Category: Inside StartUpArabia

How much money do you need for your startup? [Poll Results]

MMM 7 Comments

In the latest poll on StartUpArabia, the question to the readers was: 

How much money do you need for your startup?

The result of reader voting came out as follows:  

How much money do you need for your startup?

 

Out of 230 readers who responded to the poll:
– 37.83% of them say they’d need only between $10,000 and $50,000
– 17.83% say they need $100,000 to $250,000 
– 14.78% only need $50,000 to $100,000
– 11.74% said they need $250,000 to $1,000,000 
– 7.83% need more than $1,000,000
– and the remaining 10% don’t need any money at all

I think the results of this poll are very interesting, because they highlight a number of really important issues:

– The evident gap we have in angel and seed funding that covers the lower startup budgets that make up the biggest percentage of startup needs, as confirmed by the numbers above.

– Are the region’s VC firms being realistic with the investment sizes they’re looking for in the online and technology startups area?

– Are entrepreneurs being realistic with the amounts of money they think they need? Are they asking for too much or too little? Are they taking into consideration all the costs they need to get their startup on its feet, or are they just looking at what it costs for them to get a prototype out the door? 

These are all important issues to think about, and that I’ll be exploring in more detail in future articles.
If you have any ideas or thoughts about this, or if you would like to help in writing the articles about these points, please do drop a comment.

StartUpArabia Launches Arab World Tech Events Calendar

MMM 4 Comments

CalendarIn an attempt to provide Arab entrepreneurs and technology fans with information about the various events taking place all around the Arab world; that are related to technology, internet, entrepreneurship, investment and more; and that might be of interest to them; StartUpArabia has gone ahead and launched its Events calendar.

The events calendar can be accessed through the ‘Events‘ link in the menu above, where a monthly calendar displays events all over the Arab world for each month.

On the site’s sidebar, you’ll also be able to quickly find the next five upcoming events around the region.

By clicking on the events in either the calendar page or the upcoming events list, you will be redirected either to the event’s official website or to a local page providing more information on the event.

Another option is to add the event calendar’s iCal feed to your calendar software (iCal, Google Calendar, Lightning …etc), and have all events pulled automatically from StartUpArabia into your own calendars.

And finally, if you have an event that is related to Arab startups, entrepreneurship, investment, or technology; that isn’t already included in the StartUpArabia Events Calendar, you can submit it by following this link: Submit Event.

The Man Who Thinks He Can

MMM 4 Comments

I came across a little poem called “Thinking”, also known as “The Man Who Thinks He Can”, by Walter D. Wintle, that I thought I’d share, and that I think embodies the spirit an entrepreneur needs to have to succeed.

If you think you’re beaten, you are;

If you think you dare not, you don’t.

If you’d like to win, but think you can’t,

It’s almost a cinch you won’t.

If you think you’ll lose, you’ve lost;

For out in the world we find

Success being with a fellow’s will;

It’s all in the state of mind.

If you think you’re outclassed, you are;

You’ve got to think high to rise.

You’ve got to be sure of yourself

Before you can ever win a prize.

Life’s battles don’t always go

To the stronger or faster man;

But soon or late, the one who wins

Is the man who thinks he can.

— Walter D. Wintle

StartUpArabia Launches New Mobile Version

MMM 16 Comments

Mobile StartUpArabiaStartUpArabia, your one stop shop for news and information about and related to Arab internet and technology startups and entrepreneurship, has just launched a new mobile version.

This new version, optimized for mobile devices, aims to enable you to quickly and easily access the latest news, articles and reviews while on the go.

Reader comments left on the different articles can be read as well, with the possibility to leave comments of your own.

This mobile version is accessible at the following address: http://m.startuparabia.com

Readers visiting the site at its current address using their mobile devices will automatically be redirected to the mobile version from now on.

The mobile version of StartUpArabia is powered by MoFuse.

How much money do you need for your startup? [Poll]

MMM 18 Comments

A new poll has gone live on StartUpArabia, you can find it on the first sidebar on the right or vote straight from this post.

This poll is mainly aimed at Arab entrepreneurs who have already launched their startups and are looking for financing, or those who have yet to launch their projects and will be needing some funding.

The question is: How much money do you need for your startup?

The poll gives a number of ranges that are based on some of the feedback I’ve gotten from entrepreneurs I’ve met and talked with around the Arab world.

Feel free to further expand on your response in the comments section of this post.

What kind of name do you prefer for a startup? [Poll Results]

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In the latest poll on StartUpArabia, the question to the readers was: 

What kind of name do you prefer for a startup?

The result of reader voting came out as follows:  

Startup name poll

Out of 79 readers who responded to the poll:
– 35% of them prefer names that sound cool or a bit weird 
– 32% think self explanatory names are a better choice 
– 27% responded that they like names that reflect the local culture 
– and the remaining 6% chose generic, not necessarily related names

I’m personally torn between the different choices in this poll, but I have to say that I really like startup names that reflect the local culture in some way and that come out sounding very cool.

The Latest Job Opportunities On The StartUpArabia Job Board

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A number of new job vacancies are available on the StartUpArabia job board.

The jobs available now come from a number of startups and companies operating in the Arab world, and are as follows:

For those of you interesed in applying for one of those positions, click on the position of your choice to find more details.

And if you’re a startup operating in the Arab world and looking to hire someone just right for your startup, you can post your job vacancies for free at the StartUpArabia Job Board.

New Startup Job Vacancies On StartUpArabia

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A number of new job vacancies have been posted to the StartUpArabia job board.

The jobs available now are at a newly launched startup in Lebanon called Wikeez, that will be reviewed very soon here.

The open positions are all based in Beirut, Lebanon, and are as follows:

For those of you interesed in filling in one of those positions, click on the position of your choice to find more details.
And if you’re a startup operating in the Arab world and looking to hire someone just right for your startup, you can post your job vacancies for free at the StartUpArabia Job Board.

StartUpArabia At Gitex Technology Week 2008

MMM 2 Comments

GitexStartUpArabia will be present at Gitex Technology Week 2008, that kicks off tomorrow at Dubai’s International Convention and Exhibition Centre, through my humble self, Mohamed Marwen Meddah.

The Gitex Technology Week will be going on from tomorrow, October 19th to Thursday 23rd.

If you’ll be exhibiting at the event or visiting, and you’re interested in having a little chat, just drop me an email at: gitex@startuparabia.com, I’d be glad to meet you.

I’ll be moving around meeting people most of the time, but will also be hanging around the Tunisian pavilion at Gitex between meetings, so you could also check if I’m there when/if you pass by.

If you’re in Dubai, not going to Gitex, but still interested in getting together for a little talk, please also drop me an email, and I’ll truly do my best so that we can set things up.

Blog Action Day: What Can We Do About Poverty?

MMM 6 Comments

Blog Action Day 2008Today is Blog Action Day 2008, and the theme is ‘Poverty’, with thousands of blogs around the world making an organized effort to raise awareness about global poverty and ways to fight it.

Unfortunately, as much wealth as we have in the Arab world, we have even more poverty, with people in various Arab countries barely making ends meet, many of them living under the poverty line.

With StartUpArabia being a project covering internet and technology startups and entrepreneurship in the Arab world, I thought I’d try to tackle the issue of poverty from the point of view of what we in this Arab startup scene can do.

Entrepreneurs involved with launching new startups know how it feels to have to bootstrap, to have so little money for them and their startups to live on, and they know how much they have to rely on the community and their network of friends and family to get through the day and make things start to happen.

I’m not likening the early days of a startup to poverty, far from it, all I’m trying to do is establish an order of magnitude; if those early days were bad, then imagine what a person who is living under the poverty line, who has no hope of things getting any better, and who can barely feed his family to get them through the day feels. Definitely and obviously so so much worse.

And the thing is that for the solution, things point back to the community and its efforts as well as the best way to help. The community can help fight poverty through people lending a hand, sharing, giving back to the community, investing in a better future for everyone.

So, what can we do?

  • Well there is no lack of organizations and foundations in all countries of the Arab world that are dedicated to fighting poverty, through a variety of programs, and that we can support in several different ways or make donations to.
  • Startups by nature are a great way to create new jobs as they grow, choosing to hire the qualified person who needs the job the most, and giving them a way to enhance their income and cover their living is a great way to help.
  • Raise awareness about poverty through our different services and websites, and convincing people to play a bigger role.
  • Use online microloan service like Kiva.org, MicroPlace, Prosper, Zopa, or GlobeFunder to help people around the world finance their small projects to get themselves out of poverty.

Finally, I thought I’d share with you a great list of 30 simple ways to battle povery with technology that I came across today and thought could come in handy and inspire some people on how they could contribute.