| Faisal Farooqui | |
|---|---|
| Born | 23 April |
| Education | Binghamton University, State University of New York |
| Occupation | CEO, MouthShut.com |
| Website | |
| MouthShut.com | |
Faisal I. Farooqui (born: 23 April) is an entrepreneur, best known as the founder- Chief Executive Officer of MouthShut.com, a leading user-generated consumer review and feedback service. Faisal is often regarded as the man who introduced Web 2.0 concepts in India and a leader in the social media space.[1]
The Wall Street Journal -Mint states [2] websites such as Mouthshut.com and YouTube are alternative channels for advertisers to get consumer feedback.
Faisal's work has appeared in Entrepreneur magazine, CNBC, NDTV, Zee, Star, Times of India and more than hundred other magazines, newspapers and TV channels. He has been invited to teach and lecture on social media, marketing and technology related topics at IIM_Ahmedabad, IIT_Mumbai and tedX. Faisal is TiE member and mentor [3]. In an interview to CNBC-Awaz, Faisal mentioned that he loves mentoring young men and women on starting and scaling their own businesses [4].
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Farooqui attended Binghamton University from where he obtained a Bachelor of Science in Management with dual concentration in Information Systems and Finance. At Binghamton, Faisal was elected to the Faculty Senate, the Student's Assembly, and was the Technology Editor of the campus newspaper- Pipedream [3]
After graduating from Binghamton University in 1999, Faisal worked in the Telecoms practice of American Management System, now acquired by CGI Systems, in Fairfax, Virginia. He later quit, to launch MouthShut.com in 2000 [5]
In an interview to CNBC available on YouTube.com, Faisal revealed that the inspiration for MouthShut.com came to him while in a media class at Binghamton University. He also revealed the reasons why he chose the name "MouthShut" for a platform that encourages consumers to voice their opinion [6]
Faisal was featured on the cover page of Winning Edge- marketing magazine, June 2008. He's a frequent speaker at conferences concerning Social Media, Internet technology, branding, Entrepreneurship and youth empowerment etc.[7] Much has been written on blogs about his rockstar-style fan followers across the country.[8][9][10]
"Burn your boats before you start on your entrepreneurial venture," advised Faisal to aspiring entrepreneurs at IIM Ahmedabad in June 2008 [11]
MouthShut.com won "Best Portal Award 2009" at the first edition of the IDMA (India Digital Media Awards) held on March 11, 2010.
According to the Economic Times, India's largest business newspaper, Faisal Farooqui pioneered the auto-rickshaw advertising in India when MouthShut.com painted the backs of auto-rickshaws with its logos across Mumbai.[12]
Faisal's management and leadership at Mouthshut.com has given rise to multi-faceted innovative approach to many aspects of feedback management at a mass-level. His thoughts on integrating consumer-generated content with mobile phone and social media has been well recognized at international conferences. In December 2007, he was invited to speak at the joint session of Messaging Asia- Mobile TV Conference in Singapore.[13]
Earlier in January 2007, the mobile industry- GSM Congress invited Faisal to talk about revenue generation from UGC on mobile at its annual conference.[14]
In 2002 Faisal co-founded, Zarca Interactive, to help stakeholders manage perceptions using sophisticated market research technologies involving survey data and reporting. As CEO of Zarca Interactive, Faisal was in the news when he presented a seminal finding and suggested the integration of CRM systems and Market Research using attitudinal data at the Technovate seminar of European Society for Opinion and Market Research (ESOMAR), held in Cannes, France in [January 2003][15] Faisal currently holds the position of Head-India operations for Zarca Interactive.
On May 6, 2011, Faisal beta-launched a daily deal website- Dealface.com. It connects consumers with local businesses by offering amazing deals through coupons. Dealface.com was the first deal site to offer SMS coupons, thus eliminating the need for paper printouts of coupons. The website currently features deals in Mumbai, India but according to an article in Times of India, dealface will be available in 10 more cities, shortly.