When it comes to the world of business consulting and technology, Shamayun Miah is a man who wears a coat of many colors. Throughout his illustrious career, he’s helped start-up companies find the right business models and create strong networks. His twenty year career spans across start-ups and publicly listed companies. His most fond memories are of working for start-ups early on in his career, where he learnt the most, and that experience has helped him as an executive to navigate and support the growth of publicly listed companies later in his career.
Miah says, “helping young entrepreneurs scale their business and watching them grow and provide value to their clients is the most rewarding aspect of business consulting and technology for me.”
Shamayun Miah studied economics at university, graduating in 1999 – the height of the .com boom. He retells that it was a golden era for young entrepreneurs as the market for start-ups was flourishing.
While he admits that as a young graduate he had little experience, he was always determined and focused to make his mark in the industry. Shamayun Miah got his foot in the door helping companies transform their business and gain a presence online.
He recounts, “It was a challenge, but I got the opportunity to work for everything from small family run businesses to large corporations. Everyone wanted to go online.”
Shamayun Miah contends that it was considered to be the future and, rightfully so.
He was soon faced with the first challenge of his career when the .com bubble eventually burst in March 2000. The company he was involved with at the time, along with many other businesses that had mushroomed during the boom went out of business.
The veteran executive says, “I was not too worried as I was young, fearless and without any dependents or financial liabilities.”
Shamayun Miah believes that it was his energetic personality and optimistic attitude that kept him in high spirits even during crises.
Shamayun Miah contends that watching businesses fail was as important an experience as seeing them succeed. He is of the opinion that despite failure or loss, what ultimately counts are winning attitudes.
Miah eventually got involved with an early state tech start-up and was responsible for overseeing growth. He took on the task of developing cloud based software products and selling to the UK energy markets. It was very early days as Cloud based software was an unproven technology.
He recalls that it was an uphill task as there was no precedent to make his clients feel comfortable. It was after a whole year of consistent work that Miah landed his first client. That proved to be a pivotal moment for his firm as it came to dominate the UK energy, gas, and water market, gaining a whopping 70% of the market.
It was after a whole year of consistent work that Miah landed his first client. That proved to be a pivotal moment for his firm as it came to dominate the UK energy, gas, and water market, gaining a whopping 70% of the market.
Miah proudly recalls that the company grew from an operation involving only a dozen people when he started to a business employing around 700 people, expanding operations to Europe, US, Africa and Asia.
For Miah, being personally instrumental in that success story helped him gain proficiency in business strategy, sales, and delivery as well as recruiting top talent.
He says, “building a business with very little support and high expectations was challenging but I had great fun with my colleagues at the time.”
Miah informs us that the firm was eventually sold to Salesforce through a Venture Capital firm.
Shamayun feels that the lean nature of a start-up, limited resources, culture, and team creates an environment where you don’t feel like you are just another consultant or manager. In contrast to some established publicly listed companies, a start-up has flatter management hierarchies; decisions are made faster. This ultimately means that your position in the company is highly impactful; everything you do makes a difference. The impact of your work is more visible than if you were in a more specialized position or a large organization.
Being part of a mission to build something new, grow the client base, talent, and launch new products is a fantastic feeling. It is tremendously rewarding to know that every ounce of effort is directly linked to the value and success of the company and its survival. Start-ups teach you to have a relentless focus on what needs to happen to make a difference ‘’right now’’ and speed of execution. ‘’These skills have served me well later in my career as an executive working for larger technology firms’’ said Miah