Ehsan Elahi

CEO of timegram

Compiled from 1 recorded interview. Every statement below is drawn from the passage cited beside it.

Ehsan Elahi is the CEO of timegram. He was born in Karachi and has said he has been freelancing since around 2003. He has also said he acted as the effective CEO of Data Ladder, which was acquired by the NPD Group at the end of 2019.

Early life and background

Elahi attended City School in Karachi up to about class 3. His parents moved him to Usman Public School for a more Islamic environment. He has said his time at Usman Public School was both good and bad. He is still in contact with most of the friends he made at Usman Public School. [1]

Education

Elahi has said he has completed only a bachelor's degree and has attended four universities. He took admission at Delhi College. He has said he marked his attendance, then slipped away and spent his days at a gaming zone. [1]

He started his studies at IBA. He has said he cleared the IBA entrance test easily, and that, according to IBA, his score was the highest in that batch. He has said a 2.0 GPA was required at the end of the first semester, and that his GPA was 1.93. IBA told him to go home. [1]

He then got admission at FAST. He spent about three years at FAST. He struggled with the basic programming courses at FAST. [1]

He enrolled in an MBA at Iqra University. He has said he kept a 4.0 GPA on a full scholarship at Iqra. He did not return to Iqra after an accident. [1]

Elahi has said he was told he had not yet submitted his degree. He went to Karachi University in person to ask for a degree on a marksheet. He has said the registration number on that marksheet had no record, and he calls the marksheet fake. [1]

Career

Elahi has said he did the content and setup work for a subscription website. He has said the subscription website earned about 1,500 to 2,000 dollars in its first month. He has said that at the end of that month they were banned from everywhere. [1]

He has said he went to a software company. He has also said he spent two weeks at one company and decided he could not do the work, and that he was told his shift was 12 to 9. [1]

A client on Upwork hired him as a content strategist. He has said he started as a content strategist. He has said his earnings went from 10 dollars to 4,000 dollars. He has said he did not have a separate entity registered, or the intention to register an agency and provide services. [1]

Data Ladder

Elahi has said he worked for Data Ladder. Data Ladder was a subsidiary of another company. He has said Data Ladder had 11 people in total. He has also said he built a marketing team himself, and that he built a team in Karachi. He has said NPD Group was later acquired by a private equity firm. [1]

timegram

Elahi has said timegram is active, has customers, and is growing fast. He has said timegram is self-service and anyone can sign up on its website. He has said timegram sets a default weekly capacity for each employee. He has said timegram shows a red flag when a person consistently takes 12 to 13 hours on something. [1]

He has said his company used AutoML, offered by Google, before ChatGPT. He has said his company published its own research. He has said his company is profitable and that profitability is its goal. [1]

DX Match

Elahi has said DX Match was a variation of Data Ladder. He has said DX Match is under development and not yet launched. He has said they use timegram as a launchpad to build DX Match. [1]

Business approach

Elahi has said he is a non-technical founder. He has said he has talked to VCs only when they reached out to him. He has said his entity is registered in Florida. He has said he recently joined a position at a company and then rescinded that opportunity. [1]

He has said Upwork is a small side channel for his company. He has said he pays everyone in dollars, and that no one has ever left his company. He has said he hires for willingness to learn and curiosity, and teaches the skills. [1]

Views

Elahi has said he is fully in favour of bootstrapping. He has said personal data eventually goes to humans, and that people do not trust humans with their personal data. [1]

He has said he is not in favour of moving abroad for good. He has said people should go abroad only when they need it. He has said Islamabad is the closest he can get to living abroad. [1]

He has said he talks to company owners daily about the same challenges he faces. He has said a mindset shift is the biggest thing he talks to people about. He has said that when people come out of the blame game, they move ahead. [1]

Personal life

Elahi has said he had been in Islamabad for the last two years, looking for peace in life. He travels to Karachi frequently. [1]

He got married in 2016. He has a daughter. He has said he has a wife and a son. He has said his family is his top priority. [1]

He has said he keeps to a 9 to 6 working day. He has said he went through severe depression. [1]

Timeline

2003
Elahi has said he began freelancing around this year.[1]
2016
Elahi got married.[1]
2019
Data Ladder was acquired by the NPD Group at the end of the year.[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2023-05-22 Why Ehsan Elahi built a time tracker to escape time trackers Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is Ehsan Elahi?

Ehsan Elahi is the CEO of timegram. He was born in Karachi and has said he has been freelancing since around 2003. He has also said he acted as the effective CEO of Data Ladder.[1]

What does Ehsan Elahi do?

Ehsan Elahi is the CEO of timegram. He has said he has been freelancing since around 2003. He has also said he talks to company owners daily about the same challenges he faces.[1]

Where did Ehsan Elahi study?

Ehsan Elahi took admission at Delhi College and started his studies at IBA. He then got admission at FAST and enrolled in an MBA at Iqra University. He has said he has completed only a bachelor's degree and has attended four universities.[1]

Where is Ehsan Elahi from?

Ehsan Elahi was born in Karachi. He has said he had been in Islamabad for the last two years, looking for peace in life. He travels to Karachi frequently.[1]

What company does Ehsan Elahi run?

Ehsan Elahi is the CEO of timegram. He has said timegram is self-service and anyone can sign up on its website. He has said timegram is active, has customers, and is growing fast, and that his company is profitable.[1]

What is DX Match, according to Ehsan Elahi?

Ehsan Elahi has said DX Match was a variation of Data Ladder. He has said it is under development and not yet launched. He has said they use timegram as a launchpad to build DX Match.[1]

What is Ehsan Elahi's view on bootstrapping?

Ehsan Elahi has said he is fully in favour of bootstrapping. He has also said he has talked to VCs only when they reached out to him.[1]

References

  1. Why Ehsan Elahi built a time tracker to escape time trackers . Thought Behind Things , 2023-05-22.
Show the source passages (76 statements)
  1. Ehsan Elahi was born in Karachi. so I was born in Karachi aur zindagi ki takreeban poori zindagi maine Karachi mein hi guzari hai.
  2. He has said he had been in Islamabad for the last two years, looking for peace in life. Last two years I have been in Islamabad, just you know, looking for peace in life.
  3. He attended City School in Karachi up to about class 3. Karachi mein start off kiya tha humne City School se. I think class 3 tak
  4. His parents moved him to Usman Public School for a more Islamic environment. my parents moved me to Usman Public School. Unhone kaha ke thoda sa Islamic environment hona chahiye
  5. He has said his time at Usman Public School was both good and bad. It was good and bad. Acha. Because main jis tarah ke environment se raha tha, mujhe ek bahut bada dhachka laga.
  6. He is still in contact with most of the friends he made at Usman Public School. ab jo wahan pe mujhe family mili, jo mujhe log mile, dost mile, I'm still in contact with most of them.
  7. He took admission at Delhi College. Delhi College chale gaya, gaya, admission liya wahan pe
  8. He has said he marked his attendance, then slipped away and spent his days at a gaming zone. admission, attendance lagate the aur phir hum farar ho jate the. Aur phir hum gaming zone mein din guzarte the.
  9. He started his studies at IBA. Ah, IBA mein maine shuru kiya.
  10. He has said he has completed only a bachelor's degree and has attended four universities. Aur main abhi tak bachelor hi kiya hai, char university ja chuka hoon.
  11. He has said he cleared the IBA entrance test easily. Hum chale gaye IBA, humne test diya aur badi easily clear ho gaya
  12. He has said that, according to IBA, his score was the highest in that batch. according to IBA, that was the highest score in that batch.
  13. He has said a 2.0 GPA was required at the end of the first semester, and that his GPA was 1.93. pehle semester ke aakhir mein meri 2.0 GPA required hoti hai. My GPA was 1.93.
  14. IBA told him to go home. To IBA ne kaha beta ghar jao.
  15. He then got admission at FAST. Humne kaha FAST jayenge. Hum gaye FAST, admission to mil gaya, FAST gaye.
  16. He spent about three years at FAST. maine FAST mein takreeban 3 saal nikal liye.
  17. He struggled with the basic programming courses at FAST. lekin jo basic programming ke courses hote hain na, mujhse woh nahi ho rahe the
  18. He enrolled in an MBA at Iqra University. Iqra walon ne kaha acha yeh karo, masters, MBA mein admission ho gaya.
  19. He has said he kept a 4.0 GPA on a full scholarship at Iqra. Main constant 4.0 GPA pe tha. Full scholarship pe tha.
  20. He has said he was told he had not yet submitted his degree. ke sir apne degree nahi submit karayi hai abhi tak
  21. He went to Karachi University in person to ask for a degree on that marksheet. Phir main khud gaya Karachi University ke bhai yeh marksheet hai, mujhe degree chahiye.
  22. He has said the registration number on that marksheet had no record, and he calls the marksheet fake. Kehte hain is registration number, is marksheet ka hamare paas koi record nahi hai. That was a fake marksheet.
  23. He has said he went through severe depression. I pretty much spiraled into like severe depression.
  24. He did not return to Iqra after an accident. Uske baad bas us accident ke baad main wapas Iqra nahi gaya.
  25. He has said he has been freelancing since around 2003. 2003 se takreeban main freelancing kar raha hoon
  26. He has said he went to a software company. I went to this software company called Asterra.
  27. He has said he did the content and setup work for a subscription website. maine basically content wagera ka sara kaam kiya, setup kiya and we started a subscription website.
  28. He has said the subscription website earned about 1,500 to 2,000 dollars in its first month. humne dedh, do hazaar dollar to kama liye the within the first month.
  29. He has said that at the end of that month they were banned from everywhere. us ek mahine ke end mein hum ban ho gaye har jagah se
  30. He has said he spent two weeks at one company and decided he could not do the work. I spent two weeks there, and I said, no, this can't be done by me.
  31. He has said he was told his shift was 12 to 9. I would leave the office at 12:00, they said 12 to 9 is your shift.
  32. He got married in 2016. I got married in 2016.
  33. He has a daughter. My daughter was born, my daughter was three, four months old by that time.
  34. He has said he has a wife and a son. I've never lived away from my wife and son.
  35. A client on Upwork hired him as a content strategist. Then I got a client on Upwork who said that your data quality software company is there, and I want you as a content strategist.
  36. He has said his earnings went from 10 dollars to 4,000 dollars. From 10-10 dollars to 4000 dollars, straight.
  37. He has said he started as a content strategist. I started as a content strategist.
  38. He has said he worked for Data Ladder. This was a data ladder company, I was working for them.
  39. He has said he built a team in Karachi. Here in Karachi, I built a team.
  40. He has said he did not have a separate entity registered, or the intention to register an agency and provide services. I didn't have a separate entity registered, I didn't have the intention to register an agency and provide services.
  41. Data Ladder was acquired by the NPD Group at the end of 2019. In the end of 2019, Data Ladder, which was my oldest client, the company got acquired by the NPD Group, which is a huge market research firm.
  42. Data Ladder was a subsidiary of another company. Data Ladder was a subsidiary of another company called Pricing Excellence.
  43. He has said he acted as the effective CEO of Data Ladder. Toh I was the the effective CEO of Data Ladder.
  44. He has said he built a marketing team himself. marketing team maine puri build ki hai
  45. He has said Data Ladder had 11 people in total. Data Ladder's total headcount is, that was 11 people.
  46. He has said NPD Group was later acquired by a private equity firm. NPD was later acquired by someone else, HNF, a huge private equity company.
  47. He has said timegram is active, has customers, and is growing fast. Timegram is active. It has customers. Uh we are growing very fast.
  48. He has said timegram is self-service and anyone can sign up on its website. anybody can just go go to the website or like completely self service hai.
  49. He has said timegram sets a default weekly capacity for each employee. Time gram mein when you sign up an organization that is the default weekly capacity for every employee.
  50. He has said timegram shows a red flag when a person consistently takes 12 to 13 hours on something. Banda karta hai actually usko 12 ghante lagte hain aur consistently 12-13 ghante lagte hain. Aapko ek red flag aata hai yaar shayad koi masla hai yahan pe.
  51. He has said his company used AutoML, offered by Google, before ChatGPT. Humne use kiya hai this was before chat GPT GPT essentially sorry. Auto ML humne use kiya. Right. Uh Google aapko de raha hai.
  52. He has said personal data eventually goes to humans, and that people do not trust humans with their personal data. woh eventually humans ke paas ja rahi hai and you don't trust humans with your personal data at the end of the day in any machine.
  53. He has said he is fully in favour of bootstrapping. Main bootstrap karne ke haq mein hoon completely.
  54. He has said he has talked to VCs only when they reached out to him. I have been talking to VCs but only when they reach out to me.
  55. He has said he is a non-technical founder. aur main non-technical founder hoon.
  56. He has said his company is profitable and that profitability is its goal. Hamara goal profitability hai and we are profitable.
  57. He has said Upwork is a small side channel for his company. Upwork toh khair hamara chota sa channel hai hum side mein chalaate hain
  58. He has said his company published its own research. Humne publish ki apni research, theek hai? Now that this is original research, right?
  59. He has said DX Match was a variation of Data Ladder. DX Match was a variation of Data Ladder, jisme maine dekha ke yaar Data Ladder mein kya kya gaps hain.
  60. He has said DX Match is under development and not yet launched. Abhi it is under development.
  61. He has said they use timegram as a launchpad to build DX Match. Lekin phir humne socha ke Timegram karte hain and we use Timegram as a launchpad to build DX Match.
  62. He has said he pays everyone in dollars. I will pay everybody in dollars.
  63. He has said no one has ever left his company. kabhi ek banda nahi chhod ke gaya hai humein.
  64. He has said he hires for willingness to learn and curiosity, and teaches the skills. Mujhe chahiye willingness to learn, mujhe chahiye curiosity and enthusiasm. Skills main sikhaunga.
  65. He has said his entity is registered in Florida. Acha meri entity registered hai Florida mein.
  66. He has said Islamabad is the closest he can get to living abroad. I feel being in Islamabad is the closest you can get to being abroad.
  67. He travels to Karachi frequently. Main Karachi bahut frequent jaata hun.
  68. He has said he recently joined a position at a company and then rescinded that opportunity. I recently joined a position at DevSync. I've recently rescinded that uh that that that opportunity.
  69. He has said he is not in favour of moving abroad for good. I'm not a proponent of going away and living abroad for good.
  70. He has said he talks to company owners daily about the same challenges he faces. I talk daily to company owners jo ke same challenges face kar rahe hain jo main kar raha hun.
  71. He has said his family is his top priority. Meri priority is waqt aur I hope hamesha, meri priority rahegi meri family.
  72. He has said he keeps to a 9 to 6 working day. Bahut ho gaya 9 to 6 ho jayega, uske aage main kaam nahi karunga.
  73. He has said people should go abroad only when they need it. You go abroad when you feel like you need it.
  74. He has said a mindset shift is the biggest thing he talks to people about. Aapne yeh mindset shift karna hai. Aur yeh sabse badi cheez hai jo ki main logon se baat karta hoon.
  75. He has said that when people come out of the blame game, they move ahead. Jab hum blame game se nikalte hain aur usse aage badhte hain
  76. Ehsan Elahi is the CEO of timegram. Ehsan Elahi is the CEO of timegram.