Raising Funds for Startups: A Panel with Randi Barznji and Tara Mohammed
On June 28, 2021, Five One Invest held a Speaker Series session with Randi Barznji and Tara Mohammed to discuss their journey as entrepreneurs and what entrepreneurs should be ready to face when fundraising. How did they decide to launch their startups, and what challenges did they face while fundraising?
Randi founded Shopasar, an online marketplace, in 2018. Shopasar is a platform focused on artisans, locally made brands, and vintage pieces in Iraq. Shopasar is also an academy, where local entrepreneurs can learn the skills to open an account, sell online, have an e-wallet, and figure out their logistics.
Tara is the founder and managing director of Black Ace Company for Information Technology Services and Consultancy in Kurdistan, founded in June 2019. With eight years of experience in software development and UI/UX development, Tara provides the market with her IT services, including building apps and websites.
Starting their Businesses
Both Tara and Randi founded the startups out of passion in the field they entered. Tara’s genuine passion for tech has inspired her to consistently develop herself in the area, to grow and learn more, while Randi defined and solved the problems that she personally experienced while shopping.
Randi constantly faced problems with online shopping from international sources in Iraq, and she decided to change that. When Randi first started Shopasar, she entered the market with a platform that helps people shop online from international brands, which eventually led to building to the marketplace that Shopasar is today.
Tara had a clear vision of knowing what she wanted and a goal to reach. She advised that “when you see an opportunity, take it and make use of it instead of fear” with a well-laid-out plan and a clear mission.
Advice on Launching and Fundraising
Fundraising is a very new concept in Iraq, and Randi advises entrepreneurs to take the first steps through Startup Incubators and NGOs with such programs. This helps educate the entrepreneur and give them the experience necessary to achieve their later goals. In other more advanced countries, there is broader access to many different types of helpful fundraising, but here in KRG and Iraq, you should start by looking for programs that fit you best. Tara agrees with Randi on how many of the potential entrepreneurs are not aware of the programs that we have access to in the region.
Tara identifies the Iraqi market as a market full of gaps and opportunities for entrepreneurs. She emphasizes that for many different types of startups, an entrepreneur shouldn’t necessarily look for investment and capital at the first stages of their business but instead start the business. She advises against people expecting help from the first step. “If the secret of success of a startup was capital, then all of the rich people in the world would be the best founders.''
Local versus Regional Investors?
Randi and Tara’s experience in regional fundraising is very similar, and they have both faced problems of regional and international investors being surprised that Iraq even has a potential market for their types of startups. The lack of awareness about the Iraqi ecosystem has led to only a small number of international investments happening in Iraqi startups. They both mentioned that investors need more available data and introductions to the Iraqi ecosystem before they’ll consider investing.
Besides minimal access to investors, one of the major problems both entrepreneurs face with local investors is the lack of trust. According to Tara, the law’s shortcomings of patent protection had led to many unfortunate events. That is why she thinks taking the proper steps in making investment happen through programs would be the best option. The government supporting entrepreneurs and the startup ecosystem will lead to much better results, because it will both protect the investors and the entrepreneurs.
See the full video of our Speaker Series in Kurdish with Tara and Randi here!