Faisal Farooqui | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Born | 1976 or 1977 |
Nationality | Indian |
Education | Bachelor of Science |
Alma mater | State University of New York at Binghamton |
Occupation(s) | Businessman Investor Founder & CEO of Mouthshut.com |
Awards | Young 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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
{{
cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (
link)
Faisal Farooqui | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Born | 1976 or 1977 |
Nationality | Indian |
Education | Bachelor of Science |
Alma mater | State University of New York at Binghamton |
Occupation(s) | Businessman Investor Founder & CEO of Mouthshut.com |
Awards | Young 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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
{{
cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (
link)