The iBridges Berlin conference is pivotal in advancing Iran’s economy, and will be the largest gathering of Iranians outside of the country for the first time in over 30 years. Unfortunately, attending all synchronized sessions is an impossible mission. We listed some of the interesting lessons learned from the event:
1) “Iran is the leading country in entrepreneurship in the Middle East and one of the best foreign entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley. Commitment, trust and supporting each other in the growing market are three factors that got Iranians to this place,” said the Egyptian entrepreneur Dr Ossama Hassanein. With 25 startup weekends in only 24 months and thousands of new startups being founded, technology entrepreneurship is one of the main entrepreneurship fields in Iran.
2) CafeBazaar, Addad, Avatech, Digikala, and Takhfifan are all entrepreneur projects founded by young Iranians and worth millions of dollars. Attending this event gives a chance to have a closer look about their journey and future ambitions.
3) In spite of the sanctions on Iran, Iranians are not isolated from the international, and especially the American entrepreneurship stream. Iranian alumni are graduating from prestigious European and American Universities are building a bridge between Iran and the other world.
4) Hundreds of Iranian entrepreneurs came to Berlin looking for new ideas, networks and investors and if you think this huge gathering is overwhelming, “what has been here is only the tip of iceberg”, said Amir Zarkesh, co-founder and president of Blue Chip System.
5) Our ideas to start a new business are only hypotheses; many steps are required to prove it and you need to follow and don’t wait to get your product perfect before you offer it to the market. Sell it and then fix it.
6) How will our life be in only 15, or 35 or 85 years? It’s not a science fiction question, but one of the most outstanding astrophysical Science professors, Dr. Hamid Biglari shared a glance of how energy, media, health, transportation would be in the future depending on the current science and technology growth.
7) Think of what your customer might need in the future. Build a need he doesn’t know that he has. Be accurate and specific in your service value. Nobody wants an app that does everything.
8) We’re too rich to have hunger, poverty and social injustice in our world. “Entrepreneurship is the only way to make the world a better place for all,” said Ann-Kathrin Kuhlemann, a managing partner of Blue Economy Solutions.
9) Being an Iranian women raised in a conservative society shouldn’t hold you back. Many challenges would face you as woman entrepreneur but women backup women in this field. Having a look on how Farnoush Mirmoeini, Gisue Hariri have made it through, will give you a push forward.
10) “2015 is a tipping point for startup founders in Iran,” said Mohsen Malayeri, the co-founder of Avatech, the Iranian startup accelerator.
For more information: Visit the iBridges official website and follow @TechWadiOrg on Twitter.
