A few days ago I started reading this blog. And it was exactly what I was looking for at this time of my life, with the interests that I have now, and things that I'm planning to do from now on. The blogger looks like Ashok Ferry of building businesses. If you've read Ashok Ferry, you know what I mean. Anyway, I read a lot of his writing for the past few days and there are many things that I've learned from them. As an example, "sell your first business". Oh, that's what I'm planning to do.

In Sri Lanka, we have a great void when it comes entrepreneurs; not every type of entrepreneurs, but tech entrepreneurs. Is selling used computers a tech entrepreneurship? I don't know. However, our interpretation of tech entrepreneurship is some what raw at the moment. It is either selling DVD with some mobile phones aside or outsourcing. In other words, its selling commodities or providing services. I think most of us think that we are (let's say South-Asians) quite successful in services businesses. And I guess its true to some point. But what has won the world? Services or products? Products right? The pink iPod shuffle that you have in your ear is a product.

If you have a look at the current markets (any type of market), you will see that people like buying products more than buying a service. Products represent luxury and services represent necessity. That's the difference. You buy an iPhone because you love it. You buy the mobile connectivity for that, because you need it. So, the product wins!

In Sri Lanka, I have not met a tech entrepreneur. Not personally. There has been one that I know of, but he has already sold his business and now enjoy other things of his life. But again, it was a services company. Not a product company. One of my friend's husband started one in Navam Mawatha, but carries on with a great challenges. Why don't we see tech entrepreneurs in here? If you go to Bengaluru (aka Bangalore) you can buy them by weight. What is missing here? Or what is present here that discourages the tech entrepreneurship? The motivation is clearly missing. The motivation to pack services into products is missing.

As a nation, we can usually come up with good ideas. We value of our ability to come up with ideas. That's our problem. Ideas do not make money; execution does. Sometime ago, we were creating the now Facebook in a tiny apartment at Liberty Plaza. Our then CEO wanted to divert the business focus, creating a loose competitor to LinkedIn. So at the end, now Facebook was never flourished and LinkedIn never noticed the new competitor. Anyway, it is just a side story for our tech entrepreneurship.

What we basically lack is a forum for young entrepreneurs to share their ideas and opinions. We need to learn that competition is healthy and ideas can't build the next big business. Unless we learn this, we will no be able to harness the entrepreneurship in us. Look at the Bay area (Silicon Valley). Its filled with startups. There are VCs eyeing on these new entities and they have a system to nurturer these youngsters running small businesses. If you have an idea with a working plan, you get your money to start.

In Sri Lanka, we need an entity to sponsor the young entrepreneurs. The entity should be a VC with a lot of advises to the entrepreneurs. Of course we have veterans in entrepreneurship in Sri Lanka, but rarely a young entrepreneurs go to these cocktail parties at boutique hotels and get advice. Don't know who's fault. Until we find our angel investors, let's start small. And most importantly, let's share our passion for building tech businesses; talk about it and execute.

Once one of my then CEOs called one of Sri Lanka's leading software companies a "body-shop". I was furious. Now I agree. That's maturity.