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Faisal Farooqui (activist)

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Faisal Farooqui
Born23 April
EducationBinghamton University, State University of New York
Occupation(s)CEO, MouthShut.com
WebsiteMouthShut.com

Faisal I. Farooqui (born: 23 April) is an entrepreneur, best known as the Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MouthShut.com, a user-generated consumer review and feedback service.[1] Faisal is a recognized advocate of freedom of expression on the Internet- he challenged India's restrictive IT Rules in the Supreme Court which resulted in the Honorable Supreme Court striking down India's draconian Sec. 66A and reading down of many other sections. (MouthShut.com & Faisal Farooqui v/s Union of India) [2]

Farooqui has been featured in Fortune, Entrepreneur magazine, Economic Times, CNN, BBC[3] New York Times blog, UK's Financial Express, CNBC, NDTV, Zee, The Times of India and other magazines, newspapers and TV channels.[4]

He has been invited to speak on entrepreneurship, technology, social media and marketing seminars worldwide. Besides he has been guest lecturer at colleges such as American University in Dubai, IIM Ahmedabad, IIT Mumbai,[5] NITIE Mumbai and Google, NASSCOM, IAMAI. Faisal is a TiE charter member and mentor.[6]

In 2012, Entrepreneur Magazine named Faisal among the Top Business People in India and was included in a list of Entrepreneurs who have created History.[7] Earlier in 2009, Farooqui was named as a Youth Icon India's national TV news channel (Doordarshan)[8]

The British High Commission (British Embassy in Delhi) announced Faisal among 50 Indians to its list of Young Leaders who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and symbolize optimism of the country.[9]

Faisal recognizes Hindi movie legend Dilip Kumar as his mentor and idol. Faisal accompanied Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu for Umrah Pilgrimage and spoke about the journey with Arab News [10]

Education and early career

Farooqui attended the State University of New York at Binghamton, from where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Systems as well as Finance. At the University, Farooqui was elected to the Faculty Senate and the Student's Assembly, and was the Technology Editor of the campus newspaper, Pipedream.[11]

Farooqui was recruited from campus and worked in the Telecoms consulting practice of American Management System, now acquired by CGI Systems, in Fairfax, Virginia. He later quit, to launch MouthShut.com in 2000 [12]

Farooqui received the Manthan Award for Best Youth website in 2006 from India's IT Minister Sachin Pilot.[3] [13] He speaks at conferences concerning Social Media, Internet technology, Marketing, Entrepreneurship and youth empowerment etc.[14][15][16][17]

Outlook magazine recommended Farooqui as among the Top 5 people to follow on Twitter from Tech/New Media [18]

MouthShut.com

In an interview with CNBC, Farooqui said that the inspiration for MouthShut.com came to him while in a media class at Binghamton University.[19] MouthShut.com won "Best Portal Award 2009" at the first edition of the IDMA (India Digital Media Awards) held on March 11, 2010.[20][21]

The Wall Street Journal-Mint states websites such as Mouthshut.com and YouTube are alternative channels for brands to get consumer feedback.[22] MouthShut.com was founded four years before US-based popular consumer review site Yelp.com

Auto-Rickshaw Advertising

According to the Economic Times, India's largest business newspaper, Faisal Farooqui pioneered auto-rickshaw advertising in India by painting the logo of MouthShut.com on the back of the hood of rickshaws of Mumbai in 2001[23][24][25] This was later extended to the entire country.[26] Auto-rickshaws (or their hoods)

Other Business Ventures

In 2002 Faisal co-founded Zarca Interactive, an enterprise feedback company based in Herndon, Virginia. As CEO of Zarca Interactive, Faisal presented at the Technovate seminar of European Society for Opinion and Market Research (ESOMAR), held in Cannes, France in January 2003[27] Faisal argued for an effective integration of Market Research and CRM systems.[28][29]

In 2011, Farooqui launched Dealface.com as part of MouthShut.com's offering. Dealface offered daily discount deals on spas, dance classes, health checkups, car service, restaurants discounts etc.[30] It was the first deal site to offer SMS coupons, thus eliminating the need for paper printouts of coupons.[31][32]

References

  1. ^ @Digital Summit: Gaming And Collaboration, Web 3.0 And All About Having Fun hero— paidContent
  2. ^ "MouthShut Challenges IT Rules in Supreme Court to SafeGuard Freedom of Expression". Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  3. ^ a b Create History: 1st Anniversary Issue | Entrepreneurindia.in
  4. ^ "Online platforms may add Rs 2.5 lakh crore to GDP: Report". The Times of India. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  5. ^ The Entrepreneurship Cell, IIT Bombay - E-Summit 2012 PD 4
  6. ^ Faisal Farooqui | TiE Mumbai
  7. ^ "Create History: 1st Anniversary Issue - Entrepreneurindia.in". Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  8. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOmAWoNfXkk
  9. ^ "Young Leaders Forum Delegation List". Gov.uk. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  10. ^ [1]
  11. ^ Weddings
  12. ^ Swades, the dotcom way - Express Computer
  13. ^ MouthShut.com wins Manthan-AIF Award
  14. ^ Speaker's Biography - SiliconIndia Startup City Mumbai - 12 September 2009
  15. ^ Online Ventures Rule
  16. ^ iAccelerator at IIM-A, first learnings from 'mentoring' startups - 2 | Tarun Dua
  17. ^ http://www.terrapinn.com/2007/mobiletvhk/SpeakerList.stm. Retrieved 19 September 2014. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  18. ^ "FAISAL FAROOQUI on Twitter: "RT @puppuli: outlook who to follow Tech/NewMedia:@om @nixxin @sree @malabhargava @faisalmouthshut http://t.co/st10pJq6"". Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  19. ^ YouTube - Faisal Farooqui - MouthShut.com India - CNBC Young Turks
  20. ^ Exclusive | Opinion, that matters: MouthShut's Faisal Farooqui
  21. ^ MouthShut.com | CoolAvenues.com
  22. ^ Firms discover the power of you - Livemint
  23. ^ Chunnu, Munnu left out as autos load dotcom ads- Internet -Infotech-The Economic Times
  24. ^ Business Model 101: How the Auto Rickshaw may just change your marketing budgets
  25. ^ Dotcoms discover a new marketing vehicle - Money - DNA
  26. ^ Chunnu, Munnu left out as autos load dotcom ads- Internet -Infotech-The Economic Times
  27. ^ ESOMAR - Publications
  28. ^ Faisal Farooqui - Founder - CEO MouthShut.com; Head- India Ops, Zarca Interactive
  29. ^ Corporate Profile
  30. ^ Now Mouthshut.com launches a daily deals site - Dealface.com > afaqs! news & features
  31. ^ Mouthshut Launches Dealface.com in Mumbai India | Daily Deal Media – Daily Deal News & Site Reviews | Industry Data & Reports | Merchant Resources
  32. ^ MouthShut launches daily deals website DealFace.com | India Digital Review
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