Q. We would like to start with a brief story of your early days and your academic journey.
My early days were very simple and I spent my time the same way as many other youths do. I was born and brought up in Jamalpur in Sarishabari Thana. I stayed and studied there till my SSC exams. After completing SSC, I shifted to Dhaka and got admitted to Dhaka College. By the grace of Allah, I got the opportunity to study at BUET. I was fortunate enough to study at the finest institutions of the country and was able to make great memories and friends during the period.
Q. Despite having a good academic background and potential career opportunities, why did you choose to be an entrepreneur?
I started my entrepreneurial journey at the age of 19. At that time, I was just following my passion. I didn’t think that the path I took would make me an entrepreneur in the long run. From my school days, I had the urge to know more and asked many questions. Despite being a school in a remote area, the teachers there would encourage me to chase my thirst for knowledge. The credit goes to the Head-master who was very progressive and thought in a unique way. When I got admitted to Dhaka college, I was excited and my expectations were quite high from the teachers of the college. They were all famous and had written books as well. However, the scenario turned out to be different. Despite their vast knowledge, the teachers would get annoyed if I asked too many questions and I would be left wondering about the answer. As a result, my performance gradually dropped and my score was not satisfactory in the first year. This prompted me to start something on my own. Something that would help me and the other students with their academic knowledge. I started ‘Udvash’ in December, 2000. I had already got admission at BUET but our classes were yet to start due to session jam. I would spend most of my time at Udvash and got massively engaged with it. Even then, I didn’t realize that I had already become an entrepreneur. Due to my good results in both SSC and HSC, my parents were also supporting me in my initiative, condition being that I kept my grades up at BUET. By the time I graduated from BUET, Udvash already had made quite a good name for itself. Besides this, I also started a software company. It didn’t have a huge customer base but we would give support to specific clients as per their requirements on a freelance basis. My parents wanted me to pursue a Phd abroad, but I realized that I have already come a long way in my entrepreneurial journey and that it wouldn’t really add any value to what I am doing and what I want to do in the future. The initiatives I took at that time were because I felt that there was a gap in the system and I could somehow bridge that. In following my passion, I ended up becoming an entrepreneur, Alhamdulillah.
Q. In terms of entrepreneurship, there’s a debate whether one should focus on a single concern or multiple concerns. What would be your opinion on this matter?
I think that there shouldn’t be any debate regarding what to focus on. An entrepreneur should definitely focus on a single concern as long as it doesn’t reach a stable position. You may feel that since I have so many ventures I was not focused on a single one. In reality, it took Udvash 8 years to reach a break even and I was entirely focused on it for the whole time. I did not share my time or energy with any new ventures. Even though I had launched a software business, its activities were limited and my partners in that venture were also different from Udvash. Nevertheless, if there was an undo button, I would do things very differently. If I had the chance, I wouldn’t launch so many businesses, I would rather focus on my passion, which is the education sector. Although my other businesses are doing well, I still dedicate most of my time and energies to the education sector.
Q. According to you, when an entrepreneur goes for business diversification, should he consider launching a sub product first or shift to a different industry, which would be feasible?
If you take into consideration the other business groups in our country, you will notice that they have diversified into numerous and varied sectors. The question is, when and how did they do it ? The only reason they could diversify is because they had a core business that had been established and that generated a decent amount of revenue on a regular basis. It takes immense time and energy to nurture a business from infancy to maturity and when you focus on multiple businesses at a time, it obviously becomes difficult. I feel that Pathao and Shohoz could have done better if they focused on a single sector at a time. They could have thwarted Uber’s progress in Bangladesh and become a leader in the industry. At Rokomari, we didn’t diversify till our ninth year of business. We wanted to establish a strong base in the book market in order to slow down and/or stop other competitors from entering the market. If I had focused on multiple businesses, I may not have been able to bring excellence to Rokomari. There are always exceptions but in general what I feel is that one should focus on a single venture at a time, in order to facilitate progress and growth.
Q. Use of E-books is increasing, sales of physical books are decreasing and many think that the publication is going out of business worldwide. What is your opinion regarding this and how are you adapting to it?
If we look at previous data, we would see that the sale of books has increased every year at ‘Ekushey Boi Mela’. At the same time, the purchase of E-books has also increased. It is obvious that because of the technological boom, the behavior of humans has changed and is changing. As a result, we see many publications, especially newspapers and/or magazines shifting to digital platforms. It has become tough for them to survive in the publication platform, for example, the NY times, Washington Post etc. I myself read a lot of E-books but if I find a book that I like very much, I buy a physical copy of it. In my opinion, E-books did not destroy the market, rather they created a new market opportunity. In some cases, the market will be demolished but it’ll not happen overnight. The sale of physical books will continue to keep growing at a decent pace and it’s here to stay for a long time. In several cases, the sale of pdf or E-books increase the sale of physical copies as we can see in the case of the 10 minutes school. They initially sold digital versions of the book. This rose to a greater demand in the physical books. Publication is a very small part of the book market. We will always need the publishers, content creators, ideas, curators etc. to publish books but instead of printing, they will probably be distributing it online. As long as their content is good, they can generate the demand in the market. Thus, there is very little room for the publisher to worry. What he should be worried about now is that more and more people are shifting to reading shorter contents rather than books. So, publishers need to come up with newer ideas and solutions to adapt to these changes if they want to survive in the market.
Q. A person might have a good career but at the same time, wants to be an entrepreneur. What would be your advice to those who want to take this path?
People have different abilities, different aspirations and visions. So, we should let each individual flourish 36 I think that there shouldn’t be any debate regarding what to focus on. An entrepreneur should definitely focus on a single concern as long as it doesn’t reach a stable position. according to their abilities. I feel that not everyone needs to be an entrepreneur. If all are entrepreneurs then who’ll be the employee and how would the entrepreneur survive? There is a trend among the youths of our country that they tend to choose things that bring fame. They are inspired by the photos and write-ups of entrepreneurs in the newspapers and on television and aspire to be like them. When they see a successful corporate personality, they choose to follow a stable career path and climb up the ladder like them.
I think that there shouldn’t be any debate regarding what to focus on. An entrepreneur should definitely focus on a single concern as long as it doesn’t reach a stable position.
If a successful corporate person wants to take the path of entrepreneurship, then it’s important that he chooses it not for fame but for the sake of solving a problem or to chase a passion. He should have an inspiration to work for it, make sacrifices and feel good at the same time. He should enjoy this journey. Otherwise, success won’t be an easy game for him and all his efforts may be in vain.
Q. Personal Branding is a major part now-a-days both in terms of entrepreneurship and/or in the corporate career. How important do you think it actually is?
Everything has a positive and negative side. A brand can, to some extent, go a long way facilitated by an individual’s personal branding. Big companies spend huge amounts of money to bring in Brand Ambassadors to establish their brands but if that ambassador gets into controversial issues, it hurts the company’s image. As such, personal branding brings along a significant amount of risk. Sometimes, a company that is highly dependent on an individual who has strongly established himself/herself as a brand, may not survive long in the market. It’s like a sharp knife where you’re deriving day to day benefits from its various uses but at the same time, you run the risk of cutting your hand with it and losing a lot of blood. Now-a-days, the way we portray personal branding seems a bit shallow and problematic to me. A person may not be necessarily expressing his true self, his true moral ethics and feelings when he’s establishing himself as a brand. Rather, accommodate and shape their behavior to suit their role. They create a fake personality instead of showing their true self. Anything that is not authentic will not survive in the long run, it will become confusing and fall apart eventually. The person may have to change with the trend and will not be able to hold on to ‘the character’ that they seemingly portray. Only those who actually show their true self and establish themselves as authentic models, will survive in the long run. They hold on to their moral ethics and values and won’t compromise no matter how much change occurs around them.
Q. As we see the rapid expansion of blockchain, AI, Robotics etc. there’s speculation that it’ll cut a lot of human jobs. So, besides competing against or with each other, humans will have to compete with technologies too. How practical do you think this situation is or would be?
It is obvious that because of the technological boom, the behavior of humans has changed and is changing. As a result, we see many publications, especially newspapers and/or magazines shifting to digital platforms.
We have been experiencing massive and rapid changes in recent years. The introduction of such mind-blowing technological advancements makes it actually quite hard to predict what will happen in the future. Humans are at an optimum stage of their output. In the previous industrial revolution, humans shifted their physical efforts to operating machines and then to creative thinking but what’s next? I feel that if AI or Robots take over human jobs then there will be new jobs that suit humans. We are seeing the introduction of Metaverse, NFTs and many other digital contents where some sort of value is being added to them. Humans are taking part in those and generating income thereby creating jobs as well. Maybe in the future we would be able to transfer skills among each other. We would develop a specific set of skills and sell it to other people. Such a situation can occur! If humans go out of job, the society itself won’t survive and there will be quite a lot of unrest. Another argument that I really feel might come true is that the debate between humans and robots might be dissolved altogether. Maybe humans themselves would become cyborgs with the help of technological advancements. Maybe they will attach enhancements to their body parts that would help them to function more effectively, surpassing their current capability. What if a microchip is embedded into our brain so that it helps us to function more efficiently like a robot? We can maybe store or download skills and experiences from the cloud and apply them into our lives. What would that make us then? Humans or Robots? Maybe those that can afford such technology would derive the benefit from it but not all can enjoy its fruit. We can already see it in the current times where the one, who has more access to technology gets to do and learn more. As I have said before, everything has a positive and negative aspect to it. Time alone will tell where and how our civilization will progress.
Q. How do you think such advancements would impact the world or society and what would be the consequences?
I feel that the consequences may be very dangerous. Humans have created some wondrous inventions over the past few years which have made them arrogant. The reason I say arrogant is that their rapid advancement has caused them to ignore their surroundings, especially the environment. New inventions are being made and all around the world,humans are obliged to adapt to it, leaving aside the natural ways. As a result, there’s been a rupture in the ecological system and we’re already experiencing the harsh impacts on the climate. The fertility of the soil is being damaged greatly due to massive use of chemicals and pesticides. Very few people have proper knowledge of the environment and we don’t know how our one single activity or invention is impacting the environment. It is somewhat complicated like the human body where you take a medicine for curbing pain but in effect, impact your kidneys negatively. Another point I would like to draw attention to is that, nuclear weapons are being produced in many progressive nations, without taking into consideration the after effects and /or the ill effects of the same. Use of nuclear weapons would greatly impact the human race. This puts the entire humanity at risk.. It’s important now, more than ever, that we maintain a balance between all of these. If a group thinks more progressively, then there should be another group that It is obvious that because of the technological boom, the behavior of humans has changed and is changing. As a result, we see many publications, especially newspapers and/or magazines shifting to digital platforms. 38 thinks more conservatively. But the competitive mentality among humans to build and do something better is a kind of barrier to this balance. If a team builds a strong AI, then another team would come up to build a stronger version of AI. Who’s there to stop them? The world leaders should come forward and draw attention to these issues as soon as possible with a view to amicable solutions and settlements.
Q. How have Islamic values helped you in your path of entrepreneurship and maintaining ethical standards?
Alhamdulillah, it has helped me quite a lot and made my entrepreneurship journey very smooth. I would say that my progress has been much faster as I adopted the Shariah rules and beliefs into my daily life. I feel more relaxed now and can be at ease with any decision I make. During my early days of entrepreneurship, I used to feel very anxious and there was always unrest in my mind. Now, I feel at peace and think that whatever is bound to happen by Allah’s decree will happen and it will be for the good. Alhamdulillah, my partner and I are leading a very peaceful life. Besides, in case of doing business, Shariah advises that you should maintain moral ethics and maintain standards such as not to cheat anybody. Following this advice would help you not get cheated either. Some business owners often take shortcuts and manage work orders with bribes or speed money rather than utilizing their workplace capabilities. I encourage my employees to build healthy relationships by increasing their capability and building their values. This will encourage other people, who wouldn’t work without monetary benefit, to come forward and work with them. We may lose some business in the short run as a result, but it’s an asset for both them and me in the long run. We have more than 5,000 employees working with us, both full time and part time. We don’t have a single penny of bank loan during our business lifetime. Even during the early days of the pandemic, we did not lay off a single employee. If we had the burden of loan, then the scenario might have been different. Since I did not have any loans, I had to be more careful and make mature decisions for the financial management of my company. If I take leadership management into consideration, there are so many theories on how one should manage. But I tend to follow what and how our Prophet (SAW) managed during his time as a leader. This helps me to stay out of confusion and confidently take any decision. There’s no greater entrepreneur, nor leader other than our Prophet Muhammad (SAW). So, if we can adapt his morality and lifestyle into our life, then there’s no force to stop you from progressing.
Q. What would be your advice to aspiring entrepreneurs and dreamers, who want to make a meaningful impact through their work?
Humans have become a puppet of their own kind. Life has become a platform for show off. The more applause you get, the more motivated you become, but does it really lead to a meaningful outcome? Why would we let others control our life? Why would their comments and opinions tempt me to change the course of my career? The scenario is such that when people cheer you, you tend to become happy but when they pass negative comments, you easily become depressed. This being the case, no matter what you achieve, you won’t ever feel happy or content intrinsically. It’s crucial that you figure out what you want to do in your life, find motivation in what gives you peace, what ensures your spiritual wellbeing and what pleases Allah. If Allah is pleased with you then you’ll surely feel at peace, no matter how small your achievement is because it paves your way to achieving bigger goals. And the biggest goal, in the afterlife. The opinions of the public will always be there but you can’t let that distract you. Plan your life and career in such a way that it is for the betterment of society and the people, and for pleasing Allah ultimately. To conclude, I would say that you should establish Taqwa (Allah Consciousness) in your heart, which would make your life much easier. Follow the lifestyle of our Prophet (SAW) and Sahabas and learn and understand how much they went through. Remember to thank Allah no matter the situation and be patient. Deal with everything in a calm and cool manner rather than becoming reactive and anxious. Don’t limit your thinking only to yourself but extend it for the greater good. Think of the betterment of others and work on it steadily, this would help you achieve your goals more easily.
