5 Questions with... Karim Awad
Welcome to your Wednesday morning wake up call. This week's 5 Questions features a relative newcomer to Toronto: Karim Awad.
Karim grew up south of the 49th but has proudly adopted Canada as his home. He founded big time design and communication inc. in 2001 and uses that as his platform for digital ideas and creativity. Recent endeavors find him working with awesome people on projects such as big time Pulse and TTCFail, with more on the way. Karim’s semi-weekly podcast, the Brown Couch of Leisure, can be found at www.silenttalkie.com.
He has a wife, a cat and a Fine Arts degree.
What motivates you to do what you do on a daily basis?
I’m motivated by the ideas which present themselves and by the creative process. I never really know what is going to be discovered or created, but I want to be around and ready for it when it shows up. The cliché is wrong, there are some really, really bad ideas, but that shouldn’t stop anyone from having them or even trying them out.
Do you have any success start-up tips for people wanting to create a name for themselves in your industry?
Figure out what you are really good at, your core skills, and then do those things. Realize that you’re not so good at other skills and find great people to fill in the gaps. Once you’ve got a good group around you don’t stop. You have a lot more to learn, as we all do, and keep learning and meeting people. I started out trying to do everything myself: design, development, networking, bookkeeping, making the coffee, everything. It was a disaster. Luckily, I figured it out with enough time to correct.
In your opinion why is Toronto a hotbed for cool tech start-ups?
Toronto as a community is engaged, supportive, smart and energetic. You can connect to influencers, decision makers and the people who make a difference with out much trouble. Other cities seem to have a barrier between the different groups, but Toronto is very open and easy to navigate. Plus, most people are pretty nice. That helps. A lot.
What's your favourite tech toy and social media site and why?
Everyone says a phone, so for me, it’s my Chumby. My friend Markus introduced me to the Chumby which is a strange little web appliance / alarm clock / internet radio cube. But it is awesome. Weather, news, and a fishtank. It’s got it all.
My favourite social media site would have to be Twitter but followed closely by FourSquare. Both platforms offer so much to both users and developers. It’s pretty amazing what is being built for and around Twitter. Plus, getting those badges on FourSquare is pretty addictive.
Who would you say is one of Toronto's social media/tech stars and why?
Kerry Morisson (@kmore and www.reasonid.com) is a relatively recent transplant from Vancouver but he seems to know everyone. He’s smart and willing to engage on all sorts of tech issues with critique, positive feedback and his own take on things. Don’t get him talking about goats or pandas though.
