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The COVID Second Wave is here and gaining momentum. Exposure to public places is inevitable as work has to go on & it must. Important to be responsible; wear a mask.

Spoke at Minhaj University on the meaning of ‘Success’. Shared with students the importance of carrying the right definitions of words and the damage done by false narratives that influence us. Breaking out of these shackles is the first step towards finding yourself.

Thoroughly enjoyed speaking to some brilliant students at the launch of LUMS Entrepreneurial Society (LES). It’s always a joy and pleasure to so many brilliant young Pakistanis oozing with energy & ambition. We spoke about the importance of leadership & self realization that leads to nurturing an entrepreneurial mindset. May they all rise & shine.

‘Was a pleasure to be invited at LUMS where the extremely vibrant Mr. Emil Wyss (former Consul General of Switzerland in Pakistan & a philanthropist) and I shared thoughts on “How to brand a country”. It was insightful to learn about the Swiss model of education, politics and business. Good event organized by the ACE society at LUMS.

The Digital Pakistan broader vision will advance each user on their digital journey, may it be through skill acquisition, basic literacy, access to hardware or policy amendments. The cross-sectional platforms will uplift each citizen in a way best suited to them. Mass employment, improved financial and legal structures and responsible use of the internet is the end-goal for all. The focus is around creating solutions that have the ability to evolve with the user, ensuring each citizen has more to benefit from each step of the way.

Had a great exchange of ideas with a dear friend Sarim Aziz who is Facebook’s Public Policy Manager & Guilin Zhou, Partner Manager Govt & Advocacy, China at Facebook as they visited me today. We have agreed to work on several fronts together which we shall announce soon. 

Always a pleasure to host & exchange ideas with a dear friend and an avid supporter of Pakistan, Jonas Eichhorst. He is currently involved in enabling brands like Bykea and assisting several other meaningful initiatives happening in Pakistan. 👍

Went back to my alma mater, FAST NUCES,  to speak to students from multiple disciplines; we discussed ways to decipher the myths surrounding leadership.

Had a candid & interesting discussion with the PITB Chairman Azfar Manzoor. His vast experience in ICT & government sectors positions him aptly for the role he’s performing. You’ll get to hear his story & the good work being done at PITB soon in season 5 of Idea Croron Ka. 

Met Munawar Abadullah, CEO ImpTrax and a regular investor on my show Idea Croron Ka. The meeting revolved around devising strategies and creating new synergies for entrepreneurial and Venture Capital ecosystem of Pakistan.

A pleasure to meet Mr. Zihai & team. He’s advising the Government on CPEC & together we are figuring ways to use AI driven technology solutions to assist various types of projects. We’re exploring partnership opportunities between Tech companies in Pakistan & China. Will soon be approaching friends across Pakistan for this. Collaboration is key!

Met my friend Muneeb Ali after long. He is the CEO & Founder of Blockstack, software for a user owned internet & has raised $ 75M in funding for Blockstack from the Harvard Endowment, Union Square Ventures, Y Combinator etc.

He is keen to introduce Pakistan’s very own cryptocurrency & soon. Will be making his intros with the folks who matter. Looking forward to exciting things to work on together!

A pleasure spending quality time with my silently influential friends in Islamabad – Syed Ahmad and Barkan Saeed. It’s nice to see them working in their respective capacities to assist the current Government take productive measures for the promotion & betterment of ICT & Education in Pakistan.

Overseas Pakistanis are an asset. More so, when they make investments in Pakistan aiming to create jobs & add to the economic activity. My friend Amran Sattar (CEO Wonderworld) is someone who desires to invest his time & effort to create more facilities across Pakistan for healthy recreation, for Pakistani families to bond. People like him are heroes; we should commend & support their efforts for strengthening our country.

Had the pleasure of discussing the power of data keeping in lieu the future of Healthcare & Technology in Pakistan with the very humble yet extraordinary Prof. Dr. Chughtai. Chughtai Labs practices empathy & convenience for all as a core value, driven by their founder’s vision. Looking forward to working on extremely interesting initiatives together.

A pleasure meeting Sajid Latif, who is leading extremely successful initiatives at PITB. It was a joy recollecting interesting memories of my time with the Government. Good to see PITB doing well! Looking forward to interesting collaborations.

Met Yaser Amir Awan after long; he’s an old man now, with his wisdom up a notch. We went to FAST together, were known for all the wrong reasons & even worked on our first startup back in 2005 that fell apart well before launching! Yet, he’s doing impactful work at National Incubation Center Lahore

A pleasure meeting a brother & friend Rafaeel Akbar Chaudhry after a gap of some years. We worked as Co-founders when building Showcase.pk back in 2010; he also helped build our brand around Technopsis in it’s very early days. Thank you for visiting Infinit Global Labs Roofi!

A pleasure meeting the very dynamic IT Minsiter of KPK Mr. Kamran Bangash. Was a joy to see his commitment towards introducing effective technology interventions to improve governance; we exchanged ideas on how to make KPK the hub of Innovation & entrepreneurship in times to come.

Spoke about fear and how it is an asset; what is it that makes fear your strength and what am I fearful of.

A pleasure to host the Honorable U.S. Consul General Catherine Rodriguez, the amazing delegation of fashion experts, entrepreneurs & professionals from Austin & some good friends from the industry at my residence in Lahore. Some extremely useful conversations, exchange of ideas & chit chat over a nice dinner marked a great evening for all of us to cherish for years to come.

8 yrs ago today (6th Nov) back in Glasgow, Scotland, Harshdeep and I made a final presentation of the only academic project we did together in our Masters at Strathclyde Business School. His work ethic, competencies and value system forced me to offer him to join me as a co-founder at Technopsis UK. We’re best friends and working on various initiatives together ever since.

In the past few years, I’ve had the good fortune of speaking on some of the biggest platforms locally as well as internationally. Nevertheless, going back to speak to O/A Levels’ students of the school that helped built my foundations was an experience unmatched. It was an honor and a privilege to speak with so many future leaders of Pakistan. We spoke of finding our purpose in life and, redefined the meaning of success, popularity and power. We learnt from each other.

Reliving past memories, we enjoyed an extremely intense cricketing session after the talk. An extraordinary experience!

Went to my favorite institution that helped shape the foundations of my personality. Met my dear friend, Ahmed Hameed, Director of The Lahore Alma; the vision & values with which he is steering the school is brilliant.

Little known fact, we also happened to be an extraordinary one down batting order combination who gave a reasonably tough time to our opponents. Believe it or not, we did qualify as B grade U-19 cricketers in the late 90’s. Was a pleasure meeting and recollecting memories!

Quality time spent is best measured  by the quality of company. Discussing life, business, philanthropy, religion & future plans with Khawaja Nadeem Sb, Founder & CEO Shapes, that too in lush greenery & a wonderful weather. Look for & value “real” mentors around you! 

Whenever I’m unwell or not at my 100%, pausing for a bit, resorting to nature & valuing the blessings of God around us acts as half the cure. Enjoy the freshness of trees & greenery around you early in the morning; it takes away half the worries, if not all.

Thank you Asad Umar Sb for being on Idea Croron Ka and contributing to our mission to celebrate real heroes of Pakistan.

Talked on “Tech is not the Missing Link; We Are” on the International Day of Access to Information organized by UNDP Pakistan. My talk revolved around being responsible when sharing information about ourselves or consuming information for ourselves using digital mediums. We are giving power to data for it to be used to sell narratives to us.

Not all narratives need consumption. Think!

Pleasure meeting my dear friend Jonas who is deeply involved & contributing to Pakistan‘s entrepreneurship landscape. Working out things to do together soon.

An insightful and deep chat on products versus services, entrepreneurship, investable ideas and building great teams in a fireside chat with Saad Hamid at KNCT Hub. 

Productive meetings, discussions and rendezvous with friends from the industry in Islamabad.

Was a pleasure sharing my opinions on about the significance of youth and women to Pakistan‘s economic growth. It was my first time at COLABS; an extraordinary facility that could well set new standards for co-working spaces in the country. Congratulations to Omar and his team!

It was a good experience meeting with a few friends from the industry. Thank you Azfar Ahsan for inviting. Let’s stay in touch!

Four hours of intense discussion with “hard to convince” friends with strong professional networks in the banking & FMCG sectors. Shared contours of my upcoming book with them; we’ve agreed to propagate its content across Pakistan’s corporate sector through training and consultancy services.

Helping construct a mosque in a part of Lahore where there wasn’t one in a 20 km radius. Glad that Safa & Saim laid its foundations. 800 plus people shall get to pray in this mosque IA. Will be ensuring that educated clerics are hired & the content of sermons is curated properly.

Was a pleasure speaking to over 300 youngsters from over 50 cities of Pakistan around my perspective on “The Power of YOU” at this year’s Young Leaders Conference in Lahore . I gave a completely new perspective on ”a lie that is leadership”. I Spoke about the after effects of following perceptions, the trap of complexes, the power of esteem, the usefulness of focus & how their right balance can lead to effectiveness!

It was a pleasure hosting Mr. Zihai, one of the advisors of CPEC to the Chinese Government, a successful businessman. We’re planning to set up a CPEC Forum to educate youth, disseminate knowledge about business prospects & create synergies between entities within Pakistan & China.

While pursuing my Masters from Scotland, I’d utilize my time exploring the landscape or reading books. Walkers (best butter cookies ever) were premium partners to my cup of tea. They’re now readily available in Pakistan but are high on calories; hence, offset the joy with a good workout!

It was a pleasure to be at the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) CXO Iftaar Lahore 2019. Met lots of friends from the IT Industry. Interesting discussions and prospective collaborations on InfinIT Labs and many fronts.

Would like to congratulate Syed Ahmad and Shehryar Hydri for getting the entire industry together. Looking forward to working with friends on multiple avenues.

Saim, my 3-years old, arranging for his 1st Iftar that he is organising in our near by mosque. Our two domestic helps (& his close allies) are helping him organize everything. I’m only a sponsor.

Quick note: Train them while they’re young, so their priorities remain extremely clear.

In all these years, I’ve done the best I could. Shall continue to do the best I can.

We launch initiatives & try our best to do justice to them. Not often do I feel as excited about the prospects as I feel for Commonwealth Youth Society. Our first of the many CW Youth Innovation Hubs in Pakistan has been set up at LUMS & launched today [6th May, 2019] under the umbrella of a student run society! CW Youth Innovation Hub now has its first home in Lahore, Pakistan. 

Half of Pakistan‘s population constitutes women, yet 50% companies have 10-20% women representation & only 3% have around 40%. Only 3 industries including Banking, Textile & FMCG have women at C level; rest close to none. Spoke about inclusion, parity & empowerment (PBC 17) at an event organized by All Pakistan Women Movement.

Here is the link to my talk.

For those who missed the Minister of IT Mr. Khalid Maqbool at Momentum Tech Conference 2019, we decided to chat (without the fireside!) at the airport about various things!

Some endorsements have the power to offset any criticism or negativity. At Momentum Tech Conference 2019, while I met with fans from all across Pakistan, this gentleman from Interior Sindh gifted me an ajrak as a note of gratitude for the awareness Idea Croron Ka is creating re entrepreneurship & digital literacy in the most far flung areas of Pakistan. He showed me a whatsapp group of universities made by students where videos of Idea Croron Ka are discussed. You can question the production or the format of the show but not its impact. Looking forward to Season 4!

Pleasure speaking at Momentum Tech Conference 2019 in Karachi; a great platform for learning & networking. A genuine pleasure spending quite some time with Jehan Ara after long. We always have a lot to talk about (where Jehan does most of the talking!) 

After a week of several business engagements, it was good to be a tourist on the streets of Turkey for a few hours. A big thank you to my friend Faisal Khan for being a fantastic host. You’re quite a travel guide & your apartment is simply grand! Some candid shots with my dear friend & Minister of Youth Affairs of Tatarstan, Damir Fattakhov. Hoping to welcome you in Pakistan soon!

A productive Russia visit. Next stop: Turkey Bringing back strong partnerships for Infinit Labs Co, ID92 & Pakistan as a whole.

As always, a pleasure discussing various interesting topics with Syed Ahmad & Barkan Saeed over lunch. Shehryar Hydri you were missed. Hope you recover soon!

A pleasure meeting the CG Colleen Crenwelge at the USCG Lahore today to discuss progress on our current initiatives & figuring out possibilities on how we can together work towards providing more economic opportunities to the youth of Pakistan.

News as it appears on Indian Media ******** India Definitely took down a Pakistani F16 & the color of my shirt is pure white ********

#ImranKhan #Pakistan #ISPR

A pleasure hosting friends from Facebook over dinner & some useful conversations around possibilities of working together. 

Always a joy meeting my friend Sarim Aziz who I give complete credit to, for making Pakistan a priority area of interest for folks at Facebook. Konstantinos Papamiltiadis you were mentioned & remembered several times. Regards to you and family.

Where it all comes together. The Reflection point. Find yours.

Proudly hold this passport that represents the world’s most resilient nation & never give it up for anything. Great things are expected of Pakistan & its people. We’ve only just started.

”Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” JFK

The SXSW is a brilliant event. It’s when the whole of Austin celebrates Innovation & creativity in every walk of life. Some memories from 2 yrs back when we showcased to our friends globally that Pakistan‘s startup landscape is gradually evolving. Made friends. Learnt a lot!

When you see two children talking to each other, with the elder telling the younger about the heroics of Jinnah, you can be at peace with their upbringing.

P.S: This is not an orchestrated image*. ‘Caught them off guard when they weren’t looking. Sharing, because I’m inspired, proud & touched.

Are you?

*Taken in 2017.

Back to my happy place .. after 3 weeks of break. Life’s Good Again!

My early morning read nowadays. The books’ enlightening me on extraordinary ways to manage stakeholders of all kinds, more so than anything else. Highly recommended!

Humbled to be featured on the cover of Startup Insider magazine. Its an endorsement of the work we’re doing to make entrepreneurship mainstream by taking it to the masses through Idea Croron Ka. Hoping to see & support more of such initiatives on mainstream media, celebrating the efforts of Pakistani entrepreneurs.

New camp office. Up to something new & exciting in Software Development Solutions and IT Services. My Goal: Job Creation! Stay tuned.

Not often have I spoken to an audience as motivated to change themselves, in the effect change the nation. A pleasure speaking to a hall packed with brilliant students from IBA-PU (Institute of Business Administration Punjab University). The passion & drive of our youth gives me hope in the future of Pakistan!

The planning trip of Atx+Pak Entrepreneurship Program Advance Program successfully wraps up. Officially launched the Advance phase at Innovation District 92 and conducted nationwide awareness sessions nationwide for our GMAP program with Capital Factory and Fashion Forward Initiative for textile retailers and manufacturers. 

Was a pleasure being a guest on The Coffee Table, a show that’s brilliantly curated by Faisal Sherjan & Mehr Tarrar.

We candidly talked about Job Creation, Innovation, Education, Startups & a bit of Politics!

An extremely productive conversation with a dear friend & a major supporter of Idea Croron Ka , Director of Kauser Group Shoaib Zahid Malik ..

Thank you for hosting me & a bigger note of gratitude for finally agreeing to help me revamp the model of Innovation District 92 in weeks to come. 

My cousin & I, after weeks of discussions, evaluating financial feasibility & our mutual agreement on plans of scaling, today we have finally taken over an old people’s home in Lahore. ‘Shall revamp it entirely. Will be reaching out to friends & fans to assist us build on it.

Today was an interesting day. I got to speak to a brilliant set of about 500 odd school, college & university students who aspire to be business leaders of tomorrow. Here are some of the salient features of my keynote:

– I spoke to them about the importance of continuous self reflection, immense focus & the ability to execute immaculately for them to become effective individuals.

– Reiterated the importance of becoming perception creators as opposed to perception followers.

– Made it extremely clear that there’s a special in each one of us, hence there is a hero in each one of us. We must strive to bring it out. And yes, real heroes don’t need scripts!

– Shared the Idea Croron Ka journey – it’s a story now!

– Talked about the potential of Pakistan’s entrepreneurial landscape & the opportunities at hand.

– Talked about why Pakistan has the potential of becoming one of the strongest nations in the world; our USP is the “youth”.

Honoured to be invited as the Opening keynote speaker on YLES – Young Leaders’ & Entrepreneurs’ Summit at LUMS and, interacting & speaking with the vibrant youth of our country.

An event well organised, by the YLES LUMS team! 

3 restaurants hopped within 2 hours. Lots of “healthy” food (of all kinds!). Challenged & defeated the cold of a chilly Islamabad night with sheer stubbornness & bravery. Learnt the Do’s & Don’ts of travelling to some parts of the country! 😐

Enjoyed candidly sharing my story of uncountable “ducks cum failures” at a lovely event organized by Telenor Pakistan at National Incubation Center, Peshawar ..Great city. Fantastic people.

A pleasure meeting my friend Faisal Khan, someone who’s been one of the key driving forces behind the strong entrepreneurship landscape in KPK .. His contributions to BaseCamp as well as Peshawar 2.0 are commendable. You’ll see us working together on several initiatives soon IA!

Very interesting multifaceted late night conversations with friends in Islamabad. It’s a really cold city in winters! Much awaited & after a long time, I will be in the beautiful city of Peshawar tomorrow to speak at an event organized by Telenor Pakistan for promoting entrepreneurship amongst the youth. As always, I promise to be as candid as I can be, when sharing my tales of failure.

Yesterday we recorded the last episode of Season 3 of Idea Croron Ka. We’ve broken all records of the previous 2 seasons in terms of Investments, partnership & sponsorships. None of this was possible without the team that enables me to drive the show, from behind the cameras.

Recorded the last show of Idea Croron Ka Season 3 yesterday. We set a record of the highest investment ever raised. Wore a purple tie that my grand mother gifted to me 8 years ago, months before her passing. She would’ve turned 90 yesterday. She was my mother, my fan & my friend.

For friends who’ve inquired my gym routine: I believe in a morning workout. 40 mins of Weights & 20 mins of Cardio or Visa versa. Give a day each to Arms, Chest, Shoulder & Back. Legs hold your body, keep them strong. Hit ’em atleast twice weekly. Eat Well. Run. Bless you!

On this day 7 years ago, I spoke in Glasgow to fellow students from 21 countries about the potential of Pakistan. I predicted we’ll rise & I still stick by that prediction. A memorable & extremely significant date: Nov 24, 2011.

Gave a keynote at the Future Youth Summit Kuala Lumpur organized by CWY. Tangible discussions took place with representatives of the King of Malaysia, ambassadors & ministers of youth from Russia, China and other countries. Met investors willing to invest in Pakistan’s innovation & education ecosystems.

Proudly taking the Pakistan delegation to Kuala Lumpur for the ground breaking of Commonwealth Youth City on the invitation of Malaysian Government. A special delegate & Parliamentary Secretary Railways, Farrukh Habib shall be sharing the perspective of our government, youth & more.

Yes this is an Entrepreneurship class, not a one-day workshop. Pleasure teaching and learning, for an entire semester, from such bright students and in such large numbers of Superior University. Sure hope it was worth their time!

A pleasure curating an extremely interesting conversation on career planning, solving the job versus business and contours of pursuing entrepreneurship as a way forward for university graduates at Superior University with Qaiser F Ansari Sb – CEO Pantera Energy, Suneel Sarfaraz Munj – CEO PakWheels.com, Hasnain Sheikh – Chairman and CEO Inov8 Limited, Sadaffe Abid -Founder and CEO CIRCLE.  The Superior Entrepreneurial Forum as part of the Global Entrepreneurship Week 2018 was a resounding success!

It was an honor & a privilege to share the stage with a woman so accomplished, so strong yet so humble – Dr. Nasira Javed Iqbal, A Living Legend.

She especially became a part of the show to give her message to the youth of the country & the message was simple yet clear: “Stay positive about the potential of Pakistan; we have come a long way & we are destined to shine”. 

A pleasure meeting my “very genuinely Punjabi” friend now stationed in the heart of Sindh, the lovely city of Karachi. Needed some candid time out with a friend after hours of extremely intense yet valuable sessions & networking at 021 Disrupt 2018. 

A fabulous 021 Disrupt Conference organized by Jehan Ara & the fantastic team at the Nest I/O. It was great curating the panel talk on “Building Startup Teams that Win”. This conference has raised the bar high & added genuine value to our entrepreneurship landscape.

If you are an entrepreneur reading this, here is the crux of the talk that will help you:

Pick people with complementary skills; Your team should consist of people you can confide in and be vulnerable with; Choose people with the same passion/values; Bringing friends and family on board is okay – even encouraged to build a strong support system – as long as you can ensure transparency and manage relationships well; Take criticism from your peers positively.

Thoroughly impressed by the evolution of the entrepreneurship landscape of Faisalabad; all the right stakeholders have gotten together & are working towards the growth of startups.

A pleasure speaking to traditional businessmen reps of the chamber & startups at the Startup Grind Faisalabad.

Congrats Muhammad Bilal & team for the small yet well knit & powerful ecosystem you guys have managed to put together within the city!

My visit to Malaysia was extremely productive. A special thanks to friends in the Malaysian Government who invited me to do a keynote at the Global Blockchain Summit & Launch of Commonwealth Youth Token organised by the Commonwealth Youth City (CWY) & Govt. of Malaysia. Read more here.

What better way to spend a part of Sunday with one’s best friend. While we went to vote in NA-131, she guided me through the entire voting process & then we decided to have some one on one quality discussion over lunch. Her focus & inquisitive nature inspires me everyday MA.

PMP in good standing for yet another 3 years.

Wonderful & productive exchange of thoughts & ideas over lunch with my two dear friends Naeem Zamindar & Syed Ahmad. Expect some fantastic synergies soon!

Snapshots from The Commonwealth Policy Dialogue on Entrepreneurship, driven by me, at Superior Entrepreneurial Expo 2018. The dialogue revolved around entrepreneurship, education, national policy, and local and international partnerships saw representatives of The Commonwealth – Arif Zaman, Sushil Ram and Kishva Ambigapathy while Alicia Dean came all the way from Austin to join us as the delegate. The local industry was represented by Jehan Ara, Syed Ahmad, Jamil Goheer, Badar Khushnood, Qasif Shahid, Bashir Sheikh, Saad Fazil and Zaeem Yaqoob.

A special note of acknowledgement to Abeer Saqib and Faizan Mahmood – the two people who have always stood by me.

A genuine pleasure meeting with a dear friend Syed Ahmad Founder & CEO DPL, and Member National Steering Committee and (Former Chairman P@SHA) over a fantastic dessert – we’ve discussed some interesting fronts on which you’ll see us working together soon. So stay tuned!

A pleasure delivering my TEDx Talk in اردو at TEDx Islamabad.

I chose to speak on صفر کا سفر which covered my perspective on one’s ideal way of life. I revolved my talk around the four pillars of success including:

You can listen to the complete talk on my YouTube channel.  

Speaking in a panel discussion, yesterday, a day before my TEDx Talk at Islamabad on “Instilling Innovation – How to create a digital workplace of the future!” hosted by S&P Global (Pakistan).

I shared the challenges that one faces while digitizing an organization and how with technology the gap of skills like design thinking and digital skills needs to be fulfilled, and spoke of the initiatives he has taken to fulfill this gap and what the future of skills entails.

Its hard to find young, dynamic professionals like Faizan Mahmood. I’m overjoyed to have him as part of the team (finally!) as General Manager Innovation, The Superior Group. Welcome on board – may you continue to shine! 

Super proud of my team for burning the midnight oil to make Digital Admissions a reality! A big shout out to my friend Shahid Ali (the guy in the first picture staring at the laptop screen) for being with me through every thick and thin for over a decade now! May Allah bless you with the best of his blessings. 

A scrumptious iftar hosted by Abdul Rehman Talat, Founder & CEO BlueEast and Director Sales & Marketing at Orient Group of Companies, for the Idea Croron Ka ‘boys’ as we shamelessly like claiming.

Lots of food, beautiful house, diverse discussions from startups, to food, to more food & ofcourse, politics.

Monis Rahman & Suneel Sarfaraz Munj may need to compensate for the absence. Suneel goes first!