Faisal Farooqui

Faisal Farooqui
Born1976 or 1977
Mumbai, Maharashtra
NationalityIndian
EducationBachelor of Science
Alma materState University of New York at Binghamton
Occupation(s)Businessman
Investor
Founder & CEO of Mouthshut.com
AwardsYoung Leaders by British High Commission

Faisal Farooqui is an Indian technology entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of the review and rating platform MouthShut.com.[1][2]

In 2002, he founded Zarca Interactive (The parent company of SoGoSurvey and K12Insight), a Virginia-based enterprise survey and feedback company.[3] He is the seed investor in DeHaat, an agri-tech company.[4]

Early life

Faisal Farooqui was born in Mumbai, Maharashtra.[2] His father owned bakeries in the city.[5] He attended St. Stanislaus High School in Bandra, Mumbai.[6] He received a Bachelor of Science in Information Systems and Finance from State University of New York at Binghamton.[7][2]

Faisal was elected to the University's Faculty Senate Committee and the Student government. He became the technology editor of the campus newspaper, Pipe Dream.[2]

Career

After finishing his undergraduate studies, he started working at American Management Systems as a telecommunication consultant.[6] He moved to India in 2000 and established MouthShut.com as a platform for reviews of products and services.[6][8] MouthShut popularized the concept of advertising on rickshaws for marketing purposes.[9][10]

In 2001 Faisal started the dial-the-CEO program on MouthShut where consumers could directly call the CEO. The program was later adopted by many businesses for interaction between CEOs and customers directly.[11]

In 2011, he beta-launched Dealface.com which connects consumers with local businesses. This was the first website that provided SMS-based coupons.[12][13][14] Later Dealface was integrated with MouthShut.

He was also the official spokesperson to Indian actor Dilip Kumar.[15] His family has a long-standing relationship with Kumar.[16][17] During the last days of actor Faisal released all his health updates to the media.[18][15][19][20] He received a 2006 Manthan Award for Best Youth website.[21] In several interviews in 2015, he stated that he supports net neutrality.[22][23][24] In a 2017 interview, Farooqui stated his preference for shifting India's time zone by 30 minutes.[25]

Farooqui's biographical memoir of Dilip Kumar titled In The Shadow of a Legend: Dilip Kumar was launched on 7 July 2022, the first death anniversary of Dilip Kumar.[26]

Auto Rickshaw Advertising

Faisal is credited with introducing the concept of using auto-rickshaws (also known as rickshaws or tuk-tuk) as a medium for advertising and mass media. He used the back of the hoods of autorickshaws to advertise his startup Mouthshut.com in 2001.[27][28]

Freedom of expression

As an advocate of Freedom of expression on the Internet, Faisal filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court for challenging the Information Technology Rules, 2011.[29] The Supreme Court in its verdict directed striking down the Section 66A and reading down of many other sections of the Information Technology Act of India terming it was unconstitutional.[30][31]

Board membership

Publications

Books

  • Farooqui, Faisal (2022). Dilip Kumar : In the Shadow of a Legend (A Biography). India: Om Books International. ISBN 978-9392834660.

Research papers

  • Application of market research towards proactive customer relationship management[36]

Controversies

Pune-based Kumar builders sent a legal notice to Faisal and MouthShut.com and demanded Rs.2000 crore damages for fake reviews appearing on MouthShut.com about them.[37][38]

Institute of Management and Technical Studies sent a legal notice to Faisal for fake review post on his website MouthShut about the institute. It alleged that the reviews were intended to bring the institute's reliability down.[39]

IT Act/Section 66A

Faisal was among the lead petitioners who challenged the sections of IT Act section 66 A through a petition in the Supreme Court of India in 2013.[40] In 2015, the court struck down 66A, holding it unconstitutional and diluting many other sections.[41][42][43]

Faisal's firm MouthShut has received 790 takedown notices, 240 legal notices, and 11 court cases against it.[44][1] Hence, Farooqui and Mouthshut.com decided to challenge these notices by petitioning the Supreme Court of India to read down the Intermediary Guidelines Rules 2011.[45][46][40]

In 2014, Beam Fiber, an ISP in Hyderabad and Bangalore blocked access to Mouthshut.com.[47] Farooqui challenged this illegal block and Beam Fiber later unblocked its access with an apology.[48]

Awards and honours

References

  1. ^ a b Agarwal, Surabhi (26 March 2015). "Newsmaker: Faisal Farooqui". Business Standard India. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d "Alumnus credits Binghamton for inspiring his award-winning review website". Alumni Connect- Binghamton University. September 2014. Archived from the original on 4 February 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  3. ^ "Minimising Legal Risks of Online Intermediaries while Protecting User Rights — The Centre for Internet and Society". Centre for Internet and Society (India). Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  4. ^ "Omnivore, AgFunder invest in agri-tech startup DeHaat". VCCircle. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  5. ^ Vahanvaty, Insiyah (30 June 2009). "'Work for the sake of passion, not a paycheck'". Rediff.com. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  6. ^ a b c Naik, Sushma (3 October 2009). "Swades, the dotcom way". Express Computer. Archived from the original on 29 October 2005. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  7. ^ "Notable Alumni - Alumni Association | Binghamton University". Alumni Association - Binghamton University. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  8. ^ Surabhi Agarwal (26 March 2015). "Newsmaker: Faisal Farooqui". Business Standard.
  9. ^ Mitra, Moinak (23 March 2007). "Chunnu, Munnu left out as autos load dotcom ads". Economic Times. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  10. ^ Seetha (25 September 2006). "Dotcoms discover a new marketing vehicle". DNA India. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  11. ^ Krishnakumar, Aparna (20 April 2005). "Ice people: Faisal Farooqui". Business Standard India. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  12. ^ Shanbaug, Amit (19 December 2011). "Mouthshut.com: Building funds via feedback". The Economic Times. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  13. ^ Saxena, Anupam (13 May 2011). "Deal Sites Launched By MouthShut, IndyaRocks; Suggestions". MediaNama. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  14. ^ "Mouthshut.com launches Dealface.com". Moneylife. 11 May 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  15. ^ a b "Saira Banu was under stress after Dilip Kumar's death, spokesperson Faisal Farooqui says". The Indian Express. 2 September 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  16. ^ Hindi, TV9 (7 July 2021). "Dilip Kumar Social Media : कौन हैं फैसल फारूकी जो हर पल देते थे दिलीप कुमार की हेल्थ से जुड़ी जानकारी, जानिए क्या है एक्टर से रिश्ता". TV9 Hindi.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ "कौन हैं फैसल फारुकी जो देते थे दिलीप कुमार का हेल्थ अपडेट?". Prabhasakshi. 7 July 2021.
  18. ^ "Dilip Kumar admitted to hospital". The Times of India. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  19. ^ "Dilip Kumar Death: Who is Faisal Farooqui who used to give information related to Dilip Kumar's health every moment, know what is the relationship with the actor". News NCR. 7 July 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  20. ^ "Dilip Kumar Social Media : कौन हैं फैसल फारूकी जो हर पल देते थे दिलीप कुमार की हेल्थ से जुड़ी जानकारी, जानिए क्या है एक्टर से रिश्ता". TV9 Bharatvarsh (in Hindi). 7 July 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  21. ^ "Manthan Awards announced in 14 categories". afaqs!. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  22. ^ "Internet users represent new India with aspirations – and they want net neutrality: Faisal I Farooqui". Times of India Blog. 11 May 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  23. ^ www.ETTelecom.com. "Net neutrality: Wary of the DoT matrix - Tele-Talk by Faisal Farooqui | ET Telecom". ETTelecom.com. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  24. ^ "Nine Indian startup CEOs write to TRAI against zero-rating platforms". 30 December 2015.
  25. ^ Kanti, Anurit. "Shifting India's Time-Zone By 30 Minutes Will Have Economic, Social, Health And Environmental Benefits: Faisal Farooqui". BW Businessworld.
  26. ^ "'Yusuf sahab would often tell me about his fear of Dilip Kumar'". The Indian Express. 23 August 2022. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  27. ^ Mitra, Moinak. "Chunnu, Munnu left out as autos load dotcom ads". The Economic Times. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  28. ^ Seetha. "Dotcoms discover a new marketing vehicle". DNA India. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  29. ^ Das, Soma. "Section 66A of IT Act: We took up battle, big guys didn't, says MouthShut founder Faisal Farooqui". The Economic Times. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  30. ^ Agarwal, Surabhi (26 March 2015). "Newsmaker: Faisal Farooqui". Business Standard India. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  31. ^ "We believe that a consumer's review is sacrosanct: MouthShut.com". Business Today. 11 March 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  32. ^ "Indian civil society to WhatsApp, Facebook: Ask users before they are added to group chats". Moneycontrol. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  33. ^ "Governing Body | SFLC.in". sflc.in. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  34. ^ Kanti, Anurit. "Shifting India's Time-Zone By 30 Minutes Will Have Economic, Social, Health And Environmental Benefits: Faisal Farooqui". BW Businessworld. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  35. ^ Saraswathy, M. (11 November 2013). "Former IIT Bombay team members start angel network". Business Standard India. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  36. ^ "Application of market research towards proactive customer relationship management | WARC". origin.warc.com. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  37. ^ Kelkar, Suhit (13 June 2013). "The Irony of a Name". Open The Magazine. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  38. ^ Agarwal, Surabhi (26 March 2015). "Newsmaker: Faisal Farooqui". Business Standard India. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  39. ^ "IMTS Institute send a Legal notice MouthShut.com for Fake Review". imtsinstitute. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  40. ^ a b Tiwary, Avinash. "Section 66A of IT Act: Entire digital ecosystem will take off from here, says MouthShut founder Faisal Farooqui". The Financial Express. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  41. ^ Das, Soma (25 March 2015). "Section 66A of IT Act: We took up battle, big guys didn't, says MouthShut founder Faisal Farooqui". The Economic Times. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  42. ^ Balaji, Indira (5 August 2021). "Section 66A of the IT Act is dead; punish the police who still use it". The Federal. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  43. ^ Sriram, Jayant (24 March 2015). "SC strikes down 'draconian' Section 66A". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  44. ^ Datta, Saurav. "This Supreme Court petition could be a big step in the fight for Internet democracy in India". Scroll.in. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  45. ^ Sen, Shreeja (30 August 2014). "SC seeks govt reply on PIL challenging powers of IT Act". mint. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  46. ^ Pahwa, Nikhil (29 April 2013). "MouthShut Challenges IT Rules In The Supreme Court Of India". MediaNama. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  47. ^ Balanarayan, N. T. (4 February 2014). "Update: Mouthshut Blocked By Beam Fibre; Issue Escalated To TRAI And DoT". MediaNama. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  48. ^ "Mouthshut finally unblocked, will consider legal action against ISP - Exchange4media". exchange4media. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  49. ^ "TEDxSIUHinjewadi | TED". www.ted.com. Retrieved 22 March 2022.