Meet Mark Asher.

A quick hello...

Hello and thanks for dropping by. Since you're here, you're probably wondering about who I am, what I do and the like. Without going into too much detail, I would describe myself as a professional with almost 4 decades of experience in technology and business. Over 25 years of which, I have spent in in business and tech transformation. For the past 15 years or so, my focus has been in and around business and tech strategy. Having established and run many reasonably successful businesses over the years, always with little to no significant investment, I proudly wear the badge of an experienced entrepreneur.

About Me

Just a human, a father, a husband, a brother and a friend to the friendly beings that know me well. A keen reader and writer, I learnt to read in multiple languages at the age of about 4 (thank you big sis, I owe you, forever!). Being the younger one in the family with quite a few that preferred more to tell than to listen, I discovered writing as a way to expunge my thoughts and feelings on paper. This way, my writings took form of personal journals that didn't remain so personal due to my elders being keen to know the status of my intellectual and academic output. The 7-year-old me was not quite adept at keeping my possessions in order.

We all know how it is growing up with siblings eager to tell on you and score points with parents, don't we? Well, that was my predicament.

I had to innovate and invent.

By the age of 9, I had figured out a way to write but in a way that only I could understand what it meant, kind of like a cypher. Now my writings were my own and mine alone.

Let me ask you something. I want you to really think about it before you answer.

When you study a subject, do you study to memorise the necessary information and pass the exam? Or do you study to learn?

The answer may in fact reside in whether you studied a subject that wasn't part of the curriculum, you didn't have to sit and pass an exam in that subject, but you studied it intently anyway, just because you wanted to learn about the subject matter, to know it deeply, to know it well. All that, just because you had a keen interest in it.

If you did or do study a subject as such, then you studied it to learn, not for exams, career, and such, then you're my kind of a learner and understand what I'm saying here.

This is how I studied every subject that grasped my interest, to really understand and learn it, not to memorise and pass the exams or for career. While my parents wanted quantity instead of quality, a deep understanding of subject matter was simply not acceptable.

Group studies were encouraged with a selection of classmates that lived nearby. During these group study sessions, my grip on the curriculum became quickly obvious and I unintentionally became the out-of-school de-facto teacher to some of my own classmates.

Word got around and I started getting jobs as a tutor from the age of 12 onwards. I earned a decent pocket money from tutoring. That money funded my initial gadgets and video games. In came the good old Walkman and Atari gaming consoles and eventually, an IBM 386 computer. I'll tell you more of these stories at another opportunity.

I'll move on for now.

My Clients - Past and Present

Here's a quick snapshot of the companies with which I have worked, either in the past, or I do currently.

*All logos are registered trade mark property of their respective owners. Copyright ownerships lie with their respective organisations.

What I do.

Having an older brother who was in his final years of medical school meant that the standard and path had been set for me and I, too, like my brother had to pursue medical studies. At least that's what my parents wanted. I did study Biology, Chemistry and Physics among other subjects and made it to medical school but I was always drawn towards technology. I guess coding to make things happen excited me far more than the gooey stuff that biomedical sciences offered.

By the age of 14, I had already been studying basic principles of software development for two whole years. At that age, I created and modified a retail shop management system for a couple of small retail outlets in my locality. Since then, tech has been my favourite pastime as well as the source of my bread and butter.

In the early nineties, I was working as a volunteer for an NGO that provided counselling services to patients in hospitals. My degree-level qualification in Applied Psychology was particularly useful in my efforts towards alleviating low mood among many of the patients with whom I interacted. In doing so, I came across a group of doctors and clinicians who were taking part in an AIDS (HIV) awareness program across Southeast Asia. The program was funded and governed by the United Nations World Health Organisation. I joined the program as a Counsellor and worked across several countries throughout Southeast Asia.

During my time in Southeast Asia, I discovered an opportunity for a business and in mid-nineties, at the age of 22, I set up and ran a business importing computer components from China, Hong Kong and Singapore. I quickly built a stable and decent-sized clientele in Ireland. Since then, I have set up and run several businesses.

More on this later.

In summary, I picked up my first client at the age of 14, and since then, I have been the entrepreneur, seizing the opportunity to help individuals and businesses alike. Since I worked closely with businesses of many kinds and sizes, it broadened my vision span, giving me invaluable insight into small matters that make or break big strategies. I will write about my experiences and share my learnings with you through blog posts here. The learnings from my experiences spanning over 4 decades have enabled me to bring a well-rounded and holistic view on most business, tech and strategy matters. 

My Whereabouts.

I can mostly be reached online but if you must know, I am based in London, United Kingdom. I had to mention the country, because, after all, you're surfing the worldwide web and putting just London in Google Maps typically returns London, Ontario for some reason, despite that alphabetically, London, England comes first.

Did you know, that there are, in total, 19 cities and towns named London around the world? If you also take into account the transliterations and dis-ambiguations, there are a total of 42 places referenced as London on earth.

Cool folk at Brilliant Maps have even done the hard work to put all the Londons of this world on a single map!