Скачать или смотреть EP 17: Is the 🇵🇰 Startup Ecosystem Broken? | Mubariz ft. Jawwad Farid, Jehan Ara, and Khurram Zafar

What makes a founder succeed in Pakistan—and what keeps them from scaling? In this episode, we go beyond the headlines to unpack the real factors shaping the country’s startup ecosystem.

Our guests dive deep into the invisible levers behind entrepreneurship: capital structures, mindset gaps, market realities, and gendered challenges that most narratives gloss over.

We also ask the hard questions:
•⁠ ⁠Why don’t we see more big exits in Pakistan?
•⁠ ⁠Are our founders building for VCs—or for value?
•⁠ ⁠Can universities and families really support bold entrepreneurs?

From hype cycles to honest failures, storytelling to structural reform, this episode surfaces the tough love and grounded optimism that founders, investors, and ecosystem builders all need to hear.

In this episode:

Mubariz Siddiqui – Founder, Carbon Law
LinkedIn:   / mubarizsiddiqui  
Twitter: https://x.com/mubarizsiddiqui?lang=en
Website: https://linktr.ee/mubarizs

Jehan Ara - Founder & CEO, Katalyst Labs
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jehanara?...
Twitter: https://x.com/jehanara20?s=21

Jawwad Farid - Founder & Chief Executive, Alchemy Technologies
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jawwad-fa...
Twitter: https://x.com/rebootdude?s=21

Khurram Zafar - CEO, PMEX
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kzafar?ut...
Twitter: https://x.com/kayzafar?s=21


Chapters
0:00:00 - Intro
00:01:49 – Rethinking Startup Success & the Billion-Dollar Exit
00:13:55 – What Counts as a Tech Business? E-Commerce, Interfaces & Financing Options
00:32:06 – Spotting Entrepreneurs: Traits, Surprises & the Role of Education
00:54:13 – Youth Aspirations, Parental Mindsets & the Talent Gap
01:09:49 – Pakistan’s Investor Landscape: PSX, IPOs & Profitability Challenges
01:24:35 – Sector Bets, Global Potential & the Evolution of Local VC
01:34:23 – Karachi vs Lahore vs Islamabad: Where & What to Build
01:43:06 – AI, M&A & the Future of Business Building in Pakistan