1. What motivated you to become an entrepreneur and start your venture?
I don’t know why people call job a secure plan, the recent pandemic has proved that no matter how loyal you are or how much time you have invested in a company, you are always replaceable as per the interest of the company.
2. Why did you choose the food business in particular?
Honestly speaking, I didn’t ever imagine one day I will be in this field. I got an opportunity which I grabbed & that lead me to a beautiful journey Alhamdullilah.
3. How difficult is the survival in food business?
Survival in this industry is difficult because of reviews on social media platforms & it’s not easy to maintain consistency in taste & quality because it requires training & investment. Moreover, you are always dependent on your labor, and that increases the risk of survival.
4. Why did you opt to open an on-campus food vending shop?
With no experience in the food business, it was better to learn from a market where demand is more or less confirm as you know that students have limited options, so it strengthens your survival. Moreover, I have been a student of IoBM, so I know what exactly the gaps are because I used to be a consumer in the same market.
5. Initially you started your entrepreneurial journey with Bistro, how was that experience?
That experience completely changed my life. I developed a sense of leading & labor management because these two things are the core essence of any business which no book or teacher can teach. It can be only learned from experience.
6. What is the importance of choosing the right partner for your business?
It’s really important to have the right partner to work with & for me it’s mandatory that the other person brings something different in business because two partners with same input cannot grow a business. Ghafoor bhai’s investment was his name. There is nobody on campus who does not know about him & that’s what I wanted because this was a competency that can generate better sales compared to your competitors. He also had more experience than me, so he knew things better and understood the market uniquely as he interacts with the students and because of this he knows the consumer insights.
7. What was your best memory about Bistro?
There are so many memories and many of them cannot be shared but one that I can share is that because of some reason none of our labor came & that whole day me and few of my friends worked as labor.
8. Tell us about your new venture and what encouraged you to switch from Bistro to your new venture?
Bistro was never in my long term goals because I always considered it as a part time business. It didn’t align with my long-term vision, so I decided to sell it off and start working towards my great journey. I started steel fabrication work and within 1.5 years Alhamdulillah we have 3 workshops in different parts of Karachi. We manufacture kiosks, machinery & food vans there.
9. What are your future plans and where do you see yourself after 5 years?
My future plan includes bringing a revolution in the B2B industry & in 5 years I see myself leading Pakistan’s top marketplace on which I’m currently working on.
10. If you would like to give any advice to new entrepreneurs what would it be?
My advice is that you don’t need to know everything & just get started. Stop looking for perfection in your ideas because perfection in business doesn’t exist.
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