As we mark International Women's Day 2013, we're honored to feature an interview with Taslima Miji. Taslima Miji is the founder and CEO of Techmania, a company based in Dhaka, Bangladesh, that provides hardware and hardware-related services, including computer assembly, networking, and troubleshooting of various computer-related peripheral items.
We have great respect for Taslima—not only for her work over the years but for who she is as a human being. It was a true pleasure and inspiration to talk with her about her passion, life, rebellious nature, childhood, unexpected journey into entrepreneurship, struggles as a woman and entrepreneur, lessons learned, and how her career has grown over the years.
One of our favorite lessons from Taslima's story is her understanding of life, entrepreneurship, and the reality of our society that often hinders women's progress, as well as her diligence in pursuing her dream and her self-confidence.
Obstacles will always exist. Society will always resist change if we don't challenge the rules. Risk will always be present, and conditions will never be perfect, but we must move forward and embrace our passions.
We hope that Taslima's story will encourage you to take that leap of faith, however big or small, that you've always wanted to take, to try something new, think beyond conventional wisdom and limitations, and push yourself just a little further to start and make it happen.
Q1: We're excited and grateful for the chance to interview you. We've been following your work for a long time, and it always inspires us. We're interested to know about you and your passion.
Taslima Miji: I was born and grew up in Chandpur with my five siblings. We were a joint family, and the best part of my childhood was the time I spent with my grandmother. Though I'm generally forgetful—I often forget what happened yesterday—I can still vividly recall my childhood days. Those days are special and filled with sweet memories. I remember being somewhat rebellious, extroverted, and outgoing.
When I was in fifth grade, we had a headmaster who was a wonderful teacher and an honest person. He had a system of spending extra time after school teaching both brilliant and struggling students together to help them improve, and he never charged for it. Teaching was his true passion. I always performed well academically, so I was in that group. One day, he told us that taking money for coaching and private teaching was unethical and illegal, and no teacher should do it. Although we were too young to fully understand the ethical implications, he asked us not to attend paid coaching sessions offered by other teachers. He said it is unethical to sell education, and they could not do that. If you don’t understand anything in class you must ask your teachers, even demand extra time after class. But we were taught that if we didn’t go to the coaching those teachers would scold us. Realizing that he said, you could complain to the school managing committee, but after thinking about our age he said, you are too young to complain and I’d look after it. But we said we could do it and insisted, finally he agreed to let us do the job. And we went to the managing committee and complained about the matter. Along with complaints we even said that we would call for protest if our demand was not met. The members of the managing committee got so much fun out of our approach of complaining that they laughed. Unfortunately! I was the leader of this gang of children protesters and to my utter surprise, the managing committee said that they would solve the problem. Instead of scolding me for being so naive at a very young age, they encouraged me and also said that I’d make a very good leader in the future. Well, I did not become a leader but this memory still inspires me a lot.
I studied in Chandpur till my SSC and then I came to Dhaka and finished my HSC and then attended Dhaka University.
From childhood, I was the most rebellious and outgoing one among my sisters. My elder sister was (and still is) the best girl I have ever seen and also the most deprived one! She was a very talented student and good at almost everything. But she had this habit of getting permission from her parents for almost everything. I guess she never did anything without the consent of my parents. I was just the opposite. I did everything that I wanted to do. So, the difference between us was apparent. Just because she was kind of calm and ideal child she missed a lot in life. She was talented and very good and missed a lot in life and I was rebellious and curious and I got a lot in life.
Let me tell you an interesting story about this. Once there was a picnic tour from my sister’s college to Gazipur or Joydebpur, I forgot the location. It was an academic picnic and everything was organized by the college and there were teachers to look after students. So, there was nothing to take permission from the family. But my sister was a good girl! So, she asked my father and he did not allow it. Consequently, my sister missed the chance.
On the other hand, once I had to go to Tripura for an organizational purpose. It was during my university life and I was staying in the University Hall. So, I thought if I asked for permission from my family then I would not get permission to go. Rather what if I went first and told them after coming back from there? So, I went and came back and then told my father. He was like “oh! your sister asked me to go to Gazipur and could not go and you went to Tripura and now telling me”.
I think being a bit more curious and rebellious is much better. Moreover, after 18 everybody understands everything and parents also should understand what their children want. Well, there are many constraints in our society, especially for women. But I believe in life you have to be a bit rebellious, extrovert, curious, and a bit daring to live it fullest. There is a saying that a good girl goes to heaven and a bad girl goes everywhere.
I studied sociology at the University of Dhaka. But I had a knack for writing in newspapers. It was around 1997 that I started writing first and later on I started to contribute to some Bengali newspapers and subsequently ended up working as a regular reporter. Back then it seemed that writing was my passion. Although I was not sure whether writing would be my profession. I was kind of certain that writing and journalism would be my vocation finally. And gradually I started reporting regularly and became a reporter. I worked as a staff correspondent from 2001 to 2007 in several print Media. It’s quite a long time. Back then it was my dream that I would be a renowned journalist and writer. And people around me also appreciated and they praised the standard of my writing, insight, and style of investigation. My colleagues always said that I could write brilliant investigative reports.
Journalism was an idealistic job to me. And behind my underlying motivation to choose journalism as a profession was that belief. I thought it was the right thing to do. But at one point in my career as a journalist it happened to me that the standard of ideology was not set then, or it was not even there before, or it was derailed. I did not know whether there was any ideological ground in the field of journalism but in my heart, I always considered Journalism as an idealistic and noble profession. But when in a profession like journalism you live a life that has almost everything i.e. you live a snobbish life, you send your kids to costly schools, you often go to clubs, and fashion houses, and you also manage to give a decent time to your family and your study, then you have to understand that there is something very much wrong-at least in our present context. Well, I don’t want to talk a lot about my previous profession and I’m not a regretful person too. But writing was indeed a true passion to me.
Those were awful days for journalism, channel after channel, newspaper after the newspaper was closing down. Besides, I was a very young mom at that time, the age of my baby was only three months, so it was very difficult for me to collaborate with my co-workers. I was having a serious problem with my team. Then I left my newspaper career and worked as a freelance writer for about 8 months and then I joined a Television, unfortunately, that channel was closed down suddenly and I was kind of unemployed! That's when one of my friends asked me to start a business by giving a very simple idea. It was like that business is a very plain thing to do! That's how my journey to the world of entrepreneurship started.
Entrepreneurship is an act of calculation, it’s a matter of vision, and you have to be very smart- smart in the sense that you have to be clever enough to survive. Moreover, you have to be calculative like a magpie, and sometimes you have to play some tricks to win the game in a way that people would not understand that you are playing tricks. I have to confess that I did not have these qualities when I started. It’s not that I’ve already acquired them all but I’m trying, as you know I’m from a non-business background, I studied Sociology at University and I practiced journalism as a profession so it was tough for me to learn and apply all those tricks. Well, still I’m trying to make sense of many of these tricks.
Journalism is called one of the most challenging jobs for women, but now I think business is much more difficult for women. I have this habit of giving my 100% to the work I do and I think your ideology, how you see things and the world around you, has a profound impact on what you do. And I don’t believe that there is something called social business or non-profit business, I think business itself is a pro-people activity and it has a lot to do for people.
At the beginning, I had this feeling of regret that I came to this entrepreneurship thing by leaving a noble profession but now I don’t feel that way. Rather, I think I’m doing a great job and I’m breaking rules and barriers for women and many young people.
I think being a bit more curious and rebellious is much better. Moreover, after 18 everybody understands everything and parents also should understand what their children want. Well, there are many constraints in our society, especially for women. But I believe in life you have to be a bit rebellious, extrovert, curious, and a bit daring to live it fullest. There is a saying that: good girl goes to heaven and bad girl goes to everywhere.
Q 2: Is there anybody who is/was an entrepreneur in your family?
I don’t know whether entrepreneurship is a matter of heredity but, yes, my father is a quite successful businessman. However, my business is in no way related to my father’s business.
My family is a business family. My father was a very successful entrepreneur and I always had a dream that I’d ultimately take care of my family business but my father always opposed the idea and told me that it’s not a business for girls. And you know business is always a manly job and especially, in sectors like manufacturing, working is tough for a woman. It’s partly true. It’s partly because most of the sectors are not ready yet for women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh. There are few sectors where women are leading but it’ll take time to get hold in other sectors.
I don’t believe the projection that business is a manly job. It is how our society project. Unfortunately, in Bangladesh structure of business is organized around this very projection. But the scenario is changing fast and many women are entering into the world of entrepreneurship. Woman can do business and I’m the proof of that. In Multiplan Center there are 450 shops and I’m the only woman owner.
Q 3: Briefly tell us about your journey to become an entrepreneur.
The idea of entering into the world of business came to me from one of my friends who gave me the idea of starting a business. It was a very simplistic idea of starting a business. I could not find what he thought when he pitched me the business, it was like this: he said- I know where to source product, how to sell, and a few other things; so let’s start a business, we will source product from here, then we will put them in our shop and people come and we will sell and get the money. So, this is how I got the first idea of starting a business. I don't know, he thought me very smart and clever enough to understand the rest of the game or that if we could use my talent in the business then we could do a robust business. But, he was wrong and I was not that clever to understand the rest!
However, after much thought, we jointly started the business in 2008. When we started I had no investment. The deal was that I would be the working partner and my friend would be the financing partner. But our partnership business did not last long. We were very close friends but for reasons we did not continue our business together. You know in a partnership business- perspective, ideas, goals, and values should be alike otherwise you’ll have lots of problems. I believe that business is an act of commitment and when I can meet small commitments then I’ll get the chance to meet bigger deals and commitments. There we a few issues between us and we decided to split and work separately.
Our joint shop was in level 9 of Multiplan Center at that time. When our joint business ended level 4 was opening up for shops and businesses. Then one of my friends suggested me to apply for a shop. The process of getting a shop was simple: you need to give a fixed deposit for getting a shop and a choice. Fortunately, I was one of the few early bookers and got a shop in a good location. That's how my journey started.
In the beginning, it was impossibly challenging and tough. I was new and knew nothing. I had to learn everything myself by doing. Things are not easy now, and difficulties are fading away but now I know how things work. Among the major challenges, finding clients was the most critical one. Moreover, I was from a non-business background and I had no experience of managing business. In addition, I had very limited capital and in the hardware business, it’s extremely difficult to have innovative ideas and implement them. In service, and manufacturing industries you get lots of options to innovate and implement new ideas but in the hardware business this opportunity is very slim. The only scope to work is in marketing. Besides, the hardware market is very competitive and I was new, and even I did not start with a market survey.
Moreover, the glass ceiling issue was (is) always there. People were more curious about my background than me and my business. It was like that I don’t have an identity as a person. They had a huge interest in everything I did just because I was a woman. All these things took a serious toll on me but I told myself that you have to go through this and you have to be patient and focused. At times, we need to close our eyes, our ears, and our mouths to make progress in life and work. I tried to divert my focus from these trifles to my progress.
Business is a very tricky game. I have to deal with tough things like getting deals, connecting with clients, managing funds, etc which are extremely difficult. I don’t know whether I should share these things but I think newcomers should know what they are going to face and how they should prepare themselves.
The fund is one of the major problems startup entrepreneurs face often. Unfortunately, in Bangladesh banks don’t welcome new entrepreneurs. Moreover, if you are a woman then things are going to be extra pungent for you. When a woman entrepreneur seeks a bank loan, bankers often think that the money is not for the woman herself but rather for her father or husband. Well, it happens sometimes, the husband takes a loan in the name of the wife, but there are real entrepreneurs too and they should not be the sufferers of someone else’s sins. It’s the responsibility of banks and other financial organizations to identify real entrepreneurs and serve them. It’s never an acceptable behavior to close the door on the face because she is a woman. And this is unethical too.
People were more curious about my background than me and my business. It was like I don’t have an identity as a person. They had huge interest in everything I do just because I was a woman. Well, it was not like that all these things never hurt me rather it did. But I told myself that you have to go through this and you have to be patient and be focused. Sometime we need to close our eyes, our ears, and our mouth to make progress in life and work. I tried to divert my focus from these trifles to my progress.
Then comes the challenge of getting a contract where corruption slips into the process. In all big purchases, there is corruption. And for women, this is a big disadvantage. I faced peculiar types of questions just because I’m a woman i.e. you provide technology? Can you provide technical support at midnight? Can you do that, do this, etc? I often reply like this: well, would you please tell me who will do this for you at midnight?
Beyond this, they, buyers and sellers of big budgets, have social mixing after business hours. They sit together and party, drink, and do many things that are impossible for a woman to do. I don’t think I could afford this as a woman and as a result, I sometimes miss big deals.
Then comes our business-related infrastructures like TAX, VAT, bank loans, LC, interest rates, various types of loans, etc., and in case of availing many of these opportunities you have to do the same thing as I said previously. The system is highly corrupted. Say, for example, there is a BDT 300 crore fund for women entrepreneurs but Banks, according to authority, seldom find any genuine and eligible woman entrepreneurs to disburse that money. When I asked them don’t you think I’m eligible and genuine then what’s the problem with giving me the loan and why did you give me only BDT 12 lakh instead of a big amount? Well, you would not get an answer.
I took out loans three times and I never defaulted or missed my payment deadlines. It's really a mystery how they give loans and who those lucky people are who get them. You know about incidents like the Hallmark issue; it's actually just the tip of the iceberg and there are many more incidents like this. Basically, the entire system is corrupt. And if you want to work here, you'll have to deal with these problems. New entrepreneurs seldom understand many of these things and cannot foresee them, which creates problems for them. But it's understood in the market that business is like this.
Once I had the opportunity to meet Samson H. Chowdhury, and I asked him about the chemistry behind his success and how he built a giant business from a medical store. His answer was rather self-evident: "One should stick with their plan and idea, and there's also the question of luck, along with hard work."
I also believe that successful people are often persistent, and hardworking, and they sacrifice many pleasures in their personal lives. You know, everything has a price.
Q 4: Please tell us about Techmania.
At Techmania, we provide hardware and hardware-related services, i.e., computers, computer assembly, networking, computer-related peripheral items, and troubleshooting of various items, etc. Besides, we have some other dreams and plans that are still in the dreaming stage.
I started Techmania in June 2008. It began when I took my shop in Multiplan Center. In the beginning, when I was going to take the shop at Multiplan Center, I got into trouble with the installment deposit. The amount was around BDT 2 lakh back then, which was a big amount for me. For many people, it's no big deal, but for me it was. To arrange that money, I applied for a bank loan and asked for an amount of BDT 8 lakh. At that time, my banking activities were with AB Bank, and many of AB Bank's employees were known to me. One of them was Faruk Mainuddin, who is now working at The City Bank Ltd. When I approached him for a loan, Faruk Bhai said, "I know you and I would help you manage finances, but you have to think twice about whether you have the courage to repay the loan." I replied that I could, with all my available confidence! Then he helped me get the loan.
From my dealings with loans, I learned one lesson: an old trade license is worth more than a new one. And for me, this was a problem. My trade license was very new and almost spotless! And immature businessmen do not get loans. The fact is that if you have a much-used trade license, it'll make you more acceptable to bankers because it shows that you've been doing business for a long time.
Besides, ours is a trading business. It was hard to prepare myself for it. For me, it was more like a journey of self-discovery—a journey where you know nothing about places, and you need to learn everything while also managing to keep moving ahead.
For me, it was a whole new world. I had no idea about my clients, but I had to prepare myself for almost everything. And all of it was random. I was preparing myself randomly without knowing the tricks and was doing random marketing of my products.
Moreover, my gender identity stood in my way, hindering my journey from time to time. For example, when I went for any promotional activities, they first tried not to take me seriously, even refusing to give me an appointment. Then, when I got a chance to talk, they (clients) started talking about themselves instead of listening to me. Many times, I had to listen to my clients first before I could talk about my business. It even happened that at first, they refused to talk, but later they started talking so much that it became difficult for me. Unfortunately, all these were new and pathetic experiences for me.
When I started, I began with one staff member on my team. Later on, it started to grow, and now we are seven. The journey was indeed difficult. My background was neither in tech nor in business. As a result, I had to learn both of these slowly. And it was extremely difficult. I learned them through hard work, reading, and understanding.
Ours is trading business. So, it’s very difficult to prepare myself and to do the marketing. For me it was more like a journey of self discovery- a journey where you know nothing about places and you need to know everything and also manage to keep moving ahead.
Q 6: Tell us about a few problems you faced and how you overcame those problems. Have you ever faced any problems because you are a woman and an entrepreneur? And what do you think, how can we make it a little easier for women entrepreneurs?
As I said previously, the state mechanism would not welcome you. It is corrupt and does not accommodate young startups with smiles. It does not welcome young people, it does not welcome women. Corruption is all over.
It made me feel too sad many times that I only face certain problems because of my age, gender, and social status. In fact, it made me cry, especially if it was because of gender issues. But now I think that in some situations, you have to adapt and act according to societal demands. And I'm trying to do so.
The thing I want to tell women entrepreneurs is to please lock your ears and close your eyes. You have to be shameless. When a society does not allow a woman to do what she deserves, it is a shame on that society. Someone has to come forward and break the silence, obstacles, and social dogmas; otherwise, things will never change. I want some shameless women who will come forward and break through the glass ceiling. Well, please don't take me the wrong way—when I'm talking about being shameless, I mean women with courage, positively. When I'm talking about breaking rules, I'm talking about doing it for social good, and I am not talking about anything barbaric. I want to tell you not to bother about what other people say about you; people will talk anyway. Women should have the courage to break the rules and go ahead.
I have experienced tough conversations with my fellow businessmen. I have a business card, and my phone number is there, which is almost public, and I have experienced some terrible phone harassment as well. It hurts me, but I always said to myself, "Ignore," and my focus is nothing but to go ahead.
I want to tell women entrepreneurs to please lock your ears and close your eyes. You have to be shameless. In fact, when a society does not allow a woman to do what she deserves, it's a shame on that society. Someone has to come forward and break the silence, obstacles, and social dogmas; otherwise, these will never change. I want some shameless women who will come forward and break through the glass ceiling. Well, please don't take me the wrong way—when I'm talking about being shameless, I'm talking about courage in a positive way. When I'm talking about breaking rules, I'm talking about doing it for social good, and I am not talking about anything barbaric. I want to tell you not to bother about what other people say about you; people will talk anyway. Women should have the courage to break rules and go ahead.
Q 7: What does it take to become a successful woman entrepreneur?
Success is a relative term. For some people, success is how much money you have; for others, it is entirely different. To me, success is not a station but rather a journey. If you enjoy the journey, if you make progress every day, if you slowly move towards your goal, then you are successful. I think we should not make the definition of success conclusive but rather enjoy the journey. For me, I have not made tons of money, but my journey is still ongoing. I'm moving ahead and making progress every single day, slowly moving towards my goal. And this is how I think about success.
Success is all about spirit. You have to have the spirit. To be successful, you must have a clear goal in mind, know what you want to do, and then you have to stick with it until you make it. In business, there will be ups and downs, but if you give up in the face of obstacles, then you are not going to make it. I think one should study the past success stories in one's field and learn from them.
Another thing is people. One should know how to relate one's initiative to people. To me, people are helpful and supportive. Although it's often said that people are selfish by nature, I don't believe it. If one can explore goodness within oneself, then it'll be wonderful.
And above all, you have to be extremely hardworking and a real fighter. One should be in touch with people who have connections. Having connections from where you might get some help is important.
To me, success is not a station but rather a journey. If you enjoy the journey, if you make progress every day, if you slowly move towards your goal, then you are successful. I think we should not make the definition of success conclusive but rather enjoy the journey.
Q 8: You are a maker and entrepreneur. Do you have any special style of working of your own?
I use a primitive CityCell phone. In this cheap phone, I have a function called a reminder, and I use it. I'm a forgetful person, and I need to remind myself about things from time to time so that I don't miss a deadline.
I'm an avid user of Google Drive. I maintain a file in Google Drive. Whenever I get an idea, no matter where I am, I enlist it in my notebook, and when I get online, I update it in my Google Drive file. Every morning, I start my day by checking my Google Drive file and work schedule, and I also finish the day with it. It helps me maintain my schedule.
Q 9: How do you feel about starting up now? If you are given another chance to redo everything from the beginning, tell us about a few things, if any, that you would do differently.
I'm not a regretful person. I do much thinking before doing anything instead of regretting it afterward. It's true that if I were aware of a few things, then I could have avoided a few troubles, but that's not important. I think I did my best based on my energy and capacity, and I'm happy with that.
Q 10: If a young woman come to you and asks for your advice, what would you tell her?
Be focused. Study the market before starting. I started without a market study, and I had to pay the price many times. Don't listen to what people say. I would also suggest starting with some working experience in the sector she is going to enter. Be realistic. Talk less and work more. Don't be showy. Don't be too friendly, and be strategic. Moreover, a woman should also remember that society is very critical of her behavior, and this should not be ignored completely.
She should know the obstacles and be ready to face them. If anything wrong happens, one should seek help from the state mechanism and should knock on all doors without considering leads. Make connections. And be bold.
One thing I want to emphasize especially is that women are very much aware of their bodies and often put illogical importance on bodily beauty. I think they should spend less money on cosmetics and beautification and more on the development of their souls and brains. Please don't spend lots on beautification and lipstick. As an entrepreneur, one must be conscious about useless costs.
One should separate their working and personal space. Never do work from your bedroom! One can't. My experience with 'working from home' is a failure. One should rise early, if not that early, then at least at a reasonable time. Don't stay around your bed. It makes people lethargic. Always be fit in health and clothing. Dress smartly—it sets our psychological tune for work.
Be choosy when using social networking sites and virtual life. Make a schedule for your leisure time, sleeping time, and hangout time. Sleep late/work late at night and wake up early. Most importantly, work hard and make it happen.
To be successful, you must have a clear goal in mind, know what you want to do, and then you have to stick with it until you make it. In business, there will be ups and downs, but if you give up in the face of obstacles, then you are not going to make it. I think one should study the past success stories in one's field and learn from them.
