Bangladesh Startup Interviews: Mindy, An Anonymous Helpline to Help Those Who Need

Preneur Lab Youth and Innovation Trust, in collaboration with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom Bangladesh, organized the StartKoro initiative to provide mentorship, grooming, and other types of assistance to young entrepreneurs and their businesses. The “Mindy” was one of the winning teams in StartKoro Season 2. In an interview, Mr. Rehanuz Zaman, Founder & CEO of MINDY Bangladesh, described how they came up with the idea and how they are handling it, as well as their scale and intensity.

Tell us about your startup.

My startup is MINDY Bangladesh (www.mindybd.com). Which is the first anonymous  helpline in Bangladesh. Mindy provides support, resources, and hope to the people through an Anonymous Hotline Service provided by some professionally trained team members & groups of volunteers.

What was your key driving force to become an entrepreneur?

As a Bangladeshi youth, I’ve noticed a lots of problems around me. I saw my friends, family even my neighbers or other people are suffering from various problems. But no one was even thinking to solving these problems. From that i always wanted to be a Man of Action. Maybe that was my main driving force to become an entrepreneur. Besides, I had a keen interest in business, especially marketing. That was the another driving force for me to become an entrepreneur I guess. 

How did the idea for your business come about?

That’s a interesting question. As I mentioned before as a Bangladeshi youth I’ve noticed a lots of problems around me. I think, that was trigger for me to start business by identifying various problems with their solutions.

What has been your most satisfying moment during the journey of entrepreneurship?

Well, many time our user send us thank you messages by mentioning how helpful it was for him or her. I think that’s the most satisfying moment for me during the journey of entrepreneurship. We even have some junior users also. Some times they send us Chololate Emoji after receiving our service. And that’s makes me feel like, I’m on the right track and doing something great for the people.

Do you believe there is some sort of pattern or formula to becoming a successful entrepreneur? What is that?

To be very honest, I don’t think there is any sort of pattern or formula to becoming a successful entrepreneur. But you’ve to passionate about what you’re doing. And obviously, you need to work hard on it.

What key activities would you recommend entrepreneurs to invest their time in?

 First of all I will recommend to find a good mentor. Cause mentor plays a vital role to expand your dream. After you, only a good mentor can assist you and guide you to the path of success.
I’ll also recommend to involving into a circle, where most of the member are a individual change makers and they think about the problems and also run after the solutions. It’ll help you to grow your community as well as you’ll get a great company to discuss what you think and what can be done next.
Beside that, a entrepreneurs should invest his/her time on volunteer work, Exercise and also maintaining a daily routine.

What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?

I don’t think there is any specific skills to become a successful entrepreneur. But for me, I think they’re Communication, Networking & Adaptability.

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