Interview with Khalid Alharbi

Why did you decide to come to Singapore?

My decision to come to Singapore wasn’t planned. I’d wanted to study in the USA but a two-week vacation to Singapore in 2011 with my family made me change my mind.
Once I entered Singapore, I felt that it was the perfect place for me to study my master’s and doctoral degrees. There is technology everywhere! I love technology because I like to experiment, discover the knowledge behind, and learn how they can be used.
However, I struggled to convince my scholarship sponsor to give me a scholarship to Singapore, as they were more inclined to my initial USA study plan. I convinced them by telling them that it was a great opportunity for me and the right place to learn innovation and entrepreneurship. The curriculum also had a good balance between practice and experiential learning: for instance, the school brings decision-makers and key people in different fields to class for discussion on innovation and entrepreneurship. The nationalities of my classmates were very varied, as were the people in the streets, making this a good place not just to get an education, but also to be exposed to many other cultures.

Why do you think technology is important?

The scalability for start-ups comes from the discovery of innovation and technology. Technology is everywhere, but the missing link is in implementing the right technologies that suit business needs. If you understand technology, you can connect it with a problem and solve it. That way, a new solution comes to the world. Entrepreneurs seeking business solutions can think of innovative ideas and scale their businesses fast when they find out how to leverage technology.

For example, when I returned to Saudi Arabia, I worked with start-ups in the entertainment industry. I helped to build 12 start-ups with my team, and within three months, all the start-ups started serving customers and generating revenue. Then, I moved to the farming industry where I selected 33 companies with my team to find solutions for these businesses’ challenges, coaching companies in matching their business idea with the perfect technology.

Currently, I am working for the National e-Learning Centre as an innovation consultant. This journey began when I met with the decision-maker of the National e-Learning Centre and convinced him to give me an opportunity to build the innovation unit. We are now in the process of launching new start-ups in the e-learning industry, leading innovation and digital transformation in the new era of online education.

How does entrepreneurship education play an important role in the new technopreneurship ecosystem?

 Entrepreneurship education plays a huge role in every industry, as there’s a huge need for people who have a technopreneurship mindset to innovate and scale, seek opportunities, and evaluate those growth opportunities. These entrepreneurs are always needed, regardless if they decide to start a business or work for a big company. Education allows entrepreneurs to build a network and learn from the accumulated experience of their professors and peers. Of course, you can start a business without a degree, but being prepared, as I was through MSc TIP’s programme, will save time and money.

What sets a successful entrepreneur apart from the crowd?

A successful entrepreneur can seek opportunities and evaluate it without emotions. These opportunities are assessed based on real data, experience in the industry and customer needs. The key to decision-making is to focus on the market reality. A lot of founders failed because of their emotional decisions. They launched too fast, didn’t follow up with their customers to understand their needs and find the right solutions for them or didn’t pivot at the right time. Successful founders know when to pivot and don’t just stick to an idea. Great founders transmit confidence to their team and understand that engaging with their team must be a top priority before engaging with the customers. If you take care of your people, they will take care of you.

How can you move forward with an idea that naysayers may not see?

In life, there will be at least one person who does not believe in you. This person wants to change you and your ideas, but believe me, these people can’t make it further than you. When I was working in the entertainment industry, my team came up with a digital solution for the theme parks by using artificial intelligence and data. However, when we implemented this solution, we faced many challenges – there was some conflict with the theme park restaurants because they didn’t believe in our idea. In the end, we proved that it is a good digital solution. Like these restaurants, there will be people who will not believe in you but keep going as long as you have data and facts to back up your ideas.

What inspires you? What makes you want to mentor start-ups?

My love for education, continuous learning and sharing my knowledge with people inspire me. Imagination helps me to find a link between what I have learnt and provide a solution to help people or the industries. Seeing my solutions resolve a problem in an area or the whole industry is the most exciting moment! I guess it’s part of my personality – I like to help. When I see a challenge in front of me, I think, “What kind of opportunity or solution is there?”

Why do you think data is important during the new digitalised era?

This is a scientific truth: if you have more data, you can reach a more accurate conclusion to make the right decision. You can generate data with technology and generators of data are everywhere. The facial recognition function on your phone is a generator, clicking thumbs up or down on social media is a generator – all these technologies enable digitised data. Nowadays, everything has been digitised and it’s very easy to generate data, analyse it through technologies and use it for better solutions.

What piece of advice would you give to new technopreneurs?

If you are going to work in a specific industry, engage in that industry, with the customers and the community before framing yourself in a solution or start-up idea. In the farming industry, I worked with 33 start-ups and I realised that the winner is not the one who has the best technology but the one who engages with their customers, finds their problems and discovers their needs. This was one of my mistakes – I used to find solutions for a problem I faced, but I didn’t know what problems others faced, as I didn’t engage with customers and find their needs. So, don’t start with a solution, start by working with your customers. Engage, engage and engage!