Meet the Founder: Shayma Karadaghie
In the run-up to our Demo Day in Sulaimani, we would like to introduce you to some of the amazing tech entrepreneurs that took part in our program. First up is Shayma, founder of SuliBB, an online platform for registering beauty services.
Can you give a brief introduction about yourself?
I'm Shayma Sarwar Karadaghie - an engineer, entrepreneur and a problem solver. I've worked the past months in other businesses, trying to compete and stand out as a Kurdish, young, female college graduate passionately following her dreams. But I've encountered so many challenges and faced a lot of problems to keep up with my male colleagues, who had all the advantages of being able to get better jobs. So I decided I better run my own business, where I can use the power of tech to work for delivering the values missing in our community so everything becomes more fair for everyone.
What is your business idea?
My business, SuliBB, is an online platform for registering beauty services for free so that everyone can get the self-care they deserve while saving their time and phone calls. As in 2020, in the Suli-con valley, where everyone has their smartphones either in their right or left hands, there should be an app for everything to increase efficiency, like how booking thought SuliBB is nice, faster, and more convenient than using the traditional phone-based registration.
What challenges is your business addressing?
Efficiency and time management. I noticed that the more successful we want to be, the busier we get, and the more challenging time management becomes, especially for women, and we would still have to take care of ourselves.
Can you tell us about your experience starting your business?
For most of the time, I was just afraid of failure. I had many ideas, but none of them were good enough to build a profitable business. I started from scratch every time I had a new idea, but didn’t quit despite the fact that I was running out of time in the incubator. I never accepted failure. I faced challenges each time, but came back stronger with improvements as I constantly iterated on my idea.
Eventually this made me stronger. Now, I believe in myself more, and I've learned so much in the process, in so many areas I never even thought I would be interested in. I remember I thought the word "entrepreneur" was boring, long and a mouthful, and it turns out, it was very good to learn about creating my own business instead of working for someone else's. My friends and mentors who helped me through my journey are other great outcomes of my experience.
What advice do you have for someone trying to start their own project/business?
My advice for other people working on a project or a business would be a few basic things that were also very effective for me. First, not to ever give up. That doesn't necessarily mean you should carry out with the same idea if it isn’t work. Always try, try and try, to learn more. Also, never spend a moment defending a false idea, and at the same time don't accept being in the reality where people discourage you and tell you you're going to fail. Don't let that happen. Show them success.
Why did you join the Five One Labs startup incubator?
Eager to use my potential to accomplish a good change in my community, once I heard how great the previous programs were, I decided I should take this chance and join the Five One Labs startup incubator program.
What progress have you made on your business since joining the incubator?
I started the incubator with only an idea, but throughout the program, with the help of our great mentors and the supportive community, I learned how to use the right tools to turn my idea into a real business. I also got the chance to meet international experts and investors to make connections, and they provided me with great feedback to improve my idea. At the end of this program, I have my market research, plan and financials ready for my business. I'm looking forward to registering my business, recruiting my team and developing the SuliBB platform.
