Tell us a bit about yourself.
I was born and brought up in Dhaka. My father was a biochemist, clinical nutritionist and scientist working in the BCSIR in Bangladesh and Ministry of Health in KSA where our family lived for about two decades. I came back here before getting admitted to a Cadet College and continued till my SSC and then went to Notre Dame College, after which I went to IBA, DU studying BBA for about three and a half years, eventually discontinuing there. I ultimately completed my graduation in commerce and never got into doing post-graduation. I must admit that my academic journey seems unsual. But, I always had always been keen on learning everything that I got exposed to during my classes at different levels and institutions.
I’m the Founder and CEO of Doctorola that I primarily manage now. I have a few other ventures that include a software company and marketing agencies. I mentor startups, small and medium enterprises. I also teach as an adjunct faculty at ICAB. I’ve been professionally working for about 22 years, most of which was dedicated to technology and strategic management in various corporates and business organizations.
Tell us about your professional journey
I was always driven to achieve something on my own, so I was always attracted to the concept of having my own business. I started working in various places from around right after my HSC. I learned how to use the computer by going to the computer lab of BUET and got a job in a local shop where I used to compose documents for people. I learned about creating computer networks on my own and started taking on networking jobs as a freelancer. This way, I basically got involved with IT and later developed an interest in software development as well. When I was in my second semester, I had my first office with employees. The start was really difficult financially but things picked up later. I started the computer firm with a couple of my friends from IBA. At one point, our business was flourishing and that’s when my education suffered. I went to India in my third year to bring certain training franchises to India. So, I signed the agreements and rented a place in Dhaka for setting up an IT training Institute. To bring that to life, I got busy with managing funds, extracting funds from the business and putting it here, and it got really difficult. To the point where I had to hand the business over to somebody else. I had one small portion of that dedicated to software and I had developed an ERP software. There was barely a market for ERP back in 1998-2000 but I still managed to sell it to thirty nine companies in Dhaka and Chittagong and to get there I had to pitch the software to almost five hundred companies. The cost of the process was really high and it got really difficult to manage eventually. During that struggle I had to make the call of getting a job and ended up joining a British multinational company as the Systems Support Officer. I absolutely loved working there but I was facing a lot of challenges mainly due to not having a graduation degree at that time and had to work as a probationary employee for one and half years. However, in the next few years, I got promotions and increments almost every year and grew faster than anyone else in the organization. This was due to my performance and extraordinary achievements in technology operations and projects. Eventually, I got selected for heading regional technology and SAP projects. Afterwards, I moved to Rahimafrooz and lead many Business IT projects to success including establishing the customer service center and many other important initiatives. I then joined Rangs Group of Industries as the Group CIO where my role was slightly broader and encompassed leading business initiatives. I then moved as a CIO to Expolanka Group, a multinational logistics business based group. Later, I assumed a CEO role in a strategic business unit of the Group. I left the job after about five years and got back into businesses after a lot of thinking and compromises. That’s how I formed Doctorola. I always had the passion of working with businesses in different ways be it in Management, IT, HR, Strategy or anything.
How did you get involved in mentorship?
After I had started Doctorola, a few young people started coming to me for advice for their own businesses. And I liked helping them out. I never did any formal mentoring, I did it because I liked doing it. And since I’m passionate about business, I ended up getting involved in various businesses as an investor or chairman of the board or mentor and such. I’ve been teaching for about seven – eight years and it’s something I enjoy.
How did you make the call of leaving a secure job life and get into your own business?
I realized that what I couldn’t achieve as a job holder, I could achieve as an entrepreneur. I was always aware that the risk involved with achieving something great with a job is way less than the risk involved with achieving something with a business. And that risk involves leaving your comfort zone which I had calculated prior to making the decision but it turned out that my calculation was wrong. What I mean by that is there were time, depth and such various calculations which didn’t match my expectation but that doesn’t mean I regret any of this. Because there will always be struggles.
“Things did not go according to plan, but nothing worth doing is ever easy.”
How did you come up with the ideas of Doctorola & Oployee?
I knew whatever I did, it had to be impactful. So, along with 2 friends we lined out impact areas. We landed unemployment, education and health. For unemployment we came up with Oployee coined from “Online Employee”, which we registered in the United States. It didn’t eventually workout although it still exists. Then we very carefully decided to pursue Doctorola. The healthcare industry is a reserved industry and that’s difficult to penetrate into. We were able get through the hurdles and now we’re doing quite well.
What does the future hold?
I want to take Doctorola to the next level. We’ve reached a lot of expert doctors which is a great deal for us. Our supply is quite good. We need to increase demand, though. I also might get seriously involved in mentoring. I might open up a consultancy space for start-ups and struggling businesses.
What would you tell the next generation of entrepreneurs?
I think there has to be an urge to be an entrepreneur from within. Funding doesn’t come through ideas, it comes from the business, which means you need to make the business stand out first. You need to have a realistic approach to it. Which you can do only when you have a business running because that teaches you the realistic dynamics. You must believe in yourself and your idea. You must also have a learning attitude. And most importantly, you must have the readiness to face any adverse situation. There will be a lot of hard times and you need to face it head-on.
What is one good and one bad thing about the tech industry?
The good thing is that this industry is constantly moving and changing. The downside is that, this industry wants to be the solution to every problem. There’s an idea that technological solution is the ultimate answer, which is flawed. There are more factors which aren’t considered.
