasized that before jumping onto a single idea; one must conduct research and market analysis to enhance the success rate of the business. Mr. Rahman’s investment into research and development has been the greatest strength of his enterprise.

A remarkable idea is nothing unless it is presented in a way so that it attracts investors and assures its long term survival. An executive summary of a business plan report is an overview of the business idea and helps investors to make a decision. The first round selection of GIST’s “I Dare” competition will be based on the executive summary. Bijon Islam covered the technical aspect of writing executive summaries to help the aspiring entrepreneurs in the audience prepare a strong report.

According to Mr. Islam, an executive summary should briefly highlight the following components: strategy, potential, insight, competition, capability and resources. But one should focus on ‘strategy’, which greatly influences the reviewer’s decision. The report must address the following three areas: product/service, financial feasibility and the social benefit of the endeavor.

Mr. Islam stressed that the report be appealing and that the team think deeply about the product/ service they are planning to deliver. He pointed out three factors to consider when deciding on the product/service, namely the market, consumer insight and possible challenges. Since financing is the biggest obstacle in starting a new business, Mr. Islam suggested to keep the financial statements of the report simple by using one or two indicators like internal rate of return (IRR), sources of cash in-flow or net present value (NPV).

In addition, Mr. Islam encouraged the participants to develop a business plan approach based on human design model. He concluded his presentation by advising the participants to keep the report within five paragraphs and to present it in a way so that it is easy to visualize the business model in the real world.

At the end of the two-hour workshop, Mr. Mojlish encouraged the young participants to take part in this international business plan competition. He also invited them to approach BYLC and the instructors for any questions or assistance regarding the competition.

A few months ago, I started taking admission tests in different universities after my HSC exams were over. The first one that I faced was the one for the business faculty of Jahangir Nagar University. It was on 10^th September this year. I checked my seat location and it was at the Old Arts Building. So I reached the campus within 12 pm, and the exam was due at 1:30 pm. But the gates opened only 15 minutes ahead of the exam and as the line was really long, by the time I entered the building, it was 1:25 pm. I started running to and fro about the building looking for room no. 214, which held my seat. And guess what, there wasn’t any room 214 there. I searched and I searched, only to get more and more tired and I started thinking if this was really happening with me. By the time when my watch read 1:35 pm, I was sure something was wrong, terribly wrong. I ran out of the building, frantically asked a student who was standing there that I couldn’t find my room and what to do then. He ushered me to gigantic notice board. As I approached the board, it seemed it was a detailed seat plan. I rechecked my seat. And guess what, it was in the New Arts Building!

Those of you who have ever been to the Jahangir Nagar University know how vast its campus is. One building to another is a rickshaw distance of at least 10 minutes. I grabbed a rickshaw and shouted, “New Arts Building! Quick!” The rickshaw puller had one look at my face, and started paddling at breakneck speed. I reached the New Arts Building at 1:42 pm. I jumped off the rickshaw, don’t know what note I threw at him, and raced against time into the building. As I found and got inside room no. 214, my watch read 1:44 pm. In an exam of 1 hour, I was 14 minutes late. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and dug into my paper.

There’s not much left to tell. In an exam where over 24,000 students took part, I, using 46 minutes out of the allotted 60, stood 4^th in the merit list.

Why have I shared this story with you? To brag? To demean those who took the test alongside me? Nah. Read the story again. Is there any word there that tells you how I was feeling in those moments? When I was running from one end of the long corridors to another, hoping against hope that one of the number plates on the rooms would read 214, and neither did? When I was on the rickshaw, and had nothing else to do but to look at the seconds tickling by on my watch? No, there isn’t. Because that’s what I’m going to tell you now. And trust me or not, I didn’t feel tensed. I didn’t feel worried, and I didn’t feel restless.

Do you know what I was telling myself? There must be a reason for this to happen. I don’t know it yet, but I will, in no time. And when I will, I will feel lucky that it happened. So I just need to wait. Just wait and see what happens next. So I just played on with what was happening. And I didn’t feel unlucky, nor did I curse my fate. I knew in my heart, nothing’s wrong. I got only 46 minutes and the rest examinees got 60. But so what? I have less ammunition than my enemy; does that mean I have already lost the battle? No! It just means I have to fight harder, and make up for my lower hand. Which may be tough, but not impossible. And come on, if you want every single challenge in your life to be easy as a pie, you probably shouldn’t be reading my blogs.

Life isn’t a straight road. You can’t see what’s ahead before you reach the next turn. So just wait till the next turn comes before you get frightened of all the mud under your feet and stop walking. You might, and I assure you, you will, miss the wonderland that lies ahead. Take my case for example. I was 14 minutes late, and wasn’t it a blessing for me? Would I get the same euphoria that I got after the results, if I hadn’t been late? Would the same pride surge through my veins if I didn’t know in my heart that I beat about 24,000 students using 14 minutes less than them? And would I get this opportunity if I had lost my nerve then, and panicked, and failed to utilize the 46 minutes that I still had?

Nothing is wrong. Never. You just need to wait till it looks right.

2011-12-15

Team Spondon gathered near Sajeda Foundation at 3 p.m. We prepared our survey design the night before and were ready to interview several candidates ranged between the ages 12 to 18. We expected to fill out around 30 forms but by the end of the day we managed only 5. There were only a handful of suitable interviewees and our team members immediately engaged the first few that walked through the door. The authorities from Sajeda Foundation tried their best to gather young people for the survey but few could be found. I personally could not find anyone for a long time. At one point I grew tired of waiting and I realised I needed to pray Asr. I left the room but was distracted by commotion. This young girl in her late teens was clearly agitated and refused to stay for the interview. The personnel assured her repeatedly that the survey will not take much time. She kept refusing; she said that her feet were hurting so much she could barely stand. She was limping on her right leg and was very restless. I knew in my mind what I had to do. I took her to the foundation’s medical office and asked to see her injuries. I never had any medical training but I knew she needed to rest her feet. She was both modest and frazzled. She kept saying ‘Na Apa, boshte hobena, thik asi Apa.’ Little by little she grew used to me. I asked her if she’d like some water. She was hesitant but I insisted. When she saw that it was a newly bought sealed bottle of mineral water she retaliated, ‘Na apa, eta apnar botol, ami ekhane centre thekei pani nibo shomossha nai apa.’ Yet when I opened the seal and handed her the bottle, she almost snatched it from my hands and drank with a greed I’ve never seen before. It took me some time to realise that she probably very rarely had access to fresh water and this tiny bottle of mineral water was a luxury she could not afford. By now she was settled. I asked for her name, everyone calls her Golapi. She is 18 years old, her mother died when she was young, her step mother tortures her. She ran away from home and lives on the streets of Karwan Bazaar. At night she scavenges for vegetables and sells them for a living. She says that she earns a good amount of money, enough for her to save. Whether or not she has other means of earning money is something I had to deduce. She hates her job because of the sexual harassment. One of the first questions she asked me was ‘Apni kon dhormer’. I said I’m a Muslim. She said ‘Apa ami kintu Hindu’. I asked her why it mattered. She said that Muslims and Hindus are always against each other. I assured her that it didn’t matter to me. She was married once, even pregnant, but she was childless so I assumed she had it aborted. Her biggest problem was not having a roof over her head. She asked me why I was conducting this survey. When I told her my purpose she said ‘Apa apni jetai koren, amader jonno ekta raate thakar bebostha koira diyen, jekhane mohilara raat katate pare’. She almost begged me for it. I was very bad at my job, tactless almost. When she asked me for a solution, I asked her why she didn’t remarry just so that she’d have a roof over her head and a protector against her harassers. She bit her tongue and pulled her ears ‘Ami shob korte raaji asi kintu biya ekhon kormuna’. She wanted to wait till she was financially independent. She was painfully vivid about her harassers. How they touch her, swear at her, shame her. All she wanted was to escape them. She would gladly take a job as a domestic servant; at least she’d have a place to sleep and bathe and would be provided with food. Somewhere near the end of the interview, she touched my feet and begged me to help her. I didn’t know what to do or say. She had the upper hand during the conversation. I was the weak and vulnerable one, I was helpless.
The interview ended, we went our separate ways. As I saw her leave, I had this guilt building up on me. I’ve heard of desperation, seen desperation but never this close. Now I’m faced with the task of helping young girls like her. The challenge is overwhelming but I hold a responsibility. It’s time to see how far I can go.

What are we born for? To live? How long? Till we die? And what are we supposed to do as we wait for the moment of perish? Keep waiting? With a pack of popcorn? Or do we have dreams? That we want to come true, but are too scared to pursue them?
Let’s start with a story, shall we? When I was done with my HSC exams, and it was time for preparation for university admission, I found myself in front of a lot of trouble to deal with. I always wanted to study at the IBA in the University of Dhaka. Its lucrative job market apart, I was charmed by its sheer brand value. I dreamed to boast of being a student of the IBA. I longed to answer people’s where-do-you-study-son questions with the one word, ‘IBA!’ I wanted to perplex them, be a hero, be distinct. But that’s not what a father wants his son to do and be, does he? Surely my father didn’t! He wanted his eldest child and only son to be a scholar, an engineer or a doctor, or at best a pharmacist or physicist. And definitely not a business student who’d one day become a professional corporate! So what does he say? No IBA. Try for BUET and the medical colleges. Also go for the University of Dhaka’s Science faculty. But no IBA! And let me tell you, my father is someone who doesn’t like anyone, and anything, to ‘not go’ exactly as he commands. And I have grown up to know that even God may be disobeyed sometimes, but not my dad. Never had I been able to master the courage to even question his decisions, let alone try bending them. But in the end, it was IBA I went for. Question is, how?
When my dad couldn’t convince me to turn my face away from IBA, he sent me to some intellectuals he knew, including a few professors of the University of Dhaka. His aspiration was that they would be able to brainwash me. And brainwash it was. Only that it was I doing it to them. And most surely, those intellectuals, on my behalf, convinced my father to let me pursue my dreams.
Some say life is long. Some say it’s short. One may opt for any of the views. It’s a matter of perspective. But there’s one thing which is guaranteed. Life, long or short, is just one. You get only one shot at living it. So don’t mis-live it! Famed writer, teacher and educationalist Dr. Muhammad Zafar Iqbal said once, “Life is only one. If a dream really needs to be fulfilled, make sure it’s yours, not your parents’.” The point is, the extent of commitment, responsibility, gratitude and reverence we owe our parents can never be expressed perfectly. But that doesn’t mean we owe them our life, our dreams, our one shot at living! So come on guys, dream on, and walk up to the stage to make them come true. Don’t let anyone come in your way. And if anyone does, fight him. Fight for your dream! Fight to live! Set yourself apart from mere animals. Be a man. Don’t just survive. Live.
Dreams do come true. You just need to brave enough to see them, and sharp enough not to forget them.

In the sad world (why am I calling it sad? I’ll explain!) I live in, what hurts me second most (which is the first? Well, this I will tell you another day) is, people allow their surroundings, the people around themselves and what happens to themselves determine their mood. They don’t decide for themselves whether they will be jubilant, excited, horrified, mirthful, dejected or just blank. They let others decide. When someone or something makes them happy, they are happy. And when the reverse event occurs, they just follow suit! My question is, why?
Why let someone else determine what you are going to feel! If you want to be sad, just be sad! Don’t be sad crying over a failure that you had aspired to overcome. The failure was a sufficient harm to you in itself, and by letting it make you sad you are simply aggravating that harm! Don’t forget, in every moment when you are sad, you are missing a moment of happiness. Grab hold of your moods, and guide them to where you feel they should be. Be your own master. Or someone else will be.
Mere words aren’t quite convincing, are they? Let me show you something which will have some effect on you. Imagine, you are faced with a gruesome challenge. You really want to win this one, your pride, your passion and your destiny lies in it. Say, you are a sprinter. You run fast and by fast I mean Usain Bolt fast. You are the best sprinter at your school. You win not only the school races but also you nail the national races and you have already made your school proud by winning in all the recent national phases. Now you have been given the chance to run for the Olympic qualifier. If you win this one, you will represent not only your school, but also your nation in the Greatest Show on Earth. You practise hard. You don’t sleep at night; you don’t dream when you sleep, you don’t see what’s in front of you when you wake up. You only know one thing; you have to win the qualifier.
And you lose. You come second. And your worst rival, who always came second to you in every race you have ever run, runs in the Olympic for your nation.
How would you feel? Sad? Dejected? Vengeful? Outraged?
I say, you should, though you might not, feel happy.
Why happy? Well, I ask, why any of the above four? Hasn’t the harm already been done? Haven’t you already lost the chance to run for your country? Isn’t that much enough? You still want to let this disaster have furthermore impacts on you? Ones that you can avoid? You still want to let this thing make you sad? Or angry? Whereas you can resist it?
What happened has happened. The loss once incurred can’t be recycled into new products of renewed profitability. But what we can do is to minimize the loss that we can’t vanquish. If you want to keep a piece of paper white, and an unruly infant draws a circle in it with an oil pastel, you can’t erase the circle. But just because you can’t erase it, do you draw more circles and triangles in that paper? Or do you rub the one circle with an eraser, trying to make it fade at least! Ask yourself, and when you have the answer, remember it. The world is very selfish. If you don’t make yourself happy, no one will.

Monoshita Ayruani (Aluni)

Imagine being chased by something that you are really afraid of! And imagine if it is a CAT? And now, picture a person running after you with a cat, while someone else is trying to block you! NO, don’t laugh! Yes, Ivdad Bhaia did that to me with the help of Bodmaish (his cat) and Ayon Bhaia. It was actually both terrifying and hilarious at the same time – It was one of the many wonderful moments I’ve spent with the BYLC family.

I’ve been in touch with BYLC since last one and a half years and from the very beginning, all of you have been very welcoming. My first involvement with BYLC was during BBLT-3’s fund raising campaign which was conducted by Salman Bhaia. At the end of the first day’s campaign, Salman Bhaia thanked me for helping and hanging around with the team all day – It really worked as a motivation for me to work with BYLC in the future. The second time I worked with the BYLC team was at Independence Day, 2010. By then, I was very excited to join BYLC, but I was worried that I might have to wait for two years to officially become a part of BYLC. But luckily, BBLT-J was launched and I was really thrilled about it!

After rounds of application and interview, finally, BBLT-J kicked off and very soon it ended too. Right before our graduation ceremony, Nusrat (my batch mate) and I were craving to visit the BYLC office: Ejaj Bhaia was going to edit our graduation speech! You can’t imagine how overjoyed we were. I was so happy, that I forgot my speech, and went completely blank all three times E. Bhaia asked me to say my speech. And after the editing was done, we two kids were roaming around the office room and the sitting room of E. Bhaia’s place. To this day, I still feel the same excitement and enthusiasm to visit BYLC office. We’ve shared many great moments in that office room. Now, BYLC is moving to its new office. It is surely a great achievement for BYLC and E. Bhaia. I am very happy about it. But at the same time, I’m feeling a lil’ bad.

Now we won’t be going to that office room. And we won’t be able to hangout at E. Bhaia’s place anymore (true that hisfamily had to suffer a lot because of us), and won’t get to see Aunty once in a while and have lil chats with her. I’ll miss that room

I sincerely hope BYLC grows even bigger and eventually becomes more successful. Looking forward to visit and if possible, work at the new office!

E. Bhaia, if you are seeing this, I am looking forward to find a certain ‘book’ in your new chamber Best of luck, BYLC!