Building a tech company in Pakistan with CEO Creative Chaos, Shakir Husain

Published on: April 17, 2018

Back in 2000, when Shakir Husain started Creative Chaos Software Services, people told him digital was a passing “fad” and that it may work elsewhere, but not in Pakistan. Eighteen years later, Creative Chaos has survived – and survived rather well – as it maintains its place among the most successful technology companies in the country.

Husain’s leap of faith into the world of entrepreneurship happened when he was 24. He was in Hong Kong to give an interview with an investment bank when a friend made him realise that this was something he could do at any point in his life. And so he turned down the offer, came to Karachi and set up the company that now has three offices in Pakistan and an international presence in Boston, San Francisco, London, and Dubai.

Creative Chaos, a firm that started with two employees, now has a staff of over 450.

From the days Husain wondered how salaries would be paid to current success, lots of important life lessons have been learned. For one, that business mimics life and every day will not be quite the same. Husain believes business in Pakistan is not for the faint-hearted and success really lies in building strong relationships – as well as having a whole lot of (good) luck on your side.

Watch this interview to get to know the man behind Creative Chaos and how he ensures that his company keeps innovating to stay relevant with the times.

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