From the platform of PakWired, we are creating a gallery to display your startup/business. With Business Showcase we aim to put forth an exhibit of YOUR success, YOUR journey and YOUR story. It is a celebration of the entrepreneurial spirit at work in you!
Business Showcase is an idea born out of the need for a gallery of the fiercely promising entrepreneurial culture in Pakistan. To develop a comprehensive and unbiased industry profile, we invite you to take your part and make your contribution, regardless of your years in the industry and the revenue generated. Let us join together and celebrate each success and each struggle contributing to our striving ecosystem.
The platform is envisioned to grow into a hub of opportunities and resources for those with experience and those struggling to have any. Write your entrepreneurial story, we will feature it. Not good with stringing words? No worries! Take your camera, show us your product. Let us see with you, your dream.
Today, featured at the Business Showcase is Scinimation.
By PakWired, following is an interview with Syeda Maheen Shah, CEO at Scinimation:
WHAT IS YOUR PRODUCT/SERVICE IDEA?
Traditional ways of giving a lecture using text books and Whiteboards don’t always convey the complete gist of a lecture. Sometimes long lectures bore students and they get distracted easily losing the first main criteria of learning, concentration. The moment student loses his concentration, he doesn’t understand the concept well and obviously can’t remember the topics for a long time.
Animated cartoons and moving images have captivated viewers’ imaginations ever since they were first invented.
Scinimation provides students with fun and innovative ways of learning with the help of “2D animations”. Animations can help learners come to understand complex ideas more easily. The process of teaching and learning gets a whole new experience when animations are used during the process.
WHAT DOUBTS DID YOU HAVE ABOUT THE SUCCESS OF THE IDEA?
Launching a startup is full of risks. When I left my job and initiated a startup I was confused whether I would be able to make it a success or not.
WHERE DID YOU WORK BEFORE YOU BEGAN WORKING ON THE IDEA?
In 6 months, I changed almost 4-5 jobs in Karachi, and in my last job I came to the realization that I am not a job person so I quit and came back to my home Quetta. This is from where I set upon working on Scinimation.
AT WHAT STAGE OF STARTUP CYCLE / BUSINESS PHASE DO YOU FIND YOURSELF NOW?
Scinimation life cycle is completely based on schools, we are contacting schools for turning their preschool lectures into animations and our revenue is based on the contracts of schools.
WHAT HAS BEEN THE HAPPIEST MOMENT OF THIS ENTIRE JOURNEY, AND WHY?
I presented my idea Scinimation for K-10 Education Innovation Challenge for improving the education system and it got selected for the challenge in Peshawar. I went to Peshawar and Scinimation got the first prize and won the 3-months incubation at basecamp Peshawar (fully funded). From here Scinimation began. The incubation began in November 2016 and graduated from the incubation in April 2017. During this incubation, I have learned a lot about different aspects of startups. Right now, Scinimation has earned some revenue and working with some schools as well.
WHAT HAS BEEN THE SCARIEST MOMENT, AND WHY?
At the beginning of Scinimation the biggest risk was having to live in Peshawar for 3 months in a hostel, without having any clue how would the incubation impact scinimation. However, during this period of incubation Basecamp Peshawar has supported me a lot, in terms of advices, mentors and networking.
WE ALL MAKE BLUNDERS CLIMBING A NEW LADDER. WHAT HAS BEEN THE FUNNIEST MOMENT IN YOUR ENTREPRENEURIAL JOURNEY, AND WHY?
We all are not born entrepreneurs, during initial stages we make a lot of blunders and same goes with me. Once we had a meeting with the investor and I was not prepared, which was my 1st mistake. During the discussion he suddenly asked about the amount of investment I needed and at that moment I was blank because I wasn’t prepared. So that meeting was a huge blunder of my life but it taught me a lot.
YOUR ADVICE TO ENTREPRENEURSHIP ASPIRANTS?
The thing which I have experience during my struggling period was that if a person has a will to do something he/she can do it. It does not matter either you are from ruler area or from urban either you are from Karachi or Quetta or Islamabad. Its only about your will.
I’m a firm believer in “You don’t get what you wish for, you get what you work for”.
HOW WOULD YOU RATE YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH THE FOLLOWING IN ORDER OF DIFFICULTY: (1 LEAST DIFFICULT, 10 MOST DIFFICULT).
Tech know-how: 2
Planning: 3
Launch: 7
Business Strategy: 6
Product/Competitor research: 4
Time and asset investment: 5
Hiring right resources: 8
Seeking mentor: 3
Finance planning: 2
Marketing: 7
HOW WOULD YOU WANT THE AUDIENCE TO REACH YOU?
Website: www.scinimationpk.com
Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/scinimationpk
If you would like to have your business featured in the PakWired Business Showcase, get in contact with us via editor@pakwired.com or on Twitter: @PakWired
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