Startup Guide Final V5

JANUARY 2022
VOLUME 23
FOR THE FOUNDERS OF TOMORROW
Page 05
2021 RECAP
MAJOR ACHIVEMENTS
HIGH-FLYING STARTUP
Page 19
MOST WELL FUNDED
STARTUPS
12
BOOKS FOR
ENTREPRENEURS
EDITOR’S CHOICE
Page 31
START-UP JOURNEY OF
SHADIYANA
A ONE-STOP ONLINE PLATFORM FOR ALL
WEDDING NEEDS IN PAKISTAN.

Any time is a good time to
start a company
Ron Conway
Noted Startup Investor, SV Angel

MANAGING EDITOR
We are back with a thoughtful and informative recap of 2021. With this
edition we highlight Pakistani startups and their remarkable work. In times
of uncertainty different incubation centers and accelators served as
a ray of hope for Pakistan’s youth. As you flip through the pages we believe
you will enjoy reading stories of dreams, aspirations, struggles and
achievements. We wish a successful 2022 for Pakistan and our readers.
SYED MIR TAIMOOR
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
In the past few years, Pakistan has observed drastic changes in the startup
ecosystem. The overall ecosystem has taken a sharp turn towards
betterment, creating jobs, contributing alleviating poverty, normalizing
the use of technology and the Pandemic pushed the disruptors further.
As the new year begins, I am optimistic that our systems will be able to
nurture the startups for the challenges ahead.
AQSA ALI NASIF

TECHNOLOGY
07
CIVIC HACKING
World needs Civic
hackers. Why you
need to be a hacker?
An interesting article
by Samina Pirzada,
Co-founder Code for
Pakistan.
ENTREPRENEUR-
IAL JOURNEY
Shift from 9 to 5 job
into your own business
in interview with
Asim Ghaffar,
CoFounder EasyFresh
Technology.
15
11
SHADIYANA
An amazing duo behind
Shadiyana
Naleem and Izzah
“Neezah”.
Read the idea and
success story of the
young startup.
CONTENT
STARTUP GUIDE PAKISTAN | 01

21
SAVING 9
An effort to make everyone
equipped to
save lives. An award
wining social startup
by students of LUMS
25
AN EDTECH
Story behind Mega
Lecture in interview
with Qasim Shamim.
Founding Member,
Mega Lecture
29
STORE INHOME
You heard it right!
Fast delivery service
across twin cities. A
team of 5 on a mission
to turn an idea
into a mobile application.
STARTUP GUIDE PAKISTAN | 01

2
0
2
1
R
E
C
A
P
Pakistan’s Startups fundraising grows 4X YoY as
leading Venture Capitalists capitalize on the opportunity
to invest in the country’s strong business
models, low investment rates and growing purchasing
power. While startups in Pakistan are rapidly
rising and gaining international attention with one
success story after another, a record growth has also
been observed. In 2021 new technological advances
were made. About USD 344 million was raised
in a series of rounds A and B. The implementation
of the ecosystem has been severely disrupted and
re-established especially in the areas of ​e-commerce,
health, transportation and fin-techs. Even the government
has introduced the Ehsaas program, which
is a precursor to the emerging microfinance sector
in Pakistan. Popular startups such as Airlift logistics,
‘Bazaar’ and ‘Tazaah’ Technologies, contributed to
bringing the common man and digital technology
to the same place.
The Pandemic, where ceased many activities, it created
great opportunities for technology penetration
in the country. 2022 holds new potential for the new
and existing startups that we are ready to explore and
are hoping to nurture.

Funding Raised by
Startups in 2021
$85 million
$37 million
$18.5 million $17.6 million $17 million
$15 million $12.5 million $10 million $8.6 million
$8.5 million
$7.5 million
$7.3 million
$7.2 million
$6.7 million
$6.5 million
$6.1million
$6 million
$5.2 million
$4.5 million
$4.5 million
Exciting trends of funding
raised by Startups in Pakistan
$4.5 million $3.5 million
$3.3 million
$3.3 million
$3.2 million
$3 million
$3 million $2.7 million $2.5 million $2.5 million
2021
$344 million
$2.3 million
$2.3 million
$2.1 million
$2.1 million
$2 million
2020
$59 million
$2 million
$1.7 million
$1.6 million
$1.4 million
$1million
$1 million
$600K
$400K
$400K
$320K
2019
$43 million
$300K
$250K
$150K
$150K
$150K
$100K
$75K
$15K
Source: techshaw.com

TECHNOLOGY
WHAT
IT TAKES
TO BE A
CIVIC
HACKER
by Samina Rizwan_ Country Head - Code for Pakistan
I
have to admit that being a group of
civic hackers, easily gets us an immediate
raise of the brow
“So you guys are hackers and you just
openly run around telling people you’re
involved in illegal, criminal activity? And
somebody funds you for this?”
Well, no, that’s not what I said (And
please don’t repeat that!) is most often
my response. We are the good kind of
“hackers,” and as you will learn, anyone
can be a hacker and everyone should be
one.
What I mean by hacking is that we find
shortcuts and solutions to problems
faced by many. Think of the Tik-Tok videos
of people sharing their household
hacks (I’m forever indebted to some You-
Tuber fifteen years ago who taught me
how to scoop out an avocado), and that’s
more along the lines of what I’m talking
about here.
A civic hack, for example, could be as
simple as a community coming together,
learning from each other, and turning an
empty, ugly patch of land into a neighborhood
garden, or as complicated as a
system to turn waste cooking oil into an
alternate form of energy. Technology, of
course, is an assist — a better, more efficlient
way to learn, organize, collaborate,
and produce change in a way that is also
measurable.
The term civic hacking itself has evolved
much since it was first used, but a constant
element throughout has been the
focus on community, alongside a plucky,
STARTUP GUIDE PAKISTAN | 07

CIVIC HACKING
We are the good kind
of “hackers”, and as
you will learn
anyone can be a
hacker and everyone
should be one.
STARTUP GUIDE PAKISTAN | 08

TECHNOLOGY
can-do attitude. In our movement, we
find solutions to the problems in front
of us using the skills that we have; these
are often technology skills, but they are
also design, communications and project
management skills, too. In fact, you don’t
need to know how to code, to design a
hack; an innovative, simple and logical
thought process can produce a brilliant
hack. We’ve found that community leaders,
communication professionals, project
managers, researchers, coders, and
more are all important players in ensuring
that a civic hack is sustainable, solves
the problem, and addresses the needs of
the community.
Ever since I have started working in the
communication sector. I’ve since evolved
my messaging to describe civic hacking
as the good kind of hacking. It’s the empowerment
of citizens to create solutions
proactively using resources available to
them. It goes hand-in-hand with Gov-
ernment 2.0, which is the concept of
true participatory government, where
citizens and government collaborate to
make society and communities better for
everyone and help improve government.
In this manner, our advocacy of civic tech
empowers and facilitates citizens to create
solutions and brings their voice to
the government.
Holding government officials and politicians
accountable through campaigning
and protest in the past, there is a special
place in my heart for grassroots action
and taking to the streets. The advocacy
that we do in our movement requires
just as much heart, but is less noisy and
often less visible. Don’t get me wrong –
we still hold the governments accountable,
but we do it in a way where both
the government and our fellow citizens
view us as a helpful conduit, and it’s perhaps
the leading reason the government
takes our work seriously and sees us as
valuable partners. Since our first civic
hackathon in 2013, we’ve worked with
multiple government agencies and international
organizations, and our modest
but passionate movement is growing in
influence from one province to others,
and from the provincial level to the federal
level.
None of this would have been possible
without the community behind us: tech
professionals, students, academia, industry
leaders and more who became
inspired by our mission and message
and waved the flag for civic hacking in
our country. Flashback to our first hackathon,
when our energetic, enthusiastic
supporters came together to solve some
of our nation’s most pressing problems,
with no reward offered other than
that warm fuzzy feeling when you know
you’ve done something worthwhile, expecting
no benefit in return.
STARTUP GUIDE PAKISTAN | 09

It truly takes a village to make civic innovation
happen; it couldn’t be done without
the many hearts and minds who contributed
their thoughts and ideas to help
us break down these barriers and progress
our work in a way that is meaningful.
Everyone can be a civic hacker, and I suggest
you become one. Consider joining
us, and help shape Pakistan to be the
kind of country you want to live in.
Join our movement – as a program partner,
a volunteer, mentor, or even a donor.
STARTUP GUIDE PAKISTAN | 10

INTERVIEW
ENTREPRENEURIAL JOURNEY OF
ASIM GH

AFFAR
On our talk with Mr. Asim Ghaffar, Co-founder of Easy Fresh
Technology, over a cup of coffee, we had an amazing discussion
with him regarding his startup journey and personal
life as well. Let’s dive in to find out more about his startup
and achievement.
Start-up guide: Tell us a little
about yourself.
Asim Ghaffar: I have around 19
years of experience. 3 of them
running my own software services
business. The rest is with Zameen,
LMKR, and Nokia Siemens Networks.
Being a computer engineering
graduate, I got training very
early in my life to find solutions to
the problems presented. I am also
a very avid learner like I finished
40+ courses on LinkedIn learning
in 2021. Also, I believe that I am a
reasonably good problem solver
and a very authentic people manager
who genuinely tries to focus
on developing people around him.
Startup Guide: How would you
define your life and personality
in few words.
Asim Ghaffar: Nothing is beneath,
nothing is beyond; challenge yourself
to be an efficient version of
yourself on a daily basis; complement
smart work with hard work;
less is more; Diversity and inclusion
are competitive advantages; Fall in
love with problems, not solutions.
Startup Guide: Do you have any
previous founding experience of
a Startup?
Asim Ghaffar: The first one was
back in 2006, which was basically a
sole proprietorship on my father’s
STARTUP GUIDE PAKISTAN | 12

INTERVIEW
name, but I ran it for 3 years. We
just founded this one like 3 months
ago - though people see our results
and think we are doing it for
a lot longer.
Startup Guide: Inspiration to be
in Agri-farm Supply-chain Tech
industry?
Asim Ghaffar: It was less about the
field and more about the founding
team. However, the field did check
all the marks, e.g., investors are
looking in the space, an opportunity
to create impact in many lives,
And I can relate to it as I have extended
family who is in farming
Startup Guide: Tell us about Easy
Fresh Technology and how it
started?
Asim Ghaffar: EasyFresh is a cutting
edge, tech powered supple
chain which buys vegetables and
fruits from farmers and delivers
them directly to retailers (B2B). We
bypass all the agents and marketplaces
in the middle, thus keeping
the margins in the middle. Our focus
is building a scalable technology
and operations platform that
simplifies the selling process for
farmers, makes the buying process
more convenient for retailers and
reduces wastage in the logistics.
Startup Guide: How much impact
Easy Fresh Technologies has created
so far?
Asim Ghaffar: EasyFresh’s supply
chain ensures farmers are paid fairly
and on time, while the retailers
and businesses receive fresh produce
at a better rate. We have been
LIVE since Sept ‘21. We have moved
over 1,000 tons of fresh produce
from farmers to the markets in the
first 3 months. Our farmer network
spans the entire country, and we
serve retailers in Karachi and Islamabad
at the moment.
Startup Guide: what are the gaps
and problems that Easy Fresh
Tech are filling?
Asim Ghaffar: Farmers suffers because
payments are never on time,
prices are manipulated by commission
agent and on retailer end we
identified that they spend alot of
time and money in trips to marketplaces
to get a good deal. So, we
worked with hard-working farmers
across the country who sell their
high quality, freshly plucked vegetables
to us directly.
The produce, once obtained, is
carefully transported to our sorting
and grading centers in the cities.
Here, the fruits and vegetables
are sorted and put into baskets. We
STARTUP GUIDE PAKISTAN | 13

then sell these delicious-ly fresh
fruits and vegetables to retailers
and businesses at better rates.
Startup Guide: Are there any new
challennges in the market?
Asim: Not sure about new challenges.
However, the main challenge
is wastage. It is also a challenge
to bring so many into the formal
economy (most transactions are
cash-based)
Startup Guide: What are your
thoughts and preference in client
involvemnet?
Asim Ghaffar: Thanks to my Master’s
from KTH, I am very much pro
user-centered design. I also am a
big believer in design thinking.
However, I am comfortable exercising
my judgment against the
majority feedback when it makes
sense.
Startup Guide: What are the new
innovations you want to see in
your start-up?
Asim Ghaffar: Essentially, we want
to predict all aspects of the supply
chain months in advance: What a
particular retailer needs 6 months
from now; What a farmer should be
growing next; What area will produce
a more high-quality harvest.
Such an advanced prediction will
help stakeholders do intervention
in time to, let’s say, have a higher
quality harvest. There clearly is an
application of various technologies
beyond AI, such as GIS, drones, IoT,
etc.
Startup Guide: Would you like to
suggest on how to tackle tasks
that exceed deadlines and how
you counter it?
Asim Ghaffar: Commitments are
important, so I will stretch myself
to get things done in the given
time when it is realistically possible.
However, more important than
execution is planning; I will first
focus on delivering the items that
bring more value, so even if I run
out of time, I am left with the less
important stuff.
For More information
visit Easy Fresh
Technology’s Website
STARTUP GUIDE PAKISTAN | 14

STARTUP STORY
A one-stop online platform for all wedding needs in
Pakistan. Whether one needs to find the picture-perfect
venue, the finest photographer, or the top-rated
makeup artists, Shadiyana has got it covered.
by Neelam and Izzah, Founders of Shadiyana
SEARCH
Search for Photographers, make-up
artists, and venues
COMPARE
Compare their rates and reviews
A
s two crazy souls who love going
overboard, launching our own startup
was only inevitable for us. We are
Neelam and Izzah — affectionately,
we call ourselves “Neezah”. Though
we are no experts in entrepreneurship,
we have always had a sweet spot
for going overboard in projects.
We met on the first day of our Bachelors
in Software Engineering, and almost
immediately found a kinship in
surprising people. The way people’s
Left: Izzah, Right Neelam
STARTUP GUIDE PAKISTAN | 15

eyes pop open in shock and awe,
quickly and lethally became addicting.
We work well together and with other
people, but have always had more fun
together. We constantly keep saying
“yes” to each other’s crazy ideas. To
us, there is no limit, not even the sky.
Our Bachelors, Masters and collective
experience Teradata, Jazz and Zong
taught us many valuable and irreplaceable
experiences, but we wantparents
were skeptical of two “little
girls” taking on the whole wedding
industry but despite their trepidation,
they have grown to put their trust in
us and in Shadiyana.
Confidence in ourselves and in our
product has made Shadiyana be of
much use to 16,000 of our users. And
we also try to surround ourselves with
people who are forward thinkers and
HOW IT WORKS?
CONTACT
Contact & book them directlY
RELAX
Sit back and relax!
ed more. This want for “more” led to
the creation of Shadiyana.
We did not just stumble across it accidentally
or saw it in a dream. We sat
down to brainstorm for months to find
an idea in which we could invest our
time and energy on, and it was Shadiyana
that we truly fell in love with.
And our idea became a project, from
a project it grew to a website and our
first paying customer made us almost
pass out in delight. In the start, our
All in one place for reviews,
automated booking, top rated
vendors to choose from,
instant information, fun blogs
to read
with people who humble us so our
ego doesn’t skyrocket.
Shadiyana.pk started as a “one stop
for all wedding needs” but it evolved
STARTUP GUIDE PAKISTAN | 16

STARTUP STORY
into so much more. It’s a way to make
wedding planning easy. It’s about
having your dream wedding without
actually being emotionally and physically
drained to enjoy that. It’s about
letting Shadiyana handle the logistics
and the grind work so you can
go back to flirting with your fiancé.
We tell people that it creates ease but
it actually lets you create memories
that are insurmountable to any pile of
cash.
Speaking of cash, right now do not
charge people who are planning their
wedding and come to Shadiyana. We
believe they are already under a lot
of financial strain so taking a couple
hundred from them doesn’t seem
right. Shadiyana only charges vendors
and that, too, in a fixed pricing
capacity, like Netflix.
It has been two months since we
launched our product and have almost
made breakeven with our investment.
Our vision is whenever someone
starts thinking of planning their
wedding, they immediately associate
it with going to Shadiyana. We want
to be Pakistan’s best site that enables
one to plan their wedding with ease.
Getting married itself is a very emotional
experience, but we don’t want
the planning to be that too. There
should be no excuses to enjoy your
big day.
A startup takes everything from you,
but leaves you with a purpose. Having
a really good team helps you proceed
further with ease. And at the
end of the day, it is your life and your
decision. It’s the good, the bad, and
all yours. Own it. So, we should make
decisions that we can live with. And
when customers approach how we
made their wedding planning a success,
that just adds more happy-pride
in our decisions.
Visit www.shadiyana.pk
STARTUP GUIDE PAKISTAN | 17

“HAVE THE COURAGE TO FOLLOW
YOUR HEART AND INTUITION.
THEY SOMEHOW KNOW WHAT
YOU TRULY WANT TO BECOME”.
STEVE JOBS
(1955 - 2011)

TECHNOLOGY
$ 109 MILLION
2021 $85 million
2020 $10 million
2019 $16.2 million
$ 37.8 MILLION
2021 $30 million
2021 $6.5 million
2020 $1.3 million
$ 29 MILLION
2016 $20 million
2015 $9 million
2014 undisclosed
2012 undisclosed

$ 18.9 MILLION
2021 $17 million
2020 $1.8 million
2020 $150,000
THE MOST WELL FUNDED
STARTUPS OF PAKISTAN
$ 18.7 MILLION
2020 $13 million
2019 $5.7 million
2016 undisclosed

INSPIRATIONAL
Change.
Lives.Saving 9
Enhance.
Save
Works to ensure the physical and mental safety of
Pakistani citizens by enabling them with the tools,
resources, and knowledge needed to save a life.
Through extensive medical training, consultancy, and
sustainable emergency medical response systems, we
aim to empower communities with inadequate access to
healthcare services
STARTUP GUIDE PAKISTAN | 21
Saving 9 Team

A
journey that started back in 2008
when the earthquake devastated the
country and countless lives were lost,
as people waited for emergency relief.
Students at Lahore university of
Management Sciences (LUMS) observed
the lack of knowledge among
the general public on what to do in
times of crisis and deciding to take
action. A group of highly motivated
students started the LUMS Emergency
Medical Services (EMS), hence,
change began from within. The first
batch of students took basic first
aid training from ‘Rescue 1122’ and
went onto pass on the knowledge to
the future batches.
In 2018, the team participated in the
Mittal Institute’s Seed for Change
competition, earning a grant to help
launch their Community Aid and Response
in Emergencies (CARE) project
in Pind Begwal. In September
2018, the team launched the program,
their goal to create a robust
system that would provide emergency
medical treatment to the
community that has limited access
to healthcare
The two enthusiastic individuals
Ovais Siddiqui and Usama Javed,
graduated and set up Saving 9 in
December of 2016. With the singular
aim of making Pakistan and World
a better and safer place, saving 9 is
training children and general public
with the hope that one day they will
grow and touch lives in various ways
from helping other and saving lives
and continue this chain exchange of
training.
Since then, they have grown into
multiple cities and growing, have
trained 340+ citizens and 160+ Students
in first aid and 275 teachers
have trained in mental health benefiting
thousands of people across
Pakistan. They have started ambulance
systems in Pind Begwal and
other regions, benefiting more than
thousands of people across Pakistan.
The unavailability of an Emergency
Transport system that was much
needed in Pind Begwal, where the
healthcare operations were insufficient
and topped up by secondary
roads to the hospital, was resolved
by Saving 9. Three community members
were trained as Medical First
Responders (MFS) and full-time ambulance
drivers for Pind Begwal by
Saving 9 to respond to emergencies
in the area. With such little healthcare
infrastructure in Pind Begwal,
its Community Members look to
STARTUP GUIDE PAKISTAN | 22

INSPIRATIONAL
STARTUP GUIDE PAKISTAN | 23
Saving 9 Training Programs

Saving 9 for help with even minor
injuries. Soon they learnt that they
need to fold additional ambulances
into their ranks to deal with simultaneously-occurring
emergencies.
Saving 9 also dealt with the religious
and cultural limitation that the local
population was hesitant to allow
male emergency personnel to
get into close contact with women
involved in emergencies that was
faced by MFS. Saving 9 came up
with an alternative and created another
ambulance service entirely run
by trained and certified females as
medical emergency respondents.
At present Saving 9 is providing following
services in order to take step
closer to their aim:
Citizen MFR Courses -Youth/Adults
and Organizations
To ensure the safety of the future of
our country, Saving 9 provides basic
life support courses covering the
full spectrum of emergencies from
trauma, basic life support and various
other medical & psychological
emergencies that teach young &
adults how to protect themselves
and those around them, ensure accident
response and safety for those
vulnerable to accidents, injuries and
mental emergencies.
Workplace Sensitivity Trainings
Psychological emergencies can be
just as deadly as medical emergencies,
and to ensure preparedness
and response capability, Saving9’s
Mental Health Education Services
equip individuals and organizations
for dealing with mental emergencies
for those around them.
Mental Health Sensitivity Training
With a team of psychologists and
mental health specialists, Saving 9
conducts awareness workshops to
educate on issues, stigmas and misgivings
surrounding mental health.
The first aid education projects that
Saving 9 is an implementation partner
for has a module that specifically
focuses on psychological first aid.
This module enables learners to be
able to handle emergencies such as
panic attacks, suicide attempts and
substance overdoses in an empathetic
manner.
Consultancy Services
With a team of psychologists and
mental health specialists, Saving 9
conducts awareness workshops to
educate on issues, stigmas and misgivings
surrounding mental health.
The first aid education projects that
Saving 9 is an implementation partner
for has a module that specifical-
STARTUP GUIDE PAKISTAN | 24

INSPIRATIONAL
ly focuses on psychological first aid.
This module enables learners to be
able to handle emergencies such as
panic attacks, suicide attempts and
substance overdoses in an empathetic
manner.
Since Jan 2018
Such contributions are needed to
build robust communities and help
prevent future disasters. Even with
the best of our intention, without
the proper knowledge, we may additionally
be doing damage to the
patient than consolation. As such,
programs of Saving 9 are essential
for our nation, for an educated nation
will lead to a prosperous Pakistan.
Such organizations need support
from the community so that it
grows on its own without relying on
external assistance and aid.
STARTUP GUIDE PAKISTAN | 01

As a nation, if you do not invest in
research, then ultimately you will
never be able to build for the future,
or be self-sufficient.
The things you build must solve real
world problems and must have a compelling
advantage over what you’re
replacing. Otherwise, you can end up
wasting a lot of time.
Muneeb Maayr
Founder Bykea
Monis Rehman
Rozee.pk
Be Kind to yourself, Only then the
world will recognize you.
Any Company shouldn’t exist just for
making money, they should have a
deep-rooted mission that helps them
preserve & achieve their goals.
Muniba Mazari
Pakistani Activist
Abdul Sami Khwaja
Cofounder & CEO
Xord
STARTUP GUIDE PAKISTAN | 01

INTERVIEW
Qasim Shamim _ Founding Team Member of Mega
Lecture and has been affiliated with Pakistan’s education
sector for the past 7 years during which he has worked in
diverse roles.
STARTUP GUIDE PAKISTAN | 25

Startup Guide: What is your life’s
Motto ?
Qasim Shamim: I am a firm believer
that integration of technology in
education can reduce Pakistan’s educational
inequality in terms of access
to quality education
Startup Guide: Commencement of
Mega Lecture’s Journey?
Qasim Shamim: Mega Lecture
emerged as the result of few passionate
teachers who wanted to
make Pakistan’s formal education
more accessible, convenient and inclusive
through provision of quality
teaching to students residing in rural
and suburban areas of Pakistan.
Over time we evolved into a more
specialized startup which has started
closing all gaps in Pakistan’s education
sector. Now we are a team
of 30 teachers who conduct 50 plus
live classes daily. With our current
pace we are hopeful to achieve other
major milestones in the coming
few months.
Our core team comprises of professional
teachers who have taught at
demographically diverse educational
institutes within and outside of
Pakistan and we consider this our
core competence as our management
can better comprehend teachers’
and students’ pain points.
Startup Guide: How did the Pandemic
helped the growth of Mega
Lecture as an EdTech in Pakistan?
Qasim Shamim: Our team have
been involved with online teaching
before COVID, but after the recent
world lockdown we better realized
the importance of devising effective
and scalable solution for formal education
especially for a country like
Pakistan which already has poor educational
infrastructure. Therefore,
since then, we have dedicatedly
pursued the vision of making high
quality education more inclusive,
convenient and affordable through
our platform of mega lecture.
Startup Guide: Due to the Pandemic
Many EdTechs emerged,
tell us about your competitive advantage.
Qasim Shamim: Without doubt, Pakistan’s
EdTech space has boomed
STARTUP GUIDE PAKISTAN | 26

INtERVIEW
since COVID, and as a result there is
intense competition amongst existing
firms but this is also a source of
motivation for us and it keeps us on
our toes to deliver the best possible
outcomes for our students. Our
revenue sharing model creates adequate
incentive for our teachers to
ensure high quality standards which
is not a common practice and therefore
is our competitive advantage.
Moreover, our wider product portfolio
which covers all aspects of K12
education and professional exam
preparation makes us more diverse
than most of our competitors; hence
giving us greater flexibility in our
strategy.
Startup Guide: What challenges
does Mega Lecture face as a
young EdTech?
Qasim Shamim: Even though, since
COVID, there has been a major
shift in educational landscape but
some parents still have reservations
when it comes to digital learning
platforms. Hence, at times, it can
be quite challenging to convince
relevant stakeholders to give online
learning platforms a chance.
However, with a freemium model
we are quite optimistic to attract
larger number of students. Another
major challenge is to build a dedicated
team which is equally invested
in the organization’s vision as
STARTUP GUIDE PAKISTAN | 27

much its founders. Even though it
can be time consuming to find the
right type of people but it definitely
pays off in the longer run and
therefore is worth the effort.
Startup Guide: How do you maintain
Work-life Balance? Would
you like to suggest something to
younger startups in this regard?
Qasim Shamim: Striking a balance
between work and personal life is a
huge challenge when you are working
for a startup, but I cannot emphasize
enough on its importance
because you cannot afford to exhaust
yourself as it would be detrimental
for your start-up’s progress.
One thing that really helps me
in this regard, is striving for greater
clarity in the vision and then strictly
prioritizing the objectives to break
bigger tasks into manageable assignments
and to avoid getting
overburdened.
Mega Lecture, an online teaching
platform with multiple offerings
to suit every student’s unique
learning needs. Our core team
includes teachers and academicians
who have worked in the
education sector for years and
who hold degrees from most
prestigious educational institutes
across the globe including
graduates of INSEAD,
Nanyang Technological University,
NUST, LUMS and University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
MEGA
LECTURE
STARTUP GUIDE PAKISTAN | 28

TECHNOLOGY
A team of 5 on a mission to turn an idea
into a mobile application with the
vision to create jobs in the country
through platform . A 2 year old startup
came with an application which helps
people to find items from nearby stores
and helps them to get demanded products
at their doorstep in less than an
hour and in low delivery charges at the
same price offered by store keepers.
by Raees Ul Hassan_ Founder Store inHome
Few years back, I was doing a 9-5 job at
a bank and I was attending 6-9 classes
of MBA course at IQRA University. I had
a very busy schedule, even on weekends
I would be completing my pending
tasks like assignments, presentations
or errands. One evening our class got
cancelled and I returned home earlier
than usual. So, I thought to complete
my pending university assignment and
I was so focused at that time, my mother
came in the room and asked me to
bring groceries from Barkaat (discount)
grocery nearby G-14 Islamabad. I was
unable to quickly leave my work and
go to buy the groceries. At that time, I
wished if there was a service enabling
me to order groceries from the same
store and one even my mother could
always directly order from instead of
asking me. It made me curious and I
actually started searching for similar
services/Apps. I found no such service/App.
So, on the weekend I visited
STARTUP GUIDE PAKISTAN | 29

grocery stores to check their need
for such service/App and surprisingly
they were easily convinced to use
such a platform if available.. To study
it more, I conducted research with my
class fellow Abbas for customer need
analysis. We interviewed 1500 customers
and 90% people said that they
were desperately in need of such a
service from where they can order
groceries from their favorite store.
That actually pushed me so hard to
execute this idea. I left my job and
with the help of a few friends, I turned
this idea into Store inHome app. As
the name says رھگ روٹس ‏.رپ We
started turning nearby offline grocery
stores into online grocery stores so
you can get things delivered as early
as possible. (15-30 minutes)
On the other hand, grocery stores
were facing challenges while maintaining
their off-line sales with online
sales. Like hiring people to communicate
with customers on WhatsApp.
We automated them through our app.
Now Customers can only choose
and order the only available items at
store. Rider directly accepts the order,
packs it and delivers it.
Activation process of new store takes
up to 3 days. In which we manage
their more than 30,000 inventory online.
So far 27 million rupees of sales generated
from just one store in a sector
with bootstrap. 100% organic growth
with our talent, creativity & innovation.
And growing everyday.
www.storeinhome.com
STARTUP GUIDE PAKISTAN | 30

EDITOR’S CHOICE
The one thing focuses us to
cut the clutter and guides
us to focus on limited
things, rather than one
thing. Multitasking is a lie.
You need to be doing fewer
things for more effect instead
of doing more things
with side effects.
Based on Personal and
others’ experiences Sheryl
beautifully describes that
notwithstanding the many
gender biases that still
operates all over the workplace,
excuses and justificatio
that won’t get women
anywhere but believing in
oneself will.
The author suggetsed that
most people start with
what or the how. He argues
you should start with
WHY are you doing something!
Why are you creating
the startup? what is the
purpose?
Guidance on how entreprenurs
can mould themselves
into a brand and
capitalise on that based on
experiences of dozens of
influencers and entrepreneurs.
One of the good reads that
can help you make positive
changes in your life
and at the same time see
the world in a new way
Very briefly, Richard shows
us the way he came. He
points out in his own life
that it is not necessary to
mourn for the past, but to
look ahead and start the
journey.
STARTUP GUIDE PAKISTAN | 31

Great read that will help
you actually understand
the triggers causing your
behaviour and provides a
very realistic way of being
able to set path to becoming
indistractable.
This read will motivate the
procastinators to exercise
regularly and you’d be able
to prescribe exercises to
yourself.
If you’re aspiring to be in
control of your life and
willing to do the research
to successfully transition
to your ideal life, Kris Kluver
can show you the way.
A book that will guide
beginners covering all the
aspects in a contemorary
manner, to the point and
with practical details
where necessary.
There is so much valuable
information contained in
this book if you have already
started or are thinking
about starting your
own business you need to
get your copy today.
The main idea behind
Zero to One is that it’s
imperative to focus on
businesses that cretae
somthing new, as opposed
to copying things that
already work.
STARTUP GUIDE PAKISTAN | 32

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