Entrepreneurs of Pakistan
“I am and always have been a rebel to ideas, perception and thoughts. My story began with a bucket full of ambitions when like everybody I saw money as the key to achieving my dreams. But with only 400 USD I dared to embark on a journey that unraveled the world onto me. I did not just travel but also thrived in creating an impact in world top Universities such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Sydney and Politecnio di Milano. Later while I was based in Oslo, I chose to move back to help change the notion of Pakistan as the world’s most dangerous place.
I belong to a lower-middle class family with no educational background living in an underprivileged area, called Lalokhait, in Karachi. My mother, stood against all opposition and decided to get me enrolled in a school. I was a bright student and always secured 1st or 2nd position observing which my mother wanted to see me as an engineer but my grandfather wanted me to become a Hafiz e Quran. Respecting the wishes of both I decided to take it up as a challenge and joined a Madrasa but it was difficult coping with both and I left school in 7th grade.
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).
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).
“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?
“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.
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.
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.
“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.
“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.