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Startups with Fatimah Hussain
177 Plays2 years ago
On this episode we are talking with Fatimah Hussain, the founder of two startup companies where each one of them is specialised on a different field - 3D Printing & App Distributions. Fatima is a former TEDex speaker, and loves iOS dev workshop of the largest hackathons formed for women. On this episode we are going through the porcess of creating a startup, Fatimah is sharing networking strategies and great advices to started building your own audience.
This episode is sponsored by Cubicle to CEO Podcast and masterclass. Check it out at http://zen.ai/genzceo
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Fatimah Hussain social media handles at https://lnkfi.re/fatimah-hussain
Episode's page https://podcast.changemakerz.org/fatimah-hussain
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Produced by Vasilis Skarleas
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Transcript
Introduction to Changemaker-Z and Hosts
00:00:01
Speaker
Hello everyone, I'm Kennedy. And I'm Vassilis. We run Changemaker-Z, a student-run initiative that aims to empower, educate, and connect Gen Zers interested in entrepreneurship. We interview teenagers with impactful projects and create resources to help you change the world. If they can't do it, so can he.
00:00:23
Speaker
On this podcast, we discussed the logistics of creating different types of projects with Jin Ziers who have already done it. We will leave our social media and website information in the description.
Supporting Women Entrepreneurs
00:00:42
Speaker
You know what the world needs right now? More male businesses said no one ever
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Did you know that 88% of all women owned businesses generate less than $100K yearly? Only 4.2% of women hit $1 million in annual revenue. Well, Clubical2CEO is a media company elevating the financial footprint of women entrepreneurs through their award-winning podcasts, digital programs, and events. They are making mentorship more accessible to all women.
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Speaker
Personally, listening to other entrepreneurs and new change makers has been a huge motivator in my life. That's part of the reason I joined Gen Zers to Rise. No, it's not just because I'm like a talk. Cupical the CEO hosted by Ellen Yin is a weekly show bringing you case study interviews with leading entrepreneurs and CEOs so you can borrow a specific new revenue growth strategy from each guest that has already been successfully implemented into their own business. You'll love Ellen's transparent quarterly income report episodes
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But she shares exactly what her media company makes, spends, and profits every 90 days. Want to use the best income growth strategies from top entrepreneurs and CEOs, including Ellen herself?
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You can binge listen to past income reports on Cubicle to CEO today. Plus, receive free access to your first 10K month roadmap and a bonus workbook by going to our special name. I got y'all. It's zen.ai says Gen Z CEO. That's zen.ai slash Gen Z CEO. See you there.
Introducing Fatima Hussain and Her Startups
00:02:32
Speaker
Hello, everyone. Welcome to another episode of the Dancers2Rise podcast. I am Macilis, and I'm very excited because today we have Fatima Hussain with us today, and we are going to talk about two startups that Fatima started, the Unicorn Log and Blue Wings Technologies LLC. They are two different companies for two different reasons, and we will explain everything in
00:02:56
Speaker
Also, I'm so excited because we are in Season 4. This means that we already have 37 episodes and brand new identity. If you haven't seen that, have the brand new logo, brand new artwork, you can check it out. We're really excited for that and we're waiting for your feedback. But for now, welcome Fatima.
00:03:15
Speaker
Hi, thank you so much for having me. Gen Zeros is a great podcast. I'm really excited to be here. I've watched some of your previous episodes, and they're all really, really cool and inspiring. I'm so grateful to have this platform. So nice to meet you. So tell us more about your startups and the process for starting each one of them. Yeah, for sure. So first I'd like to introduce myself. So hi, everybody. My name is Fagwa Nusan. I'm a high school student based in the Bay Area.
00:03:46
Speaker
And the two startups that I've founded is Blue Wings Technologies, LLC, and Unicorn Lock, as mentioned. And they're two completely different companies.
00:03:57
Speaker
Unicorn Lock is basically a startup that I founded based on CAD. So the kind of backstory behind that startup was that I was just learning CAD, and I had built my experience from learning from online courses. And I was like, I really need to implement this. And because I just enjoy doing CAD so much, it's something I can never get bored of. And I really do recommend it for anybody to check that out if you don't know what that is.
00:04:26
Speaker
So basically CAD is Computer Assisted Design where you can use platforms just for your 360 which is what I use and you can create tangible models which you can transport to a 3D printer and they'll print out that model for you. And so I just found that whole kind of route
00:04:43
Speaker
really, really fascinating and I decided to get a 3D printer and start printing some of the cool things that I could with Fusion 360. And so that's exactly what I did. I printed a bunch of stuff. I think my first print was a cat and then I started printing Mickey Mouse.
00:04:58
Speaker
and a shark. So I just kind of played around with it and played around with my 3D printer and the whole experience was really really exciting and that's when I kind of decided that maybe I should create my own sort of product and then maybe I'll see where that takes me. So I have two younger brothers and they love to touch my things and love to just fiddle around with all my things without permission.
00:05:20
Speaker
And I have one baby brother, which sometimes is difficult for him to open cabinets, but somehow we figured it out. So I was like, maybe I should create some sort of child log for my brother to utilize.
Challenges and Iterations of Unicorn Lock
00:05:31
Speaker
And I was thinking first, maybe go on Amazon, look at the current child logs, you know, see what they're doing good or what they're struggling in. And I've read, you know, the comments and the suggestions and the reviews, and I saw, you know, what they're good at and what they're bad at. And then I just kind of combined all the good things in those logs into one log.
00:05:50
Speaker
And so after multiple, multiple iterations, I finally did get the lock that I wanted, but it was definitely a lot and a lot of iterations. I think maybe 15 or 16 that I fiddled around with Fusion 360. And then it was also my first introduction to kind of 3D printing and working with a slicer. So you know what a slicer is? A slicer is basically a soft kind of like the middleman between your pad,
00:06:19
Speaker
For instance, I use Fusion 360 and you're a 3D printer.
Networking and Mentorship in Entrepreneurship
00:06:24
Speaker
So what advice do you have for people trying to start their own organization or company? So I think not only was networking with Houston that fueled my startup, but also looking at the soft skills aspect of it. I think networking also definitely helped a lot. So before I created my two startups, I already had a personal website, which you can find at fathmosend.com. And I already had a LinkedIn and
00:06:49
Speaker
My Instagram was pretty based on the stuff that I've achieved and the wars that I've gone and so on and so forth. And so I already had some sort of basis for me. I kind of had a sort of different types of platforms for people to reach out, people to look at.
00:07:06
Speaker
If I reached out to them to see if I was credible and that totally makes sense. Like if somebody would reach out to you, of course, you need to go on their platform and see what they're all about. And so my biggest advice would be before starting any startup, before starting all that stuff would be to definitely create a reputation for yourself. And the first thing that I did was create a LinkedIn and then post my job experience, my volunteer experience, my awards, my honors, my achievements.
00:07:33
Speaker
And also be really, really involved with your community. I found this really, really helpful. So I did a lot of on-training events and I still continue to do that. And I found that I could kind of leverage the connections that I made in my local community to kind of reach out about unicorn log and, you know, ask, Hey, can you test this out? Can you tell me what works, what doesn't? And I found that to be really, really helpful and kind of sped up the process of garnering feedback. Do you have any networking strategies?
00:08:01
Speaker
My other thing would be that I found mentorship to be really, really useful in this time because Unicorn Lock was my first startup and it's, you know, totally okay to reach out for other people for help. And that's exactly what I did. You know, people that I thought I could utilize effectively. So I started first in marketing and then actually working with me in prototypes or reach out to different people for the marketing aspect. And then different people on LinkedIn for the 3D printing or the CAD designing aspect.
00:08:31
Speaker
And I think kind of leveraging those connections that you have and also even reaching out to people that you are connected with and kind of giving a brief introduction of yourself that I found really, really effective. And especially as a youth entrepreneur, like it's really surprising to see how many people are willing to help you because, you know, you're just so young and you have so much ahead of you. And if you're starting all this soon, like a high school student,
00:08:57
Speaker
Then, you know, people can really like pick you out from that bunch and be like, oh, you know, this person is or you are doing really, really good at such a young age and I'd love to help you. So you leveraging your youth is actually really, really helpful. You know, making sure that you have like students in your bio or telling them that you're a high school student kind of sets you out from the other people that are reaching out to them, because most of them who are planning on making a startup are probably college students or people who have
00:09:24
Speaker
graduated from college. So you can definitely leverage that and I definitely did and I found that it was a great return on investment. And for the actual startup itself, so what I've done for that startup is I've created a LinkedIn portfolio for that startup so people can check that out and then reach out to that, reach out to that page if they have any questions or want to learn more. And it's also great for getting mentorship opportunities. And second would be to
00:09:53
Speaker
I also create a website for my unicorn lock startup. Honestly, anything suffices, like I created a Wix website, you could go on and create a website and host it on Netlify. That's what I've done previously and it's worked perfectly too. Just whatever showcases that website just as fast as you can.
00:10:13
Speaker
I would love to, those are some great tips. I would love to ask if you had any advice on maybe what's worked for you, creating a LinkedIn page, because I know once you get to college, if you don't have a LinkedIn page, it's something you should really focus on developing, because jobs are on there looking for you. So there's no reason not to have a LinkedIn page. Have you found anything helpful? Do you have any tips on building a good site?
00:10:43
Speaker
Yeah, definitely. So going back to the LinkedIn page. Yeah, I learned about LinkedIn when I was maybe like going into high school and I was like, oh, I wish I found out about this sooner because there's just so many opportunities on LinkedIn and everybody that I've met who's done well on LinkedIn or who even is on LinkedIn. I've heard nothing bad about LinkedIn. They also have a jobs panel which you can reach out and
00:11:06
Speaker
The algorithm is so, so amazing of LinkedIn. Like most of the jobs that I've seen, most of them apply to me. And I'm like, this is crazy how effective this algorithm is. And I highly, highly encourage anybody to leverage LinkedIn. It doesn't matter like how old you are.
00:11:21
Speaker
I definitely recommend just start creating an account and putting any experience that you have on there and also making connection like reaching out to people who you find interesting you know you can put in keywords in the search bar like if you're interested in 3d printing or CAD that's what I did I just reached up CAD 3d printing and a bunch of results came up and the people who are specialized in those areas and it was really easy reaching out to them once you have a portfolio base you have a good profile picture you know people would
00:11:48
Speaker
love to reach out to you like I know some people have reached out to me and I haven't even hesitated on you know helping them or if they have any questions or anything like that and secondly would be to also if you are interested in meeting other people
00:12:04
Speaker
virtually you can also create a calendly which is kind of a platform where you can send that link to other people and they can schedule a time to meet with you instead of like going back and forth like hey this time work with you and they say no
00:12:19
Speaker
that's just kind of tedious. So I found kindly to be really, really useful. I just send it to the people who are interested in meeting and they just, you know, they have no problems. They just schedule and then they also automatically create a Zoom link for you so you can just meet through there. And then something else that I also found helpful when seeking mentorship opportunities is that these people are really professional, right? So you want to make sure that you are reciprocating that professionalism. And what I did is
00:12:43
Speaker
I created agendas of what I wanted to be covered in that meeting, and then I sent it to them, or I added it on the calendar. So they can take a look at that, and they can add on any other thing that they might find effective. And during my meetings, I've had my mentors tell me that, oh, this is really good how you create this agenda. And they're really surprised. And I found that kind of funny, because I feel like someone's being professional, you should also
00:13:11
Speaker
be willing to reciprocate that and put in as much effort as they are putting for you. I feel like it shows that you really care too like you're taking initiative to kind of lead and also you're like leading the meeting like you get this is your time too you know that you're giving so you get to kind of
00:13:29
Speaker
plan accordingly and you get the most out of each, everyone's time.
Blue Wings Technologies and iOS Development
00:13:33
Speaker
I wanted to just kind of ask you, cause we talked a lot about CAD and all of that, but also your second startup, a little bit more on what you're working on there. Yeah, for sure. So my second startup is an LLC corporation and it's a bit more different than unicorn law. So an LLC corporation is basically kind of a more formal way of calling it a business.
00:13:59
Speaker
because i did like all the paperwork for that so it's a bit more formal in that regard but basically i created this llc corporation to kind of publish ios games and just make them you know entertaining and kind of
00:14:14
Speaker
a company where I could publish those active games. So basically the reason why I created it and said not just like upload my apps was because I was recently going into rabbit hole about learning about Xcode and Swift which is basically iOS app development and I found that stuff really really interesting. I was like I need to make an app which you know that I find interesting and I feel like other people find interesting and so I created a Blackjack app.
00:14:39
Speaker
because I really enjoy like the whole idea of playing card games and that just really really spied in me and I've been playing card games and like games similar to poker my whole life but without like the actual betting aspect of course um and I found that really really interesting when I saw you know the apps are currently on the Apple Store it's kind of
00:15:00
Speaker
too messy or this kind of inconvenient because there's just so many buttons and it's not as simplistic as it could be. So that's what I set out to do. And by finally creating my own app after doing Google drawings, writing in flowchart to kind of understand where I want my app to go and draw templates to see how I want the UI to look like, I finally did create the app. And then when I created my Apple Developer account,
00:15:26
Speaker
It said that I was on, so I was like just a sole proprietorship, which means that it was just me, it wasn't an organization when I first uploaded the Blackjack Paws app.
00:15:37
Speaker
They said that I couldn't do it because it had an embedding aspect to it, even though the person doesn't spend any money. And I was really annoyed at that because they didn't mention it in their terms and conditions, or they didn't mention it previously when I just put it on the beta testing app, which is called TestSci, which is an app that they have for beta testing. They were totally fine with me putting on there, but not with me putting on the Apple Store. So I reached out to
00:16:06
Speaker
a few people, but they weren't, they didn't really have that problem. So I was like, maybe she'll just try it and see what I can do. Why did you choose LLC as the type of blue wings technology organization? And how did you solve the age restrictions for this type of organization?
00:16:23
Speaker
So what I did was I noticed that they mentioned that I had to be an organization, I had to be a business-based organization where I, you know, file paperwork with the California State of the Secretary and this and that. And so I was like, oh my God, this is really, really tedious. So I really have to do this. And they're like, yeah, I really have to do this because I call someone an Apple support and whatnot.
00:16:42
Speaker
and so in the end what I did is I just it was pretty simple actually like filing the startup all I did was I went on the California State of Secretary site and then it asked me to you know which startup you want there's I think there's another kind of corporation but I chose LLC because
00:17:00
Speaker
One of my connections said that I should create an LLC because it's much more effective. So that's what I did. I created an LLC, which is the LLC at the end of Google and Technologies LLC. And so I created that startup and then I had to file a few more things. And it was honestly a pretty
00:17:20
Speaker
That aspect was pretty easy. I think it was just the aspect of figuring out what to do because my app got denied was kind of I think the harder part but actually finally it was pretty easy you know just go to your respective state and then you file the necessary papers that they give you and it's pretty easy. I think I only do two or three papers.
00:17:43
Speaker
And so after that, you know, I got like a current congratulations, you have been registered. But then I had another problem where I basically a minor meaning that I'm less than 18 years old. And if you're a minor trying to have stake in the LLC corporation, then you need somebody older than 18. So preferably a parent or a guardian. And so that's where my dad came in. Like he basically it's
00:18:07
Speaker
on my name, but he's the one kind of controlling everything in a way that only he can have as access to editing the files until I'm of age, until I'm over 18 and they will hand everything to me. But honestly, I just kind of go on his, he just forwards me all the emails and I just tell him what to reply with. So in a way, I kind of have all the control over that.
00:18:30
Speaker
And from there, I also created a website because I needed to create a website in order. Okay, yeah. And there's another process where I actually have to register the organ startup on the Apple developer account. So that was, I think, as tedious.
00:18:47
Speaker
as trying to figure out what to do after my app got denied because that was actually kind of confusing and I had to also reach out to the Apple to help customer support to ask them you know what do I do from here and
00:19:03
Speaker
It was kind of, I'm not gonna lie, that call was kind of useless because they didn't really help me that much. But from there, I was like, okay, I was gonna figure this out on my own. So I did, and then they're asking me to create some sort of ID, so I had to reach out to a third party company to create the ID registry with my company. And then I had to create a website, so I just did that using Google Sites, and it was just really quick.
00:19:26
Speaker
And then once that was all done, it was like, great, you're good to go. And then I just published my app and then, you know, it gave me like a few feedback because I don't remember what the feedback was, but then I had to submit it again and then it worked perfectly. So you can actually find my app on the app stores. It's called Blackjack Jackpot cards. In one phrase, which sort of was more challenging to create and why? I think there are both.
00:19:54
Speaker
pretty on the same level, but I would say because of the formalities that came with doing some of these LLCs, that took more longer, but not necessarily more harder. I think because I just reached out to some people to kind of guide me on what to do, it was much more easier than me kind of figuring out how to work for myself.
00:20:17
Speaker
That's amazing because even when you were talking about how it was a struggle, you were like, oh, do I really have to file this thing? I feel like most people would have given up there. And I feel like a lot of...
00:20:29
Speaker
Like, some of the words, like, if you don't know, like, it's kind of confusing, so it feels overwhelming. But I always say, like, if there's something new and I don't know a lot about it, it's just like, it's just because I don't know the vocabulary yet. It doesn't mean it's going to be too hard for me to do anything like that. So that's really amazing that you stuck through and you pushed through and get your company's going. Do you feel, like, is having a STEM background helpful when it comes to creating a startup? I think
00:20:58
Speaker
It didn't really help me that much in the actual creation process of the startup, like filing the thing, filing projects for building technologies. It didn't help me with filing the paperwork. I didn't really get to utilize my technical side in that term. I think what helped me the most was just persevering through it, I think was the most helpful. So I think when creating those startups, what I found to be kind of overtook my other qualities was the
00:21:28
Speaker
determination and perseverance and having that passion to continue creating that startup despite all the obstacles that come in the way. So it's more I think about the qualities, the traits that that person is equipped with is what's actually going to get them far. Because, you know, even with a STEM background, like the personality of some of a human is, is, is kind of fixed unless, you know, they're really, really, really willing to work on themselves.
00:21:55
Speaker
But I think the core traits are kind of fixed, especially if they've been like that for a while. But in terms of building out your technical skills, that's something you can always, always improve on. And I think even when networking, the skills that kind of overpowered the others was having the ability to write properly and message people engagingly. So then they'd reach out to me and having a good and bubbly personality, I think is what kind of ropes people in.
00:22:25
Speaker
So would you like to tell us more about your work trying to get new women involved in the STEM field?
Encouraging Women in STEM
00:22:33
Speaker
Like how can we decrease the gender gap in STEM or anything like that? Yeah, for sure. So I've done a lot of, I've worked a lot of organizations who are based to kind of help women in STEM. Like for instance, there's an organization called Better Tomorrow who had a global fundraising event where I was able, where I had the opportunity to speak
00:22:55
Speaker
about bridging the gender gap in STEM. And then I've also talked to like a hackathon, which was female-led and females and non-binary individuals about iOS development. But you know, I was incorporated in their hackathon, so that was really fun. So I think most of the things that I do is kind of helping women in STEM. Like a lot of the talks that I have given has been tailored to women in STEM and some things I'm actively doing besides, you know, giving those talks and inspiring other women.
00:23:26
Speaker
that is that I'm kind of helping out my local community. So there's a robotics club in my high school called UBHS Robotics. And when I first signed up, I realized that there was only one female officer and she wasn't that actively involved with the year below us because she was treasurer. And so I was really, I found myself kind of wishing that, oh, I wish I had, you know,
00:23:53
Speaker
somebody who, a female who was holding an office or position that I was directly working with, such as the directors of education. And so I was like, and I noticed that there were very few girls this year. And I was like, oh, we have to do something about it. And so that's why I actually signed up to be a director of education is because I kind of realized that, you know, I feel like women should hold more office or position, especially in
00:24:21
Speaker
very STEM driven clubs, such as robotics, because I think that will, you know, I feel like if I were to sign up for a STEM based club and I saw a female officer, I'd be more inclined to join that club. And I feel like a lot of us women can say the same, you know, having the officer who's female and kind of gives you that research like, oh, if she can do it, I can too. You know what I mean? And I think that sort of basically just holding leadership positions so I can,
00:24:51
Speaker
aim to inspire other women in STEM is kind of my priorities when I join these STEM clubs, because I mean, I understand sometimes, you know, women can feel a bit uncomfortable when they're in a class where it's 90% men, right? That can be a little overwhelming and uncomfortable. So I think having somebody who maybe is a year older than you, or having a friend, you know, who's also women in STEM can just
00:25:19
Speaker
help fuel your passion for STEM so, so much because
00:25:22
Speaker
There was a study called the Great Steep or the Great Decline where there's a huge, huge decline in women engaging in STEM fields from the ages of 8 to 18. And that's, I found it really crazy how we can start from the age as young as 8. That's so amazing. And like you said, I agree. It's so important if you're actually like, get to see someone, you know, like you. And it helps so much, you know, that you're not alone.
00:25:50
Speaker
Well, that is we've come to another end of an episode.
Conclusion and Farewell
00:25:56
Speaker
Thank you so much Fatima for joining us today. I love, we love learning about your two startups, the Blackjack and the Unicorn Lock. So guys, if you want to hear more and keep connected with Fatima, we're going to have all of her social medias and LinkedIn listed in the description. And also you said Blackjack was available on the app for today.
00:26:20
Speaker
Yes. Blackjack cards. Yeah. Oh, it's not on Google Play, but I promise I am working towards that because I just got to IOSL and I'm switching to Android too. All right. Well, it'll be on Google Play soon enough then. So thank you so much again for joining us. And don't forget to follow us at JimZerosToRise. And stay tuned for more podcast episodes. Until then, don't forget to change the world. Bye.
00:26:57
Speaker
Thank you guys for listening. We hope you enjoyed the conversation. We had such a great time. Make sure to leave us a review. If you want more Changemakers content, you can follow us on Instagram at JinsearsToRise and on Facebook at ChangemakersE.