For this post, we asked our FT MBA 2019 alumnus Mukhtar Kuanyshbayuly to share his personal story about his entrepreneurial journey. 🎓🚀
We hope that his story will be interesting and inspire 💪🌟 our subscribers!
In a world of entrepreneurship where every step can be decisive, stories of success and failure intertwine into a compelling tale of courage, determination and a relentless drive to innovate. 💼🌍
Our graduate, Mukhtar, is a vivid example of this. His journey began at Purdue University, where he and his friends came up with the idea for a startup dedicated to a customer loyalty program. It was the first step towards creating their own business 💡👨💼💡, which they bravely took despite their youth and inexperience.
Upon returning to Kazakhstan, they already had a finished product, which they began to actively promote on the market. However, despite all efforts, success did not come immediately. The first months were full of difficulties and trials, but they did not give up 💪. They continued to work, learn from their mistakes and look for new opportunities.
But the life of an entrepreneur is full of surprises. Due to financial difficulties and the realities of the market, they were forced to leave their first project. But this did not stop Mukhtar. He continued to look for new opportunities, taking on various projects in various industries, from selling electronics to opening restaurants.
Ultimately, his path led him back to the world of technology and innovation. In 2018, together with a team of like-minded people, he began work on a smart home project. This Connected Home 🏠🌟 project has become a new stage in his entrepreneurial career, opening up new horizons and opportunities.
Mukhtar is developing a project that addresses a number of key issues, primarily the issue of security. His team has developed a smart device that can prevent theft, floods and fires. Thanks to the use of motion and door sensors, as well as specialized devices, they provide additional security in the house 🔒🏠📱. When a dangerous situation occurs, such as flooding, both the owner and the service company are notified, allowing them to take immediate action.
The second important value of the Connected Home project is savings. It helps save natural resources such as water and electricity by providing users with information about meter readings through a special application and smart meters. 💧💰
The project also adds elements of comfort to people's lives🏠🌟🤖. Through the use of various smart devices such as automatic curtains, climate control, robotic vacuum cleaners and humidifiers, they make people's lives easier and more convenient. The company is looking to bring features to homes that are already present in cars, such as climate control and window controls.
Mukhtar's impressions from a recent trip to Silicon Valley were just great. He found that his project attracted the attention of not only potential investors, but also potential clients, including construction companies, since Connected Home's approach to implementing smart homes is different from most other companies. It does not require users to provide personal data. In order to become the owner of a smart home, the user only needs to scan the QR code 🌉.
One of Mukhtar's most memorable moments was the "Survival" program at Draper University they went through. It was four days in the mountains 🏞️ where they worked on their individual skills and mindset 🌄.
They were also given a unique opportunity to listen to lectures from the directors of venture capital companies and successful entrepreneurs who were able to attract hundreds of millions of dollars of investment. These people helped Mukhtar further hone his presentation, fundraising and communication skills.
But perhaps the most interesting part of the whole program was communication with other accelerator participants from different countries. It was an incredibly valuable experience that allowed Mukhtar to share knowledge and learn from other participants🌍.
Mukhtar has gained invaluable knowledge and skills from the NU GSB Full-time MBA program, especially in matters related to finance. Thanks to this educational experience, Mukhtar was able to understand complex aspects such as money management and management. 🎓💼💰
The knowledge gained at the NU GSB lectures allowed Mukhtar to easily communicate with entrepreneurs of various levels. This knowledge still has a positive impact on his work.
Based on his own experience, Mukhtar recommends the NU 👨🎓📚 program. However, he advises taking this program not immediately after receiving a bachelor's degree, but after aspiring entrepreneurs gain some practical work experience.
Another valuable piece of advice that Mukhtar wants to share is not to be limited to the Kazakh market only. After staying in Silicon Valley for a month and a half, he realized how limited the Kazakh market is. However, this does not mean that it is impossible to achieve great heights. Silicon Valley is demonstrating the growth potential that can be achieved with persistence, skill and the right approach.
Kazakhstan serves as an ideal platform where many mistakes can be forgiven for business. However, in the international market these same mistakes can have serious consequences. Therefore, he advises using Kazakhstan as a launching pad where you can hone your skills and product, and then enter the world market with a finished product🚀.
Although Mukhtar does not have a clearly defined plan, he has an intention to promote the Kazakh product at the international level 🌟. Its goal is to show the world that Kazakhstan is able to create high-quality software and hardware, as well as innovative smart home products. Mukhtar aims to create the so-called "Dimash effect", demonstrating that the Kazakh team is able to successfully compete with products from Germany, the US and other countries. He is aware that there are enough new projects, but the key is to focus on two or three main areas and work on them with laser precision in order to achieve concrete results.
In conclusion, Mukhtar would like to share one of the most difficult aspects that entrepreneurs face - discipline. He realizes that no matter the mood, emotion or problem, entrepreneurs need to understand that their absence or failure to fulfill their responsibilities can seriously affect the operation of the entire company. This realization serves as a powerful stimulus that encourages Mukhtar to keep working, get up and move forward, despite the circumstances. 💼💪📈
In English, there is an expression "show up, no matter what", which in this context can be translated as "just being there". This means that regardless of all the difficulties, entrepreneurs must be present and do their job, since the success of the entire team🤝 and the company depends on it. This is probably one of the biggest challenges for an entrepreneur.
How does Mukhtar deal with this challenge? The answer is simple - he just keeps moving forward despite all the difficulties.💪🏃♂️
We hope that his story will be interesting and inspire 💪🌟 our subscribers!
In a world of entrepreneurship where every step can be decisive, stories of success and failure intertwine into a compelling tale of courage, determination and a relentless drive to innovate. 💼🌍
Our graduate, Mukhtar, is a vivid example of this. His journey began at Purdue University, where he and his friends came up with the idea for a startup dedicated to a customer loyalty program. It was the first step towards creating their own business 💡👨💼💡, which they bravely took despite their youth and inexperience.
Upon returning to Kazakhstan, they already had a finished product, which they began to actively promote on the market. However, despite all efforts, success did not come immediately. The first months were full of difficulties and trials, but they did not give up 💪. They continued to work, learn from their mistakes and look for new opportunities.
But the life of an entrepreneur is full of surprises. Due to financial difficulties and the realities of the market, they were forced to leave their first project. But this did not stop Mukhtar. He continued to look for new opportunities, taking on various projects in various industries, from selling electronics to opening restaurants.
Ultimately, his path led him back to the world of technology and innovation. In 2018, together with a team of like-minded people, he began work on a smart home project. This Connected Home 🏠🌟 project has become a new stage in his entrepreneurial career, opening up new horizons and opportunities.
Mukhtar is developing a project that addresses a number of key issues, primarily the issue of security. His team has developed a smart device that can prevent theft, floods and fires. Thanks to the use of motion and door sensors, as well as specialized devices, they provide additional security in the house 🔒🏠📱. When a dangerous situation occurs, such as flooding, both the owner and the service company are notified, allowing them to take immediate action.
The second important value of the Connected Home project is savings. It helps save natural resources such as water and electricity by providing users with information about meter readings through a special application and smart meters. 💧💰
The project also adds elements of comfort to people's lives🏠🌟🤖. Through the use of various smart devices such as automatic curtains, climate control, robotic vacuum cleaners and humidifiers, they make people's lives easier and more convenient. The company is looking to bring features to homes that are already present in cars, such as climate control and window controls.
Mukhtar's impressions from a recent trip to Silicon Valley were just great. He found that his project attracted the attention of not only potential investors, but also potential clients, including construction companies, since Connected Home's approach to implementing smart homes is different from most other companies. It does not require users to provide personal data. In order to become the owner of a smart home, the user only needs to scan the QR code 🌉.
One of Mukhtar's most memorable moments was the "Survival" program at Draper University they went through. It was four days in the mountains 🏞️ where they worked on their individual skills and mindset 🌄.
They were also given a unique opportunity to listen to lectures from the directors of venture capital companies and successful entrepreneurs who were able to attract hundreds of millions of dollars of investment. These people helped Mukhtar further hone his presentation, fundraising and communication skills.
But perhaps the most interesting part of the whole program was communication with other accelerator participants from different countries. It was an incredibly valuable experience that allowed Mukhtar to share knowledge and learn from other participants🌍.
Mukhtar has gained invaluable knowledge and skills from the NU GSB Full-time MBA program, especially in matters related to finance. Thanks to this educational experience, Mukhtar was able to understand complex aspects such as money management and management. 🎓💼💰
The knowledge gained at the NU GSB lectures allowed Mukhtar to easily communicate with entrepreneurs of various levels. This knowledge still has a positive impact on his work.
Based on his own experience, Mukhtar recommends the NU 👨🎓📚 program. However, he advises taking this program not immediately after receiving a bachelor's degree, but after aspiring entrepreneurs gain some practical work experience.
Another valuable piece of advice that Mukhtar wants to share is not to be limited to the Kazakh market only. After staying in Silicon Valley for a month and a half, he realized how limited the Kazakh market is. However, this does not mean that it is impossible to achieve great heights. Silicon Valley is demonstrating the growth potential that can be achieved with persistence, skill and the right approach.
Kazakhstan serves as an ideal platform where many mistakes can be forgiven for business. However, in the international market these same mistakes can have serious consequences. Therefore, he advises using Kazakhstan as a launching pad where you can hone your skills and product, and then enter the world market with a finished product🚀.
Although Mukhtar does not have a clearly defined plan, he has an intention to promote the Kazakh product at the international level 🌟. Its goal is to show the world that Kazakhstan is able to create high-quality software and hardware, as well as innovative smart home products. Mukhtar aims to create the so-called "Dimash effect", demonstrating that the Kazakh team is able to successfully compete with products from Germany, the US and other countries. He is aware that there are enough new projects, but the key is to focus on two or three main areas and work on them with laser precision in order to achieve concrete results.
In conclusion, Mukhtar would like to share one of the most difficult aspects that entrepreneurs face - discipline. He realizes that no matter the mood, emotion or problem, entrepreneurs need to understand that their absence or failure to fulfill their responsibilities can seriously affect the operation of the entire company. This realization serves as a powerful stimulus that encourages Mukhtar to keep working, get up and move forward, despite the circumstances. 💼💪📈
In English, there is an expression "show up, no matter what", which in this context can be translated as "just being there". This means that regardless of all the difficulties, entrepreneurs must be present and do their job, since the success of the entire team🤝 and the company depends on it. This is probably one of the biggest challenges for an entrepreneur.
How does Mukhtar deal with this challenge? The answer is simple - he just keeps moving forward despite all the difficulties.💪🏃♂️
