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KARACHI:
All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them, says Walt Disney.
Disneys quote, perhaps, best explains the success story of Farhan Masood, who has been recognised as one of the worlds brilliant minds by Massachusetts Institute of Technology earlier this year for his product worlds fastest retina and face scanner algorithm called SmartXS.
Masoods dream to build a Pakistani product and turn it into a global one came true this year after he won the MIT Business Acceleration Plan contest, a highly competitive annual event whose objective is to help Pakistani IT, ITES, telecom and new media companies improve their business.
Of the 165 participants that compete in this contest, some members of top teams also get a chance to attend an entrepreneurship development programme at MIT in Cambridge, USA.
After a winning performance in the contest, Masood joined the list of MIT alumni. He has just returned after attending a course at MIT, one of the worlds best educational institutes. Those who attended this programme previously had benefited a great deal.
According to Pakistan Software Export Boards website, some of the companies that participated in this programme saw their revenues grow by 5 to 10 times and valuation increase by 15 times. Giving the example of Sofizar, the PSEBs website stated that the companys revenue increased from less than $1 million to $30 million in two and a half years.
Masood, too, seem to benefit from the programme as his product has been well received by both MIT and the industries worldwide. MIT has done tech evaluation of SmartXS, which is a big achievement, Masood told The Express Tribune. When your product is recognised by MIT, there is not much you can ask for.
Interestingly, the man behind this technology is a college dropout who hated math for he was weak in the subject. I have got all of this achievement because of my passion, the 36-year-old Lahorite said.
Masood is the CEO of Solo Smart thats based in Lahore and has offices in the UK and USA, represented by its subsidiaries namely Solo Tech and Solo Matrix respectively. It also has an office in Australia.
We are trying to bring all these companies under one name Solo Matrix. It is a high-tech company that deals in Mechatronics a combination of software, electrical and mechanical engineering, he said.
SmartXS is a biometric verification system that uses human face and eye to verify his identity, Masood said, and works mainly in two spaces workforce management and security access control.
Our algorithm is very fast, he said while claiming it is the worlds fastest retina and face scanner algorithm.
The product was first brought to life in 2005 and its hardware was as big as a refrigerator, but now its smaller than a PC, Masood said. It has started to get worldwide recognition.
He said his product is currently used by the National Database and Registration Authority, the Pakistan Army and many multinational groups including Pepsico, Nestle and Tetra Pak. These companies are in talks with Masood for the implementation of the technology in their global operations.
We are also getting queries from immigration departments of many governments for this product, he said, refusing to share details. University of Pennsylvania has also shown interest in the medical application of this product.
Before starting his own entrepreneurial venture, Masood served as IT professional and had a lucrative job. He is the originator of Urdu, Persian and Arabic on internet and was able to incorporate Urdu, Persian and Arabic characters in English-based Windows back in 1997.
Masood was hired as a project director in Dubai Electronic Government in 2000. The government had softened its state laws for one day to hire me and few others, he said as he didnt have a bachelors degree, a requirement for that job.
Despite his lucrative job that paid him 55,000 UAE dirhams per month, he chose to be an entrepreneur. If I can do a lot of things for others, why not for myself and that very thought was the reason I chose to come back and launch my own business, he said.
Correction: An earlier version of the story had misspelt mechatronics. The correction has been made.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 14th, 2013.
KARACHI:
All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them, says Walt Disney.
Disneys quote, perhaps, best explains the success story of Farhan Masood, who has been recognised as one of the worlds brilliant minds by Massachusetts Institute of Technology earlier this year for his product worlds fastest retina and face scanner algorithm called SmartXS.
Masoods dream to build a Pakistani product and turn it into a global one came true this year after he won the MIT Business Acceleration Plan contest, a highly competitive annual event whose objective is to help Pakistani IT, ITES, telecom and new media companies improve their business.
Of the 165 participants that compete in this contest, some members of top teams also get a chance to attend an entrepreneurship development programme at MIT in Cambridge, USA.
After a winning performance in the contest, Masood joined the list of MIT alumni. He has just returned after attending a course at MIT, one of the worlds best educational institutes. Those who attended this programme previously had benefited a great deal.
According to Pakistan Software Export Boards website, some of the companies that participated in this programme saw their revenues grow by 5 to 10 times and valuation increase by 15 times. Giving the example of Sofizar, the PSEBs website stated that the companys revenue increased from less than $1 million to $30 million in two and a half years.
Masood, too, seem to benefit from the programme as his product has been well received by both MIT and the industries worldwide. MIT has done tech evaluation of SmartXS, which is a big achievement, Masood told The Express Tribune. When your product is recognised by MIT, there is not much you can ask for.
Interestingly, the man behind this technology is a college dropout who hated math for he was weak in the subject. I have got all of this achievement because of my passion, the 36-year-old Lahorite said.
Masood is the CEO of Solo Smart thats based in Lahore and has offices in the UK and USA, represented by its subsidiaries namely Solo Tech and Solo Matrix respectively. It also has an office in Australia.
We are trying to bring all these companies under one name Solo Matrix. It is a high-tech company that deals in Mechatronics a combination of software, electrical and mechanical engineering, he said.
SmartXS is a biometric verification system that uses human face and eye to verify his identity, Masood said, and works mainly in two spaces workforce management and security access control.
Our algorithm is very fast, he said while claiming it is the worlds fastest retina and face scanner algorithm.
The product was first brought to life in 2005 and its hardware was as big as a refrigerator, but now its smaller than a PC, Masood said. It has started to get worldwide recognition.
He said his product is currently used by the National Database and Registration Authority, the Pakistan Army and many multinational groups including Pepsico, Nestle and Tetra Pak. These companies are in talks with Masood for the implementation of the technology in their global operations.
We are also getting queries from immigration departments of many governments for this product, he said, refusing to share details. University of Pennsylvania has also shown interest in the medical application of this product.
Before starting his own entrepreneurial venture, Masood served as IT professional and had a lucrative job. He is the originator of Urdu, Persian and Arabic on internet and was able to incorporate Urdu, Persian and Arabic characters in English-based Windows back in 1997.
Masood was hired as a project director in Dubai Electronic Government in 2000. The government had softened its state laws for one day to hire me and few others, he said as he didnt have a bachelors degree, a requirement for that job.
Despite his lucrative job that paid him 55,000 UAE dirhams per month, he chose to be an entrepreneur. If I can do a lot of things for others, why not for myself and that very thought was the reason I chose to come back and launch my own business, he said.
Correction: An earlier version of the story had misspelt mechatronics. The correction has been made.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 14th, 2013.
