Features

Making use of technology for entrepreneurship

14 Feb 2014 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

They are young women of a generation that grew up with the Internet, software and lap tops. They seek solutions in technology and believe in the power of technology that can be harnessed to produce great many things. They belong to a new generation of entrepreneurs whose very existence is dependent on technology.

These are young and talented women each of whom have created an enterprise that turns everyday needs into bold and edgy entrepreneurship opportunities. They have identified niches that they have been able to fill successfully. Can others emulate their success and what are the tips they could give others?

Katrina Lake’s Stitch Fix
Katrina Lake, CEO and Founder of Stitch Fix, debuted her innovative e-commerce website on a platform all women love – fashion. The only criteria was that Stitch Fix does the picking up for you, serving as some kind of a stylist plus personal shopper. And going by the raving reviews on mommy blogs, the concept is working good. With Stitch Fix, what happens is you give it access to your social feeds so that they can get a snap shot of your day-to-day lifestyle. After the algorithm takes a first pass at what items you might like, one of several staff stylists at Stitch Fix fine tunes each “fix”. The Fix is the box of matching clothes and accessories you will receive whenever you feel like you need a ‘fix’.

Although stylists play a key role, the bulk of it is done by the algorithm that holds the key to Lake’s bottom line. She sees her ‘predictive technology’ as a unique break through that allows specific, fine-tuned choices for customers. For her customers, a Fix from Stitch Fix is already turning into a fix they look forward to.

Leah Busque, Founder/CEO of TaskRabbit, is a classical ballerina who is a qualified engineer. Her interest lay in entrepreneurship – her online business TaskRabbit is a unique venture that enables people to outsource running errands and finding help around the neighbourhood. It facilitates a two-way street – allows people to share their time and talent for a payment and allows others to use help – whether in getting laundry done or groceries brought home. TaskRabbit is not without its flaws but the concept is said to work brilliantly in an environment where economic downturn has made many people unemployed.

E-commerce businesses
Sumaya Kazi is a Bangladeshi American who founded the San Francisco-based tech company Sumazi, an intelligent social navigation system for personal and professional networks. Her background was in social media marketing at a Fortune 500 company and her venture has certainly benefitted from it. Sumazi uses the power of technology to connect people in ways that are mutually beneficial.

Cecilia Pagkalinawan who founded and is the CEO of Appalud, has a remarkable track record in launching and marketing successful e-commerce businesses. Her e-commerce boutique is dedicated to helping entrepreneurial fashion designers from around the globe reach new customers through social commerce. Her capacity in building e-commerce models that marry fashion with tech opportunities is recognized and lauded as one of the best in the tech world.

Here in Sri Lanka, so many young women have turned to the web for a dynamic marketing experience. Nafisa Fazlieali, a talented young lady who hails from a family of entrepreneurs, gave up her full time job to launch www.peeptoe.lk, a fashionable site that markets trendy shoes, hand bags and accessories. Nafisa has discovered the potential of Internet-based business – and going by the success she has had, there is tremendous opportunity for other women to use technology as a business medium.

Technology and innovation
Technology is an ideal platform for pursuits related to women, in addition to the ones mentioned here. These but a few of the many talented men and women, who have waded into the vast ocean of technology and launched highly successful tech-based companies. Beauty and fashion blogs, lifestyle blogs, Internet-based marketing modules and many other tech-powered tools enable today’s innovative entrepreneur to create and sustain a dynamic tech-based business.

There are many other women who have gone on to launch innovative Internet-based companies that have focused on a specific need, using technology to launch applications of relevance. Having realized the power of technology in enabling multiple business platforms, these women have shown others that technology can work for every innovative idea, for every business concept that fulfils a need out there. They have benefitted from the unbeatable combinations technology offers in connectivity, access and monitoring. Some of the services that have been launched as tech start-ups would not exist if not for the power of technology.

There are lessons here for those who want to venture out of their comfort zones. There are opportunities that still haven’t come of age. There are risks that could be managed and trials that could be safely held, options explored and ventures launched. Needs and wants that require fulfilment exist all around us – even before technology broke down the geological barriers, enterprising individuals were launching successful business models based on identified needs. Technology can fuel solutions that fulfil those needs and empower entrepreneurship in the process.

(Nayomini Weerasooriya, a writer, senior journalist and a PR professional, can be contacted at [email protected])

Features

Making use of technology for entrepreneurship

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