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Iran Entrepreneurship Association, Fueling the Ecosystem

22 points by duuuuuuude 11y ago

geff82 11y ago
As a frequent traveler to Iran (for family reasons) I am happy to see a growing startup scene in Iran. But there are some things for the average Silicon Valley entrepreneur to be aware of. 1.) Moving to the Iranian market is not your typical "Shopify opens the doors for UK after X weeks of preparation" type of activity. Making it in Iran as a foreigner will take you months and years of preparation. 2.) Don't make the big foundations angry. They control most of the big corporations and led the economy during sanctions. Those corporations kept Iran self-sufficient. While the cars have the standard of the 80/90s, it never happened to me to drive in a car NOT produced or assembled in Iran. They won't like to give up producing their stuff just because you want to revolutionize the market. 3.) Basic things you excpect are missing. Postal service is very unreliable. Currently, transferring money to the outside world is not possible (at least in Iran, the banking system may be considered top notch) 4.) Create the best possible customer service with real people to talk to or let it be. Iranians LOVE and expect PERFECT service. 5.) Do not bet all you money or your career on Iran right now. Political situation is unstable (not in Iran itself, but with the outside world). Your money is very easy to be lost if the Iranian governments decides once again that atomic powers are more important than a good economic situation. Invest money you can afford to lose. One positive thing: do not get fooled by "oh, they already have that". In many cases, things are copied (like the online used car markets) but they do not get the business model (connecting all dealers to it for a fee). And one last thing: While the government is anti-western, the population is not. Iranians in general love the West, the USA. They are the REAL friends (I personally consider the arabian world false friends). They do not want to copy our individualistic lifestyle for sure, but they value our services, products and political freedom a lot. So with good preparation, go for it.

22 points by duuuuuuude 11y ago

As a frequent traveler to Iran (for family reasons) I am happy to see a growing startup scene in Iran. But there are some things for the average Silicon Valley entrepreneur to be aware of. 1.) Moving to the Iranian market is not your typical "Shopify opens the doors for UK after X weeks of preparation" type of activity. Making it in Iran as a foreigner will take you months and years of preparation. 2.) Don't make the big foundations angry. They control most of the big corporations and led the economy during sanctions. Those corporations kept Iran self-sufficient. While the cars have the standard of the 80/90s, it never happened to me to drive in a car NOT produced or assembled in Iran. They won't like to give up producing their stuff just because you want to revolutionize the market. 3.) Basic things you excpect are missing. Postal service is very unreliable. Currently, transferring money to the outside world is not possible (at least in Iran, the banking system may be considered top notch) 4.) Create the best possible customer service with real people to talk to or let it be. Iranians LOVE and expect PERFECT service. 5.) Do not bet all you money or your career on Iran right now. Political situation is unstable (not in Iran itself, but with the outside world). Your money is very easy to be lost if the Iranian governments decides once again that atomic powers are more important than a good economic situation. Invest money you can afford to lose. One positive thing: do not get fooled by "oh, they already have that". In many cases, things are copied (like the online used car markets) but they do not get the business model (connecting all dealers to it for a fee). And one last thing: While the government is anti-western, the population is not. Iranians in general love the West, the USA. They are the REAL friends (I personally consider the arabian world false friends). They do not want to copy our individualistic lifestyle for sure, but they value our services, products and political freedom a lot. So with good preparation, go for it.