‘Composable software’ could democratise tech entrepreneurship, says industry expert

A global software development company is set to play a key role in Qatar’s rapidly developing tech ecosystem by supporting local entrepreneurs and collaborations with key institutions in the country.Citing partnership with Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), Sachin Dev Duggal, CEO and co-founder of Builder.ai, said the company is working to revolutionise Qatar’s startup ecosystem by empowering local entrepreneurs and lowering engineering risks and costs, making it easy for them to develop products."Doha is very important to us because of the strategic access we get through QIA. On a global perspective, QIA is now leading the charge in terms of sovereign funds, or even funds for that matter, that are helping companies crossover from early stages to later stages."Having them as a partner is powerful given how wide that portfolio is. And similarly, they think of us as a good contributor into the portfolio because we can help so many of their non-technical investments or technology investments make that transformation jump,” Duggal told Gulf Times in an exclusive interview.According to Duggal, Builder.ai utilises the ‘Robin Hood model’ to provide startups access to advanced technology. "We charge enterprises a lot more. We use that excess or that additional amount, to drive price down at the lower end, so at the startup and the entrepreneur,” he explained.He further explained how Builder.ai’s unique business model is making advanced tech more accessible to startups: "We call it ‘composable software’, because what we’re saying is, it’s as good as how you talk about your idea. It’s as good as how you answer certain questions about your idea or the problem you’re trying to solve."That suddenly makes it a very level playing field, where everybody can now be an entrepreneur. Everybody, because all they’ve got to do is think about a novel concept or a novel idea or a problem they’re solving.”Duggal also underscored Builder.ai’s ability to reduce engineering and product risk for startups "by 20x,” addressing major challenges, such as engineering issues, in the startup ecosystem where failure rates can reach "70% to 80%.”He noted that the company envisions to forge more partnerships and collaborations with Qatar’s leading academic institutions. Leveraging the country’s educational system will further attract talent back to Doha, Duggal also pointed out."We’ve been having several conversations with various constituents of the Qatar ecosystem around how we could do research and development here. And what we’re hearing now is a lot of folks want to come back to Doha; maybe they’ve had their PhDs overseas and want to come back,” he revealed.To encourage Qatar’s aspiring entrepreneurs, Duggal emphasised the need for global collaboration and the importance of grit, perseverance, and pushing boundaries.Duggal said, "Collaborate internationally or globally, there’s no harm in that. Also, stay in Doha. It’s going to change quickly and fast, and you want to be at the precipice of that wave...a lot of times we say an entrepreneur is gifted, but I don’t think the gift is the talent. It’s not enough. Talent is grit, dedication, showing up, following through, and dealing with the 100 no’s before you get the 101st yes is the talent.”