OMARKassim.com

Here's to the Developers.

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 23:08:49 +0400

Inspired by Apple, “Here’s to the Developers” is a nice video by New Relic. I think they just sold me on their services. Nice one.

Cobone.com: Not quite adding up

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 01:40:00 +0400

Just had a listen to Paul Kenny’s interview on yesterday’s Business Breakfast on Dubai Eye 103.8 (Available here: http://jdp.do/tYyheB).

Interesting Numbers:

1 million user signed up
80K to 100K visitors daily
55% of the audience is Arabic speaking
90% of merchants are repeat merchants
Electronics - Month 1 - USD 300K revenue
Fashion - Week 1 - 1000 units sold
Approximately 10% of coupons not redeemed

Mobile App:

13,000 downloads of Cobone’s mobile app (iOS only, Android in 2 weeks)
3% mobile app users consuming on the site. I would peg that at 400 active users so far.

Doesn’t add up:

Paul: “Almost 100,000 coupons sold”
Cobone.com currently states 492,995 coupons sold. Since the site launched in August 2010 - that leaves 3 months to sell an additional 392,995 coupons. Something doesn’t add up.
Paul: Savings of USD 25 million = AED 91,850,000
Cobone.com currently states AED 97,838,035.86 saved leaving a gap of AED 5,988,035
A pretty sizeable difference in the numbers, especially in terms of coupons sold.

Late night analysis.

Update: Paul tweeted out to me say that it was a 5am start and he got the number of coupons wrong. Ah well!

Burj Dubai Business Hub changed over to Emaar Square, Downtown...

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 15:04:41 +0400

Burj Dubai Business Hub changed over to Emaar Square, Downtown Dubai ages ago.

Invoice design and accuracy is important. It’s the one piece of paper that your customer will most likely take away from your store. It’s one more touch point where you can continue the experience you’re trying to provide.

It’s all about the little details. It’s always the details.

"If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can..."

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 00:17:16 +0400

“

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master,
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And - which is more - you’ll be a Man, my son!

”

- ‘if’ by Rudyard Kipling

MarkaVIP: Fastest Growing E-Commerce Firm in the Middle East

Sat, 29 Oct 2011 22:43:04 +0400

MarkaVIP: Fastest Growing E-Commerce Firm in the Middle East:

An interesting press release released by MarkaVIP a few days ago, that I just stumbled across. The claim is a bold one.

The release going out via MarketWire, the strategic office in San Francisco, the growth trajectory and the an inkling of market rumours all point towards a classic play for additional funding or squaring up to be bought out. See: Gonabit.

My view on the numbers:

Seven digits could mean anything from 1,000,000 to 9,999,999.
A 3% conversion rate on 700,000 members is 21,000 buyers
Average transaction value stated is USD 140
Gross Quarterly Revenue 2011 Q3: USD 2,940,000
The release isn’t clear whether the average transaction value applies to UAE purchasers or whether it’s an average across the entire customer base
Let’s pare the revenue number down to USD 2,500,000 just in case.
Gross margin of 40%? = USD 1,000,000.
Net line after paying for 120 employees across six offices and other costs?

Very interesting numbers. Bodes well for online in the region.

If the business is cash positive, I would be tempted to let it grow via it’s current cash flow rather than considering further funding. But I’m just speculating after all.

“Onlie Shopping”: Spotted on the front of an Axiom...

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 21:05:22 +0400

“Onlie Shopping”: Spotted on the front of an Axiom Telecom Offers Leaflet. Made me grin at the end of a long day. Heh. Lesson: Spell check.

"Market research is what you do when your product isn’t any good"

Sat, 08 Oct 2011 11:34:22 +0400

““Market research is what you do when your product isn’t any good””

- The Man Who Inspired Steve Jobs, New York Times

Steve Jobs. 1955-2011.

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 06:30:24 +0400

Steve Jobs. 1955-2011.:

Incredibly Sad.

Visionary. Genius. Inventor. Human.

Strange Apple Store UAE Policy

Sun, 25 Sep 2011 15:07:00 +0400

2.8 Please note that you may not order more than one product of each product line per transaction. For the avoidance of doubt, please note that you may order several Products in a single transaction as long as these Products don’t belong to the same Product line. For instance, you may order an iPod shuffle and an iPod touch, but you may not order 2 iPod touch.

Why am I allowed to purchase one product from each line only? Answer: Grey Market & Reselling.

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond..."

Sat, 24 Sep 2011 09:52:26 +0400

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.’ We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

- Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love

Apple Store UAE Sales Policies

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 12:45:02 +0400

Apple Store UAE Sales Policies:

Interesting. Really interesting move by Apple.

From what I can see on the Sales Policies it looks like Apple has cut out their regional distributor Arab Business Machines and is selling directly to consumers via Apple Sales International.

Shipment takes place directly from China and can take up to 10 days according to their 8000 number.

A little more digging in the Sales Policies reveals an address in Ireland. The auto attendant on the 8000 number sounds Irish - with no Arabic option - yet.

What does this mean for JadoPado.com? I have no idea at the moment.

Dubizzle Numbers

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 08:37:13 +0400

I may be totally off base on this, but from what I have heard, Dubizzle currently does USD 10 million in annual revenue.

The recent investment into the firm by South African media conglomerate Naspers’ wholly owned subsidiary MIH Internet is estimated to be USD 10 million for an undisclosed stake.

Great numbers. Let’s hope it is an indicator of good things to come for the regional online space.

Six Months of JadoPado (And Some Stats)

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 12:19:14 +0400

Six Months of JadoPado (And Some Stats)

Tim Horton's Dubai. Day One. Packed.

Sat, 17 Sep 2011 17:14:08 +0400

Tried again to get my French Vanilla fix. There’s a line of 25 people or so at the moment. Crazy.

They close at 2am. I think.

I double backed on Sheikh Zayed Road late last night (or more...

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 10:04:05 +0400

I double backed on Sheikh Zayed Road late last night (or more like very early morning) to grab a picture of the upcoming Tim Horton’s store. Conclusion = French Vanilla Addict.

"Just 55.4 percent of working-age Californians, defined as those 16 or older, had a job in July, down..."

Mon, 05 Sep 2011 00:45:14 +0400

“Just 55.4 percent of working-age Californians, defined as those 16 or older, had a job in July, down from 56.2 percent a year earlier and the lowest level since 1976.”

- California Budget Project via Bloomberg

"If the US Government was a family, they would be making $58,000 a year, yet they spend $75,000 a..."

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 14:30:06 +0400

“If the US Government was a family, they would be making $58,000 a year, yet they spend $75,000 a year, and have $327,000 in credit card debt. They are currently proposing BIG spending cuts to reduce their spending to $72,000 a year. These are the actual proportions of the federal budget and debt, reduced to a level that we can understand.”

- Dave Ramsey

My pre-Eid present! The Nespresso C120. Yummy Coffee coming up!

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 18:16:44 +0400

My pre-Eid present! The Nespresso C120. Yummy Coffee coming up!

Groupon Doomed

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 20:33:56 +0400

Groupon Doomed:

A great article by Rob Wheeler at HBR on why Groupon looks destined to fail. Insightful and well written.

A visualisation of US debt

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 14:53:07 +0400

A visualisation of US debt:

Worth looking at.