us_plan7's blog

Fatima Zaman

“Being a student of art at BNU and of Fresco at NCA under Master Naqqash Ustaad Saif Ur Rahman, I wanted to utilize the energy in creating aesthetically pleasing objects with the language of the traditional arts. All the products created, whether it is a piece of furniture that needs to be restored or a cheese platter that has to be created, are created with motifs and language that come from our subcontinent roots.

Wasif Ayub

My story is the transformation of a raw idea into ‘Serverless Smart City’. The two terms ‘Serverless Technology’ and ‘Auto Governance’, is what I identified in client meetings. My efforts to convert my raw idea into something tangible began in 2008 when I initiated ‘The Suffah’; a web portal to spread awareness about educational opportunities in remote areas. It was also integrated with a classified ad portal called ‘Lahore Mandi’. Both were left defunct within 90 days because of one man show.

Jamal Rehman

“There comes a time in your life when you have to sink or swim, and the former could never be an option for your passion.  After years of struggle, I landed up with my passion as “True Brew Records”, which wasn’t an easy journey for me but the key to my success was being persistent with my passion.

Ehsan Imam

“Last year, I happened to visit the emergency department of one of the biggest government setups in order to volunteer for my share of blood to the bomb affectees. The hours that I spent there left me in a state of complete anguish and grieve. I saw people bringing in dead and pleading the doctors to bring them back to life by giving them the oxygen supply. I saw patients lying blatantly to the doctors to get away with the prescription of their suiting.

Saadia Gardezi

“I have always loved to draw and make things with my hands. I never went to art school, but I have dabbled in everything from origami to oil painting. By profession I am a journalist, cartoonist, and a teacher at a university. I view writing and drawing the same way I see art – as a creative process. Penguin Pop is my entrepreneurial adventure, where I custom paint canvas shoes with anything my customer wants.

Khizra Munir

My passion was always to be a filmmaker but sadly back then film industry was not doing so good and the next best option was to go into advertising of TV commercials which I grabbed with both hands considering I wanted to be near anything that gets me close to production. Unfortunately, I constantly came across clients who just didn’t ‘get it’ and I compromised on projects where I felt like I was selling out and so a time came when I bid farewell to advertising.

Bilal Mumtaz

Shortly after graduating from University of Western Ontario, I was left with the daunting task of finding a job to support myself. Having previously completed internships in the realms of statistical research, journalism and advertising, I decided it was fitting to take up work for a startup in Canada dealing with discount options for retailers, through an app and physical POS device. Though the startup was short-lived, it taught me a lot about delving on to a career that required intensive communication and sound business development planning.

Madiha Saail Ahmad Khan

“I was raised by a single mother and her support system. My chacha & dada being the most pivotal characters in my upbringing taught me everything I needed to know about the world at a very young age. I start my story with this introduction because I believe that a lot of what I have achieved today, as an entrepreneur, a woman & a human being, I owe to the angels who raised me.

Samia Hassan

“Have you ever wondered how the most beautiful things happen to you when you least expect them? It’s like serendipity, as if the whole universe came together to make those wonderful things happen for you. I feel the same way after switching gears from being a marketer to an entrepreneur, career & startup coach. It’s almost achieving nirvana; as if I’m in a state of trance. Pure joy and perfect peace.

The question is how did I get here?

Natasha Noorani

You hear many people saying ‘music is my passion’, but with this passion they only take it as far as having a great collection of different genres, becoming a singer themselves or starting a band. While in conversation with Natasha Noorani, Founder / Chairperson at Lahore Music Meet we found out how different her passion towards music is. “My passion and love for music took me in an entirely different direction. I started an NGO out of it. I started Lahore Music Meet (LMM).