Babson Business: go Swoop
Name of Business: goSwoop; http://goswoop.com/index.php (in progress)
Mission: “To take the fear out of being a foreigner. goSwoop believes that every student must have their own international study experience to be successful in today's globally interdependent world. We are developing one central Internet location that will facilitate the interactions between students, universities, and companies to attain and provide information related to international study.”
Began: 2005
Where: Dhaka, Bangladesh & Boston, Ma USA
Initial Investment: We begged for money in Bangladesh (boot
strapped).
Babson Founder: Fayaz Taher; Ugrad; fayaz@fortuna-group.com; cell: 781-738-6464
Employees: 8 Multinational members
Founder's Past Life/Business: Fayaz started his first business venture at the age of 13, which makes perfect sense why he chose to attend Babson and not “Bentley.” The previous businesses he started with his family are Fortuna Fried Chicken (fast food), InfraBlue Technology, and a clothing store called Ferrland which was successfully sold.
How the Idea Began: Two American students, who spent a semester studying abroad in Vienna, Austria, befriended a Bengali international student studying at Babson. They shared similar experiences in their international study. They discovered that by sharing their resources goSwoop could realistically help make the process of international study easier for students around the world.
Initial Preparation to Germinate Idea: We will Swoop the world!
Favorite Thing about the Business: Having full support from Babson while working with the founders from Bentley, Jake & Cort.
Trying to explain goSwoop's potential to founding IT programmers Asif & Miller while they try to teach us how we make their lives difficult by changing the website constantly.
Worst Thing about the Business: Having an office located above a fried chicken joint (Fortuna Fried Chicken), we are becoming fat.
Biggest Challenge: Creating value for the user.
Lesson Learned: Patience and perseverance. It takes time for great ideas to develop. Don't go after the money, it will come after you. Our team is our family.