In Business Deep Dive/Brand Story, we have a story on Device Mama, a subsidiary of Exchange Kori Limited, that makes buying and selling used laptops easy. The company’s work has several second order consequences—improves access to computers for many people, helps reduce e-waste, a huge challenge in Bangladesh, and brings order to the used laptops market by introducing a structured approach delivering quality service in this market.
In Insight, we illustrate 07 Principles of Effective Content Strategy that should allow brands to orchestrate their content strategy better. While content marketing has seen phenomenal growth over the years, many companies struggle to produce quality content that can consistently deliver results. The article, borrowing from Erin Kissane’s excellent book, provides a framework to think effectively about content.
In our interview series The Generalist, we published a fascinating conversation with Afshana Rahman, CMO of Startise, on a wide-range of topics focused on how to build an effective marketing operation without breaking your bank. Excellent read throughout.
We have started tiptoeing into video. In the Future Startup Video section, we have a short video on the art and science of creating products that customers love, where GoZayaan CBO Wafiul Haque discusses his take on the subject.
In our Brand Story/Partner Content, we published a piece taking a look into the emerging accounting trends that can be critical for startups.
Find links to all the pieces below.
Device Mama, a subsidiary of Exchange Kori Limited, launched in 2016 as a solution to a growing problem in Bangladesh’s electronics market: the lack of trusted channels for buying and selling used laptops and PCs.
Initially launched under System Eye Technologies Limited, Device Mama began as an offshoot of Exchange Kori’s “Shadhin Offer” exchange program, which allowed customers to trade old devices for new ones. As laptops accumulated through exchanges, the challenge quickly became what to do with the growing inventory of second-hand devices. The need for a dedicated sales channel became apparent.
What emerged was Device Mama. By 2024, the operation had grown significant enough to justify its own corporate entity, with Exchange Kori Limited separating its PC division from System Eye and trademarking the Device Mama brand, strategically positioned to dominate Bangladesh’s refurbished electronics market.
We live in a world of open broadcasting where everyone has their own publishing outlet—every brand is a publisher, every individual a broadcaster. This has amplified the importance of quality content to connect with users. Content educates, sells, amplifies, and helps build lasting influence.
But consistently producing high quality content is difficult. More so because content marketing as a discipline remains fluid and in constant flux. Misunderstanding what is good content for a company is common. Many companies produce content without a strategy and without an awareness of why they are doing what they are doing. A lack of useful knowledge on the subject further complicates this challenge.
This is where Erin Kissane’s fascinating short book The Elements of Content Strategy on the subject comes handy. Extremely well-written and to the point, the book provides a comprehensive guide to think about everything content strategy.
In the first chapter titled “Basic Principles” Kissane offers a set of fundamentals that can help companies and practitioners think more effectively about content.
Afshana Rahman Diya is the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of Startise, where she has helped orchestrate the company’s growth from zero to over 6 million users, building a global brand that serves customers in 180+ countries.
In this second and final part of our conversation (part one available here), we explore her approach to marketing, her leadership philosophy, and the inner workings of marketing at a global software company built from Bangladesh. We talk about the operational mechanics behind marketing campaigns that actually work, the mental models that guide her decision-making, and the systems that enable consistent execution across multiple product lines. She talks about her philosophy on team empowerment, the delicate balance between data-driven decision making and human intuition, explains how her team plans campaigns months in advance, and the exact productivity systems she uses.
Whether you're building a marketing organization, managing cross-functional teams, or simply trying to become more intentional about your work, Ms. Afshana's operational insights offer a practical framework you can adapt to your own context, regardless of where in the world you happen to be building.
Read the full article.
Building products for users is tough. Building products for users who are consistently underserved, often exploited, and face unique challenges living far from home, that's a whole different ball game. Not only do you face the usual challenges of product-market fit, scaling, and regulation, but you're often dealing with users who are vulnerable, lack trust, and have needs that existing solutions don't address.
In this short video, Wafiul Haque of GoZayaan shares his take on the art and science of creating products that your customers will love.
Watch the video.
Running a startup in 2025 is thrilling, but it can also be financially unforgiving. With new tech reshaping finance teams and regulators introducing fresh compliance hurdles, the way founders approach accounting can make the difference between scaling and stalling.
From AI-powered forecasting to ever-evolving financial rules, startups need to understand what’s changing—and how to respond. Here’s what’s on the horizon, and why it matters.
