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Sulit.com.ph Co-Founder and Technopreneur RJ David shared his experience and lessons learned transitioning from mechanical engineer, developer, software lead tester, freelancer to Technopreneur. This is the second webinar organized under the DigitalFilipino Start-Up 100 Project that aims to mentor, encourage, give advice to aspiring technopreneurs. More information about the project can be found at http://www.e-commercephilippines.com
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From Mechanical Engineer to Technopreneur
RJ David
Who is RJ David? � 31 years old � Co-‐founder and Managing Director of Sulit.com.ph � Married to Arianne David who is the other co-‐founder of Sulit
� Netrepreneur (Internet Entrepreneur)
Who was RJ David? � Chairperson of the Philippine Society of Mechanical Engineers – UP Student Unit
� Instructor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering of UP Diliman
� Licensed Mechanical Engineer � Software Test Engineer � Freelance web developer � Custom T-‐shirt seller (almost)
Achievements � Go Negosyo Inspiring Young Filipino Entrepreneur Award – September 2010
� Business Excellence Award from BPI Family Savings Bank – September 2010
� Featured in Go Negosyo’s 7th Book – 50 Inspiring Stories of Young Entrepreneurs – October 2011
� PLDT MVP Bossing Award for 2012 – November 2011
College � Started reading programming books (Turbo Pascal) when I
was in 4th year high school but I did not take Computer Science in College
� Took up Mechanical Engineering (ME) because my uncle who was a successful engineer working abroad promised me a good and high-‐paying job if I graduated as a Mechanical Engineer
� In college, I took up Mechanical Engineering but studied programming during my spare time in the library
� Since ME was really not my interest, I ended up joining a student organization to which I focused much of my time during my last semester
� But ME, or engineering in general, taught me to become a problem solver
Lessons Learned from College � Money as a motivation is fine but passion on what you are doing can result to even greater things
� Things I learned from a student organization in college are worth more than the sum of everything I learned inside the classroom
My Dream Job � As a kid, I always dream of creating or inventing something that many
people will use. � Became one of only few biomechanical engineers here in Philippines � Research and development which involves designing and creating
prosthesis and instruments used during orthopedic surgeries � It was my dream job and it was a privilege to be part of a rare-‐breed of
engineers in the country � But my passion was in programming which my boss caught me doing
at work � I resigned from my dream job and accepted that programming was
what I was meant to do
Lessons Learned from My Dream Job � It won’t be your dream job if your passion is not aligned with it
� Accepting that you are in the wrong field is a tough pill to swallow because you are going to admit that you made the wrong decision all these years
Changing Career / Industry � In 2003, I decided to shift from Engineering to the IT industry
� It was tough because of 2 things: � I have to start at an entry position again
� I cannot even get an interview for a programming job because I was a Mechanical Engineer
� I know how to program and relatively good at it but I have nothing to prove it other than my skills
Lessons Learned in Changing Career / Industry � In any career or industry, you always have to start at the bottom and move your way up
� It is always easy to say that you are good at something but it is difficult to prove it especially if you do not have the background and experience to show
� The difficulty of changing industry should not be a big hurdle that you cannot surpass
SoBware Test Engineer � In 2003, I became a software test engineer at Azeus Philippines, a
CMMi Level 5 company � Testing involves a different type of mind set from development.
Developers think how to create and accomplish a task while testers think how it can fail.
� As a test engineer who has knowledge in programming, I have the uncanny ability to predict where and how a software can fail.
� After 1 year, I was already conducting the one-‐month training for new hires about software testing
� After 1 1/2 years, I was already a lead tester of a major project � I also became involved in setting up development processes within the
company
Lessons Learned as a SoBware Test Engineer � Software testing improved my development skills as I become more aware on how my application can fail. Software testing made me a better developer producing high quality application
� I learned a lot about development processes and how a process should adjust to the needs of your team and not the other way around
Open Source Developer � In 2003, I started playing with phpBB, a popular open source forum
application. � Created modifications and templates and submitted it to be used for
free by the community � Created a portal modification called IM Portal for phpBB which is a
content management system (CMS) using the forum engine � Created IntegraMod which is phpBB with all the best modifications
already installed with IM Portal as the main feature � Downloaded and used thousands of times until I gave up development
to the community in 2006 � Competed with top phpBB mod developers for the best portal
modification available
Lessons Learned as an Open Source Developer � One way to showcase your skills or work is to do something for free. In case of development, open source development is a good option
� Joining an open source community of developers is a way to hone and improve your skills
� Competition is healthy. It kept me outdoing myself a lot of times even for something that was free
� There is a lot of high quality open source applications out there that you can literally run an internet operations using open source software
Freelance Web Developer � In late 2003, I started receiving simple development projects for phpBB due to my simple mods
� When I released IM Portal and IntegraMod, I started to receive bigger projects
� I was a software test engineer during the day and a developer during the night
� Referrals from previous projects came and projects became full-‐blown websites that I started earning up to more than three times of the salary of my day job
Lessons Learned as a Freelance Web Developer � Previous work is very important for freelance gigs to create your portfolio
� One of the best way to enhance your portfolio is by releasing or joining an open source project
� Referral from previous projects is a way to increase your client base
� Freelancing requires marketing, time management, discipline and negotiation skills
Resigning from my day job � In 2005, I came across this book titled “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki which changed my thinking ever since
� I did not take the stories and samples in the book literally but it opened my mind to new possibilities
� I resigned from my job a few weeks after reading the book
� I was completely convinced that I could do it on my own
� My side projects were already affecting the quality of my work in my day job
Lessons Learned from resigning from my day job � The fact that I had my freelancing gigs on the sidelines that were earning more than my day job made it easier for me to resign from my day job
� Sometimes the best decision that you can have is the most unpopular one
� When your side projects started to affect your performance at your day job, be a professional and choose one and drop the other
Planning to Sell T-‐Shirts � Until in 2006, an opportunity presented itself in the form of selling
custom-‐made T-‐shirts � Target market: the exponentially growing Friendster member base in
the Philippines � After months of planning and putting the pieces together, I made a
pitch to the country manager of Friendster to become the official custom shirt partner
� The pitch did not go well and I was suddenly faced by a harsh reality: � I was a newbie entrepreneur � Custom T-‐shirts were nowhere near my core skills or passion � I did not have the capital to support the requirements of the business
for my target market
Lessons Learned from my T-‐shirt Gig � Passion and skills are very important for 1st time entrepreneurs
� Your startup capital must be able to support your pre-‐profit market
� You must do your homework before pitching your business
� A good idea is nothing without a capable team supporting it
Sulit.com.ph � Success stories of Kevin Rose starting Digg and Mark Zuckerberg starting Facebook gave inspiration to Arianne and I to create our own website.
� Since resigning from Azeus, I began porting my IM Portal project to a stand-‐alone CMS and web framework without the requirement of phpBB
� In May 2006, Arianne came up with the idea of a classifieds website as an experiment
� I started working on the website while doing freelance work and launched Sulit.com.ph on September 11, 2006
IniMal Years of Sulit � As an experiment, Sulit had no marketing budget and no marketing plan in place
� By the end of November 2006, traffic started to increase across all categories and the experiment became a full-‐blown online classifieds startup
� By August 2007, Sulit was more than “ramen profitable” so Arianne resigned from her work and help maintain the website
� In January 2008, we incorporated the company � In 2008, Sulit became the top local website in Alexa
Lessons Learned when starMng up Sulit.com.ph � It is possible to create an internet startup without requiring too much capital
� Formula to a successful website: release fast, release often, get feedback and iterate
� When requiring human input, crowdsource to scale � Search Engine Optimization was (and still is) the best source of free organic traffic to the website
� Bootstrapping an internet startup to profitability is possible � Technical expertise is very important in an internet startup � Get a co-‐founder for newbie entrepreneurs
Sulit.com.ph Investors � In 2008, Sulit started to appeal to other companies and VCs and we received a number of investment offers, partnerships and buyout offers, yet we were not actively looking for any investments
� Late 2008 and early 2009, competitors backed by big companies started to show serious interest in the local ecommerce market
� In 2009, Sulit received a Series A funding from MIH
Lessons Learned in accepMng investments � Know what you really need from investors: funds, knowledge, network, advisors, human resources, etc.
� Know the goal of the investors in investing to your company and see to it that it is aligned to your personal goal
� Valuation of a startup is an estimation of the future performance of the business
What characterizes an entrepreneur? � Risk taker – willingness to take huge risks in order to get huge returns
� Leader – the ability to make others follow your vision � Creates value – the ability to create actual value from your idea
� Problem solver – the ability to provide solutions to the problems of many potential customers
� Tolerance to failure – entrepreneurs are bound to fail in order to succeed
Advice to young people wanMng to become technopreneurs � Start now while you are young � It requires technical expertise to become a technopreneur so either you are a technical person or you find a technical co-‐founder
� For those who cannot risk their 9-‐5 salary, start small with a sideline project
� Start with something that you are passionate about; something you love doing
� Do not be afraid sharing your idea; the team executing the idea makes the difference
How can I prepare to become a technopreneur? � The internet is a fast-‐paced industry; you must be ready to continuously learn something new
� Be ready to learn how to filter information and read
� Expect sleepless nights � Be prepared for failures � Learn to say no � Be ready to come out of your comfort zone
� Be ready to wear many hats
What to watch out for in running a start up? � The tendency to make quick money � Partnerships, as much as you can, avoid it; unless it is really necessary to achieve your vision
� Tendency to raise more money than what is really needed
� Tendency to spend so much in marketing before the product is ready
� Tendency to copy an established competitor
Suggested Resources � OnStartups.com � ReadWriteWeb.com � TechCrunch.com � PaulGraham.com/articles.html � AVC.com � GigaOM.com � TechMeme.com � HackerNews.com