From Mechanical Engineer to Technopreneur by RJ David
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Transcript of From Mechanical Engineer to Technopreneur by RJ David
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