Tag: Narjis Ali

Narjis Ali: Pakistani Immigrant turned award-winning IT security company

Posted on by Eric Coffie

Learn how Narjis Ali, a Pakistani immigrant, built an award-winning IT security company!

BACKGROUND

Narjis Ali fled from Pakistan to the United States alone, before being followed by her three children. 

She then founded Sure Secure Solutions in 2004 to optimize the IT atmosphere and to provide information and security to the government and the private sector.

Today, the company is known as an Information Technology security company providing services including cloud computing, web development, cybersecurity, content and information management, and data analytics. 

Due to all of her hard work, Narjis Ali received numerous awards dating back in 2012, including the 2016 SBA Small Business of the Year award, the 2016 and 2017 NASA Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year, and the 2017 Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year at NASA HQ and NSSC. 

Apart from managing her company as the President and CEO, she is also doing volunteer work and is helping organizations across the globe in promoting entrepreneurship.

“I think that diversity adds so much more weight… You’re walking, talking ambassadors of your people and you become good examples of where you are and where you’ve been. I think that’s so important to me to hear people’s stories from, coming from different backgrounds.”

NAVIGATING THE FEDERAL MARKETPLACE

When Narjis Ali immigrated to the U.S., she needed to start her life all over again. She worked in companies related and unrelated to software programming and development and architecture.

Then, after a couple of years fearing the unknown, she started her own company. It took her awhile, but when she hired more employees, that’s when it dawned on her that she had a company.

In 2010, that’s when she made a strategic change to her company. She brought in more partners to get diverse skills in the company.  

One key person was the late John Michael Lounge, a former astronaut, who played a role in helping her with the company’s business development.

She also joined the 8(a) program that same year and was approved on February 8, 2011. 

However, navigating the federal marketplace is different and because she didn’t have much resources and knowledge, she faced difficult challenges at that time.

“For anyone starting your business with the intent to work with the government, it’s a whole different world. I mean, you have to know and you have to know how to navigate through the system.”

Fortunately, she was able to gain success in the following years and was able to learn how to navigate the federal market. 

“The advantage I had was, which I feel till today, is the relationships that I’ve built with my customers. When I say customers, it just doesn’t mean the customer who you’re selling the product or services to. I’m talking about customers in the way of the environment that allows you to be there and create those relationships with coworkers, colleagues, other companies, and the customer.”

ADVICE FOR SMALL AND LARGE BUSINESSES

1. Have familiarity with your target customers. 

Not all opportunities are meant for your company. Some of these are in your domain and some aren’t, so you need to learn how to filter these opportunities and focus mainly on where you want to be. 

This way, you will be able to really learn about what your customers need and place your company in a position where you are seen as knowledgeable. 

“It’s very important to filter out very quickly where you want to focus. It’s better to focus on a few agencies and be persistent and get to know that very well.”

2. Sit on the backseat.

As company owners, you want to really be the one to lead your company in everything it does, but you should not be the one doing it directly. Learn to sit on the backseat and see what’s happening. 

“Almost six years of my 8(a), I was a billable resource… But you know what it took away from me… is that you’ll have to sit on a back seat where you have limited interaction. You do have interaction with customers, but, you know, you don’t spend all your time there because you will not be able to grow the company that way.”

3. Find a resource with technical capabilities.

In building your company, you need good people with technical skills and expertise. You don’t have to be the one facing your customers all the time, you can hire good people to do it instead. 

“There have been times in my company where we’ve had to cut back on management expenses so much and yet we want to keep the people that are providing good value to us so that they can stick around… We feel that these are people that are the most valuable resources the company has.”

2. Be proactive in helping others.

There’s a handful of resources where people can learn about government contracts, but the best resources are the people who have already been in the marketplace for years.

“I would say, just work with a lot of other companies that have gone through things and find out what worked for them, what didn’t, because those lessons are not recorded anywhere.”

So, if you are the latter, why not help new companies? Be a good resource and help them learn how to navigate this lucrative marketplace. 

RESOURCES

If you want to learn more about Narjis Ali, the Pakistani immigrant who built an award-winning IT security company, then check the resources below.

You can also visit the GovCon Giant website or the new GovCon Edu where you learn everything about government contracting!

001: Narjis Ali launched a NASA award winning IT security company

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIy1d2r0xBI&t=551s

https://govcongiants1.wpengine.com/podcast/2019/05/07/01-2/

Top 5—”Launching a NASA Award Winning IT Security Company” With Narjis Ali

Posted on by Linette Genao

Temporarily leaving her family behind, Narjis Ali, the president and CEO of Sure Secure Solutions, packed her bags and moved from Pakistan to the U.S. to start her life over again.

Skilled in software programming and development architecture, she was a natural entrepreneur throughout her life, even introducing computer education in Pakistan for the first time. With a little push from her son-in-law, she decided to push forward and begin her business in the U.S.

I said, “Why not where I’ve moved now and made my country here in the U.S. I can also start business. It was just the fear of the unknown I suppose that made me take a few years to start it off, but once I was there, I was like, yeah, let’s roll.”

 

BACKGROUND

 

Sure Secure Solutions is an 8(a), Woman-Owned and Information Technology Security Company founded in 2004. The company’s core capabilities include Cloud Computing, Cyber Security, Web Application Development, Data Analytics, Content Management, Information Management IT Security.

Her drive and work ethic has led to a number of awards dating back to 2012 and most recently the 2019 NASA Small Business Industry Award – NSSC Prime Contractor of the Year. In addition, the 2016 Small Business Administration of the Year Award, NASA Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year both in 2016 and 2017 and many more.

 

TOP 5 

 

1. Dig Your Feet Into the Ground and Stand Through The Tough Times

Ali immigrated alone leaving her family, including three children, back home. One by one, they made their way to the U.S. However, she recalls the difficulties within that first year and how she pushed though those tough times, serving as encouragement for others to do the same when things become difficult.

“When I was a child I would stand by the seashore and it was not close to where I lived. We used to always visit once in a blue moon, go to a beach. I used to remember standing there and the sand going from under my feet and remembering how it would make me fall and panic, but my mother and my sister were always there with me and my mom would tell me to hold my sister’s hand and just stand there and dig my feet deep into the ground and just stand. Right? That is what made me. Even when I came here. I went through some hardships, but I stood through that and I realized that if you work hard and your intent is good and you’re honest about things, things do have a way of working out. It worked out for me.”

 

2. Be Patient and Seek Information

“I feel that today I can just hold somebody’s hand and say, ‘Don’t do that.’ ”

Ali discusses how resources and mentorship are key so you don’t waste yours or others time and money. She encourages entrepreneurs to hone into their path and where you want to take your company and educating yourself on the path to get there.

“You have to first identify where you’re going, what your skills are, what you want to focus on and then just zoom in there. It’ll take you much less time if you do a handful of opportunities that you think you want to go after rather than just go after anything and everything that says 8(a) in it.”

 

3. Relationships are golden

Unless you have the money, you will have to find a few partners to come up with the equity to set up the infrastructure. Relationships are golden in order for this to work and be successful.

Not just relationships with the customers you’re selling a product or service to but as Ali states, “Customers in the way of the environment. That allows you to be there and create those relationships with coworkers, colleagues, other companies, and the customer.”

This is how former astronaut, John Mike Lounge became one of Ali’s first business partners when she was just getting started. He was introduced to her by a mutual friend. Meeting and working with Lounge, led to her fascination with NASA, allowed her to get NASA, and become the 2016 and 2017 award winner for NASA.

“By the end of it when we were paying the bill. He was like, ‘Okay, I’m sold. I’m your partner.’ I’m like, What?”

 

4. Don’t Put All Your Eggs In One Basket

Learning the hard way, Narjis Ali advises not to put all your eggs in one basket. Instead, first build a strong team and then divide and conquer. This will lead to the most success.

“It’s not about winning. It’s all about getting a team that will win. Whether you have a prime role or a sub role. One is survival. The other is to win and make money…You have to make your name. You have to get money for it and you have to be able to take different roles in different opportunities…We spread out, we team work and we look for teaming opportunities that offer us a swim-lane where we’ve got really strong qualifications and then we shine there.”

 

5. Filter out very quickly where you want to focus

“Stop bidding on everything that looks it’s in your domain. It needs to be in your domain, but it also needs to have a familiarity with the customer environment,” states Ali.

She advises mastering 1 or 2 companies and building the trust and relationships instead of going after all that you can.

“It’s better to focus on a few agencies and be persistent and get to know that very well. Know the gaps and try entrepreneurand be at places where you can get to know the small business office.”

NARJIS ALI

As a leader, Narjis Ali is focused on helping others and assuring those around her continue to grow.

Narjis Ali & Eric Coffie “The most important thing was that we want to take people that matter, to places that matter…I think that means the world to me. When I see people that we’ve been trying to grow, grow and go to places.”

Narjis’ story is truly inspiring and motivating. With such great advice, she leaves listeners and readers with a humbling message.

“I have to become the medium of receiving and then giving. That’s my life story. I listen, I hear, I see. I love and I know that I’m only the medium. So, I hope I can pass on whatever I get and model for someone else, somewhere.” – Narjis Ali

 

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