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Committee | Leader(s) | Team Members | Tasks | Events & Logistics | Chair: Waheed Qureshi Co-Chair: Abdulrahman Rafiq | Moez Naseer, Faisal Hanif, Amir Mustafa, Rafae Bhatti | Creating and Executing a three month rolling window of events | Marketing & Image | Chair: Bari Abdul Co-Chair: Shahab Riazi | Hasan Randhawa, Mohsin Imam, Babar Yasin | Create content for emails, web, drive registration & traffic | Membership & Community | Chair: Shahab Riazi Co-Chair: Arif Shamim | Iftikhar Mirza, Ferman Haider, Sher Khan | Clean up membership list, expand community, add analytics | Affiliates Outreach | Chair: Moazzam Chaudry Co-Chair: Laiq Chughtai | Mariam Isphahani, Sher Khan | Outreach to other organizations | Corporate Outreach & Sponsorship | Chair: Nayeem Qureshi Co-Chair: Zakia Rehman | Mohsin Imam | Corporate Sponsorship & Fundraising | Volunteer Committee | Chair: Faisal Hanif | Sher Khan, Rafae Bhatti, Iftikhar Mirza | Organize volunteers | Web Infrastructure
| Chair: Mobashar Yazdani Co-Chair: Moez Naseer | Babar Yasin, Sadia Malik | Website, registration, automation |
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WiChorus, the wireless industry’s Smart 4G Packet Core leader, today announced that it has been chosen by Clearwire (CLWR) to supply its SmartCore platform as part of Clearwire’s network. WiChorus is recognized as a 4G Packet Core leader because of SmartCore’s unmatched performance, massive service flow capacity and unparalleled network optimization & content monetization capabilities.
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The MIT Enterprise Forum of Washington-Baltimore invites you to compete for CASH and other prizes in the premier business plan competition of the region - if you have a great idea for a business, or can partner with someone who does, this may be your chance to shine! |
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The results of the Second Annual Business Acceleration Plan Competition are in and SofCom won against some tough competition from companies like Cogilent (BrightSpyre) Solutions , Cybersoft , Kraysis and Voizar. |
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OPEN Washington DC chapter will be hosting its Annual event on Nov 15th 2008 at Hilton McLean Tysons Corner, in McLean VA. The half-day event will feature three expert panels on Mergers and Acquisitions, Energy sector and Government contracting. Keynote speakers are:
1. Hassan Ahmed, Chairman Sonus Networks
2. Dr. Mehmood Khan, Chief Scientific Officer, Pepsic Co
Visit http://www.openwashingtondc.org for details. |
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OPEN Silicon Valley is pleased to roll out an exciting calendar of events for 2008 / 09 featuring over 25 mentorship, networking and knowledge-sharing events to be hosted through out San Francisco bay
area. In adddition to our traditional location (SAP Campus) in Palo Alto, we will be hosting events at our new facility in Sunnyvale, in the East Bay and San Francisco. Please refer to 'Events' for a complete list. |
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OPEN SV has taken up an office space at Plug & Play Technology Center in Sunnyvale, CA. |
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On the eve of the launch of the CIO Magazine in Karachi, Pakistan, OPEN SV was amongst the recepients of CIO Magazine Pioneer Awards. OPEN SV received the award for improving Pakistan's technology industry's industry image abroad. We believe it's a recognition that we share with the OPEN SV community. We would like to thank you for your support and participation. The event and OPEN SV's award received widespread coverage in Pakistan on national channels such as Dawn News, CNBC and Business Plus. To learn more about CIO Pakistan click here. Watch the Video Blitz about the launch event. Watch launch event webcast on CIO Pakistan. |
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Many of you have shared your thoughts on OPEN FORUM 2008. If you would like to provide input, click here, or write to us as
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"Thank you for inviting me to OPEN. I have rarely been at a conference that I enjoyed so much. It was all about LEADERSHIP: I learned a lot, I came away with some excellent ideas. It far exceeded my expectations. And I am completely embracing Michael Moritz's creed: "I always have time for people who are thoughtful, hungry and creative." It works for the private sector but also for the non-profit sector." Grazia Bennett, Exec. Director, Institute of International Education
Numbers are only half the story. I felt a strong sense of energy, optimism and pride amongst the attendees. It is a tribute to your leadership and a strong sense of giving in the community. Congratulations to you and your team on putting together a grand show.
Arif Janjua, Partner, Boston Consulting Group; OPEN SV Charter Member
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The Fifth Annual OPEN FORUM was held at the SAP Campus on Jun 14th 2008. The event was a huge success with over 500 attendees throughout the day. The theme of the event this year was Leading through Change. This all day event featured over 50 top entrepreneurs, corporate executives and academics as speakers. The conference was organized around three parallel tracks: Entrepreneurship Track, the Global Affairs Track and Conference Spotlight. Some of the notable speakers included Mike Moritz of Sequoia Capital, Steve Westly of The Westly Group, Mark Ward, Sr. Administrator, USAID Asia Bureau, Pakistani Ambassador at Large, Husain Haqqani, Sohaib Abbasi of Informatica and Munawar Hidayatallah, CEO of Allis-Chalmers Energy.
Watch highlights from OPEN FORUM 2008 OPEN SV President, Dilawar Syed pitchs OPEN FORUM 2008 on Comcast TV |
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May 2nd, 2008 marks the one-year anniversary of Semiconductor firm, Cavium Networks, going public on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange [ Read: Silicon Valley Pakistanis - NED to NASDAQ]. Cavium was co-founded by CTO Mohammad Raghib Hussain, an OPEN Silicon Valley Charter Member. In commemoration, the Cavium Management Team has been honored with the opportunity of ringing the opening bell at the start of trading day on Monday, May 5th at 6:30 am (U.S. Eastern Standard Time). The event will be telecasted live on major U.S. and International financial networks. To watch the live broadcast visit: http://nasdaq.com or http://cnbc.com.
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 | Mike Moritz, General Partner with Sequoia Capital and former Board Member Google will keynote at OPEN FORUM 2008. Moritz was named first on Forbes 2007 Midas List of the world's top venture capitalists. Mike's investments include Google, Yahoo!, PayPal, Apple Computer, Cisco, Webvan, YouTube, and eToys. Google was a rare co-investment with John Doerr of rival venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Moritz joined Sequoia in 1986 after working as a reporter for Time, writing the 1984 book The Little Kingdom: the Private Story of Apple Computer, and co-authoring "Going for Broke: The Chrysler Story". |
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(L-R) Ro Choy, Angela Strange, Patrick Chanezon, Dace McClure A Segment of the audience In recent years, leading social networking companies have launched open platforms to third-party developers. Our Spring Quarterly Panel featured key platform players in the Social web space. The event on Thursday March 13th was well attended by experts, developers, VC's, and entrepreneurs from the Social Web space who discussed how to build a business atop social platforms such as Facebook, Yahoo!, and Google.
Early stage startup founders presented their respective wares, and shared first-hand insights about creating applications atop these platforms, and how to accelerate user adoption. Our panel was moderated by Ravi Mhatre, Founding Partner, LightSpeed |
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It was a surreal sight. Not something you see everyday. But there it was. A sitting that included about 50 Pakistani Entreprenuers at SAP listening to a Professor from MIT defend Pakistan as a viable entity worthy of consideration when it came to business investment. The questions about Pakistan's viability came from the Pakistanis who in all probability lived in Pakistan for a major part of their lives. [Read more...] |
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The Untold Story of Technology and Entrepreneurship in Pakistan prepared by the MIT Entrepreneurship Center, and sponsored by OPEN. The study protrays a compelling picture of the countries Entrepreneurial climate and the opportunties that reside.
Pakistan's recent policy trends of liberalization and deregulation have been consistent and successful. In the World Bank's "Doing Business 2008" report, Pakistan was ranked #1 in South Asia for its ease of doing business and
#76 globally (India is #120).
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OPEN Silicon Valley is pleased to roll out a new website. Our new home on the web offers several new member-facing features, including a job board (where any member can share a job posting), profile, annual events calendar and improved registration. Besides, the new website offers rich content, including videos and event summaries of past OPEN events. We will also keep the site updated with business and technology news pertinent to the OPEN community. Hope you enjoy the new website, and visit us often |
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REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(Business Wire)--ePlanet Ventures, the world's leading global venture capital firm headquartered in Silicon Valley, California, announced today that the firm's Chairman and CEO, Asad Jamal, has been named to the prestigious Forbes Midas List of the Top 100 Global Venture Capitalists. The Midas List seeks to identify individuals who deploy venture capital to build valuable, long-lasting companies, and who are recognized as market leaders in their industry segment. The results are based on extensive reporting and surveys sent to 1,000 professionals, including venture capitalists, lawyers, bankers, recruiters and limited partners. Asad Jamal was ranked number 8 out of 100 on the list for his investment in Chinese search engine Baidu, whose market value has grown more than 10-fold since its IPO in 2005. (Note: from $27 IPO price to $300 today) [More... ] |
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A recent study at Stanford was conducting regarding the recent Internet outage in much of the Middle East, and India. Interestingly, Pakistan to the most part wasn’t affected as much as other countries in the region. This is also mentioned in study as a tribute to Pakistan , quoted below. It is interesting that some countries such as Pakistan were mainly unaffected, despite the impact on neighboring countries such as India . This contrasts dramatically to the situation  in June - July 2005, when due to a fibre cut of SEAMEWE3 off Karachi , Pakistan lost all terrestrial Internet connectivity which resulted, in many cases, in a complete 12 day outage of services. This is a tribute to the increased redundancy of international fibre connectivity installed for Pakistan in the last few years. [More...] Click for Stanford Study
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Palo Alto, California: Organization of Pakistani Entrepreneurs (OPEN) Silicon Valley, in collaboration with Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB), will introduce several Pakistan-based technology ventures to the business community in Silicon Valley in a series of high-level business meetings and a major OPEN SV networking event. The PSEB delegation’s visit is designed to raise the profile of Pakistan’s software and IT services industry. As hosts, OPEN Silicon Valleys seeks to enable visitors’ business relationships with key stakeholders in Silicon Valley. The delegates will brief OPEN Charter Members – distinguished Pakistani-American business leaders and entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley – on the companies’ products and services and discuss potential for market entry and partnerships. “Silicon Valley leads the world in innovation and entrepreneurship, and Pakistani-American entrepreneurs play a significant role in innovation and economic vitality of Silicon Valley, especially in the high-tech sector. Our initiative for the Pakistani ventures, is an excellent opportunity for Pakistani entrepreneurs to connect with leaders of Silicon Valley’s success stories – and get guidance on how to grow and expand their ventures globally”, says Dilawar A. Syed, President of OPEN Silicon Valley. [ Click to read on... ] |
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Commenting on DFJ’s participation, Jolly said, “Naseeb Networks has done a phenomenal job of bootstrapping its way to a leadership position. DFJ is proud to be associated with the Naseeb team. This infusion will not only cement the leadership position for Naseeb in social media but also help further catalyze the market in Pakistan and across the global Muslim diaspora.” He added that, “By providing the best platform for interaction, collaboration and transaction, Naseeb Networks has the potential of being a truly significant player with a global footprint, both factors being hallmarks of DFJ investments.”
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OPEN President seeks linkage between Silicon Valley and Pakistan's IT industry Syed Dilawar Abbas, President of the Organization of Pakistani Entrepreneurs of North America (OPEN), Silicon Valley chapter, is in Pakistan nowadays. He is visiting different business centres in Pakistan and striving to form synergies between business empires in Silicon Valley and Pakistani IT industry, academia, entrepreneurs and so on. |
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Syed Dilawar Abbas, President of the Organization of Pakistani Entrepreneurs of North America (OPEN), Silicon Valley chapter, is in Pakistan nowadays. He is visiting different business centres in Pakistan and striving to form synergies between business empires in Silicon Valley and Pakistani IT industry, academia, entrepreneurs and so on. Here is the article in "The News" a daily news publication in Pakistan. The News Article |
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To enhance the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Pakistan, and help ensure entrepreneurs to achieve their true potential, MIT, in collaboration with OPEN has put in place a series of workshops in Pakistan. The first two, entitled "Global Sales Strategies for Ambitious Pakistani Entrepreneurs" and "Financing for Growth" were conducted in Karachi earlier this year. |
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In San Carlos City Council elections 2007, Omar Ahmad – a Charter Member at OPEN, won a Council seat. There were two open seats on the San Carlos City Council, and Ahmad won one of them. From 28 precincts, Ahmad had 23.1 percent of the vote. Key issues facing the new council will be economic development and avoiding further cuts to city services. Ahmad’s idea for raising revenue during the campaign included, attracting green technology companies to the city. Tackling needed repairs to the flood control infrastructure was addressed, and Ahmad was most vocal about making flood control a priority. Further info: |
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