How Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar is experiencing an entrepreneurial mini-boom

Ingenuity, mentorship and elbow grease feeds the growing alumni startup community at CMU-Q...

Sometimes the ideas begin through a small frustration of student life: Sabih bin Wasi thought of Stellic as he puzzled over planning his course schedule. Sometimes the ideas start in the classroom: the kernels of meddy.co, an award-winning online physician referral app, began as a project in one of Haris Aghadi and Abdulla AlKhenji’s senior-level courses. And sometimes the ideas start through friendship: when Brian Jeon faced a technical problem in his first consulting job right out of CMU, he turned to classmate Naassih Gopee and the procurement software Inpleo was born.

There is an entrepreneurial mini-boom at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar: It is a powder-keg of ideas, caffeine-fueled all-nighters, and clever problem-solving that is reminiscent of the early days of Stanford and Silicon Valley.

“I think one of the reasons these ideas get off the ground is our building. In most universities, the different disciplines have their own buildings and they often are quite insulated. At CMU-Q, we have biological sciences, business administration, computer science and information science in one place. It is the perfect setting for cross-pollination,” says John O’Brien, associate dean at CMU-Q and an associate professor of accounting.

Interdisciplinary alchemy

The Stellic team is a melting pot of disciplines: Sabih Bin Wasi is a computer science grad with a business minor, while co-founders Rukhsar Neyaz Khan studied computer science with a focus in math and Jiyda Moussa earned a degree in information systems with a concentration in graphic design.

The mix of talents proved the right recipe for Stellic, an app for students and university administrators that must be both useful and user-friendly. “The design must be intuitive, usable and fun to get students to plan,” says Bin Wasi. “That is where we as CMU-Q grads have an advantage. Our education hasn’t been about specific content, but how to learn, think and problem-solve.”

Stellic was first incubated at QSTP’s Accelerator program; in December 2016, they were invited to join Stanford’s Alchemist Accelerator, a prestigious six-month entrepreneur mentorship program in Silicon Valley. Stellic is now building a client base, including Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh and Tufts University in Boston, where the Stellic software will be incorporated into the campus-wide student advising system.

Guidance and mentorship

Interdisciplinary connections extend beyond the students. With a ratio of roughly seven students to each professor, CMU-Q students have almost unheard of access to experts who can guide and mentor their fledgling businesses.

Haris Aghadi, who graduated in 2014, says, “CMU-Q faculty members encourage students to try out new ideas that eventually become an economic reality.” 

Both Aghadi and AlKhenji are alumni from the Information Systems Program, which gave them a solid footing for the technical challenges of launching their doctor discovery platform—in both English and Arabic—of more than 2,000 healthcare providers in Qatar.

Officially launched in 2015, Meddy has won the Startup Demo Competition at Arabnet Kuwait, Startup of the Year from Entrepreneur Middle East, SeedStars GCC, and Tech Startup of the Year at the Qatar IT Business Awards.

A global community

The connection between the Qatar and Pittsburgh campuses is close: many CMU-Q students study for a semester at the main campus, while Pittsburgh students come to Qatar as part of campus exchange, academic competitions and inter-campus visits. For some students, like Naassih Gopee, a 2016 graduate of the Computer Science Program, studying in Pittsburgh set the stage for a career in entrepreneurship.

“I met Brian Jeon in one of my classes in my sophomore year, and we created a project together that applies machine learning to match engineering and heavy manufacturing companies with vendors using a reverse-auction platform. We also use data analytics techniques to provide clients with fine-grained feedback,” says Gopee.

Jeon graduated and began working as a consultant. Several months later, he was listening to a client describe his challenges with procurement. He realized that if he and Gopee further developed their project, they could use it as a tool to address his client’s issues. Jeon contacted Gopee, who brought in Jassim Polin as a third partner. Together they created a prototype and Inpleo was officially born.

Inpleo is moving ahead with a truly international team, and as the platform moves past the beta stage, they envision a global presence. Gopee notes that their international team is appealing to potential clients: "this is the age of globalization, and clients can see the growth potential of enterprise software that is located in technology hubs like Pittsburgh and Doha."

Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar graduated its first class nearly 10 years ago, and alumni startups are still in early stages. As companies like Meddy, Stellic and Inpleo continue to grow and develop, they serve as role models for current students who are drawn to entrepreneurship.

O’Brien says: “We teach students that entrepreneurship is a viable career path, and our alumni are living proof. There is a real momentum, and we are excited to see what our students and alumni do next.”