Zia Yusuf's journey is an inspirational one. Born in Pakistan, with degrees from Harvard Business School, Georgetown University and Maclaster College and work experience ranging from the World Bank, Goldman Sachs & Co and SAP AG, to CEO of Streetline Inc., Yusuf is a man of considerable achievement. He is also a board member of Developments in Literacy (DIL) and is the co-founder of OPEN Silicon Valley, an organisation that promotes entrepreneurship and leadership among the Pakistani American community in the US. But Yusuf’s success story is not going unnoticed; currently students at the Stanford Business School are being taught about his career graph as a case study.
More recently, Yusuf’s company, Streetline Inc., was awarded the “World’s Smartest Start Up" by IBM. The organisation was competing among 650 innovative start-up companies. Streetline Inc. focuses on smart technology and smart living through the use of sensors to help provide solutions for easing traffic in congested cities and providing accurate data on pollution and temperature.
Q: Exactly how does Streetline technology work?
A: Streetline is focused on delivering "Smart City" technology and services. Its patented smart parking platform detects the presence of a car through a network of ultra-low power wireless sensors located in each parking space. This information is then transmitted back to mobile smart phones and web applications that give citizens and officials a live, accurate picture of open parking spaces across a city. The entire system helps cities, airports, universities and private organisations reduce costs, increase efficiencies, and alleviate the environmental impact of traffic caused by parking.
Our system consists basically of three layers. The first layer is the actual sensor. This is a small disc that is glued to the ground of each parking spot. This sensor includes a couple of batteries that last five to seven years. It also has a radio, an antenna, and a magnetometer that detects the car. We also put a sensor in the parking meters to detect the payment made.
The second layer to our system is the wireless mesh network. This is like a Wi-Fi network that takes the data from our sensors and transmits this data via wireless devices to our data centers. This layer has two devices: a repeater and a gateway box. There are usually four to five repeaters and one gateway box for every 100 sensors. So the information about the presence of the car goes through the repeater and the gateway box to our data centers.
The final layer to the system is the set of applications – both web and mobile. We deliver a range of services and data to both cities and consumers. For example, we can tell the status of every single parking spot – if it is occupied, in violation or open for parking.
Therefore our entire system retrieves real time data from the streets of Los Angles and New York and provides this data to city officials and consumers.
Q: How useful is the information collected and who is it useful for?
A: The information collected provides a rich new source of data both for cities and individual consumers. For cities, the Streetline system provides both vehicle presence information (if a car is parked or not) and payment information (via connecting to the parking meters). This data can be used to actively manage the parking assets in a city. It is estimated that 30 per cent of the traffic in a city is caused by people looking for parking – so it is a massive problem. Cities can price their parking according to demand (price the higher demand blocks at higher prices); they can improve their parking enforcement rates and also provide valuable data to merchants.
For consumers it solves an age old problem – finding parking quickly. Through a smart phone (e.g. iPhone), or networked street signs or in-car navigation we can guide drivers to an open parking spot. This is especially useful for shopping malls, universities, hospitals etc.
Q: How well has this worked for Los Angeles? Any stats to prove the effectiveness of it?
A: The Streetline system is deployed in several cities in California and New York. In Los Angeles, for example, Streetline sensors have been deployed in Hollywood, downtown and other parts of the city. The system has been fully functioning for many months - providing rich new data for the city and motorists.
Q: Streetline was awarded the Global Entrepreneur of the Year award – what are some the challenges in being an entrepreneur?
A: Yes, Streetline was recently awarded the "World Smartest Start Up" award by IBM. We were competing with over 650 incredible start-ups from all over the world. The judging was done by venture capitalists, CEOs and senior executives over a four-month time frame. This is a tremendous honour and we were delighted to be named Global Entrepreneur of the Year.
There are of course several challenges to being and entrepreneur. First of all, by definition you are building a company based on a new idea and new technology. This is risky, and most companies fail. You are constantly trying to convince employees, venture capital firms and potential customers that this brand new idea is worth the investment and worth buying. Financing is always a challenge. It is not an issue of money per se, but getting a top tier venture capital firm to support you is important – both for credibility and support.
The best description I got was from a fellow start up CEO. He said that the "highs will be high, and the lows will be low". This is absolutely true. When the days are good, there is no better feeling than creating something out of nothing and seeing your company flourish. When things don’t go well because they have the possibility of destroying the company, it can put a lot of pressure.
Finally, the most important thing is that no matter what you are building – no matter how high tech it is – it comes down to the team that builds it. It starts and ends with that.
Q: How long has the company been working to develop this software?
A: Streetline is about four years old. Building the technology for these ultra-low power sensors and the applications that can use this information is not easy to do. The team is about 30 people consisting mainly of very strong technical talent. Streetline is funded by one of the leading Silicon Valley venture capital firms called Sutter Hill Ventures.
Q: How many people have you employed and is the company profitable?
A: We employ about 30 people and as a private company do not disclose our financial status.
Q: Traffic in Karachi is a nightmare and a problem which worsens each year. Do think technology such as this could be part of an effective solution?
A: Clearly traffic is a big challenge in Karachi, as it is in many parts of the world. Parking is even more of a nightmare in Karachi and Lahore especially. At some point in the future this technology may be a viable solution, but several things would need to be in place for it to work. For example, having demarcated spaces would be important. Free flowing parking (e.g. no specific parking spots) makes benefiting from the technology difficult. Also the current cost point would make it challenging. But someday I hope we can be deployed in Pakistan.
Q. What other technology is Streetline working on? What are the plans for future?
A: Smart parking is only the first step for us. Streetline was founded on the premise that you can instrument a city to manage it much more effectively. You can for example put sensors on streetlamps to know when the light is broken, you can also put sensors on fire hydrants to measure the water pressure, and you can put sensors on the street to measure pollution levels. We have developed a traffic sensor that can measure the quantity and speed of cars to provide real time traffic information.
All of these sensing devices provide incredible new data that city officials can use to manage their cities much more effectively.
Q: You are also the Co-Founder and Past President of OPEN Silicon Valley, an organisation which promotes entrepreneurship and leadership in the Silicon Valley as well as in Pakistan. How has the response to this been in Pakistan? Can you also explain how this works when the organisation is based in the US?
A: OPEN has been a big success story in the US. The organisation originally started in Boston adding different chapters over the years. The Silicon Valley chapter has become the largest and most active. The primary purpose of the organisation is to foster entrepreneurship by Pakistani Americans, both in the technology industry and other fields as well. Now we have chapters in New York, Washington, DC, Chicago and Houston as well. I am very pleased how OPEN has evolved over the years – it really has become the premier professional Pakistani organisation in the US. We have also over the years strengthened our ties with entrepreneurs, professional groups and academic institutions in Pakistan. OPEN Charter members have mentored Pakistani startups, have invested in some of them, and certainly connected them to potential customers and partners in the US.
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