Recently had the chance to interview Mr. Tariq Dag Steinberg Khan, CMO of Nimbuzz, an innovative company aiming to change the face of mobile communications. Nimbuzz provides the tools to connect the 2.2 billion global users of mobile devices with the 1.1 billion global Internet users in real time and for free.

Me : Hello Mr. Khan, please tell our readers about your background and your role in the Nimbuzz?

Tariq : My career started on Wall Street doing M&A and moved onto management consulting. But I quickly found my passion in identifying, and then helping to launch and build international businesses and brands – across disparate industries – software, recruitment, private aviation and now mobile. What ties them all together are high-growth, nascent markets recently disrupted by technology and/or reinvented by macro “events”. My last start-up, Marquis Jet Europe, launched the first Private Jet Cards post 9/11 in Europe and was later sold to NetJets. Previously, StepStone – a leading pan-European online recruitment firm – raised 232 million in a public offering led by Morgan Stanley. Nimbuzz is far more complex, and a “far bigger idea.” The value proposition is remarkably compelling.

My role is Chief Marketing Officer for Nimbuzz and I joined at the end of last year with a mandate to develop the brand vision and marketing, product and distribution strategy. In other words, to take a complex problem and complex solution and make them “easy” at the consumer level.

Me : What are the main features and services of Nimbuzz?

Tariq : Nimbuzz just takes what Skype pioneered for the PC and brings it to the mobile. “Free calls, chat and more - from your mobile” is what we promise. Nimbuzz is a communication utility with the potential to “connect all” – an all-in-one solution that connects anyone, anywhere, from any device. We offer calling, conference calling, photo and file sharing, IM, group chat, text and voice messaging and even a ‘buzz’ feature to get your friends online. All from the mobile.

Me : What makes Nimbuzz different from other websites competing in your area?

Tariq : Nimbuzz lets you make free Internet calls, chat and send photos from your mobile. We also work on over 500 handsets and our new genuine VoIP solution works worldwide on Nokia Symbian Series 60 devices using a 3G or Wifi network with a Windows Mobile solution in development and via local dial in for GPRS/EDGE connections, or when using Java-enabled phones. We work across multiple IM communities, including Skype, MSN, Google Talk, Yahoo!, AIM, Jabber and ICQ plus 23 social networks, including Facebook and MySpace.

It also worksfrom any device - mobile, pc, web - and now even as a widget in your email signature so your friends can reach you for free from and to just about any device.

Me : Tell us more about Nimbuzz and it’s success story?

Tariq : Well, we haven’t succeeded – yet. We beginning to bring what we think is a great product to market, starting in the UK and quickly spreading around the world. We currently have over 500,000 registered users from 176 different countries despite the product still being developed. That is 90% of the world. We are also adding 10,000 downloads per day, without having really launched from a marketing perspective. We will be making some exciting announcements this summer – relating to several strategic partnerships with operators and leading social networks in Europe and emerging markets – that leave me sanguine about our ability to grow to 5 million users by the end of the year.

In fact, that number could be 10 million if things really click. Nimbuzz was founded in late 2006 by Evert Jaap Lugt and received VC and strategic funding by Mangrove Capital Partners, the original Skype investor, Naspers/MIH (Tencent, Mail.ru, Gadu-Gadu, Mweb, Sanook, Tradus) and Holtzbrinck (StudiVZ).

Me : What are some of the myths in this industry?

Tariq : That applications such as Nimbuzz are bad for the network operators. Nimbuzz actually helps operators bolt on data packages and plans, and help move users from pay-as-you go to plan accounts. We are speaking to forward-thinking operators about bringing incremental revenue to them from mobile advertising concepts that we are pioneering. From a consumer perspective it is also good news that mobile data costs are coming down dramatically. Flat-rate data plans didn’t exist last year in Europe, now they are everywhere. And with a flat-rate data plan, Nimbuzz is the closest thing to free communication there is so everyone actually benefits.

Me : How do you develop your skills in this continuously changing environment?

Tariq : Innovation is key. So is focus. One of our biggest challenges therefore will be to prioritize our product development. The other bigger challenge, as with any company at the leading edge, will be talent. Great people build great businesses and brands.

Me : What do you see as the future of the industry?

Tariq : A recent analyst report from IDC states that personal IP communication is the future of this industry with more people realising the potential that technology can offer them. The mobile is working its way into our lives – slowly replacing the PC – in a way that will forever change how we interact and communicate. This is increasingly the case in emerging markets including Brazil, India, Russia, China and Indonesia – where access to the Internet is via the mobile as that is all they have. Instant messaging on the mobile, for example, is already replacing SMS and email among the young.

Me : What will be the challenges, do you anticipate any drastic changes?

Tariq : Potential network operator resistances to applications like ours. Only last year some of our competitors were being “blocked”. But things are changing and we are encouraged by how quickly some of the more forward-thinking operators are switching gears. In fact, our initial conversations on the Continent are very encouraging. Nimbuzz, after all, help the operators sell more data packages and plans so in terms of drastic changes I think operators will have to embrace our application and accept it as the new standard.

Me : Where do you see Nimbuzz in the next 5 years? What about you personally?

Tariq : Like Skype did with the PC, Nimbuzz has the potential to “change the world” – but through the mobile. To change the way people communicate and interact, for the better. And possibly even to change the way they perceive the world, learn and live. We already have users from all over the world. And for some, staying in touch with friends and relatives around the world, or even reaching out to new friends, across borders and cultures – is now for the first time possible, affordable and mobile. This explains our vision of “Mobile Freedom”. We see Nimbuzz as the communication utility that has the potential to “connect all” – an all-in-one solution that connects anyone, anywhere, from any device … for free.

For me personally, I suspect I will continue to seek out and build nascent market start-ups. Nimbuzz just happens to be in the right place, at the right time. So we will see what happens.

We are announcing our genuine mobile VoIP solution as well as a cool new widget which brings voice to social networks and even email signatures. Our launch date is May 13th, means tomorrow, Tuesday 9:00 am. Please check SociableBlog tomorrow for more. Thanks Rebecca and also to SociableBlog readers.

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