When looking at a list of this year's Wharton Business Plan Competition semifinalists, selected products tend to involve cutting-edge technology. However, Wharton MBA student and competition semifinalist Sam Sidiqi is taking a different approach -- entering the competition with a simple book.
Sidiqi is the leader of the Al-Souk team, which plans to create a classified business telephone directory for Iraq.
Although modeling a business on the Yellow Pages might seem odd, the team feels that the project fills both an economic and social need.
"There is a model that everyone knows works -- and that's the Yellow Pages," Sidiqi says. "Once you have it established, it tends to generate a lot of cash. So from a business perspective, the idea is very strong."
However, Sidiqi is careful to stress that this is not just a mere business venture.
"When you step back, from a societal point of view, it is actually very beneficial as well," he explains. "Think of the things we take for granted here in the States; for example, when you need to get your car fixed, you can just look in the Yellow Pages."
In Iraq, "it takes a lot longer to go and find the information you need. Some of the effects of that are [that] business might not get done at all," he says. "There will be a local monopoly created because consumers don't know what's out there."
Sidiqi, who was born in Afghanistan, said that all six members of the team were interested in basing their business plan in Iraq. Three of the team members have Arab-language skills and saw the emerging market in Iraq as a great opportunity.
"There is some advantage to being Western and Arab when going into Iraq," Sidiqi says, citing the current ties between the United States and Iraq.
From a business side, Iraq was the most logical option, according to the team.
"When starting a business, you should go to a place that has some really big problems, and Iraq is somewhere that has a lot of problems," he says.
The group quickly saw starting an Iraqi version of the Yellow Pages as an opportunity to solve one of these problems.
Although the project is still in the analysis phase, several of the team members are planning to visit the region over spring break to set up contacts with companies who currently run telephone directories in the Middle East.
Sidiqi credits the business competition as instrumental in helping to bring the project to fruition.
"It was really useful in providing advice on how to go about each stage of the process," Sidiqi says.
Sidiqi admits that his group's concept is something the judges may not be used to seeing.
"We have received a lot of great feedback -- sometimes very supportive and sometimes very critical," Sidiqi says.
No matter what the outcome of the competition, Sidiqi says he is grateful for advancing this far.
"We are not focused on winning the competition, we just want to put our best plan forward."
Sidiqi adds this is also a growing process for him.
"I am testing myself to see if I have the ability to be an entrepreneur or not."
