Arafat Walid Rahman of Rainmaker Technologies Limited.
Tell us about yourself?
I am Arafat Walid Rahman, Co-Founder & CEO of Rainmaker Technologies. I am passionate about bringing ideas to life using technology platforms.
I started my career in a prominent multinational organization and shifted my attention into entrepreneurship after my masters.
I love the challenge of building a great business from the start and helping it flourish into its full potential.
What do you think is the single biggest misconception people have when it comes to startups?
The most common misconception I think is that just a great idea will lead to ultimate success. Even I fell victim to this notion when I started. It requires a huge amount of effort and sacrifice to bring the idea into fruition.
If you could go back in time to any moment from your journey, and give yourself one tip, what would it be?
I would love to go back and tell myself at the start of my entrepreneurial journey that keep focus on your daily weekly and monthly goals and not be disheartened by occasional setbacks. Keep going forward no matter what.
What makes you stand out as an entrepreneur?
I like to believe I can learn the skill set required to achieve my goals quickly even if it can seem daunting at the start.
What are some of the best working habits you’ve gained over the past couple of years?
Have a clear set of goals and follow it up with a timeline. It may change but keep coming back to it. Also try to learn and unlearn quickly.
Finally, the most important work habit I think for a founder is to know what goals to prioritize.
Give us a bit of an insight into the influences behind the company?
As a student of Marketing and business in general I always felt that small businesses are being overlooked by the media when it comes to promoting them.
My vision at the start was to build an affordable and effective digital platform for small businesses to showcase their products. Rainmaker is an Online Shopping Information & Discounts Platform. Rainmaker provides attractive discounts to people from all around the city.
People can use our website to get discounts on different items including clothes, jewelry and more. It is the first of its kind.
Where do you see your business in five years?
Currently we have on boarded 220+ merchants from all over the city.
We would love to see Rainmaker, our flagship platform gain 5000+ merchants from all over the country and serve 10000+ paid users daily within 5 years.
Also a few mentions on well-known media outlets would go a long way to build trust.
What do you think the biggest challenge will be for you in getting there?
I believe like most startups initially the lack of funds to promote the business can be a challenge. We will need to promote rapidly to build trust.
We have had immense success with our early customer acquisitions so we need to keep the quality high and continue to deliver as we scale.
Talk to us about your biggest success story so far?
The biggest success so far has been the acknowledgement from our local merchants that Rainmaker has helped increase their daily sales and improved their online presence.
How do clients and customers find you? Are you much of a salesperson for yourself?
Customers can reach us through Social Media, Paid Ads and Google Search. Repeat customers usually refer our service to their friends and family.
Our strongest advocates are small business owners who have been on boarded into our platform. As a Founder I am always looking for opportunities to spread the word about Rainmaker.
What one tip would you give to fellow startup founders?
Like I have mentioned before, have a plan and keep focusing on building the best product or service you can for the customers to enjoy.
And finally, what do you hope the future brings both you personally, and your business?
I hope that we are able to achieve the vision we have set for ourselves by building a great business from scratch and enjoy the journey as much as we can.
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