Haseeb Awan

founder of Efani

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

Haseeb Awan is the founder of Efani, a company he describes as a cyber security company that happens to provide telecom. He says he is an electrical engineer and joined Y Combinator in 2014. He completed his undergraduate degree at NUST Islamabad.

Early life and background

Awan says he is from D.I. Khan. He says he travelled to the US a couple of times as a small child, when he was three or four. He says he has wanted to do something crazy, and that his family supported his ambitions. He says he was very scared when he first travelled to Canada alone. [1]

Education

Awan completed his undergraduate degree at NUST Islamabad, finishing in 2008. He completed a master's degree in 2011 and has a master's in engineering from Ottawa U. He says the master's was in engineering management, and says he is an electrical engineer. [1]

Career

Awan describes a business that ran on a franchise model, with operators paying 1% of transactions. He says a co-founder of Ethereum was the first customer. He says the business had around half a million clients and 10,000 machines. [1]

He says all the co-founders had a very good return, and that the partners had a fallout and wanted to go in different directions. He also says he appears in a Netflix documentary about Bitcoin. [1]

Y Combinator

Awan says someone told him the machine concept was good and suggested he apply to Y Combinator. He joined Y Combinator in 2014. He says the programme lasted three months and was held in Mountain View, Silicon Valley. [1]

He says Mark Zuckerberg came to a Tuesday dinner during his Y Combinator batch, that Product Hunt was in his batch, and that about 15 companies from his batch became unicorns. He says the Y Combinator experience was life-changing for him. [1]

Efani

Awan started a company called Efani. He says he started the company because cell phone security had become a big issue. He describes it as a cyber security company that happens to provide telecom, and says it gives customers a SIM card and a phone number, like a cell phone company. He describes the company's model as what the US calls an MVNO. [1]

He says the company chose security as its niche because that niche was open. He says the service took off because celebrities' phones get hacked, and that he raised the price to three times the regular price as demand grew. He says the company has a few thousand customers and describes it as a premium, niche service that does not need mass sales. [1]

He says the company took out a $5 million insurance policy, and calls the insurance cover the company's unique selling point. He says the company has launched a new service. He also says it built a score that estimates how likely a phone number is to be hacked. [1]

Other work

Awan says that from about 2015 to 2019 he did not do a lot of stuff. He says he had a small juice business, a juice factory. He says he had one job, which did not last six weeks, and that it ended because neither he nor his employer liked the other. He says he sold items on eBay and received some scholarships, and that scholarships covered his cost of living. [1]

Views on digital security

Awan says his own SIM was swapped four times. He describes a SIM swap as an attacker visiting a dealer and claiming to be the victim, and says that afterwards an attacker can get into WhatsApp and email. He says a phone holds more information about a person than anything else. [1]

He recommends app-based two-factor authentication rather than SMS, and says he uses a hardware key for two-factor login. He says convenience always supersedes a lot of things, and that one weak link can compromise a whole organization. [1]

Views on crypto and Pakistan

Awan says telecom is a critical lifeline for a country and that money is the biggest weapon a government has. He says crypto may address the currency flaw because transactions can be traced, but that he does not believe everything in the world will move to crypto. He says a currency replaced by crypto could create a moral hazard for a country's economy. He also says similar currencies may start dying too, as languages are, and thinks many regional languages will die out. [1]

He describes the internet as the largest nation, with the richest population, and says he often sees a 'you are blocked' message when opening websites. He says developing countries face so many problems that they cannot grow. He says Pakistan could miss one of the largest financial opportunities in history, and that it should focus on cybersecurity and crypto. [1]

He says a Web3 developer probably charges at least three to four times a regular developer, and suggests Pakistan could offer development services. He says crypto has become such a taboo that people cannot talk about it openly. [1]

Views on failure and origin

Awan says it is okay to fail. He says that in the US people judge a person by value, not origin. [1]

Personal life

Awan says that in 2013 he was in Ottawa, where he attended a meetup, and that he still attends meetups and networks actively. He says crypto is almost his passion. He says he could not get a bank account in Pakistan and used VPNs for a subscription. [1]

Timeline

2008
Completes his undergraduate degree at NUST Islamabad.[1]
2011
Completes his master's degree.[1]
2013
Is in Ottawa, where he attends a meetup.[1]
2014
Joins Y Combinator.[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2022-07-15 Pakistan is missing crypto's biggest opportunity Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is Haseeb Awan?

Haseeb Awan is the founder of Efani, a company he describes as a cyber security company that happens to provide telecom. He says he is an electrical engineer and joined Y Combinator in 2014.[1]

What company did Haseeb Awan found?

Haseeb Awan started a company called Efani. He says he started it because cell phone security had become a big issue. He says it gives customers a SIM card and a phone number, like a cell phone company.[1]

Where did Haseeb Awan study?

Haseeb Awan completed his undergraduate degree at NUST Islamabad in 2008. He completed a master's degree in 2011 and has a master's in engineering from Ottawa U. He says the master's was in engineering management.[1]

Where is Haseeb Awan from?

Haseeb Awan says he is from D.I. Khan. He says he travelled to the US a couple of times as a small child.[1]

When did Haseeb Awan join Y Combinator?

Haseeb Awan joined Y Combinator in 2014. He says the programme lasted three months and was held in Mountain View, Silicon Valley. He says the experience was life-changing for him.[1]

What does Efani do?

Haseeb Awan describes Efani's model as what the US calls an MVNO, giving customers a SIM card and a phone number. He describes it as a cyber security company that happens to provide telecom. He says it took out a $5 million insurance policy, which he calls its unique selling point.[1]

What does Haseeb Awan think about crypto?

Haseeb Awan says crypto is almost his passion. He says he does not believe everything in the world will move to crypto. He says Pakistan should focus on cybersecurity and crypto.[1]

References

  1. Pakistan is missing crypto's biggest opportunity . Thought Behind Things , 2022-07-15.
Show the source passages (74 statements)
  1. He says he is an electrical engineer. Uh I'm a electrical engineer. I have a masters in engineering from Ottawa U.
  2. He has a master's in engineering from Ottawa U. I have a masters in engineering from Ottawa U.
  3. He says his master's was in engineering management. did a masters in what? Uh engineering management.
  4. He completed his master's degree in 2011. Uh 2008 mein maine undergrad kiya tha, 2011 mein masters kiya tha.
  5. He completed his undergraduate degree at NUST Islamabad. Undergrad mera NUST Islamabad se hai.
  6. He finished his undergraduate degree in 2008. Uh 2008 mein maine undergrad kiya tha,
  7. He says he is from D.I. Khan. because I'm from D.I. Khan, toh main Peshawar mein khada ho jaaun, toh mujhe koi vote na de.
  8. He says he travelled to the US a couple of times as a small child. hum bachpan mein matlab hai, when I was three, four, we went to US couple of times.
  9. He says he has wanted to do something crazy. Matlab mujhe shauq tha ke I want to do something crazy.
  10. He says his family supported his ambitions. uska yeh bhi tha ke family ki taraf se alhamdulillah support thi.
  11. He says he was very scared when he first travelled to Canada alone. Matlab main pehli baar Canada ja raha tha by myself, I was very scared.
  12. In 2013 he was in Ottawa, where he attended a meetup. Uh 2013. Right. Uh meetup tha, I was in Ottawa.
  13. He says he still attends meetups and networks actively. I used to hustle a lot. Main meetups waghera pe, I still try to do that.
  14. He says the business ran on a franchise model, with operators paying 1% of transactions. Hum franchise model tha. Aap machine khareedo, humein transaction ka 1% do.
  15. He says a co-founder of Ethereum was the first customer. Our first customer was the co-founder of Ethereum.
  16. He says someone told him the machine concept was good and suggested he apply to Y Combinator. usne mujhe kaha yaar yeh machine ka concept achha hai, toh why not you go to apply to Y Combinator?
  17. He joined Y Combinator in 2014. Y Combinator aapne kis saal join kiya? 2014. 2014.
  18. He says the Y Combinator programme lasted three months. Three months ka program.
  19. He says the programme was held in Mountain View, Silicon Valley. Uh Mountain View, Silicon Valley, as as they know, Silicon Valley.
  20. He says Mark Zuckerberg came to a Tuesday dinner during his Y Combinator batch. Matlab YC mein we have a Tuesday uh dinner. Tuesday ko aate hain, toh hamara ek dinner hua toh usmein aa gaye Mark Zuckerberg.
  21. He says Product Hunt was in his Y Combinator batch. Haan, haan, Product Hunt mere batch mein thi,
  22. He says about 15 companies from his batch became unicorns. hamare batch mein almost ek 15 company went to become a unicorn.
  23. He says he appears in a Netflix documentary about Bitcoin. Bitcoin pe documentary Netflix pe, if you watch it, so I'll be you'll see me part of it
  24. He says the Y Combinator experience was life-changing for him. it was very life-changing for me.
  25. He says it is okay to fail. Now I can take bigger risk aur aapka vision khul jaata hai aur sabse badi baat, it's okay to fail.
  26. He says in the US people judge a person by value, not origin. it's really about value. It's not about, you know, kahan se hain, kaun hai, kya hai,
  27. He says he raised the price to three times the regular price as demand grew. a lot of people started asking for the service. To maine usko regular price se teen guna badha di price.
  28. He describes the company's model as what the US calls an MVNO. So US mein kya hota hai ke we call MVNO.
  29. He says the company gives customers a SIM card and a phone number, like a cell phone company. We are like a cell phone company, like a hamari SIM card aap lete hain we give you a number.
  30. He says the company chose security as its niche because that niche was open. To humne kya kiya hum security niche bana lete hain. To woh niche open thi us time pe.
  31. He says the service took off because celebrities' phones get hacked. Alhamdulillah woh kafi uh take off kar gayi because celebrities ke phones hack hote hain.
  32. He says the company took out a $5 million insurance policy. Aur humne 5 million dollar ki insurance policy le li.
  33. He calls the insurance cover the company's unique selling point. To ye hamari USP thi.
  34. He says the company has a few thousand customers. We have a few thousand customers.
  35. He describes the company as a premium, niche service that does not need mass sales. Yeah we are like a Louis Vuitton or Rolls Royce. To we don't have to mass sell.
  36. He says the company has launched a new service. Ab humne nayi service launch ki hai jo hum Black Seal Protection usko bolte hain.
  37. He says the company built a score that estimates how likely a phone number is to be hacked. To us base pe humne score banaya hai. Where we can detect ke yaar ye bande ke chances zyada hain.
  38. He describes the company as a cyber security company that happens to provide telecom. Yeah cyber security company that happen to provide telecom.
  39. He says his own SIM was swapped four times. To mere sath personally hua hai char baar mera SIM swap hua.
  40. He describes a SIM swap as an attacker visiting a dealer and claiming to be the victim. SIM swap ye hai ke for example aap ek dealer ke paas chale jaate ho aur aap kehte ho ke yaar ye main jaata hoon main kehta hoon main Muzamil hoon.
  41. He says that after a SIM swap an attacker can get into WhatsApp and email. Ab main aapke WhatsApp mein bhi ghus gaya, main aapke us mein bhi ghus gaya, har cheez ke andar main ghus gaya.
  42. He says a phone holds more information about a person than anything else. if I get into your phone, I can get more information about you than anything else.
  43. He says he started the company because cell phone security had become a big issue. Uh it was a so because cell phone security become the big issue, right?
  44. He recommends app-based two-factor authentication rather than SMS. Two factor authentication is a badi simple cheez hai. SMS ke through na karein, app ke through karein.
  45. He says he uses a hardware key for two-factor login. I use a hardware key but app ke through karo it's one step.
  46. He says convenience always supersedes a lot of things. convenience always supersedes a lot of things.
  47. He says one weak link can compromise a whole organization. one weakest link in your entire organization can screw up your entire organization.
  48. He says crypto is almost his passion. Uh crypto is obviously my you know almost my passion
  49. He says telecom is a critical lifeline for a country. So abhi kya hai ke telecom is um is very critical. So it's it's like a lifeline.
  50. He says money is the biggest weapon a government has. Jo biggest weapon government ke paas hota hai woh money hota hai.
  51. He says crypto may address the currency flaw because transactions can be traced. So, this flaw can be solved through crypto because you can trace things, a lot of things too.
  52. He says he does not believe everything in the world will move to crypto. Baqi, I don't believe ke everything in the world will transfer to crypto.
  53. He says a currency replaced by crypto could create a moral hazard for a country's economy. so it actually have a moral hazard to country economy.
  54. He describes the internet as the largest nation, with the richest population. Sabse badi qaum hai, sabse richest qaum internet pe hai.
  55. He says he often sees a 'you are blocked' message when opening websites. Main websites open karta hoon aksar auqat, woh likha hota hai yaar you are blocked.
  56. He says he could not get a bank account in Pakistan and used VPNs for a subscription. I wanted to buy some subscription while in Pakistan, toh we have to use VPNs aur sab kuch karna padta hai. Main bank account obtain nahi kar sakta hoon.
  57. He says developing countries face so many problems that they cannot grow. woh itne hamare upar itne issues aa jaate hain ke hum grow hi nahi kar paate.
  58. He says Pakistan could miss one of the largest financial opportunities in history. we will be missing one of the massive opportunities that happened in the history of mankind for financial in the next 100 years.
  59. He says Pakistan should focus on cybersecurity and crypto. So, I think, uh, as Pakistani, I would encourage cyber security, is tarah bataya hai ke aur crypto I think, uh, these are two industries that we should focus on.
  60. He says a Web3 developer probably charges at least three to four times a regular developer. Jo Web3 ka developer hai ya jo crypto ka developer, he probably charges at least 3 to 4x more than a regular developer.
  61. He suggests Pakistan could offer development services. Toh hum development services de sakte hain.
  62. He says crypto has become such a taboo that people cannot talk about it openly. it's such a taboo ke yaar aap us cheez ko, you cannot even talk about it anymore.
  63. He thinks many regional languages will die out. A lot of regional languages will die.
  64. He says similar currencies may start dying too, as languages are. Toh similar currencies may start dying too.
  65. He says the business had around half a million clients and 10,000 machines. We had, I think, half a million clients, hamari 10,000 machineein thi.
  66. He says all the co-founders had a very good return. Haan, and we all had a very good return on that.
  67. He says the partners had a fallout and wanted to go in different directions. we had a fallout in a way that uh humne crypto pehle le liye the, toh we all wanted to go in a different directions.
  68. He says that from about 2015 to 2019 he did not do a lot of stuff. Toh 2015 se I'll say like 19 tak, I didn't do a lot of stuff.
  69. He says scholarships covered his cost of living. Ye cost of living ye thi ke I got scholarship a couple of times.
  70. He says he had one job, which did not last six weeks. Yeah, I got one job, but I couldn't make it work for more than six weeks.
  71. He says the job ended because neither he nor his employer liked the other. main they didn't like me, I didn't like them, so I think that was the end of story.
  72. He says he sold items on eBay and received some scholarships. NCO ka, eBay pe selling ki, kuch idhar udhar scholarships mili, do teen.
  73. He says he had a small juice business, a juice factory. Uh mere ek thoda sa juice ka kaam tha. Juice ka karkhana tha.
  74. Haseeb Awan started a company called EFANI. Why did he start EFANI?