Speaking at a technical conference is often daunting for many speakers as they invest their time and resources without any monetary compensation. However, the benefits of presenting at such an event are numerous and go beyond financial gain. Here are some of the benefits:
Establishing Personal Brand: One of the most significant benefits of speaking at a conference is the opportunity to showcase one’s skills and expertise, which can help to build and solidify a personal brand.
Public Relations: Speaking at a tech conference is a great public relations opportunity that can help promote your brand and bring new business opportunities.
Networking: These events provide an excellent opportunity to network with peers, establish new connections, and build lasting relationships that can be valuable in the long run.
Promotion and Recognition: Speaking at a conference can help you gain exposure and recognition within your industry and provide a platform to promote your services or products.
Engaging with a Diverse Group of People: Engaging with a diverse group is one of the most valuable aspects of speaking at conferences. It allows you to meet and learn from individuals from different backgrounds and cultures, expanding your perspective and knowledge.
Giving Back to the Community: Finally, speaking at a conference is a chance to share your knowledge and expertise with others, contributing to the community and leaving a lasting impact.
Speaking at a technical conference provides many benefits beyond financial gain. It can help establish a personal brand, provide public relations opportunities, network with peers, gain recognition and exposure, engage with a diverse group, and give back to the community.
Over the past six years, the team at FAVORIOT has persevered through many challenges to build a successful IoT startup. From zero revenue and a high operational cost to struggling to find customers in the early days, they have faced many obstacles on their journey. Despite this, they have learned valuable lessons and emerged stronger for it.
The journey of building a startup is like running a marathon with a distant and challenging destination, filled with hills and mountains. The question of whether FAVORIOT will continue operating for the next year is a common one that constantly lingers in the mind of the founder. The outside world often portrays startup success stories, from humble beginnings to IPOs in just a few years. However, the reality is that many startups fail, and their stories often go unheard.
FAVORIOT was established on February 20, 2017, but only began operating on April 1, 2017, with a few employees. Many of the original employees have since left and been replaced by new ones. The team has faced many challenges, such as developing the “Raqib” IoT product for monitoring the elderly and pilgrims, with no revenue for the first year of operation. Additionally, the biggest challenge came when the Malaysian Hajj was postponed for two years due to COVID-19, rendering the product unusable after a significant investment was made in its development.
In the early days, despite many inquiries from individuals wanting to learn about IoT or collaborate, no one was interested in purchasing or even requesting a quotation. This was frustrating for the founder, who felt that people were only there to “pick their brains.” Additionally, the team initially refused to provide IoT training, assuming that people could learn independently. They realized their mistake after a few years and began offering commercial IoT courses in late 2021.
Despite these challenges, FAVORIOT has grown from 20 users to 7200 users in 121 countries. The company’s branding has also improved, and its name is now one of the top results when searched on Google.
FAVORIOT has overcome the “Valley of Death,” which is like a black hole that tries to pull startups back in, without any traction or customers. The company’s previous attempts at pitching to investors or entering accelerators were repeatedly rejected. However, they feel that it’s time to reopen the doors and seek new partners and venture capital funding to expand the business.
As FAVORIOT celebrates its 6th anniversary, the team is grateful for the hard work and perseverance of its employees, the early customers who put their trust in the company, and the friends who provided constant support and encouragement. Here’s to many more years of success for FAVORIOT.
For the past many years, I have received similar questions again and again. Finally, I decided to write simple notes (hand-drawn and with the help of some multimedia tool) regarding IoT.
This can be used for lecture notes or as a simple way to understand IoT. Initially, I made this a paid version, but finally, I decided to make it free for all.
Note: Don’t forget to download the second eBook entitled “Your IoT Journey” which is also available for free.
And I am in the process of writing the third eBook called “IoT Adventure”. Soon to be published if I have enough energy or encouragement to complete. Thanks, guys, for the support!
The fifth session of the World Digital Economy and Technology Summit 2022 (28-29 June 2022) was centered on creating smart nations, smart cities, and smart industries with an eye on sustainability.
Panelists:
Goh Seok Mei, Executive Director, United Cities, Malaysia
LinkedIn is probably one of the best platforms to conduct surveys because most of the users are professionals. Their opinion and feedback are regarded very highly due to their professionalism in that particular area.
I have done several surveys on topics ranging from the Internet of Things and IR 4.0. Below are some of the results after 7 days of polling.
The IoT Adventure Book by Dr. Mazlan Abbas is a comprehensive guide to the Internet of Things (IoT) world and how it can transform various industries. The book covers the latest IoT applications and shares Dr. Abbas’s experience as an IoT entrepreneur.
The book is divided into sections covering various topics, from IoT applications to IoT challenges and tips. The IoT applications section discusses the potential benefits of IoT in multiple industries, such as supply chains, smart agriculture, smart buildings, and smart mobility. It also explores IoT solutions for flood forecasting, warning, fleet management, and garbage collection.
One attractive section of the book is on Smart Cities, which delves into the opportunities and challenges of using IoT to build more efficient and sustainable cities. It covers citizen engagement, budget allocation, and data monetization.
The book also includes tips and tutorials on developing IoT solutions, selecting the best IoT platform, and creating IoT talents. It provides insights into IoT middleware, IoT ecosystems, and IoT business models, as well as discusses the impact of IoT on the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0).
Dr. Abbas’s book is handy for those interested in building IoT solutions, as it offers practical advice on developing IoT projects efficiently and avoiding common pitfalls. It provides insights into the skills required for IoT talent, how to solve IoT project issues in universities, and how to monetize IoT data.
The IoT Adventure Book also covers Generation-IoT, a new generation of young people driving the IoT revolution. It discusses how Generation-IoT can build its own IoT ecosystem and offers expert advice on becoming a successful IoT player.
The book is well-organized and easy to read, with each section covering a specific topic. It is suitable for beginners and advanced readers, providing a comprehensive overview of the IoT industry while diving deeper into particular issues.
One of the book’s strengths is Dr. Abbas’s personal experience as an IoT entrepreneur. He shares his insights and provides practical advice based on his successes and failures. This makes the book more relatable and valuable, especially for those new to the IoT industry.
Overall, The IoT Adventure Book (Sign Up HERE) is a must-read for anyone interested in the Internet of Things. It offers a comprehensive guide to IoT applications, challenges, and tips, while also providing insights into the impact of IoT on various industries. Dr. Abbas’s personal experience as an IoT entrepreneur makes the book more engaging and practical, making it an excellent resource for beginners and advanced readers. IoT Applications
Download other FREE IoT eBooks from Dr. Mazlan Abbas:
IoT Adventure Book will delve deeper into the business of IoT. It will also share the experience of being an IoT entrepreneur. Some of the topics have been written in the IoT World Blog. Check out the contents below:
How do we gain traction and what do we learn from our early mistakes?
When I was with MIMOS, an R&D Agency under MOSTI, my role was developing wireless technologies, one of which was the Internet of Things, especially in developing new 6LoWPAN standards.
Later, we created new IoT applications but did not think about selling the applications. What are the business models, and who will be the paying customers?
However, when I left the organization and ventured into the telco world, the IoT business became challenging. We cannot apply all theories to the real world.
7 Mistakes That We Did Not Realize
In the early days of Favoriot, we were very optimistic about the IoT market, and we thought customers were ready to jump into this as soon as they got the opportunity. But nothing is as easy as we thought! We were mesmerized by the number of IoT devices by 2020 and how the organizations will adopt Iot applications.
Here’re our 7 early mistakes and things that we overlooked:
There is not enough talent in the industry to develop IoT solutions. When we launched our IoT platform in 2017, we thought people would subscribe to it and use it in the IoT deployment. Unfortunately, the take-up is very slow. People are not aware of how to use them or connect any sensors.
Talent is still the Universities. If the industry doesn’t have enough talent, most likely they should still be in the Colleges or Universities. But even in 2017, IoT is still very new to many educational institutions. Not many of their current courses embed with complete elements of IoT, which means learning IoT applications and their benefits, but the ability to have hands-on IoT projects and learn all the four aspects of IoT such as Sensors, Connectivity, Middleware, and Analytics.
Not enough knowledge to train Favoriot platform. Letting users learn using the IoT middleware via YouTube videos is also a big mistake because many still prefer a formal course rather than self-training. Proper training is mandatory, and YouTube resources should be supplementary resources.
Customers don’t know how to start their IoT journey. Many are still trying to grasp how IoT impacts their business. And what it takes to start transforming their organizations with intelligent solutions.
IoT Budget was not in place. Too many stakeholders make the decision process slower, and they are late in justifying their ioT budget. Organizations can’t comprehend how much it cost to deploy an IoT solution. Where should it start, and who should manage this?
There is no catalyst to create their IoT projects. Before Covid-19 happened in 2020, the digital transformation process in many businesses was prolonged.
We did not take the IoT training opportunity. Many opportunities arise, but we neglect that opportunity simply because we thought we should focus on building our IoT platform and marketing them.
Favoriot Team in 2019
Building IoT Community for Commercialisation
It has been very challenging to promote the usage of our Favoriot IoT because we are new to the market, and most people are aware of other alternatives.
Thus, we set up a strategy to create awareness by promoting the Generation-IoT community to quickly help users start their IoT journey. We take this opportunity to create IoT training courses using the Favoriot IoT platform and bundling with an IoT ecosystem package to the educational institutions.
We went back to the Universities, Colleges, and Polytechnics and help them to refresh their IoT syllabus which suits the industry needs.
Since then, we have managed to groom many trainers, lecturers, and individuals with IoT knowledge and hands-on using Favoriot IoT platform.
It has become the beginning of our traction from education to the platform’s commercialization. The platform proves to become a better alternative to the existing IoT platforms in the market. We have gained the trust of the industry to become one of the IoT platforms of choice.
The local support and expertise give us a massive advantage to enter into IoT projects. We also teach them how to select the best IoT platform without evaluating hundreds of products in the market.
We regret not taking the education path 3 to 4 years earlier. Otherwise, the IoT landscape would be very different today.
But then, no one expects to connect the dots this way without learning the mistakes we are going through.
Dr. Mazlan Abbas
“Mistakes have the power to turn you into something better than you were before.”
Anonymous
This is part of the real stories about IoT entrepreneurship. Subscribe to IoT Adventure book when it’s available in the future. Read the archive here.
Dr. Mazlan Abbas 