KARACHI: Defying the strained relations between the US and Pakistan governments, more than one dozen American startups and business greats, among them Kevin France, who is mentor to 150 plus Fortune 500 companies and several Forbes billionaires, hyper-growth expert Jason Gilbert, and Tcat Houser, who is the author of 50 plus books, are coming to Pakistan next month. Their goal is to steer the Pakistani startups and entrepreneurs towards success and integrate with international markets of America, Canada, and Europe. “All-time great success creators and mentors to successful companies are coming to Pakistan first-time ever to share not only their success stories but also guide us to be a model of success,” said Amir Jafri, founder of Momentum Pakistan, who is hosting the foreign delegates at the Momentum Tech Conference being held in Karachi on February 19 and 20. The conference where Pakistani startups and entrepreneurs can register and participate free of cost will also feature the representatives of Facebook, Amazon Web Service, IBM and Microsoft who will share their tools and resources with the participant enterprises. “World governments can have their relations ups and downs but this mentors-to-enterprises connectivity will grow the bonds of cooperation between the people of Pakistan and the world,” said Mr Jafri, unveiling the list of international participants of the conference. Among the international speakers is Kevin France, mentor to more than 150 Fortune 500 and several Forbes billionaires and also chief executive officers of several companies. He is excited to be in Karachi, to meet the Pakistani enterprises and boost their morale by sharing tips to win over success. He shares his own experience of success. “The real secret to growing your enterprise is to surround yourself with the people who are much smarter than you’; I had several mentors, in fact, we all need mentors,” he tells in a video interview. “We need to admit what we don’t know, is we don’t know.” He says success lies in thinking out of the box, and the best mentorship is to help people think out of the box. He said as some mentors had helped him scale the success stairs, now he wanted to teach people how to do it, especially in emerging nations such as Pakistan. Mostly he advises the startups to think in the future and visualize success. He will be traveling from Sydney to Karachi sparing one day from his tight schedule for the Momentum Tech Conference. He has a word for startups and entrepreneurs: “Show up at this conference and other such events as 98 percent of the success is driven from showing up.” Among the most sought-after delegates at the Momentum Tech Conference will be Tcat Houser, who is the author of more than 50 books on success formulas and beating hurdles on way to success. In his own word “I am well known for innovation. Disruptive Technology is built-into my DNA”. He is famous around the world for helping people outsmart their competitors by the cross-analyzing public and private data sources. He says his first love is studying the most amazing computer, the human brain, and fussing with electronic/computers, and audio/visual (analog-digital) experience. His new books, “New Success Secrets”, and “L.E.G Formula”, he has co-authored with Muhammad Siddique, the founder of Global Social Entrepreneurship Foundation, will be launched at the Momentum Tech Conference. TCat says whatever he has learned from his and others experiences, wants to pass on freely and he is pleased to interact with the Pakistani audience in Karachi. What is “L.E.G. Formula”? Explains Muhammad Siddique: “We start with learning, and this L is derived from learning period. After learning comes the time for earning, this E teaches the readers how to earn smartly. Once earned enough, it is time to give back, and G tells the benefits of giving back.” Most of the startups face constraints in growth. Jason Gilbert, global hyper growth consultant, will be at the Momentum Tech Conference to help startups grow rapidly. He tells in a video interview from his home in the US about what he will share with share with Pakistani startups and enterprises: There are certain things which startup must do, and there are certain things, which they must not do. Among the must-done, one thing is planning, and equally, must-not-done is too much planning. He will teach participants about smart planning and about not too much planning. Smart planning saves smart and fosters productivity because “… speed is your friend and time enemy”. Pakistan Ambassador to the US Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry has welcomed the people to people contact between the US and Pakistan at the Momentum Tech Conference. He said information technology was an area, where Pakistan had made its marks and the Momentum Conference was a welcome step to boost entrepreneurial culture in Pakistan. He said his office would facilitate the US tech people visiting Pakistan. “This is a great way to bolster friendship between Pakistan and the US.” Also among the international delegates is Elizabeth Witt, a famous VIP client attraction, and retention expert. She said she would tell the startups how to better know their product and attract the client and then to retain them. Cofounder Zapya, a file sharing application, Steve Gu will inspire the audience with his story of Zapya, which starts with zero and now stands at 480 million users. He said he would take the Pakistani entrepreneurs and startups to American and Beijing Silicones valleys. Patriza Marin will show Pakistani enterprises the path to Italian markets. Ms Marin is a successful globetrotter, networker, consultant, journalist, university lecturer, and sommelier. At the moment, she is living in the UAE and is fluent in English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese, and is Italian mother tongue. She is founder and chair of the Marco Polo Group, a leading company in the strategic business development, with extensive experience in the US, Canada, South America, Europe, Middle East and Asia. Former advisor to some of Italy’s Prime Ministers, Patrizia has been a consultant to a Vatican Foundation and many international companies across a broad range of sectors, primarily in logistics, textiles, luxury goods, food & wine, and sports. Besides these international speakers, the conference will feature scores of incubators, universities and national and international companies. Published in Daily Times, January 9th 2017.