I’m Adnan. Good weather, eh? Yeah. *End of Small Talk*

I’m a not-quite-there entrepreneur, a geek, a salesman and formerly an employee of a Fortune 100 IT company in Pakistan. I’m also a Fulbright scholar, studying Technology Management & Entrepreneurship in Duke University. And while we’re on the subject, I’m the editor of Blue Screen of Death, a book on entrepreneurship and new venture failure by Jawwad Farid.

About this blog; it’s essentially not about Lootmaar, it’s about entrepreneurship. Lootmaar is the case-study. It’s the business we’ll run together and see how it goes. So if you want to learn about startups, what better place than to see a fledging company, have a say in its decisions and see firsthand what works, and what doesn’t. This is your chance to experience a B-school Entrepreneurship Practicum without the 55 thousand dollar price tag.

It’s my grand plan of world dominations. Just imagine:

1) There are 7.5 million internet users in Pakistan.
2) They are growing at 30% per annum.
3) We intend to provide a mere 5 percent of the internet users in the country a service that has no parallel.
4) We will make on average 10 dollars per user per annum for the value we add.
5) That’s 3.5 million dollars and a business model that is ridiculously scalable.

Interested? Read on.

Yes, any self respecting VC will choke at these numbers. Granted, entrepreneurs are starry eyed, unreasonably optimistic, and generally not to be trusted with financial projections. But trust me, I’m onto something here.

Now to the real question: What is Lootmaar?

I hate it when someone calls us the eBay of Pakistan, but that’s essentially what we’re doing. Lootmaar is an online marketplace that allows people to buy and/or sell online. It’s really that simple.

The reason it will work is that there is an enormous market that is untapped by traditional retailing in Pakistan. Just look around your room. Yeah, right now, just look at that old home stereo in the corner, that aging desktop that no one
uses, or that handmade lamp you bought from Solo that’s too bright for your room. Now think of the iPod you want to buy. Lootmaar is about getting the best price for what you want to sell, and the best bargain for what you want to buy.

How will we do this?

Firstly, we’re betting that someone out there wants to sell an iPod that you want to buy. If he takes it to Clifton Computers, Aziz will make an apologetic face and offer a tenth of the deserving price. If instead, he brings it to
Lootmaar, the market decides the price, based on demand. If that means you and your neighbor fighting it out at the iPod auction, so be it.

Why we’re doing this?

Because we want to be rich.