Entrepreneurial

Leadership &
Motivation
Entrepreneur
Rumman Akhter Khan
(CEO and Founder of Trajital)

Submitted: - By Osama
Abdul Haseeb
Sarmad Tahir Butt
Sanjna
Mubaraka

Submitted to: - Sir Azeem Qureshi

We are highly indebted to Mr. Azeem Qureshi for their guidance and constant supervision as well as for
providing necessary information regarding the project & also for their support in completing the project.
Table of contents
1) Introduction of the leader
2) Introduction of the Company (Trajital)
3) Vision
4) Mission
5) Challenges
6) Leadership Style
7) Future Goals
8) Current Customers
9) Character
10) CSR
11) Conclusion
12) Recommendation
Introduction

For the leader of our project we chose Ruman Akhter Khan, he is the founder and CEO of the Marketing
agency Trajital. Trajital is a marketing agency that provides one stop solution to marketing problems ,
ranging from digital marketing and print media to product packaging and marketing consultancy
services.

Ruman Akhter hails from a business background. His father owns a pharmaceutical business. Just like his
father Ruman Akhter is also an entrepreneur and displayed his entrepreneurial skills early in life. For
instance when he was pursuing his O levels Ruman Akhter started his own business of importing cars (
luxury brands such as Mercedes and Audi ).

Ruman Akhter completed his bachelors from IBA with a major in marketing and is currently pursuing an
MBA in marketing from the same institute. He formed his marketing agency in February 2015 during his
final semester and has since grown his business to a multinational level with operations across the
globe( Dubai, Australia , USA).

Trajital:
Trajital is not an English word, it is derived from two words traditional and digital. It is shariyah
combined 360 °. 360 ° means making a marketing strategy for a product by advertising the product,
production, making a website, do creative designing, change packaging, and digital designing. One stop
solution for marketing needs. Shariyah compliant means marketing techniques are according to
shariyah. Marketing services provided should not raise ethical questions for example Jockey underwear
advertisements showing a man’s Satr ( from below the navels to below the knees). Trajital aims to
provide Sharia compliant services for this objective they have a team of Mufti’s on board who provide
advice and guidance. Only after the approval of the said Mufti’s is the project carried out. In case there
is a grey area “not sure if said situation is ethical or not” Trajital chooses not to go with the project

The agency was formed with a meager investment of Rs 5000 and most returns were invested back into
the business. Despite being formed 2 years ago it has grown greatly

Currently the agency has five offices with a total of 30 employees

1) Karachi ( 12 full time and 4 part time employees )

Mission:
Trajitals mission is to provide 360 degree Sharia complaint marketing services.

Challenges
The first challenge Ruman Akhter faced was his parents protest against following an entrepreneurial
path. His parents wished to see him follow a corporate career. His parents protest did not faze him and
Ruman Akhter went on to form his agency.

Once constant problem Ruman Akhter faces is the prevalence of bribery in the corporate world of
Pakistan. Many marketing agencies provide a commission to organization employees who bring in
contracts for projects. For instance a well known FMCG Brand Manager approached him with a contract
on the condition that he gets a 30% share on the money generated from the project. Just recently
Ruman Akhter rejected a Rs 40 million project a government agency because he had to pay a Rs 50
thousand bribe.

The prevalence of bribery has somewhat stunted the growth of Ruman Akhters agency as he has to turn
down lucrative projects that would provide the much needed finance to expand his business

Another challenge faced by Ruman Akhter is the most organizations have their own marketing agencies
they are comfortable in working with. Even among organizations and their marketing agencies they have
been working with a long time bribery (commission) is common.

Leadership Style
Ruman Akhter follows a fairly democratic style of leadership. Before taking any decision all employees
are consulted with and then a mutual decision is reached. However in some cases he uses his veto
power to make his own decision without the group in case he feels that his team can’t comprehend the
complexity of the problem.

Ruman Akhter believes that motivation is a very important aspect. In the service sector employees are
the most important asset , therefore a highly motivated workforce is important. Without proper
motivation and drive the turnover for the organization will be high. Ruman Akhter uses both intrinsic
and extrinsic motivational method.

Intrinsic: Appreciate employees on a job well done but dont belittle or insult them when they fail.
Extrinsic: Monetary rewards. Due to highly motivated employees the productivity of the work force is
high so Ruman Akhter gives out bonuses every month.

When it comes to the relationship with his employees he is on friendly terms with them. For e.g
everyday everyone eats lunch together, the interaction during lunch is friendly and informal. He also
keeps an open door office policy so employees can easily approach him and bring their problems
whether they be work or personal problems. If you note this leadership style is fairly similar to Sam
Walton

Ruman Akhter provides flexible working hours as long as the job gets done

So far he has only fired one employee during these two years which was due to lack of chemistry
between the employee and his team.

Future Goals
In the future Ruman Akhter wants his agency to grow at an exponential rate and take his agency public.

Current Customers
Local customers are Pakistan Army, Sindh Government, Fedral Government, Careem, Candy Land and
several international companies

Character :
Ruman Akhter believes that the most important aspect of character is understanding. Always consult
employees as they have their own opinion, and beliefs. However he does believer that the majority is
not always right and in those cases uses his veto power to take the decision

CSR:
10% of all profits go to charity. Ruman Akhter believes that this good deed is one of the reasons why the
business has be so successful and grown greatly in the pass two years

Conclusion
Ruman Akhter’s entrepreneurial journey teaches us that you don’t need a huge investment or face many
failures to establish a successful business contrary to popular belief. All one needs is hard work, a
motivated work force as workers are the most important assets in a service agency. We can see how
Ruman Akther motivates his work force through Sam Waltons management style. Plus, a strong moral
code which Ruman never compromised as even rejected lucrative projects because they asked for
bribes. Keep these things in check and within time one can establish a successful business.
Recommendations:
Despite all his good work and effort Ruman Akhter does not demonstrate a work life balance. On
average he works from 8 in the morning till 12 midnight (16 hours). Even when he is not in the office he
is constantly receiving calls and e-mails because his international offices open when the local work hours
close. Thus he has no time for family or a social life . So much work stress also has an impact on his
health. Over working combined with a lack of sleep causes many health problems. He needs to put first
things first a prioritize. He should take out time for family and friends and live a more balanced life.
Ruman Akhter should create a work life balance he can do this by reducing work hours and delegating
someone authority who can take decisions on his behalf when the international offices open.