This article is a continuation of yesterday’s discussion with Zaid Amireh, CEO and Co-Founder of Dakwak. Yesterday we discussed Dakwak’s background and how they came to be along with some technical details. Today we will be discussing how they secured funding to start such a venture and if they have any tips or information for anybody thinking of starting on their own.
Business
1) Do you have or had any investors if yes can you please let us who they are?
Oasis500 have invested in dakwak, we are also currently incubated by Oasis500.
2) The product is free, so how do you plan on monetizing it?
We’ll be releasing a couple of features in the near future that we’ll be able to monetize on, those features will only be available to paying customers as a SaaS.
3) What is your marketing strategy?
Word of mouth since our product is in demand, we will also be targeting our customers through online advertisements and strategic partnerships with hosting services providers.
4) How do you view the competition both, regionally and globaly?
There is no regional competition at all, global competition is sparse at best and with goals and visions that are different than ours.
Startups
1) Is there a good environment for start-ups and entrepreneurship in Jordan?
There is now, at least there is a good start, a couple of years ago this environment did not exist at all
2) And why do you think that a lot of online startups are currently popping up in Jordan?
Start ups are popping up because there has been a lot of media coverage lately in Jordan about entrepreneurship, this helped those ambitions souls to try out their ideas and create their start ups.
3) What advice do you have for other people thinking of starting up their own ventures in the region?
Validate your idea and work as much as you can, 9 to 5 in your own start up doesn’t cut, you have to give it all you’ve got in order to succeed.
4) Do you have any projects lined up after Dakwak?
We have a couple of ideas, however we are currently focused entirely on dakwak.