If you’re a top-notch professional privately nursing a business idea on your own, The Firm might like to hear from you!
As the first business club targeted for intrapreneurs in the region, The Firm (TF) addresses the global intrepreneur’s need for investment, business development and consulting, believes Abdullah AlSubyani, founder and president.
The private networking platform was launched in Bahrain last December.
Intrapreneurs will form the core of the TF’s membership base and will get to privately present and promote their business ideas and projects as well as find access to credible investors, potential corporate partners and developers.
Abdullah holds that a certain percentage of people in any corporation have entrepreneurship spirit; they know the industry and are aware of existing gaps and future needs.
“That’s where intrapreneurs differ from the typical entrepreneur; they know a good opportunity from a bad one. Coming from within the industry and being successful professionals themselves, they bring high-impact ideas and projects that are new to the world,” he says.
Companies, on the other hand, may wish to outsource some functions, often a ‘healthy’ business practice. The resulting ventures create jobs and tend to be sustainable since they address a genuine gap. Abdullah believes corporations worldwide are sitting on a gold mine of ideas but do not know how to leverage them.
“Infrastructure for intrapreneurs doesn’t exist even on a global level. Everyone’s heard about the Google and 3M story — but how do companies encourage employees to innovate and start something on their own?”
The TF founder himself took a long while before taking the plunge. Having worked at SABIC and Saudi Aramco for 25 years, he opted for early retirement in the end of 2010 to pursue his dream. Most intrapreneurs face the same dilemma, and sometimes, they don’t even get to see their idea materialise, which is a waste, he believes.
The company has on its advisory board the leading exponent of intrapreneurship Gifford Pinchot who coined the term in 1978, Abdulrahim Hasan Naqi from the Federation of Gulf Chambers of Commerce, Venture Capital expert Naveed Khan, Dr Maher Chebbo, vice president, SAP and Abdulrahman AlSufiany, founder and CEO of Investors Saudi, among others.
TF will have a range of mediums to facilitate private communication of business ideas and sharing of information for business development. Participation at the annual business development forum will bring industry leaders and corporations in touch with top investors for networking. The first Global Intrepreneurship Forum in Bahrain this May will see participation from around 30 corporations and 300 Intrapreneurs.
The club also accepts online submissions of business ideas which are put up before potential investors in a confidential manner.
Further business creation will be facilitated at monthly events such as the Business Development Forums in several sectors and industries, where corporate enterprises looking to expand in specific sectors will be able to meet investors over café discussions facilitated by Charles Savage, the guru of café discussions worldwide.
The platform is truly global - ideas could emerge from within or outside the region and will be financed from money within or outside, where the underlying theme, he stresses, is to address the need for growth and creation of new companies.
“We need to revive the way we create new companies; we want to leverage intrepreneurs to achieve economic growth through this platform,” Abdullah explains.
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