{"id":37534,"date":"2023-02-17T10:18:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-17T08:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/?p=37534"},"modified":"2023-02-17T12:43:09","modified_gmt":"2023-02-17T10:43:09","slug":"serial-entrepreneur-dr-waqaas-al-siddiq-at-learning-from-leaders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/serial-entrepreneur-dr-waqaas-al-siddiq-at-learning-from-leaders\/","title":{"rendered":"Serial Entrepreneur Dr. Waqaas Al-Siddiq, at Learning From Leaders"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of innovation, there\u2019s a lot of focus on creating new ideas and pushing the human race forward, so I think it\u2019s an exciting time to be around.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Waqaas<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At EU Business School<\/a><\/strong> (EU), an entrepreneurial mindset is key to professional success\u00a0whether you\u2019re running your own business or working for a big multinational. It is the base of the educational experience\u00a0and the philosophy of EU Business School. And so, we were thrilled to welcome Dr. Waqaas Al-Siddiq<\/a>, serial entrepreneur, former venture capitalist and founder and CEO of Biotricity<\/a>, to our Learning From Leaders conference to discuss his extraordinary career journey and offer advice to our students. The event took place within the framework of EU\u2019s innovative Business Immersion Week, an initiative that takes place on all our campuses every semester and is specifically designed to bring business to life and help foster work-ready graduates.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Waqaas Al-Siddiq\u2019s latest venture, Biotricity<\/a>, is a modern medical technology company focused on delivering innovative, remote biometric monitoring solutions to the medical and consumer markets. It recently underwent a C round of funding which valued the company at $300 million.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Waqaaas joined us from California, where he was working on the Thanksgiving holiday, which, he says, gives him the peace and quiet required to think. \u201cI am thankful for the time of the world that we are living in,\u201d he explained, \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of innovation, there\u2019s a lot of focus on creating new ideas and pushing the human race forward, so I think it\u2019s an exciting time to be around.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The journey to Biotricity<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Waqaas Al-Siddiq describes the entrepreneurial journey as \u201ctwisty\u201d and says that his was no exception. He did some graduate work with the DoD (the Department of Defense, USA) on remote monitoring of environments based on sensor technology, including monitoring individuals in real time. \u201cI really liked that application,\u201d he said, \u201cBut I got caught up in industry and went elsewhere.\u201d After working for some of the biggest names in tech, including IBM, AMD and Intel, his multidisciplinary background in cloud computing and economics led him to join a venture capital firm in Silicon Valley<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While at the venture capital firm, Waqaas found the catalyst for his own entrepreneurial journey, because he thought \u201cOk, these people are getting funded and these concepts are good, but I also have good concepts.\u201d\u202fHealthcare was always an area of interest for Waqaas, and with his expertise in connectivity and the cloud, he got engaged with Higi, a consumer health engagement company, which was later sold for $50 million. And then, Waqaas recounts, \u201cI was finally at the point when I said, \u2018I am going to actually pick and focus on the area that is most interesting to me because I think that\u2019s the big play, and that\u2019s the future,\u2019 and so I started Biotricity.\u201d\u202fBiotricity was the culmination of his early interest in remote monitoring, his extensive technological expertise and entrepreneurial experience – and a mission to bring affordable healthcare to as many people as possible. Waqaas noted that this mission was driven by his own family\u2019s history of type 2 diabetes, which raises the risk of heart disease.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lessons for budding entrepreneurs<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As a serial entrepreneur with several successful businesses under his belt, Waqaas is ideally placed to offer expert advice to students and young professionals who are hoping to start their own venture.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1.Define the commercialization strategy first<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Waqaas, it is critical to work out how to sell your product even before it is developed. At Biotricity, he said, \u201cWe\u2019ve got four different products, and we looked at how we were going to commercialize, who was going to pay for that, and we figured that out first. So, before we put pen to paper on a concept and we start developing it<\/strong>, we figure out that commercialization strategy.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Advice for finding funding<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To start with, Waqaas advises making a thorough analysis of all the companies that are working in a similar space and ensure that you \u201cclearly understand the industry that you\u2019re operating in and who are the other players that have gotten funding.\u201d He also emphasized the importance of researching investor profiles<\/strong>, as some investors are only interested in, for example, investing in a series C or a series D. When setting up Biotricity, Waqaas identified potential investors by asking himself, \u201cWell, what do these guys really invest in and why would they invest in me and what\u2019s the parallel,\u201d and then contacted them \u201cin a very aggressive process\u201d by reaching out through his network or through LinkedIn. Ensure you meet potential investors in the right space, he advised, such as at conferences which you know they are attending in order to find new businesses in which to invest.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Sell your vision<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re an entrepreneur, and you\u2019re coming out with your first concept [\u2026],you really are selling your vision. It is very much a sales pitch,\u201d declared Waqaas, \u201cAnd it\u2019s not really different from whether you\u2019re hiring your founding team or even your executive level management or your investors.\u201d So, whatever stage you are at in the process of establishing your startup, make sure that you can transmit your vision effectively<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advice for young professionals<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Waqaas also had plenty of general advice to share with students about to embark on their career journeys, whether as entrepreneurs or working in companies or organizations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Changing jobs can accelerate your career<\/strong> <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Contrary to the traditionally held view that you have to stay in each job for a certain period, Waqaas suggested that moving to a different company can actually boost your career by giving you the opportunity to learn something new or gain new skills<\/strong>. As an employer, he explained, \u201cWhen I interview people, and I notice that they\u2019ve skipped jobs, I am very curious to understand why. And if anybody responds with, \u2018Hey, I went in because I wanted to learn this experience, I wanted to do X, Y, Z, I accomplished that and then I wanted to move on to the next\u2019 that shows me somebody\u2019s who\u2019s ambitious, who\u2019s driven, who\u2019s got a very laser focus on what they want to do \u2013 and that\u2019s a good sign.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    2. Apply for the job you want \u2013 even if you\u2019re not an exact fit<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Once again, Waqaas goes against conventional wisdom by suggesting that employers are looking for passionate and determined individuals who are ready to learn<\/strong>, even if they don\u2019t have exactly the right profile. Write a cover letter stating why you believe you are a fit, why you want the position, and which skills you have and the ones you don\u2019t have but will learn. When interviewing candidates for his own business, he asks himself, \u201cWhat are the core skill sets of an individual and how can I enhance those and leverage those.\u201d He goes on to say, \u201cI\u2019m more interested in dynamic personalities that are, of course, intelligent, but I\u2019m not really hung up on if they have that exact skill set for the job that I\u2019m looking at, because I believe that you can grow into that, and you can learn.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    3. Build around your expertise in one area to gain leverage<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Waqaas believes that acquiring expertise in a specific area can enhance your career prospects beyond the opportunities that lie within that particular area. \u201cI still believe that, even in the entrepreneurial area, you want to be very, very skilled in one particular area, and then you build around that,\u201d he says. \u201cSo, if you have that expertise and you want to move into a different industry, there\u2019s are complementary aspects that you can leverage and that support you as you move on<\/strong>.\u201d\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    4. Optimize your time<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Waqaas is a strong believer in efficiency: \u201cI also really focus on efficiency, efficiency of my time more importantly.\u201c\u202f\u202fIndeed, he confessed that he even times his lunches to avoid traffic jams and restaurant queues. In the workplace, he organizes tasks into those that he can do more quickly by himself, including scheduling his own meetings, and those tasks that others can achieve rapidly. \u201cSo,\u201d he explained, \u201cIf I\u2019m giving a task to somebody, I want to know what date are you going to deliver it to me by. If that date is good enough, I will let you handle it and I will work with you. If not, I\u2019d rather do it myself.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Prepare for a career as an entrepreneur<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    We are a business school for entrepreneurial thinkers who want to break the mold, to innovate and build a different future. We develop work-ready graduates with an agile and creative mindset, who are adept at navigating change and finding solutions. If you are thinking of starting your own business, or want to boost your career, find out more about how our wide range of programs<\/a> and hands-on, experiential learning approach<\/a> can help you begin your own success story<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of innovation, there\u2019s a lot of focus on creating new ideas and pushing the human race forward, so I think it\u2019s an exciting time to be around.\u201d\u00a0 At EU Business School (EU), an entrepreneurial mindset is key to professional success\u00a0whether you\u2019re running your own business or working for a big multinational. It is the base of the educational experience\u00a0and the philosophy of EU Business School. And so, we were thrilled to welcome Dr. Waqaas Al-Siddiq, serial entrepreneur, former venture capitalist and founder and CEO of Biotricity, to our Learning From Leaders conference to discuss his extraordinary career […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":37540,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1764,1773,1769],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-eu-business-school","category-eu-business-school-community","category-learning-from-leaders","post--single"],"yoast_head":"\r\nSerial Entrepreneur Dr. Waqaas Al-Siddiq, at Learning From Leaders | EU Business School<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/serial-entrepreneur-dr-waqaas-al-siddiq-at-learning-from-leaders\/\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"EU Business School\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/serial-entrepreneur-dr-waqaas-al-siddiq-at-learning-from-leaders\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"EU Blog\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"EU Community\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/category\/eu-business-school-community\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Learning From Leaders\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/category\/eu-business-school-community\/learning-from-leaders\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Serial Entrepreneur Dr. Waqaas Al-Siddiq, at Learning From Leaders\"}]}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Serial Entrepreneur Dr. Waqaas Al-Siddiq, at Learning From Leaders | EU Business School","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/serial-entrepreneur-dr-waqaas-al-siddiq-at-learning-from-leaders\/","author":"EU Business School","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/serial-entrepreneur-dr-waqaas-al-siddiq-at-learning-from-leaders\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"EU Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"EU Community","item":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/category\/eu-business-school-community\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Learning From Leaders","item":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/category\/eu-business-school-community\/learning-from-leaders\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Serial Entrepreneur Dr. Waqaas Al-Siddiq, at Learning From Leaders"}]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37534"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37534\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37557,"href":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37534\/revisions\/37557"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}