TechHub Connect

"Facilitating the connection & interaction of Pakistan's IT Industry along with being the nation's premier Co-working Space!"

[plan9techhub]

Celebrating INFOTECH Week! (13 Oct - 15 Oct, 2015)

We are officially celebrating INFOTECH Group from 13th October to 15th October,2015, a Pakistani company based out of its global headquarters in Singapore, with offices across the world from London to Accra. INFOTECH is one of the fastest growing information technology groups in the world. Having delivered major multimillion dollar projects in important verticals across the world for over two decades, INFOTECH is the go to partner for solutions that enrich companies.

Next week there are a bunch of informational, educational and inspiring sessions for students, startups and freelancers.

Hiring for the Digital Age & Technology Innovation

 Date: Tuesday 13th Oct,2015

Time: 3pm to 4:30

Venue: Level 3 Auditorium, Arfa Software Technology Park, 346-B, Ferozepur Road, Lahore

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/875154865895171/

Speakers:

Naseer A. Akhtar (The President and CEO of InfoTech Group)

Naseer A. Akhtar is the President and CEO of InfoTech Group a position he has held since the founding of InfoTech in 1995. As a successful entrepreneur, Naseer A. Akhtar brought InfoTech to profitability and continues to build on that success with double digit year-on-year growth. He is a sought after speaker, mentor. and was the Chairman of Pakistan’s industry association P@SHA in 2013 and has been honored with numerous industry awards and accolades. 

Amir Raza Khan (Vice President of Capital Markets Business Unit at InfoTech Group)

Amir Raza Khan is the Vice President of Capital Markets Business Unit at InfoTech Group. He has over twenty years of experience in Information Technology for the Financial Markets Industry. At InfoTech, Mr. Raza Khan’s present role includes developing IT strategy, aligning software product roadmaps with market trends, managing development & delivery of mission critical & real-time technology systems and managing human capital for complex software products and projects. He is well-versed with modern software development methodologies & techniques and in designing and presenting innovative technology and business solutions to Financial Market Technologist and Business leaders. 

What to expect from the session?

Hiring in the Digital Era

Learn about Naseer Akhtar's journey of making InfoTech what it is today.

Digital era needs new types of competencies. So how do we hire for the digital age? 

What are employers and companies that provide solutions to customers in the digital era need?

If you are a startup, what sort of people should you be hiring? 

Technology & Innovation

Software development

Product development

Technological challenges InfoTech has faced during the process of scaling their company

How different and unique are technologies & products at InfoTech?

Some of the groundbreaking international projects InfoTech is involved in

How far the contribution of academia is needed to further the development and enhancement of innovation in IT

To register, fill out: 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1lEubbi8GPdWhrl7nyH2d_bpw_N0bKesiQ314Hc0osK4/viewform?c=0&w=1

Product Innovation Strategies

Date: Wednesday 14th Oct, 2015

Time: 3:00pm to 4:30pm

Venue: Level 9 Room # 21 Activity Den, Arfa Software Technology Park, 346-B, Ferozepur Road, Lahore

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/980346548655527/

Speaker: 

Ejaz Anwar (CTO INFOTECH (Pvt.) Ltd.)

Ejaz Anwer is the Chief Technical Officer of Capital Markets Business Unit at InfoTech Group. He has over sixteen years of experience in Information Technology for Financial Markets Industry, 3D Game Development & Military Simulations. Mr. Anwer has successfully delivered World Bank sponsored project worldwide for eGovernment as well as complex mission critical system for Exchanges, Brokerage Houses and Regulators. Mr. Anwer led the team that developed InfoTech award winning products in Capital Market and eGovernment domains. Moreover, he also supervise InfoTech Product Innovation & Improvement department with seasoned professionals to develop the frameworks for InfoTech products in order to keep them in line with modern trends and technologies. Mr. Anwer was a frequent contributor to development communities and had several articles published at www.codeguru.com, where he voluntarily served as 'Super Moderator' and 'Article Reviewer'. In recognition of his contributions to the community, he was awarded 'Microsoft Most Valuable Professional' award for ‘Microsoft Visual C++’ by Microsoft Head office in 2007 and Federal IT Minister, Pakistan at ‘Pakistan Developer Conference’ in 2008. He is also mentioned at errata list of C++ bestselling book by Scott Meyers (i.e. ‘Effective C++, Third Edition').

What to expect from the session?

How INFOTECH developed their own products

Obstacles faced

Technologies worked with

Strategies that were in place

How INFOTECH transformed and grew into a product company from a services company

What lessons were learnt on the journey

How did INFOTECH achieve CMMI Level 3 distinction- journey

Q & A session to discuss your product based problems with the CTO of INFOTECH Global.

Who should attend this session?

Startups with product based businesses

Final Year Project Students

Freelancers

To register, fill out

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Tr0btJ6t1QQllPVOJYi8YcyhyFB-wv7aR_mBdThI5_E/viewform?c=0&w=1

Mentoring Session With INFOTECH

Date: Thursday 15th Oct, 2015

Time: 11:00am to 1:00pm

Venue: INFOTECH Office

Mentors:

Haris Naseer(Director Marketing and Communication)

Muhammad Haris Naseer is a Director at InfoTech in charge of Marketing, Public Relations, and Corporate Affairs. He has played a key role in aligning product road maps with strategic market realities resulting in annual growth rates that far surpass peer emerging market companies. In addition to his current portfolio he owns emerging technology investments for the group where he identifies and co-ordinates Infotech’s response to global emerging technology trends. 

Prior to InfoTech, Haris was working with a start-up company in Canada in the field of eEducation and Remote Education Delivery. He attended the University of Waterloo, Canada where he studied Math and Computer Science.

Amir Raza Khan (Vice President of Capital Markets Business Unit at InfoTech Group)

Please find profile above.

Agenda for the session:

This session is exclusively for Plan9 Startups. INFOTECH showed keen interest in some of the brilliant startup ideas incubated in Plan9 Technology Incubator. These startups were then asked for their respective focused areas where they want to seek mentoring. After a careful match making by our management, this session is being arranged to facilitate the early steppers into the startup world.  

HR Session

Date: Thursday 15th Oct, 2015

Time: 3:30pm to 4:30pm

Venue: Level 5 Room # 06, Arfa Software Technology Park, 346-B, Ferozepur Road, Lahore

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/188532848145744/

 Speakers:

Ejaz Anwar (CTO INFOTECH (Pvt.) Ltd.)

At InfoTech, Mr. Ejaz Anwar’s current role includes supervision of products development in cost effective manner within quality standards, oversee product engineering department to attain maximum efficiency in the design and production, direct activities so that products are developed on schedule to meet market demands, ensure customer support, formulate and recommend operational policies/programs that guide the organization in maintaining and improving its competitive position, evaluation of new headcount, hiring, and employee performance. 

Irum Bajwa (Assistant Manager Talent Acquisition and Development at INFOTECH)

Irum Bajwa is the Assistant Manager Talent Acquisition and Development at InfoTech Group. She is a passionate Human Resource Professional with 4 years of recruitment and organizational development experience along with almost 6 years’ experience of office management, customer services and quality assurance. Irum has previously worked with Mobilink , Saeed Buksh Pvt. Ltd and CitiBank. Irum’s keen interest in human resource management and its vast possibilities for being the means to enhance the employability resulted in her choice to obtain a MBA degree in HRM from University of Central Punjab. Irum also holds a Master’s in Commerce degree from Hailey College of commerce, University of Punjab. 

What to expect from the session?

This session would open doors for interested candidates for future employment at INFOTECH. 

Please find the agenda below.

Introduction

How to enter in corporate world? Advise for students to get hired

Campus to Corporate (i.e. C2C) model

Graduate Training Program

Induction Criteria

Professional Training

6 Month Assessment

Induction

Question/Answer Session 

Who should attend this session?

Startups

Final Year Project Students

Freelancers

University Placement Officers

Students seeking internships/employment in near future

 To register, fill out: 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1V-7PSmLU2zsvrkO3BM6R67-iQc4i6N4uOW2Jgki8QpM/viewform?edit_requested=true

[plan9techhub]

Mr. Nabeel A. Qadeer, Joint Director Entrepreneurship- PITB to host a technology show on Pakistan’s leading channel

“This blog was originally posted in TechJuice.”

Punjab Information Technology Board(PITB) announced at the recent roundtable conference that a technology program on one of the top three leading channels of Pakistan will be aired very soon. The primary reason behind such a program is the promotion of entrepreneurship and glamorizing the Information Technology (IT) industry of Pakistan.

This roundtable event was held last month under the supervision of Dr. Umar Saif, Chairman PITB. In addition to discussing various issues faced by Pakistani Technology industry like taxation, credibility issues and promotion of IT ventures, Umar also announced that a television show is soon going to be telecasted for the promotion of IT and Entrepreneurship.

In a recent meeting with TechJuice, Dr. Saif commended the effort of running The TechJuice Show exactly saying that there is a need of promotion and glamorization the IT industry of Pakistan.

Mr. Nabeel A. Qadeer, Joint Director Entrepreneurship and Enterprise- PITB will be hosting this television program. The broadcast date and timings are yet to be announced.

[plan9techhub]

Kamyabi - Unlock your door to Success Presented by Amer Qureshi & TechHub Connect

On Monday 14th September, 2015, TechHub Connect is hosting an event called Kamyabi at 330 pm sharp in 3rd Floor Auditorium, Arfa Software Technology Park

The idea behind this event is to inspire young minds and make them believe in themselves to achieve impossible endeavors. 

It will be hosted by Mr. Amer Qureshi, an Entrepreneurship, Small Business, Finance and Leadership Expert.

Mr. Qureshi’s Profile

A highly experienced Australian Chartered Accountant with an excellent track record in senior management across several industries, and in many countries. Mr. Qureshi established and successfully managed his own firm, QCO International in Australia, for a period of 15 years, following professional experience gained by working at leading accounting firms. During this time he also acted as the CFO for several client organizations. Since leaving Australia 8 years ago, he has gained extensive experience at managing different organizations in various senior positions; such as CFO, Director of Finance and Director of Business Development. Mr. Qureshi is also a successfully published author in the areas of Leadership, Business Management, Tax and Financial Planning and has sold over 10,000 copies of his books worldwide. He began his career with leading international firms including KPMG and Deloitte over a seven-year period in Australia. Mr. Qureshi’s last position was the CFO/Head of Procurement for Enterprise Qatar, a semi-government organization involved in assisting Entrepreneurs and SMEs based in Doha. He is a highly motivated and committed person who excels in leadership positions.

Agenda of the event

Introduction to TechHub Connect By Program Manager, Sarah Tariq Gilani

Presentation On Entrepreneurship

Interview of a successful alumni startup of Plan9 Technology Incubator called Pantera Energy

Interview of a successful Freelancer of TechHub Connect, Mr. Muhammad Kashif

Interview of a successful mid-stage startup of PlanX Technology Accelerator called AutoGenie

Interview of the founder of an early startup, currently incubated in Plan9 Technology Incubator called Rabbit Drop

Case study presentation by Mr. Aamir Atta, the founder of the famous Tech Blog ProPakistani

Question and Answer Session

We invite you to this interesting event. TechHub Connect is an initiative to promote and facilitate academia and Industry. Whether it is to promote students in the industry or to facilitate them in their entrepreneurial ventures, TechHub Connect has it covered. :)

Please fill out this form to register:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Okmhx99_2tIbN8xieGKbd0w3PKvMa7TgX0LM9aWwtm0/viewform

For updates on the event, follow our facebook event page: 

https://www.facebook.com/events/709866142491342/

[plan9techhub]

PITB Round Table Conference – Gathering Pakistan’s IT Industry under one roof

“This blog was published in TechJuice”

PITB’s first round table conference was held on 20th August in Lahore. Hosted by TechHub Connect, the event had a great turnout and was attended by several high-profile people from the IT industry.

The meeting, moderated by Chairman PITB, Mr. Umar Saif, addressed the issues related to taxation, government’s procurement issues and PITB’s role in facilitating IT Companies of Pakistan. The event ended with a networking session and a startup display of Plan9 and PlanX startups.

Here we round up the main 4 agendas discussed at the event.

How to help the IT industry

Dr. Saif opened the floor to the discussion by asking delegates to address the problems their companies face when bidding for projects abroad.

Our IT Industry is not as small an industry as it is considered any more; an ecosystem must be developed that ensures support to and sustainability of the local IT entrepreneurial industry The foremost problem addressed by the delegates was how Small Medium Enterprises face difficulties in acquiring visas due to weak credibility rating’s system. Moreover, the projects executed internationally by our local companies might look small on the face of it but are quite complex reflecting the IT Industry’s competency. To this, solutions were proposed from the audience as to how the government can put weight by involving foreign embassies and offices to improve the brand image of the IT industry of Pakistan. Furthermore, the need for not just the government but also academia and multinational companies to build the image of Pakistan was addressed.

Many delegates also expressed the untapped market opportunity in the East where focus should be drawn rather than the West. A necessity to make the credibility system more transparent was also addressed.

Closure Dr. Saif ensured they can get the support of the foreign office with the Chief Minister’s backing and to facilitate the process of international bidding they can write letters of recommendation for IT Companies. Conscious efforts to do a local background check by the government will also be made in order to accelerate the process of bidding. As for exploring opportunities in the East, Dr. Saif stated that work is already being done; example of ticketing system in collaboration with Turkey and a local company called Inbox Business Technologies was mentioned.

Taxation Issue

The second issue in the house was that of taxation. This was the most pressing issue of the meeting. Dr. Umar Saif gave an overview of taxation in Pakistan addressing how most people do not pay taxes at all making our economy dependent on foreign aid. He clarified how on a provincial level goods are taxed whereas services are taxed at a federal level. Under the umbrella of taxation two main taxes were discussed i.e. the 19.5% Mobile Internet tax issue and 8% services tax issue.

According to Dr. Saif, 19.5% minimum tax liability on Mobile Internet is a major issue since this industry is only beginning to prosper. He commented how he has already been fighting this battle and will keep at it until it is reversed.

Delegates were enraged at the 8% minimum tax liability on services companies in the Finance Act 2015. They proclaimed that 8% of revenue is unheard of anywhere in the world. Some even stated that it’s altogether 9.5%, along with GST imposed.

To this Dr. Umar Saif commented how the IT Industry needs to be more organized. Hence, he expressed the need to consolidate financial numbers of the impact on IT Industry of this particular tax to make a presentable case to the ministry. To this one of the delegates, Mr. Faisal Khan, CEO Ovex Technologies stated that he is already working on consolidation of numbers on a cross industrial base. He also mentioned how FBR has a misconception of their profit margin. One of the delegates expressed how there is a need for the IT personalities to have a role in policy making in order to understand the problems faced by the IT sector.

Closure

To the 19.5% Mobile internet tax issue, Dr. Saif declared that 19.5% Internet tax is expected to be reversed in a few weeks’ time. Whereas for the 8% minimum tax liability on services companies in the Finance Act 2015, Dr. Saif said that he has talked to the concerned authorities to organize APICTA in Pakistan next year which will help. Moreover, on the IT Industry’s end, he pointed out that the Federal Ministry needs to see a stronger case for which the IT Industry not only needs to get organized but also seek advice from other industries of Pakistan in order to make a solid case to be presented. Dr. Saif agreed to lead a meeting with the FBR, Chief Minister and Federal Minister as soon as the industry is ready with their case.

Government Procurement

Joint Venture

Dr. Saif expressed the need for equality between established companies and SME’s in acquiring government projects and how the government is trying to promote smaller companies to work with them.

Certain procurement policies have been made to facilitate SME’s, women and minority owned companies. Since they might not be able to deliver what is required and sustenance of these companies during the long payment procedures is also a risk, PITB has decided to let companies bid as joint ventures. Where different modules can be allocated to a mix of organizations and SME’s to deliver the solution together.

This joint venture will be a huge support to the SME’s in the IT Sector. Dr. Saif communicated how they are already driving the development of some systems with the joint venture in place. He encouraged all the IT companies to take part in this venture for the betterment of IT industry of Pakistan.

To this, delegates had mixed opinions. One of the delegates addressed how for smaller companies the tax amount will become very high in a joint venture. Another delegate expressed how smaller companies do better at targeting niche so even bigger companies are hesitant.

Efforts to make Procurement Transparent

In an effort to make the system of procurement more transparent, Dr. Saif introduced a portal ‘eprocurement.pitb.gov.pk ‘ that PITB is making in collaboration with World Bank. Moreover, he announced that in future PITB will be holding capacity building trainings for companies on the government procurement procedures.

Closure

To the prospective problems addressed by delegates on the Joint Venture, Dr. Saif requested all companies to bid with a good intent for the betterment of this country; the reason why everyone had gathered on the table.

Introducing TechHub Connect

Other problems

Among the issues addressed by the academia community the main one was how the IT industry does not engage with universities. One of the delegates, Dr. Arshad Ali mentioned how the IT industry has not yet tapped the strength of academia.

Another delegate voiced to build a mechanism through which companies can acquire students with innovative final year projects. He wanted the government to take initiatives in arranging exhibitions and industry and academia meet-ups. He also requested delegates from companies to fund their student’s final year projects.

He also believed that the stock exchanges need to play a role in facilitating angel investors. To this, a delegate of the Karachi Stock Exchange proclaimed how they have already taken measures to ensure security of angel investors. One delegate suggested a campaign to open Research & Development centers across the country. He elaborated how this will generate employment and bring more relevant talent into the industry. Most delegates also suggested an increase in foreigners’ visits in order to improve the image of Pakistan’s IT sector. Moreover, help to facilitate young professionals in the domain of freelancing was also asked for.

Closure

As an answer to all the above issues, Dr. Saif formally introduced the platform of TechHub Connect. He positioned this platform as one that will:

Try and bridge the gap between the IT industry and the Government by holding frequent roundtables Project local companies and celebrate their successes

Become the intermediate body that bridges the gap between IT Industry, Academia and the startup Community to together produce entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs

Foster freelance community in Pakistan

A place for head hunting, launching products and meeting foreign entrepreneurs for all the IT companies of Pakistan

Dr. Saif further elaborated that to connect IT industry, academia and the startup community, TechHub Connect is going to build a portal. This portal will link the industry and academia in such a way that companies can publish their projects here and they will be done by resources in universities or by freelancers. The aim of this portal is to increase appropriate job opportunities, to evolve youth to cater to current or future needs of the industry.

Moreover, Dr. Saif announced that MIT Tech review franchise has been provided to Pakistan and has been licensed to put local innovation on display. For this, TechHub Connect will reach out to universities for articles to be included. Furthermore, it will feature 10 most innovative ideas along with 30 entrepreneurs every month.

Last but not the least, launch of a tech program on one of the top three channels of Pakistan was announced.

[plan9techhub]

Mr. Asif Peer, the driving force behind Systems Ltd.

“We are reposting this blog with some amendments.“

System Limited is one of its kind in the list of paramount IT companies of Pakistan. It is a globally recognized leader of the next-generation IT and technology-led BPO services. This employee owned company was started 38 years ago by Syed Baber Ali and Mr. Aezaz Hussain. Its offshore facilities established in Europe, North America, and Middle East along with all the major cities of Pakistan comprise of over 2,500 customer-focused employees providing a great customer experience. It has accomplished above 600 projects and its vast list of customers includes Fortune 500 companies, government and corporate entities.

Mr Asif Peer who is currently CEO, Member of the Board and the Managing Director of Systems Limited started off his career as associate developer with Systems after completing Graduation from FAST, Karachi. He also served as Senior Vice President of Services and as Vice President of Servicing Technologies at Visionet Systems Inc. He has a total experience of 18 years and 13 years of professional experience of working at Systems Limited’s sister concern in the USA. He was one of the Top 11 CEO of Pakistan according to an article written in 2014 and one of the best performing CEOs and Leaders according to Manager Today and CEO club.

Talking about the company Mr. Peer said that the company sends 40 to 50 people abroad every year and 500+ citizens of US have gone from SYSTEMS and its goal is to hire 20,000 employee every year, groom them and take them to next level. Working in various capacities at leadership level, he strongly believes in leading the company’s growth through innovation, methodology and achieving high degree of excellence in execution through mix of technologies and business domain.

As the CEO, he has envisioned Systems Limited to be recognized by its customers, employees, stakeholders, vendors, partners and competitors as the number One IT enabled services provider not only in Pakistan but to be rated among the best software solutions and IT services companies within the Finance & Apparel market segments in the USA, South East Asia, Middle East and European Markets.

Work philosophy of Systems Limited is simple - deliver quality & value by generating flexible software solutions within a fun, disciplined, and a receptive work environment that promotes unity and fortify the strength of the company.

Awards won by Systems Limited under leadership of Asif Peer include:

·         Best in BPO

·         Runner-up award for Brand Management categories at the P@SHA ICT Awards 2014.

In the question & answer session Mr Asif Peer pointed out that the key difference between the graduates of US and Pakistan is grooming, upbringing, magnitude and exposure. Graduates of US are groomed in a way to think out of box and if you have an idea and efficiency to sell yourself then nothing can stop you from achieving your goal. He further said that vision, mission along with re-innovating both in business domain as well as in technology domain is most important thing to make a company work. Talking about the scope of IoT, he said that since all large organizations need data of their end users to make their services better, it is the future of IT. Answering a question related to Bit Logger Currency he shared that the company is already working on it in Pakistan and mentioned a startup called One Load. According to him, the major challenge faced by B2B solution startups is to come up with an idea which is different from the ideas of current working companies.

Mr. Peer also agreed to extend their services to freelancers by providing trainings on communication. He believes that Systems Limited is an institution and it’s their Corporate Social Responsibility to help all sectors of IT.

Very interesting prospects came out after the session and TechHub Connect hopes to collaborate with Systems Ltd. on many more projects in future. :)

[plan9techhub]

Mr. Asif Peer, the driving force behind Systems Ltd.

System Limited is one of its kind in the list of paramount IT companies of Pakistan. It is a globally recognized leader of the next-generation IT and technology-led BPO services. This employee owned company was started 38 years ago by Syed Baber Ali. Its offshore facilities established in Europe, North America, and Middle East along with all the major cities of Pakistan comprise of over 2,500 customer-focused employees providing a great customer experience. It has accomplished above 600 projects and its vast list of customers includes Fortune 500 companies, government and corporate entities.

 Mr Asif Peer who is currently CEO, Member of the Board and the Managing Director of Systems Limited started off his career as associate developer with Systems after completing Graduation from FAST, Karachi. He also served as Senior Vice President of Services and as Vice President of Servicing Technologies at Visionet Systems Inc. He has a total experience of 18 years and 13 years of professional experience of working at Systems Limited’s sister concern in the USA. He was one of the Top 11 CEO of Pakistan according to an article written in 2014 and one of the best performing CEOs and Leaders according to Manager Today and CEO club.

Talking about the company Mr. Peer said that the company sends 40 to 50 people abroad every year and 500+ citizens of US have gone from SYSTEMS and its goal is to hire 20,000 employee every year, groom them and take them to next level. Working in various capacities at leadership level, he strongly believes in leading the company's growth through innovation, methodology and achieving high degree of excellence in execution through mix of technologies and business domain. 

As the CEO, he has envisioned Systems Limited to be recognized by its customers, employees, stakeholders, vendors, partners and competitors as the number One IT enabled services provider not only in Pakistan but to be rated among the best software solutions and IT services companies within the Finance & Apparel market segments in the USA, South East Asia, Middle East and European Markets.

Work philosophy of Systems Limited is simple - deliver quality & value by generating flexible software solutions within a fun, disciplined, and a receptive work environment that promotes unity and fortify the strength of the company.

Awards won by Systems Limited under leadership of Asif Peer include:

·         Best in BPO

·         Runner-up award for Brand Management categories at the P@SHA ICT Awards 2014.

In the question & answer session Mr Asif Peer pointed out that the key difference between the graduates of US and Pakistan is grooming, upbringing, magnitude and exposure. Graduates of US are groomed in a way to think out of box and if you have an idea and efficiency to sell yourself then nothing can stop you from achieving your goal. He further said that vision, mission along with re-innovating both in business domain as well as in technology domain is most important thing to make a company work. Talking about the scope of IoT, he said that since all large organizations need data of their end users to make their services better, it is the future of IT. Answering a question related to Bit Logger Currency he shared that the company is already working on it in Pakistan and mentioned a startup called One Load. According to him, the major challenge faced by B2B solution startups is to come up with an idea which is different from the ideas of current working companies.

Mr. Peer also agreed to extend their services to freelancers by providing trainings on communication. He believes that Systems Limited is an institution and it’s their Corporate Social Responsibility to help all sectors of IT.

Very interesting prospects came out after the session and TechHub Connect hopes to collaborate with Systems Ltd. on many more projects in future. :)

[plan9techhub]

TechHub Connect Celebrates Systems Ltd. Week

Systems Ltd. is prominent IT Company with thirty eight years of experience and has branches worldwide to provide IT solutions and products.

Systems Ltd. week would be a great platform for startups, freelancers and students to interact with the top tier management and make a connection.  This is how TechHub Connect has planned to celebrate Systems (Pvt.) Ltd.

A Talk by Asif Peer - CEO of Systems (Pvt.) Ltd.

Monday, 7th September, 2015

Time: 4pm

The motivating force behind Systems Ltd will give an open talk to startups, freelancers and university students at 4pm. This will be a good opportunity for people to interact and learn from Mr. Asif Peer.

Systems Investor Pitch Day

Tuesday, 8th September, 2015

Time: 11 am to 2 pm

This will be a mock pitch where startups from PlanX will pitch to acting investors from Systems Ltd. People who can understand and evaluate an investor pitch from Systems Ltd will judge and give feedback.

Mentoring with Systems Ltd.

Thursday, 10th of September, 2015

Time: 11 am to 3 pm

Plan9 startups will be mentored by financial, business and technical experts from Systems Ltd. Later, after mutual agreement these experts can in future get involved in the development of selected startups.  

Systems Ltd Innovation & Strategy by Zubair Anjum

Thursday 10th of September, 2015

Time: 4 pm

Mr. Zubair Anjum (Vp Marketing, System Ltd) will have a session with all startup & freelencers, where he will discuss about Systems Ltd modernization and also the approach it has taken for it.

Visit to Systems Ltd.

Friday 11th of September, 2015

To wrap up, an open house will be conducted on the final day. TechHub Connect has arranged two batches (morning & evening) to witness Systems Ltd. In action. First would be of startup founders & freelancers. Second would be of university students.

See you at Systems Week! =)

[plan9techhub]

NetSol Week - An Overview

Pakistan’s promising and ever flourishing IT industry is widespread with examples of successes at both local and global level. These successes, the struggles and lessons that have led to them, need to not only be celebrated but also importantly, shared with students, professionals and entrepreneurs. 

It is for this reason that TechHub Connect has started a new campaign called "Celebrating Our IT Heroes".

The scope of the campaign is to identify heroes of Pakistan in the domain of Technology, do extensive research on their (And their company’s) successes, connect with them personally, and then celebrate a whole week of events in conjunction with the identified hero’s tech venture.

The first such hero that we have celebrated was Mr.Salim Ghauri, founder and CEO of Netsol Technologies.

Netsol Technologies needs no introduction. One of the leading software houses in Pakistan, Netsol Tech provides innovative IT solutions to the global assets finance and leasing industry. Its success can be ascertained from the fact that it has well over 200 partners & clients worldwide. Moreover, Forbes, the world’s top business magazine, recently name Netsol as one of the top 500 software companies to work for in 2015.

The Netsol Week kicked off with a talk by the man himself, Salim Ghauri on 6th July 2015. The talk was about his journey as an entrepreneur and was attended by well over a 100 participants. Apart from the successes of Netsol, Mr. Ghauri emphasized on a number of life lessons that he had learnt over the years as an entrepreneur. The first among these was to always put one’s education into practice. It was his staunch belief that education puts a lot of responsibility on the receiver who must fulfill it by putting it into action.

The second key lesson was to pursue THAT career that one is ardent about. Mr. Ghauri stated that it’s never too late to discover one’s passion and work towards it. Quoted by example, Mr. Ghauri did his bachelors in Petroleum and Gas Engineering. After graduating, he got his first job in the related field. Working there for a while, Mr.Ghauri realized that this was not his cup of tea so he left it to work for the IT department of Citibank which was a much less paying job yet offered much more learning. Mr. Ghauri maintains that this was a job that changed his life. He had discovered his zeal for technology and he worked on it from that point onwards.

Third message was how important “determination” is the key to success. Mr. Ghauri shared how once he discovers what stimulates his brain cells, he persistently works on it. He left his rather comfortable life abroad and moved back to Pakistan. He felt homesick and while working with different ethnicities overseas, he realized that he wanted to do something for his homeland, Pakistan. Mr. Ghauri claims that when he moved back, he had no finances to start a business yet, what he had was an ideal to strive for.

Luckily, he found his first investor from within his family. Starting with a one room office with only 3 people in 1995, Mr.Ghauri has now grown Netsol to a 1600+ employee company with presence in USA, UK, China, Australia, Thailand, Germany and Indonesia. This journey, he believes, has been achieved through patience and determination to achieve his goal. Rooted from the latter point came forward another important life lesson which was to always set goals in life. Mr. Ghauri believes that setting goals in life is important to keep one focused in one direction.

During his entire talk, Mr. Ghauri reiterated one point several times which was to never rush things in an entrepreneurial venture. He shared his experience of how he made calls to prospective customers every single day for 2 consecutive years before he finally acquired his first client. His first customer was Mercedes Benz (which they still proudly have as a client) and Salim proudly states that it was worth the wait.

At the end, Mr. Ghauri stressed on the importance of youth in shaping the future of Pakistan. He encouraged all young professionals sitting in the audience to start thinking of how to make Pakistan a better place in their own little capacity.

Overall, it was a great motivational talk followed by a meeting of Mr. Ghauri with the Joint Director of Entrepreneurship and Enterprise at PITB, Mr. Nabeel Akmal Qadeer and the Chairman of PITB, Mr. Umar Saif. In the meeting, ways to improve the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem of Pakistan were discussed along with a way forward to improve the future of IT industry of Pakistan.

The next event of the Netsol week was Netsol- Strategy and Product awareness day on 8th July, 2015. The Chief Strategy officer, Mr. Umar Zafar and Chief Product officer, Mr.Osman Chaudhry spared their invaluable time to come to TechHub Connect and share their guidance and wisdom with the young entrepreneurs and professionals attending the session.

The session was twofold, with the sole purpose of understanding what makes Netsol successful. Mr. Umar Zafar talked about how Netsol has managed to become a global industry leader whereas Mr. Osman Chaudhry talked about the product lines of Netsol that makes it stand out.

The Last event of The NetSol week was a trip of Plan9 incubator's Whiz Kids Summer Camp students and interns to Netsol HQ on 9th July 2015.

The main motive behind this event in particular is to bring a change in students as young as teenagers. We at the TechHub Connect want to create awareness about the successes of IT industry of Pakistan in school children so when they enter universities, they choose their fields wisely. We believe that there is a huge gap between the industry and academia in Pakistan and thus want to bridge that in whatever way we can. We want youngsters to not only get inspiration from the likes of Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and those from the West, but to also get inspired from those that have achieved considerable success in our local IT Industry. What makes our local success stories a huge source of pride to Pakistan is the fact that even in a developing country, local IT heroes have managed to build world class organizations.

Visit to Netsol Technologies Head Quarters started with an introduction of the company to the children. Most of them were O and A Level ICT students who were enthralled to know about the successes of NetSol. This was followed by a trip around their office, briefly describing the products being developed in each department. Lastly, souvenirs were presented to the students, bringing an end to the visit as well as The Netsol Week!

This idea of celebrating our local IT companies and heroes has just begun. In the weeks and months to follow, we shall be doing the same with a number of other big names and industry leaders. So keep following us on our social media platforms, and be on the lookout for similar upcoming events and seminars.

[plan9techhub]

Building Silicon Valley in Pakistan- Salim Ghauri as an Inspiration to Young IT Entrepreneurs

Salim Ghauri emerged as an IT entrepreneur in 1995 when he clean swept the market with the introduction of NetSol Technologies.  Through his company, he introduced IT of Pakistan to the world, receiving loads of success in no time. The “Bill Gates of Pakistan” is an iconic and influential figure, who has left his mark on the society.

NetSol technology is a true-life success story. With more than 120 IT professionals, engineers and developers working at the head office in Lahore, NetSol is the first and only Pakistani based IT company to get listed in NASDAQ. Today, it has an international presence in Australia, UK, and USA with $10 million turnover. The company has come a long way since its set up, and has never looked back.

NetSol has had quite a remarkable journey; starting out with a small team working in a humble two room office, now it has headquarters in Calabasas, California and a presence in four continents. NetSol is Pakistan’s biggest IT exporter, a leading IT employer and Pakistan’s first CMMI level 5 certified company. Salim Ghauri is one of the country’s leading IT entrepreneurs and an epitome of development in Pakistan’s IT industry. Spearheading the company, Salim has helped NetSol achieve global recognition as a leading supplier of IT software and solutions for the finance and leasing, capturing over 90 percent of the Chinese Auto Leasing market. Both NetSol and Salim Ghauri have received great recognition at both local and global levels and have won numerous accolades.

NetSol still remains the only CMMI level 5 certified company in Pakistan. The success of NetSol as a global organization can be gauged from the fact that since 2003 NetSol has received the Best IT Export Performance Award every year. Along with this, NetSol has received P@SHA’s ( Pakistan Software Houses Association) ICT awards for Best IT/ITES Employer Award, Best E-Government & Services Award, and Best Revenue Growth Award. Salim’s commitment to driving product excellence in LeaseSoft helped it win the prestigious Asia Pacific ICT Alliance award for “Best Financial Industry Application” in 2007. NetSol is also ranked among the top-10 ‘Fastest Growing Software Companies’ in the US, and it is the first and only Pakistani company trading on the NASDAQ.

Salim Ghauri too has received a lot of recognition just like his brainchild NetSol. Salim’s commitment to local IT talent and strife to make it prosperous culminated in the award for "Pioneer in Taking Technology Global” from CIO magazine. Salim also received the 8th Teradata National IT Excellence Award from Senator Raza Rabbani. And as a gesture to show the importance of Salim’s contribution to Pakistan’s IT industry, the Government of Pakistan appointed him as the chairman on the taskforce on Information and Communication Technologies.

Salim Ghauri has successfully brought passion, motivation, and inspiration to prospective new generation of IT entrepreneurs in Pakistan. The emergence of NetSol technologies reflects company’s belief in high quality management techniques.  The company continues to flourish on its policy of investing in processes and human capital. Salim Ghauri is a steadfast and staunch supporter of development of talent in youth through as “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.”-Malcolm X. Salim Ghauri and Netsol Technology are the assurance that they will continue to provide faithful support for IT industry in Pakistan.

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We at the TechHub Connect have now chosen for ourselves the mandate to not only celebrate our heroes such as Mr. Salim Ghauri, but also bring forward their stories to professionals, student, Entrepreneurs and all stakeholders of our IT Industry. The sole purpose being this – Our future heroes need to learn from our current ones! In lieu of this, we shall be having a talk by Mr. Salim Ghauri on Monday, 6th of July at Arfa Software Technology Park, followed later in the week by a further two sessions by Netsol’s Chief Product & Strategy officers. And to cap it off, our WhizKids (O & A Level Students, who are interning at PITB) shall be taken for a visit to Netsol HQ. See you at the Netsol Week! =)

[plan9techhub]

Homage To Pakistan's Thriving IT Industry

                           By Behram, Munim and Leena

About the Authors: Behram is a student at FAST-NU. He has a knack for learning and he loves sports.

Munim is doing A-levels form LGS, JT. He loves reading and history.

Leena Salman just took her O Level exams. She loves to read and listen to pop and country music.

Edited by TechHub Connect team.

What is Pakistan’s most rapidly growing industry? The answer certainly isn’t the textile industry; once a leading industry, it has been left in shambles due to inept government policies coupled with natural disasters. The agricultural industry plateaued long ago. The answer is the IT industry. Information technology in Pakistan is a growing and rising industry that has a lot of potential. The current growth rate and employment trend indicate that Pakistan’s Information Communication Technology (ICT) industry will exceed the $10 billion mark within the next five years.

Sadly though, there is not much the general public knows about the IT industry of Pakistan. Recently, the only time it made to the spotlight was with the whole Axact predicament which did nothing more than to tarnish its image. In reality, there is a lot more to the industry than an unfortunate scandal. Netsol being named in the Forbes “The Best Software Companies to Work for in 2015” and Mindstorm Studios creating the official game for the Cricket World Cup, are epitomes of the propitious future this industry holds.

The Information Technology industry of Pakistan has made quite a remarkable journey. The process of computerization in Pakistan started in 1957, when a company named “Packages Ltd.” started using computer for its work. It is considered the first company in Pakistan, which started using a computer. And in 1960 an IBM main frame computer was installed in PIA for flight reservation. And today over a hundred thousand people are officially employed in the information technology sector, with many more informally employed.  Pakistan’s share of global IT sales is $2.8 billion, out of which $1.6 billion accounts for the country’s exports of software and IT enabled services. There are 1,500 registered IT firms in the country and over 10,000 IT graduates enter the market every year.

So for those pessimistic souls who think that it is only the American companies that are advancing in this field, this blog should serve as an eye opener that Pakistani IT companies are progressing at a rapid pace and entrepreneurial initiatives like the ones by the Punjab Information Technology Board, the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA), Investo2Innovate and university based incubators like LUMS Center for Entrepreneurship, GIKI's The Incubator and Bahria University's Rainbow Valley are the flag bearers in this regard, not only creating a name for themselves but also providing a platform for all the technology aspirants to kick start their dream. Here are a few IT companies that are a source of pride for the Pakistani IT industry and serve as the beacon of light for all the new entrants.

Netsol Technologies

One of the major ICT industries in Pakistan, started in 1995, provides innovative IT solutions to the global assets finance and leasing industry, having more than 200 partners worldwide. It uses highly experienced resources in analysis, development quality assurance and implementation to provide a wide range of high quality consulting services and affordable development of software’s. As listed by Forbes, Netsol has made it to the top 500 companies to work for in 2015.

TRG

The country’s largest provider of BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) services with a total of 4 locations in Karachi and Lahore, was set up in 1999. From a total strength of 50 employees, it rose and became the first listed IT-enabled services company of Pakistan. Today TRG has a team of more than 1200 professionals, supporting 1000 industries. One of the major achievements of this company is that it has the largest equity rising at KSE over the past decade.

Techlogix

Techlogix is one of the many software houses in Pakistan, established in 1996.The main office is located in Lahore and has many branches across Pakistan and foreign countries, like Boston, Dubai and Malaysia. Techlogix specializes in IT Governance, Software Product Engineering, and Enterprise Applications.

Mindstorm Studios

In 2006, the talented people of Pakistan decided to create a number of outstanding games, thus becoming one of the most famous gaming industries of Pakistan. The games made were such a big success that this company got the title ‘breakthrough game cricket revolution.’

So, although in this unipolar world, the American influence still has the upper hand as far as Information Technology is concerned, but this simply does not mean that other nations do not have the capacity or the ability to match or even surpass the Americans. Along with the European, the Asian and more importantly Pakistani IT companies are surely in there with a shout.

It is for this reason that we at Plan9-TechHub now plan to enhance the scope of our operations from just a co-working space and widen our vision and reach. The Co-working space shall continue to function as it does, but we intend to become a platform where the IT Industry of Pakistan connects, interacts and grows. Pakistan’s nascent, yet ever expanding IT industry is rife with examples of successes at both the local & global level as already mentioned. These successes, the struggles and lessons that led to them, need to not only be celebrated but also importantly, shared with students, professionals and entrepreneurs. We intend to become the place that does exactly this & more.. – As facilitators and a bridge between those that have already achieved much, and those who aspire to become successes of the future.

Nabeel A Qadeer, the Joint Director for Entrepreneurship & Enterprise Development at The Punjab Information Technology Board, commenting on the re-branding said,

"We've very successfully run the co-working space for Individual Freelancers showing the worth of Networking and Knowledge sharing.. Now, we are ready to take it to the next level, and expand it to all those that are part of the IT Industry”

This is where the re-branding comes in – From Plan9 TechHub to TechHub Connect. A platform where the idea of connectivity between all stakeholders (CEO’s, Professionals, Students, Entrepreneurs etc) comes to the forefront and the IT industry as a whole takes giant strides forward.

[plan9techhub]

TechHub Connect - Rebranding Plan9-TechHub

Plan9 TechHub (A project of Punjab Information Technology Board) began as a pilot project to accommodate & facilitate the burgeoning and extremely high quality Freelancing community of Pakistan. Numbering in the hundreds of thousands, Freelancers from Pakistan are noted the world over for producing work of the highest quality. The vision therefore was simple – Create an environment in which Freelancers could learn, connect & grow!

Over the course of more than 15 months, we at the TechHub have housed more than 125 Freelancers from a whole host of different technologies and domains – Web, Mobile, Design, Game development, Analysts, Consultancy, etc. Being open 24 hours a day, six days a week, the TechHub continues to provide Freelancers with an environment that is conducive towards achieving the goals of enhanced productivity, networking and growth. Throughout this time, one theme that has consistently shown through is the positive impact that networking and connecting brings to the table.

There have been a number of instances whereby Freelancers at the TechHub have worked on large scale projects, forming ad-hoc teams from within themselves (Different individual Freelancers) to complete them proficiently and productively. Not only this, but the opportunity to work in an environment that promotes connectivity has led to a number of Start-ups (Both product & service based) to be formed between Freelancers who before coming to the TechHub didn’t even know each other. Some of these start-ups have even gone on to be incubated at Plan9’s Tech Incubator – Pakistan’s premier Tech Incubator!

Dr. Umar Saif, Chairman of The Punjab Information Technology Board, commenting on this said, 

“Students, Entrepreneurs and young professionals are the future of our country.. It is our responsibility to make sure that they have the best opportunities available to them.. What we want with TechHub Connect is to act as a bridge between the heroes of our local IT Industry and the future of our country”

Connectivity thus is at the core of all that we do - Keeping this in mind, we now plan to enhance the scope of our operations and widen our vision and reach. The Co-working space shall continue to function as it does, but we intend to become a place where the IT Industry of Pakistan connects, interacts and grows. Pakistan’s nascent, yet ever expanding IT industry is rife with examples of successes at both the local & global level. These successes, the struggles and lessons that led to them, need to not only be celebrated but also importantly, shared with students, professionals and entrepreneurs. We intend to become the place that does exactly this & more.. – As facilitators and a bridge between those that have already achieved much, and those who aspire to become successes of the future.

Nabeel A Qadeer, the Joint Director for Entrepreneurship & Enterprise Development at The Punjab Information Technology Board, commenting on the re-branding said, 

"We've very successfully run the co-working space for Individual Freelancers showing the worth of Networking and Knowledge sharing.. Now, we are ready to take it to the next level, and expand it to all those that are part of the IT Industry”

This is where the Re-branding comes in – From Plan9 TechHub to TechHub Connect. A place where the idea of connectivity between all stakeholders (CEO’s, Professionals, Students, Entrepreneurs etc) comes to the forefront and the IT industry as a whole takes giant strides forward. 

[plan9techhub]

Freelancers Of Pakistan - Asim Sohaib

“I’m a freelancer by choice. It’s my strength; it gives me flexibility to work.”

I went to study abroad and studied Management Information System. I worked there for about 2 and a half years as IT Manager but then had to come back for my family. I got a job here, in a software house as the Business Development Manager.

The day I signed my offer letter, I was content. My life seemed to be in place. I joined the place and my first day was easy. Not a lot of work and I thought, it’s just the start. Work will build up, slowly and gradually. Next thing I knew, months started passing and then a whole year flew away and while analyzing my life in the past months, I realized my work was not stimulating my brain cells enough. I felt underutilized. I wanted to do more; I knew I COULD do more! Then followed the thought of being underpaid as well. Of course, when I know I can do more, I am willing to, even, but there just IS not any more work in the place, I felt like I’m wasting myself. So after about 2 years at the company, I decided to make an exit.

Having worked abroad as well as here and that too as a business development manager, I always pictured myself as an entrepreneur. My education had given me a perfect mix of technical as well management skills. Yet the problem was, I didn’t have a team or a client base.

Being a perfectionist, I knew I’m not the person who will just RUN into a business. I’ve been a planner since I was young and I knew if I want to be an entrepreneur, I will plan first and then start. After talking to some friends, I made a decision that I will freelance and start building a client base at least, if not a team, for now.

So here starts my journey. After quitting my job, I cleaned my store room and I set it up like an office. I started by sitting there all day and researching on firstly, which site should I make a profile on. I am proud to call myself that person who has read the terms and agreement of every famous freelancing site. Yes, those LONG documents that nobody bothers to read and just presses on “I agree” and moves forward. I wanted to be sure that if I start free lancing, I should do it in a very proper manner. So after days of research I decided to start from Elance.

I would be lying if I say, I wasn’t scared to bid. I was, yet, I started bidding for only those project that I knew I could deliver. I would make sure, I understand the requirements clearly. Luckily, I got my first work on the second day of bidding. I feel I was quite lucky as it was worth $600. Ecstatic as I was, I started working hard. I started doing well and projects started rolling in. I would spend days and nights in that store room working. After a few months, I realized that I was doing great but I started feeling extremely lonely.

Being a business development manager, I knew I was a people’s person. I liked interacting and working WITH people. This, on the other hand was completely the opposite! So I decided to start working from a library in my residential vicinity. After a few days, due to infrastructure issues, my work started lagging and that was frustrating. I started researching for co-working spaces and I found one newly opened space which looked like a blessing. I went to check it out and I found out that I’m one of the first free lancers to acquire the space.

After a few days infrastructure issues were faced there as well and again frustration started building up. Being a freelancer, I’ve realized, time is your biggest asset so again, I started looking for another place. After researching, I found out about Plan9- TechHub. Having a bad experience already, I wanted to test it first and then become a part of it. So I came here and I asked the manager to allow me to sit in their area for about a week so I can test. A considerate guy that he is, he allowed me. After a week, I felt like THIS finally is what I’ve been looking for, since so long!

I gave no second thoughts and acquired the space asap. After this, I believe there was no looking back. I started adjusting here. I met new and very successful free lancers who were topping their game. I had people around me who could relate to me and who I could relate to. If I got stuck somewhere, I had people to take help from. I started getting the feel of an office here. I started falling in love with free lancing.

Coming to the challenges faced in my work. Well, as already mentioned my first gain was my first project worth $600. I would also call that gain of mine, a struggle. Since I was wearing so many hats, doing so many things at the same time, I sort of neglected my earnings. When I received the first payment in my Elance account, I did not take it out instantly. I knew I will have to look into the procedure and I JUST DIDN’T have the time. So I kept stalling it and after about a few months when I finally did, I was a bit lost. Paypal does not work in Pakistan and I had to figure out an alternate way to receive money. Being new to all this and knowing no freelancer, I didn’t have anybody to ask from. So after about 3 months, I received my earnings. The procedure was complicated and this also eventually led me to change my portal of free lancing.

Moreover, once I took more than one project I started getting really tired. Work was getting harder and harder to manage and I was getting worn out. So I started thinking of alternate ways. I made a plan. I started going to university career offices and got in touch with students. My personal belief says that students are the best people to get the work done from because their knowledge of the subject is fresh and projects make them use the knowledge in real. So yes, I started outsourcing work and in that way I started building a team too.

So now this was time to turn my dream “being an Entrepreneur” into a reality. I had a client base and a team, all I needed was a technical co-founder for Software Development Outsourcing Company. I would be wrong if I say, I turned my focus to finding a “co-founder”. I kept running my projects the way they were. I knew a couple of people in Tech Hub now. Not just professional relationships but made some amazing friendships as well. So while discussing life with someone in Tech Hub I realized that there is someone who has the same aims in life like I do. I shared with him my future goals, my entrepreneurship dream and we both realized that we were sharing a very similar dream. We started discussing details. Started planning and we decided to join hands and put our dream to reality. I had a team in mind and the clientele base and he had the technical skill set.

After months of planning together we finally decided upon a vision for our company. Perfectionist as I call myself, we planned each and every bit of our business, aligned our future and career goals. So much so that if you ask me right now where do I see myself in a year’s time, I’ll be able to tell you exactly and so will my co-founder. =)

So now we’re working towards our entrepreneurial goal. We have the website ready and we are now working around the formalities. I would conclude by saying that Tech Hub has played a key role in helping me achieve my entrepreneurial dream come true. =)

Website: www.softicks.com LinkedIn: https://pk.linkedin.com/pub/asim-sohaib/67/529/a86 Twitter: @AsimSohaib

[plan9techhub]

Freelancers of Pakistan - Yasir Salman

It all started when I was in school passionate for cricket. I was an ardent fan of cricket players and wanted to make a career out of it. In spite of my passion for cricket I used to earn good results in my exams. This led me to a point where I was at cross roads deciding whether I should choose my studies or go for cricket, and I chose the latter one, subsequently bidding farewell to my studies.

I wasted the next two years and could not get hold of a path which would lead me to become a professional Cricketer. I was left severely rejected and returned to my old way which I should not have abandoned  at the first place. By the end of this high turn in my life, I realised that in order to be something in this country you must have a reliable reference, which unfortunately I was devoid of.

I belonged to a Middle-class family, and I had seen my parents work hard to make ends meet. After my return to the “real life,” I requested my parents to support me with studies. But considering my negligent behavior prior to this they were not ready to trust me.

I was left alone with my mental turmoil, thinking of ways through which I can stand up on my own two feet. That year was a lesson to me, and a step which ultimately changed my perspective towards life. I worked hard,  to pay my fee in order to clear my lower-secondary exams. This included working in brick kilns and several other low-ranking jobs just so that I  can give my examination.

I was supposed to give two years of papers in a month, which was again a hefty task. It required me to study day and night, and it paid off with my result; I had passed my exams with flying colours. It was a milestone I achieved, which earned me the respect of my parents and family members. By then I had realised that nothing is impossible with hard work and determination. Keeping these two things n my mind I continued my journey and was able to pass my I-COM exams as well with straight A’s. These two years were agin tough for me because of my family’s financial situation, and I had to earn for myself to pay my fee. I believe all of this aided to strengthening my faith In my God and increasing my will power.

One of my teachers suggested that I should apply for Hailey Collage of Banking, which is one of the finest facilities in the country and is known for its high merit and significant results. Adhering this thought, I started working hard for the entry test, making this an ultimate mark for my final goals. I succeeded in getting  myself admitted in that vicinity.

I was high on ambitions when I started my studies to be a banker. But what I realised as months passed by, was this emptiness which I felt while cramming all the rules of interest and banking. These concepts somehow went against my personal beliefs and very passing day made me realise how unsuitable I am for this career.

That feeling of satisfaction and fulfillment was nowhere near to my heart. One fine day I came across the concept of “how to make money online.”  It was quite alluring for me, and I continued searching for possible ways of achieving this. My first job was to post a few links and market them on individual platforms which I completed over a period of 6 Months, earning a total of 6 dollars!!!

I had created my blog and even though I had worked hard for more than six months. One of my friends once came across my blogs and mocked me  a lot. His observations were not wrong, but in spite of that, his remarks were enough to leave a deep gash in my heart. I wondered why he was so harsh, he should consider that I have worked very hard to achieve this. This friend of mine introduced me to Odesk, but even then I paid no heed to it and continued working on my blog producing nothing but zilch!!

Those days were hard for my family and myself since we were facing a financial crunch. I had no money to pay for the internet even.  At that time, this friend of mine took me to a person who had an opening in his office for an Internet Marketeer. I met him, in crucial circumstances where I had no money to pay for my conveince even while returning home. After that, I started searching for SEO services and several blogs observing how they incorporate SEO in their internet profiles.

This is how eventually I go hired on my first job. My compensation per hour was $1, and I distinctly remember working for 30 hours a week for that company. After getting my first payout which was 60$ for that month, I continued spending my time reading about SEO educating myself on how Blogs work and researching. My second payout was $150 which was a ray of hope for me.

Interestingly the person who had hired me had given specific instructions to my colleagues to “not introduce me to Odesk.” But I being the usual curious cat continued to educate myself more about these sites till the day I made my profile. Apparently my boss was under the impression that if somehow I got to know about odesk I would stop working for them and will start growing. His insecurities fueled his behavior which was quite evident every time he would come to me.

The day I won my second contract which was for about $250, my boss went all out on me, rejecting me in the worst possible way. My boss conspired against me in several ways to bring my reputation down and to kick me out of the company, which they eventually did.

I felt disappointed but slightly content since my work at odesk had kick started. I focused on my skills, developing them with ever chance I got. I would stay online for 13 hours shaping my work, struggling to balance myself on substantial grounds. I ended up straying away from my studies, my university. My peers made fun of me saying I wouldn't make it big outside in this big bad world. But I had faith in my God and myself.

Finally, My Way to Success

My curiosity and urge to succeed led me to polish my skills even further. I reached out to various top marketing personalities such as Steve Webs, Brian Deane and they guided me in ways I could not have imagined. But my motivation was Niel Patel. I saw myself in him, how he endured success with hard work.

I have successfully complete almost 4700 working hours on Odesk, with a rating of 4.9 and at this point I am working on several fronts.  In inclusion to that  I have successfully completed more than 600 projects privately.  Odesk itself was ready to hire me in order to improve their SEO Testing system, however I had to excuse because of my busy schedule and multiple goals. In addition to that Odesk also asked me to Join  their enterprise solutions, but I had to reject that too.

I have managed to build my own abode, get a car, and multiple gadgets with my handwork and determination. I started off with one laptop which was given to me by the government as a part of their program to help hardworking students. Now I own multiple laptops and lead a team of workers who are extremely loyal to me.

My clients directly reach out to me from different countries and I successfully manage to wow them with my knowledge and skills.

My Introduction to Plan9 TechHub

There is a famous IT center in Lahore I was highly fascinated with by the name of Plan9 TechHub. They saw my profile and appreciated me for my hard work and consistency. I was immediately invited my them to join their premises. This was my real foray to a whole new world; a professional environment where I got a chance to meet various professionals from different fields. I used to attend their conferences, and it won't be wrong of me to say that the TechHub officially groomed me.

The best part about this facility was the never ending support of their officials. The Program Manager was someone who made me believe in myself in the darkest of times. I got hold of several projects, several chances with the guidance of Plan9 TechHub.

I would request and suggest all the freelancers in Pakistan to join such a platform even if you are a pro in your field. I believe you can learn from several different things and dynamic institutes such as the TechHub.  From the intricate details of how to create a professional Skype profile to the larger goals.

I can be reached via my official Facebook page or through Twitter. You can also find me showcased in the list of Freelancers of the Plan9 TechHub Website. 

[plan9techhub]

Freelancers of Pakistan - Muhammad Kashif Arain

I remember the days in 2007 when I joined University and had never used a computer before. My friends used to make fun of me because I was a novice user and they played pranks on me i.e. “press this button that will solve the problem” and after pressing the button they enjoyed the mess that came up.

Being someone who was new to the city and the university, my only wish was to be able to do something that could help me pick myself up. It was during such struggles that a friend told me that Mr. XYZ had earned Rs. 50,000 in just 2 days by doing a project, and I was like REALLY? HOW?  He answer was one word - ODESK.

That lit a light inside me, and I started spending each and every free minute that I had, in the lab making and adjusting my profile on oDesk. In those early days, I sent one bid after another, and even when I got a project, I wasn’t able to work on it, since it was beyond my coding and programming skills.

After having spent a little time on oDesk, I quickly concluded that I needed to start with projects that weren’t very technical in nature, and had to build myself and my profile up. This is where my fixation with WordPress was born. I started bidding for projects that fell in this domain, and after a week or so of doing so, was selected by a client for a small project. It was the first time I had gotten a project that I could actually work on, and working 18 hours on stretch, I was able to deliver and earned Rs 10,000 in return. The feeling of earning your first paycheck online is one of immense satisfaction and thankfulness. It also gave me the chance to get back at those who had pranked me in those early days, as I was the first one to start earning  =)

After Graduation, like everyone else, I started a full-time job but the experience and opportunity that Freelancing had given me forced me to think otherwise. Working full-time for someone else at $600-$700/month didn’t fancy me and after working for about 1.5 years, I decided to become a full time freelancer.

Why Freelancing:

Freelance work offers tremendous advantages and can represent an attractive alternative to a traditional job. With consistent hard-work and dedication, I now stand as one of the top rated freelancers on oDesk and have also been part of Featured Freelancers on Elance for that category I work in.

Some of main factors that I find advantageous about Freelancing, and that have kept me going in this space are as follows:

No boss breathing down your neck: You're the boss - you make the rules, which generally leave you more relaxed and happy.

Better Life: In freelancing I have my own working hours, my own rules so I can spend more time with family and friends anytime anywhere.

Flexible Hours: You can work whenever you want. You get to choose your own hours. If you want to sleep in until noon, you can do that. If you want to take the weekend off so you can explore the city, by all means, go for it. As a freelancer, you can actually work during your most productive hours, and those hours don’t have to fall in during regular business hours.

Work from anywhere: this is why I love to be a freelancer I can work from anywhere in the world where internet is available even while travelling.

Control Over Rates : Get 100% what you deserve , while at job I felt that my employer is giving me a tiny percentage of whatever he earns from my work as my salary.

Do whatever you love: as a freelancer you can choose the projects you want to work on but at job you have to work on stuff which will be asked by the jackass boss.

Unforeseen emergencies are easier to deal with: As stated above in number 2, any time something pops up, you're able to leave and don't have to worry about taking a sick day, lose pay or jeopardize your position with your boss.

Working in your underwear is not a crime : It's no secret that working from home can give you a ton of added benefits - the biggest (in some people’s eyes) being that you don't have to wear pants - even if you're doing video chats or conversation on the phone.

I have worked my way to near the top through much hard-work and dedication. Along the way, there have been a number of roadblocks and troubles that I have had to surpass. I have learnt valuable lessons that I would want to share with my fellow Freelancers:

Patience: for the ones who are facing difficulties getting their first task nowadays number of freelancers is huge so you need to sharpen your proposals and be patient don’t lose hope, you will surely secure your first task.

Quality: Make sure everything is well tested and up to the mark before delivering to the client which will lead to great feedback from clients which is a real asset for a freelancer.

Provide Excellent Support to the client: This is where your repeat business comes from, 5 minutes   support could lead to a $500 new project seriously!

Realistic time and Cost Estimates: At least until you’re confident you’re pretty accurate.  If you don’t, you’ll be out of pocket and your clients will be unhappy.

Pick your clients carefully:  Be wary of people who say they’ve had problems previously with other freelancers.  They may have genuinely been let down but it’s equally likely that they tend to set unrealistic targets or are tricky to work with themselves.  Be cautious of people who say that something is simple when they have no understanding of the technicalities involved.  

Don’t accept ridiculously low budget projects: Sometimes when I see project description and then budget I reply to the client ‘Are you kidding?

When clients offer rewards that are too low for a job, sometimes it is worth going back and asking if they’re willing to be flexible. Often clients are just “Testing the waters” to see if they can get away with it.

Technical Help in terms of WordPress:

While working we use a lot of plugins and code examples from others, so take some time and give back to the community which has given you much. I did the same by developing a few plugins and made them available on WordPress Plugins directory free for all. Trust me, such an attitude goes a long way!

I was a Freelancer who worked from my home, and like anyone else was routinely bogged down by a number of issues. Through social media, I was introduced to Pla9 TechHub, and everything clicked into place immediately. I applied, and on the basis of my profile was allocated a space for Free! Being at the TechHub has accentuated my love for Freelancing, and I would really recommend Freelancers to make use of this brilliant facility in the heart of the Technology Eco-System of Punjab!

Some of the many benefits I got from TechHub:

Boosting up my earnings by 100% as compared to working from home

Making new friends, Networking with industry professionals and experts that you just can’t get anywhere else.

Seeing others around you working hard, increases the motivation to work immensely – At the TechHub, this has been the case everyday!

Introduced me to awesome team mates with whom I share projects & products.

If anyone needs any help from me regarding freelancing don’t hesitate to reach me at:

Skype: hmk.arain

Email: [email protected]

Facebook : www.facebook.com/arain.kashif

Odesk : https://www.odesk.com/users/Wordpress-Buddypress-S2member-bbpress-Plugin-Development_~01bf0e92a881a4e044?tot=70&pos=2

[plan9techhub]

Want to be a better freelancer in 2015? Start with these eight habit-forming tips!

The worst part about being a freelancer is that it’s virtually impossible to know whether you’re doing it right.

Well, that and the unpredictable, bone-dry weeks on end, staring at the mail slot wondering whether you will ever receive a paycheck again or will just have to go on shooting follow-up emails into the void and racking up credit card debt and eating oatmeal and saltines for the rest of your life. And the feeling when a big project is about to end and you are going to lose a massive chunk of your income and you have absolutely no clue where your rent is going to come from next month and maybe you will finally have to give up and take a desk job.

8. Forgetting about invoices

Look, I get it. You’re juggling a billionty-seven projects right now. Or maybe you’ve got a side hustle, or a full-time job. But there’s no excuse for fudging it. Say it with me: organization. Figure out a ledger system that makes sense in your brain. Color-code your business files, and regularly keep track of when you filed your invoices. Follow up often. If the delay gets nuts (like, two months or more), become annoying. It’s your money; your clients are not doing you a favor by giving you work. The more you allow even the small stuff to fall through the cracks, the easier it is for clients (who sometimes are big corporations who don’t give a damn about you, you miserable, insignificant content worm) to pay you at their leisure.

And for the love of god, save your stuff in the cloud. I’ve heard and experienced way too many computer-crash horror stories to allow us to continue this way.

7. Asking to ‘pick [another freelancer’s] brain’

Starting out as a freelancer is utterly terrifying. I can’t even imagine what it must be like to have the courage to quit the comfort of your full-time job to do this traumatizing thing. (My own entry into our profession was, shall we say, less voluntary.) However. This sounds harsh, but it needs to be said: stop emailing other freelancers with vague or general requests for advice. Unlike staffers with salaries and 401(k)s, these freelancers – like you! – measure time as directly proportional to their income, and as much as they likely want to help you, the more they do this for baby freelancers, the less time they have to make a living. It’s painful and awkward, and you don’t want to be put in this position later on, either, so let’s realign now.

When you’re floundering and you need help and you absolutely cannot find it elsewhere first, it’s best to make your requests specific, brief and few. If you have to, ask questions that show you’re doing the work on your own and simply need a tiny, itty-bitty bird’s-leg up from someone who has been doing it longer than you. Like with any job interview, coming to this person prepared and minimizing the amount of work he or she has to do to help you will maximize both your own takeaways and – even better – your relationship with that person.

6. Accepting these two words: ‘for exposure’

I know the dilemma you’re facing painfully well, first-timer. Do you work for free or for low pay, thus devaluing your work and incurring the scorn of your fellow freelancers for cheapening your profession’s worth, in the service of getting your byline out there? Or do you flop around like a flounder, trying desperately to get paid work and kickstarting your career without much professional clout? It’s a painful catch-22.

Luckily, there’s a happy medium. A good rule of thumb to follow is that if a client is asking you to work “for exposure”, he or she is probably a horrible person to work for, and the client or publication you’re pitching is probably not one that will actually do much for you. There are exceptions to this rule, of course, but if you’re going to go down that road, do so extremely sparingly. Believe it or not, there’s plenty of paid work out there; maybe it doesn’t pay more than, say, 25 bucks a pop, but it’s better than nothing.

The more you let yourself be exploited, the more employers will exploit you, and it will leave you wasting away in Baristaville forever.

5. Doing work without first hammering out the details

This is one I had to learn the hard way (repeatedly, I might add), so I’m hoping you will fare better by taking heed and maybe avoiding this nightmare altogether. Always, always, always nail down exactly what will be expected of you and exactly what you will be paid in return for your services before you take on a new freelance project. Get it in writing – don’t take a rate over the phone.

If parameters seem vague, Murphy’s Law will definitely come into play and you are probably (definitely) going to get screwed down the line. Ask for clarification immediately. If you’re a writer, or you’re in a similar industry where the clients name their own prices, a quick “What are your rates like?” email shows you mean business. By the same token, if you’re naming your own rate, make sure your client knows exactly what they will be receiving from you – how many hours you will spend on this project, how many edits you will field and, most importantly, where the project has to end.

4. Sinking into your hobbit hole

It doesn’t matter whether you’re an introvert or an extrovert – nothing maims a freelancer’s career (and, by proxy, her spirit) like hibernation. Holing up, as nice as it is to work from home and mainline X Files episodes while you type (and never having to brush your hair), means you’re estranging yourself from the working world and, eventually, losing touch with reality. As obnoxious as it sounds, you have to be in it in order to keep working.

Get yourself to a cafe once a week. Go outside – adopt a dog or, if you can’t, look into dog-sitting or volunteering. Take drinks meetings with your clients. (I can’t stress that last one enough – putting a face to your emails is one of the only ways employers will remember you over someone else when new work comes up.) I’m not a doctor, but I would bet that seasonal affective disorder is five times as bad if you don’t leave the house. As a friend of mine put it recently: “If you hide in a cabin in the woods, it turns out more like Joss Whedon’s movie than great American literature.”

3. Pitching like a masochist

Depending on where a freelancer is in his or her career, and depending on what level of neurotic he has become since he decided to hitch a ride on this crazy train, he has one of two problems: either he is not pitching enough, or he doesn’t know when to quit.

If you’re the former, keep a notebook on you at all times (or Evernote on your phone if you’re fancy) to jot down snippets of ideas for new projects big and small that you can come back to when you’re freaking out about having no pitches. Come up with ideas that have staying power, ones out of which you can churn more than one assignment. Home in on your expertise, and make sure you’re exploiting that to the fullest.

If you’re the latter (like me), let’s use this year to identify our limits, shall we? Assess your style – how fast you work, what kinds of projects take you more or less time and, most importantly, how much time you usually take to recover from a project or to procrastinate up against a deadline – and give yourself a per-month project ceiling.

Don’t let it get to the point where you have seven assignments in the air in a span of two weeks and you suddenly feel like Hermione Granger without a Time-Turner. We all need to pay our bills, but we also need to sleep and eat and enjoy life.

2. Taking whatever work you can get

Here’s a secret: it may sound totally ridiculous, and maybe even a little entitled, but I swear to you, the best way to step up your freelance game is to start turning stuff down. You know that whole “dress for the job you want” thing? That Poor Richard’s proverb isn’t too helpful for the self-employed contractor.

Instead of dwelling on attire, independent contractors should internalize this instead: “Work and negotiate for the job you’re trying to build.”

Don’t limit yourself to small-potatoes pitches because you think that’s what you deserve. (More on that self-esteem thing in a minute.) Reasonably assess where you’re at this year: how much freelance work do you have to show for yourself? Enough to send a handful of relevant $75 project clips to a client who will pay you $150 for the same kind of work? If so, do it.

In conversations with other freelancers, I have recently started referring to this concept as “monkey-barring”: using the clips or projects you have already accomplished to gradually sell yourself up the food chain. (OK, technically, a more accurate image would be rock-climbing, but “monkey-barring” just sounds so great, doesn’t it?) If you get that $150 work, it’s time to wean yourself off of those $75 clients (or ask them for more).

Writers, if you keep selling your pitches to publications that pay $50, you will only ever make $50 per piece. Designers and musicians: if you keep underquoting your rates, you’re going to be stuck in that tax bracket forever. The goal is to establish a floor rate.

If you’re still here, alive in the freelance game, by definition you are worth more than that. So at some point you’ve got to stop settling for less.

1. Being awful to yourself

Not to get all Eat, Pray, Love on you, but seriously, make a plan to be nicer to yourself this year. Trust me when I say that I know all about the various forms of self-loathing that come with freelancing: from pre-emptive self-loathing that keeps you from pitching the clients you really want to work for, to the fear-induced self-loathing that sends you spiraling into panic attacks, depressive comas and other various oblivions that arise when you think you’re not doing this right, that you’ll never make ends meet or get anywhere you want and will just be a penniless scrub for all eternity. They will all show up, and they will show up often, possibly forever. Especially, studies show, if you’re a woman and/or person of color.

The trick is to account for that inevitability and fight it. Assemble a freelance posse to gripe to about this stuff. See a therapist as regularly as you can. Spare the expense of a transcriber or an ergonomic chair or a meal out if it allows you to work smarter and with less stress. Treat. Yo. Self. Seriously, give yourself a break. Give yourself many breaks. And try your best not to forget that if you’re doing this full-time, you’re responsible for having acquired every single cent that enters your bank account. You know that every time you write your rent check or pay a credit card bill, you worked your ass off for every dollar. And that is one of the coolest things about this profession. (Also one of the most exhausting, but you know, cool.)

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/jan/26/eight-tips-to-be-better-freelancer-2015

[plan9techhub]

The Art Of Never Being Late!

It’s a terrible feeling, we’ve been there. But it changes for us. With years of research and experience with around 35,000 people around the globe, we believe being punctual is an art, and you can master it. Therefore, Kamran Zahid from Timelenders branched out ways to help you be punctual and manage work-life balance.

The art of never being late is very simple. It has two elements:

1. Correct time estimation: The first is to correctly estimate the time for all activities. Of course, we can’t become too scientific in this but a good guess is what we are looking at. So if this is traveling somewhere then how much time would it take from the beginning to the end? Similarly, if this is writing a report or working on a project then how long will it take? All it takes is to sit down and calculate the steps that an activity takes and individually calculate the time for each step and then add it up; the more complex the activity is, the more steps you should divide the task into.

2. Keeping a buffer: “The time incorporated into an activity that accounts for delays that can be anticipated.” For example in the above example, we can have traffic delays or a flat tyre. The length of the buffer differs from situation to situation. For example in the above case you may decide to keep a 15 minutes buffer. This means that you need to start moving at 2:25 pm and not 2:40 pm. A couple of simple exercises in the following pages will help you further solidify this concept.

[plan9techhub]

“Let’s keep in touch”: how to stay connected to former clients

When you were working for Client X, communication was simple! You emailed them, they emailed you; they gave you assignments, you finished on deadline. The rules were clear.

Then you finished up your work with them, submitted your final invoice, and wrote a “thanks for everything” email. They, in turn, thanked you – and said, breezily, “Keep in touch!”

And now here you are, hunched over your keyboard, sweating neurotically. It’s like writing to an ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend that you want to reconnect with; how do you sound sane and friendly, while also expressing your interest?

Savvy freelancers know that the best clients are repeat clients – and that it’s much easier to reconnect with a previous contact than it is to establish a completely new connection. But “keeping in touch” is easier to say than do; how often should you check in with old clients? How do you touch base without sounding desperate?

Here are a few tips for keeping those overtures breezy, relevant, and productive:

Do your research

Before you write to Client X, snoop around Google, their website, and LinkedIn pages. Find out what their company’s been up to, and (if you can) if there’s been any staff turnover; nothing’s more awkward than asking your contact to “say hello to Bill!” if Bill was fired a year ago for verbally abusing Santa at the holiday party. If there’s been positive news, that’s an excuse to write to your client – and a good way to show that you’ve been keeping track of their work: “Congratulations on the Hoover Dam project! I wondered if you might need help plugging the leaks?”, etc.

Use the excuse of special occasions (or new offers)

Have you expanded your skill set since you last worked with Client X, you clever creature? Do you now do social media as well as web content, or coding as well as graphic design? That’s a great excuse for sending out a friendly little update email to your former client. Think of it this way: you’re just informing them that if they happen to need an editor who ALSO moonlights as a juggler, you can now fulfill both needs!

I also like to take special occasions, especially major holidays, as an excuse to stay on a client’s radar. Nobody objects to a nice “Happy Holidays, thanks for a great year!” message. If no major holidays are forthcoming, you can also invent your own special occasion – a kind of freelance event. What’s a freelance event? Why, it’s a special deal on project pricing you are offering to select clients, for a limited time – and wouldn’t you know it, they’re on that list?* You’re just writing to let them know about it! Aren’t you considerate?

*The point with this is not so much that they take advantage of your (modest) one-time deal; it’s to remind them that you exist. Don’t undercut your own prices, and make sure that you build in a deadline for clients to take advantage of any discount.

Keep it short

How many emails do you get a day? How often do you closely read the long ones?

Keep it short (3-5 sentences), keep it friendly and casual, keep it germane. Again, you’re just reminding Client X that you’re alive and that your services are available. You’re not sending out a digital newsletter – that’s a whole ‘nother animal. Newsletters are perfectly viable tools with their own tricks and traps; these strategies are for personalized emails to select clients.

Don’t expect a response

Sometimes you’ll send a carefully-crafted, researched email into the ether… and never hear back. Sometimes you’ll get a two-word blurb in response. Sometimes you will be deafened by the silence.

And sometimes, they’ll offer you a gig.

Don’t wait on tenterhooks for a response (and don’t take it personally if you don’t get one at all). It’s not necessarily a rejection! The point is more to keep in long-term contact than to land a short-term project. Make sure the email you send gives Client X your most current contact information and an invitation to get in touch; the ball is now in their court.

https://www.freelancersunion.org/blog/2015/01/05/lets-keep-touch-how-stay-connected-former-clients/