TEDxNottingHill - Sabirul Islam - 10/09/09
## Speaker Context * Speaker identity: Cyber Islam, role/profession, speaker who will be the face of the future of Enterprises. * Framing: The importance of Entrepreneurship and Enterprise for both young people and adults; the belief and self-belief needed to see a vision in life. ## People * Cousin + relative/inspiration + was the first inspiration; set up his own business when he was 14 and was the managing director of a company at age 14. * Friend + colleague + helped teach basics of web designing. * Mero Lynch + client + massive big Investment Banking company, first client for web design. * Mrs. of Nigeria's first president + third party + gave speaker a call after reading his story in a magazine. * Duncan Penthouse + comparison figure + started his journey at the age of '30ish'. ## Organizations * The Royal Dragons + company name + company where speaker was first employed. * Veyron technology + company + web designing company, set up when speaker turned 14. * Marshall Cavendish + publisher + agreed to take speaker's book on a global scale. ## Places * B of Tire hamlets in East London + upbringing location + where young people were skeptical and seeking crime, violence, drugs and abuse. * New York + location + where speaker learned how to trade in the stock market. * London Stock Exchange + institution + where speaker became a part-time Trader. * UK + region + where speaker has spoken (over 40,000 young people). * Nigeria + location + where speaker spoke at a summit where over 3,000 young people attended. ## Tools, Tech & Products * Website design + function + service offered by Veyron technology. * Board game (T entrepreneur) + function + designed to give young people experience of business, sales, marketing, stock market, and running a business. ## Concepts & Definitions * Entrepreneurship and Enterprise + concept + belief and power to be able to see Vision in life. * Inspiration + concept/mechanism + knowledge + opportunity brings success. * Teenage entrepreneur + role/descriptor + someone who is enterprising and sees success in life. * Twer (or twer) + concept/program name + an interactive program for young people to become entrepreneurs. * The Twer's Den + concept/stage + where young people can ask for investment. ## Numbers & Data * 14 + age + age the cousin set up his own business. * 13 + age + speaker was when his cousin employed him. * 60 pounds + amount of money + amount earned by cousin in one whole academic year. * 14 + age + speaker set his own business. * 6 + number of friends + who got together for Veyron technology. * 5 or 6 + count + number of companies approached for web design work. * £2,000 + profit amount + made in the space of two weeks. * £2,600 + profit amount + (stated as '2,60 was like a million' in context, contextually linked to £2,000). * 16 + age + speaker's age when Maro Lynch came back. * 2 + number of years + speaker ran the web design company. * 100,000 + amount of money + fantasy money given to trade with in New York. * 2 + duration + time speaker worked alongside professional Traders in New York. * 16 + age + speaker's age when he became a part-time Trader in the London Stock Exchange. * 17 + age + speaker's age when he wrote his first book. * 3 + duration + time to write the first book. * 40 + count + different Publishers approached for the first book. * 9 + duration + time to sell the first book. * 42,200 + count + number of copies of the first book sold. * 2008 + year + year speaker spoke at 379 different events. * 379 + count + different events speaker spoke at in 2008. * 333 + count + number of those events that were schools with teenagers/young people. * 40,000 + count + young people inspired across the UK. * 3,000 + count + young people who attended the summit in Nigeria. * 10 + duration + months period for the book to get published globally with Marshall Cavendish. * 18th (June 18th) + date + date the book and board game were launched. * 10 + duration + months period to create the board game. * 6 + count + number of young teenagers who developed the board game concept. * 11 to 15 + age range + age of the young teenagers who developed the board game concept. * 600s + amount of money + cost to advertise in a magazine in 2008. ## Claims & Theses * The importance of Entrepreneurship and Enterprise within young people is the belief the power to be able to see Vision in life and having that self-belief. * Negative atmosphere within a young person's life has such an effect. * Seeing Role Models [and] Seeing Inspirations [are solutions]. * Inspiration + knowledge + opportunity brings success. * To become a teenage entrepreneur to be enterprising and to see success in life you have to make mistakes. * Once you take one route in life Millions more doors open. * The problem with young people is they read a book most of them don't even read books. * From the perspective of a teenager, inspiration coming from a teenager passing on to a teenager is more successful than Richard Branson himself going into a classroom and saying 'I'm a multi-billionaire.' ## Mechanisms & Processes * Process for achieving success: Inspiration $\rightarrow$ Knowledge $\rightarrow$ Opportunity $\rightarrow$ Success. * Process for young people: Become an entrepreneur $\rightarrow$ get mentored online (in the Twer program) $\rightarrow$ set up their own business $\rightarrow$ sell their idea online $\rightarrow$ trade on a retail level online $\rightarrow$ ask for investment through the Twer's Den. * Process for bookselling/publishing: Approach Publishers $\rightarrow$ Get Rejected $\rightarrow$ Self-publish $\rightarrow$ Market and sell yourself. ## Timeline & Events * Early life event: Growing up in B of Tire hamlets in East London. * Age 13: Employed by cousin to do computer work. * Age 14: Cousin earned 60 pounds for the academic year. * Age 13: Cousin wrote a letter stating speaker was "fired." * Age 14: Set own business, Veyron technology. * 4-5 days: Time taken for a friend to teach web designing basics. * Within two weeks: Time to make over £2,000 profit. * Age 16: Maro Lynch came back and offered an opportunity to go to New York to learn stock trading. * Two years: Duration of running the web design company. * During GCS: Speaker earned A's and A*s. * In New York: Speaker worked alongside professional Traders for a two-week program. * Three months: Time spent in the fantasy trade market. * Age 16: Became a part-time Trader in the London Stock Exchange under his dad's name. * Age 17: Wrote first book, The World At Your Feet. * Three months: Time spent writing the first book. * 40 Publishers: Number of publishers approached for the first book. * 9 months: Time taken to sell the first book. * 2008: Year speaker spoke at 379 different events. * Year prior to launch: Speaker gave a talk in Nigeria at a summit. * 10 months period: Period until the book was set to be published globally. * June 18th: Date the book and board game were launched. ## Examples & Cases * Initial setting: Growing up in B of Tire hamlets in East London where young people were full of skepticism, seeking crime, violence, drugs, and abuse. * Cousin's early success: Cousin set up his own business and was the managing director of a company at age 14. * Speaker's first job: Cousin employed speaker to do computer work when speaker was 13. * Financial marker: Cousin earning 60 pounds in one whole academic year. * Firing incident: Cousin writing a letter saying "dear Cyber Islam you're fired" when speaker was 13. * Web design endeavor: Approaching five or six massive big Investment Banking companies (ab, emerald, JP Morgans, Maro lynches) to design websites. * First major profit: Making over £2,000 profit in the space of two weeks through web design. * Re-engagement: Maro Lynch contacting speaker at age 16 after following his journey for two years to offer a trip to New York to learn stock trading. * Second major profit: Becoming a part-time Trader in the London Stock Exchange at age 16. * Publishing attempt: Approaching 40 different Publishers who rejected the first book. * Book launch success: Selling over 42,200 copies of the book in 9 months. * Public speaking reach: Speaking at 379 different events in 2008, including 333 in schools with teenagers. * International validation: Being invited to speak at a summit in Nigeria where over 3,000 young people attended. * Global publication: Signing a contract with Marshall Cavendish for global publication. * Board game creation: Developing the board game T entrepreneur. * Advertising placement: Paying 600s for a magazine back in 2008 that went into universities across the UK. * Recognition: Wife of Nigeria's first president calling the speaker after seeing the story in the magazine. * Future comparison: Comparing himself to Duncan Penthouse, stating he started his journey at age 13 while Duncan started at '30ish'. ## Trade-offs & Alternatives * Career focus: Selling to teachers vs. selling to corporate organizations (big big businesses). * Publishing strategy: Being rejected by 40 publishers vs. self-publishing, designing, marketing, and selling it himself. * Location choice: Staying local vs. going to New York to learn stock trading. * Business focus: Web design (too common by age 16) vs. becoming a trader. * Career comparison: Starting at 17 (writing book) vs. waiting/slowing down. ## Counterarguments & Caveats * Regarding the first book: Publishers didn't think a 17-year-old could write a good book, nor did they think there was a market for it. * Regarding confidence: Must not get "pride and arrogance wrong in life" and must know when to accept help. * Addressing young people's education: "they read a book most of them don't even read books." * Warning to self: "I was facing a problem how do I actually grab onto these teenagers and make something happen for them." * Comparison caution: "anything you achieve within that 17-year period you can call yourself a more successful more more enterprising entrepreneur than he is now." ## Methodology * Creating the Twer program: Interactive program to guide young people through becoming entrepreneurs, involving online mentorship, setting up a business, selling online, trading retail level online, and applying for investment through the Twer's Den. ## References Cited * N/A ## Conclusions & Recommendations * Recommendation for young people: To bring the world at your feet. * Action for young people: Embrace the process: inspiration $\rightarrow$ knowledge $\rightarrow$ opportunity. ## Implications & Consequences * If one is fired by family: New doors open; "every time something happens in life new doors open and new Roots open." * If following the Twer process: Young people can become Twer alumni and be proud to use the Twer network. * For young people aspiring to business success: The most powerful source of inspiration is one teenager passing on knowledge to another. ## Open Questions * How to truly "grab onto these teenagers and make something happen for them" beyond the interactive program structure. ## Verbatim Moments * "I've always followed life through like a through like an equation inspiration knowledge opportunity brings success." * "Dear Cyber Islam you're fired." * "I thought wow if I earned that 60 you know the world is my oyster." * "To for a young person to experience such a negative factor in life is how you see that inspiration how you turn it around and make it positive." * "I want to do something I wanted to be like him." * "I didn't know anything about web design yet one of my friends did." * "Wow 14y olds have just come up to us and said they would want us to design websites." * "I want to live a Fant life I want to do the real thing." * "I don't think so [to accepting publisher deals]." * "Don't get pride and arrogance wrong in life never get them wrong." * "The most special thank you for providing the inspiration was me." * "I've stepped in and they think it's a 25y old given a talk a 30-y old given a talk and once I reveal my age when I was 17 they thought what you're not 17." * "I hope I've inspired you all to bring the world at your feet."