Muhammad Raza Saeed

founder of Confiz

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

Muhammad Raza Saeed is the CEO and founder of PakWheels.com and Confiz Limited. Saeed says going with a co-working space has been a good experience so far, though beyond a certain headcount a company's own campus is probably more cost efficient. Confiz is working on a bigger campus in Lahore to bring its workforce into one place, and he says Lahore has about 500 staff for 450 seats.

Early life and background

Saeed was born in Bahawalpur and grew up there. His family moved to Lahore in 2005. [1]

Education

Saeed completed his A-levels in Bahawalpur in 2000. He joined LUMS the same year and graduated in 2004. He reports a GPA of 3.96 at the end of his second year. [1]

Confiz

Saeed started Confiz in 2005. He says the company has grown every year for 17 years and now has close to 700 people. He sometimes describes Confiz as a US company with a Pakistani office. [1]

By his account, about 80 Confiz staff are in the US and about 30 in the UAE, with close to 490 in Lahore. Islamabad is the second biggest hub, with 50 to 60 people, who work from a co-working space rather than a campus of their own. Saeed says Confiz has a significant technical team in the US and that more than 50 percent of its revenue is delivered from the US. [1]

Retail became a sweet spot for Confiz, and Saeed says many of its customers are retailers in the US, UAE and Pakistan. The company also works with large consumer packaged goods companies, and for some retailers it has worked on modernising the experience of a store employee. He says a good relationship with Microsoft ended up being a very pivotal relationship over time. Confiz acquired another company in 2014. [1]

Saeed says Confiz wants higher-value work rather than mid-value or low-value work. He says the company's goal is to become known for solving a certain set of problems for retailers and consumer packaged goods companies. Its plans include accelerating its expansion into the US and looking for opportunities to expand inorganically. [1]

Ownership and structure

Saeed says Confiz changed from a partnership into a public non-listed company. More than 100 people within the company are now shareholders, and he says Confiz gives stock options to every employee who joins, from day one. Shareholders receive a dividend every quarter. The company has an independent board and uses KPMG and PwC as its auditors and tax advisors. [1]

Saeed says Confiz could go public within two to three months, and also says it is probably not a great time to go public. He notes that there are no examples of people making it big through a tech IPO. He says the parent company is in Pakistan and the other entities are its subsidiaries, and that the holding company reports to SECP. The US entity is a customer of the Pakistani entity and pays its due shares. [1]

Working arrangements

Saeed says going with a co-working space has been a good experience so far, though beyond a certain headcount a company's own campus is probably more cost efficient. Confiz is working on a bigger campus in Lahore to bring its workforce into one place, and he says Lahore has about 500 staff for 450 seats. Confiz has now been hiring remotely as well, with staff in Karachi. He says Confiz never opted for spot checks or screenshots and would like to manage by objectives. [1]

PakWheels

Saeed says PakWheels split out and Confiz became a separate company. PakWheels states its mission as transforming used car buying, selling and maintenance in Pakistan. He says auto classifieds were the first classifieds in Pakistan to go digital, and that sections for reviews, comparisons, information and prices were added to the website. An Australian-listed company invested in PakWheels. [1]

Other ventures

Saeed describes himself as an entrepreneur and CEO. In 2016 he built a smart homes startup. [1]

Views

Saeed says software is a means to an end, not the end itself. He argues that large companies look for solutions to problems rather than specific programming skills, and that specialists can command higher margins and face less competition. He says the approach is to solve a problem for a certain group of customers, that headcount would be a means to an end, and that the next generation of IT companies will probably specialise in certain areas. He names retention as an issue amid continuous talent challenges. He says the real asset is people. [1]

He expects companies like Confiz and the wider sector to keep growing, and says demand for technology professionals will always exist. He thinks a lot of the demand that built up probably was not real, and expects an adjustment in demand. He estimates that perhaps 15 to 20 percent digitisation has been completed so far, and says he is very bullish on the long-term prospects of professional services. [1]

On the car market, Saeed says the real problem is the dollar base of the country, and argues that a limited amount of dollars will procure a limited number of cars. He says the industry must grow to reach the scale needed for localisation. In his estimate, used-car transactions are probably about three times new-car transactions in Pakistan, and margins on used cars are low. He says PakWheels will become more important as used car selling gets harder. On an amnesty scheme, he says that if one comes it should be above 25 percent, not 2 percent. [1]

Saeed believes innovation is happening everywhere, even where it is not visible, and points to the practical utilization of AI in areas that are not necessarily flashy. He says social media is broken at this point. He says the system has a way of correcting itself as long as it is allowed to run, and hopes for less somersaulting and more consistency in whatever one does. He describes himself as optimistic. [1]

Personal life

Saeed has two children. He says a move to the US is not possible at this point. He says he built Confiz and wants to grow it for the rest of his life. He tries to pay cashless. [1]

Saeed says he races in the top category, with four races in a season. He bought a vehicle and went off-road in the desert for the first time, and built a simulator at home. He thinks he has also become half an engineer, and says the vehicle is fully caged. [1]

Timeline

2000
Completed A-levels in Bahawalpur and joined LUMS.[1]
2004
Graduated from LUMS.[1]
2005
Started Confiz; his family moved to Lahore.[1]
2014
Confiz acquired another company.[1]
2016
Built a smart homes startup.[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2022-11-25 Why Muhammad Raza Saeed keeps his holdco in Pakistan Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is Muhammad Raza Saeed?

Muhammad Raza Saeed is the founder of Confiz, a company serving retail and consumer packaged goods customers. He started Confiz in 2005 and describes himself as an entrepreneur and CEO.[1]

What company did Muhammad Raza Saeed found?

Muhammad Raza Saeed started Confiz in 2005. By his account, Confiz has grown every year for 17 years and has close to 700 people.[1]

What is Muhammad Raza Saeed known for?

Muhammad Raza Saeed is known as the founder of Confiz. He says retail became a sweet spot for the company, which also works with large consumer packaged goods companies, and that a good relationship with Microsoft ended up being very pivotal over time.[1]

Where did Muhammad Raza Saeed study?

Muhammad Raza Saeed completed his A-levels in Bahawalpur in 2000. He joined LUMS the same year and graduated in 2004.[1]

Where is Muhammad Raza Saeed from?

Muhammad Raza Saeed was born in Bahawalpur and grew up there. His family moved to Lahore in 2005.[1]

How many people work at Confiz?

Muhammad Raza Saeed says Confiz has close to 700 people. About 80 are in the US, about 30 in the UAE and close to 490 in Lahore, and Islamabad has 50 to 60.[1]

Will Confiz go public?

Muhammad Raza Saeed says Confiz could go public within two to three months. He also says it is probably not a great time to go public.[1]

What does Muhammad Raza Saeed say about Confiz and PakWheels?

Muhammad Raza Saeed says PakWheels split out and Confiz became a separate company. PakWheels states its mission as transforming used car buying, selling and maintenance in Pakistan.[1]

References

  1. Why Muhammad Raza Saeed keeps his holdco in Pakistan . Thought Behind Things , 2022-11-25.
Show the source passages (85 statements)
  1. He was born in Bahawalpur. So, I was born in Bahawalpur.
  2. He grew up in Bahawalpur. So, and I grew up there.
  3. He completed his A-levels in Bahawalpur in 2000. So, Bahawalpur, so I did my A-levels from Sadiq Public School in 2000
  4. He joined LUMS in 2000 and graduated in 2004. So, 2000 I came to LUMS. 2004 mein graduate kiya
  5. He had a GPA of 3.96 at the end of his second year. The second year ke end mein mera 3.96 tha
  6. His family moved to Lahore in 2005. and then my family shifted in 2005 as well to Lahore
  7. He started Confiz in 2005. So, I ended up starting Confiz in 2005.
  8. He says Confiz has grown every year for 17 years. So, Alhamdulillah, we have grown every single year for last 17 years.
  9. He says Confiz has close to 700 people. So, yes, we are close to 700 people.
  10. He says about 80 Confiz staff are in the US and about 30 in the UAE. we are about 80 odd people in the US, you know, 30 people in UAE
  11. He says close to 490 Confiz staff are in Lahore. close to 490 people in Lahore
  12. He says Islamabad is Confiz's second biggest hub, with 50 to 60 people. 50, 60 people in Islamabad, which is our second biggest hub
  13. He says Confiz's Islamabad team works from a co-working space rather than its own campus. Islamabad mein we haven't set up our own campuses yet, co-working space
  14. He says Confiz has a significant technical team in the US. which means we have a significant technical team there
  15. He says more than 50% of Confiz revenue is delivered from the US. Almost majority, more than 50% of our revenue even gets delivered from the US
  16. He sometimes describes Confiz as a US company with a Pakistani office. Sometimes I say that we are a US company with a Pakistani office
  17. He says a good relationship with Microsoft ended up being a very pivotal relationship over time. we built a very good relationship with Microsoft which ended up being a very pivotal relationship over time
  18. He says Confiz acquired another company in 2014. So, 2014 mein we acquired that company and you know, made Mantek part of Confiz
  19. He says retail became a sweet spot for Confiz. retail became kind of our, you know, sweet spot where we ended up working with a lot of customers in retail
  20. He says many Confiz customers are retailers in the US, UAE and Pakistan. a lot of our customers are retailers, whether it's in US, UAE or Pakistan
  21. He says Confiz also works with large consumer packaged goods companies. we are also working with some large CPG, consumer package good companies as well
  22. He says Confiz has modernised the store-employee experience for some retailers. for some of the retailers, we have worked on how to modernize the experience of a store employee
  23. He says software is a means to an end, not the end itself. software is a means to an end. It is not the end.
  24. He says large companies look for solutions to problems rather than specific programming skills. no no large company is looking for probably Python developers. They are probably looking to, they are facing a problem that they need a solution for.
  25. He says specialists can command higher margins and face less competition. if you are a specialist in something, you will be able to command higher margins, you will face less competition
  26. He says the approach is to solve a problem for a certain group of customers. we are going to solve a problem for some certain group of people, certain group of customers
  27. He says headcount would be a means to an end. head count would be a means to an end
  28. He says Confiz wants higher-value work rather than mid-value or low-value work. we'd like to have higher value work rather than a lot of sort of mid value or low value work
  29. He says retention is an issue amid continuous talent challenges. you run into these continuous talent challenges. Retention is an issue.
  30. He says the next generation of IT companies will probably specialise in certain areas. Ab jo agli generation of companies hogi woh probably specialized into certain areas
  31. He says Confiz aims to be known for solving certain problems for retailers and CPG companies. our goal is to actually, you know, maybe become a known company for solving certain set of problems for retailers and CPG companies
  32. He expects companies like Confiz and the wider sector to keep growing. probably companies like Confiz and the entire sector will continue to grow
  33. He thinks a lot of the demand that built up probably was not real, and expects an adjustment in demand. a lot of demand probably got built up that probably wasn't real and we'll see adjustment in demand
  34. He says demand for technology professionals will always exist. I think there will always be demand for technology people
  35. He estimates that perhaps 15 to 20 percent digitisation has been completed so far. So, maybe 15-20% digitization abhi complete hui hogi.
  36. He says he is very bullish on the long-term prospects of professional services. I'm very bullish on the long term uh, prospect of, you know, professional services
  37. He says he built Confiz and wants to grow it for the rest of his life. I love this company. I built this company. I want to be able to grow this company for the rest of my life.
  38. He says Confiz changed from a partnership into a public non-listed company. humne company ko from a partnership we humne usko public non-listed company bana diya
  39. He says more than 100 people at Confiz are now shareholders. we have crossed over 100 people within the company who are now also shareholders
  40. He says Confiz gives stock options to every employee who joins, from day one. Confiz is probably one of the only company that I know of that gives stock options to every single employee that joins Confiz on day one
  41. He says Confiz pays dividends to shareholders every quarter. get dividend as well that we pay out every quarter
  42. He says Confiz has an independent board and uses KPMG and PwC as auditors and tax advisors. We already have an independent board, we have KPMG and PWC as our auditors and tax advisors
  43. He says Confiz could go public within two to three months. we can go public anytime literally matlab do teen mahine ke andar we are all ready with everything that needs to go
  44. He says it is probably not a great time to go public. I think it's not probably a great time to go public
  45. He says Confiz plans to accelerate its US expansion and look for inorganic growth. our goal is to accelerate our expansion into US and try to find opportunities where we can inorganically expand
  46. He says there are no examples of people making it big through a tech IPO. we don't have examples of people making it big through a tech IPO
  47. He says the real asset is people. the real asset is people
  48. He says an Australian-listed company invested into PakWheels. it is a company out of uh basically Australian listed hai FDV and they invested into PakWheels
  49. He says PakWheels split out and Confiz became a separate company. PakWheels split out and then you know Confiz ek separate company ban gayi
  50. PakWheels' stated mission is to transform used car buying, selling and maintenance in Pakistan. PakWheels ka stated mission hai ke humne used car buying, selling aur maintenance ko transform karna hai Pakistan mein
  51. He says auto classifieds were the first classifieds in Pakistan to go digital. auto classifieds is the first classifieds in Pakistan jo digital gaye hain
  52. He says sections for reviews, comparisons, information and prices were added to the website. So reviews, comparison, information, website pe section daal diya, prices aur cheezein
  53. He says the real problem is the dollar base of the country. The really the problem is the dollar base of the country, right?
  54. He argues that a limited amount of dollars will procure a limited number of cars. One way or the other a limited amount of dollars is going to procure a limited amount of cars
  55. He says the industry must grow to reach the scale needed for localisation. You need to grow the industry to have the scale to localize.
  56. He says used-car transactions are probably about three times new-car transactions in Pakistan. second hand transactions are probably three times new car transactions in Pakistan
  57. He says margins on used cars are low. margins kam hai used cars ke upar
  58. He says PakWheels will become more important as used car selling gets harder. which means used car selling will become difficult which means PakWheels will become even more important
  59. He says that if an amnesty scheme comes, it should be above 25 percent, not 2 percent. agar amnesty scheme aayegi toh 25 se upar hi hona chahiye not ki aapko 2% pe amnesty mil jayegi
  60. He says he tries to pay cashless. I try to go for a cashless because to be very honest
  61. He has two children. especially I have two kids
  62. He says a move to the US is not possible at this point. at this point moving to US would not be possible
  63. He describes himself as an entrepreneur and CEO. being an entrepreneur and CEO, so one is always paranoid of what will happen
  64. He says he races in the top category, with four races in a season. So I race in the top category and uh so we have four races in the season
  65. He says he bought a vehicle and went off-road in the desert for the first time. I bought a vehicle and I was the first time I went to you know off-road like desert gaya
  66. He built a simulator at home. To maine ghar pe simulator build kar liya
  67. He says he thinks he has also become half an engineer. mujhe lagta hai ke main aadha jo hai na engineer bhi ban gaya hun
  68. He says the vehicle is fully caged. It is fully caged hoti hai
  69. He believes innovation is happening everywhere, even where it is not visible. mera apna personal belief hai ke innovation toh ho rahi hai, har jagah pe ho rahi hai
  70. He points to the practical utilization of AI in areas that are not necessarily flashy. the practical utilization of AI in a lot of ah again areas that are not necessarily very um flashy
  71. He says social media is broken at this point. I think that's incredibly broken at this point in time
  72. He built a smart homes startup in 2016. I I I built a startup Smart Homes ka back in 2016.
  73. He says going with a co-working space has been a good experience so far. So, we went with the co-working space and that's been a good experience so far.
  74. He says beyond a certain headcount, a company's own campus is more cost efficient. But I think when you go beyond a certain head count, it is probably more cost efficient to have your own campus
  75. He says Confiz is working on a bigger campus in Lahore to bring its workforce into one place. we are working on setting a bigger campus in Lahore for Confiz where we can integrate all of our, you know, workforce into one place
  76. He says Lahore has about 500 staff for 450 seats. we are close to 500 people head count in Lahore and we have 450 seats
  77. He says Confiz has recently begun hiring remotely, with staff in Karachi. And then we have been now hiring remotely as well. So, we have people in Karachi
  78. He says Confiz never opted for spot checks or screenshots. we never opted for, you know, you know, spot checks or screenshots
  79. He says Confiz manages by objectives rather than by hours or tasks. are we would like to manage by objectives
  80. He says the US entity is a customer of the Pakistani entity and pays its due shares. US entity has is a customer of Pakistani entity and it pays its due shares
  81. He says the parent company is in Pakistan and the other entities are its subsidiaries. So our parent company is in Pakistan and all the other sub are subsidiaries of Pakistani company
  82. He says the holding company reports to SECP. as a holding company we report everything to, you know, SECP
  83. He says the system has a way of correcting itself as long as it is allowed to run. Consistency I think system has a way of correcting itself as long as aap system ko chalne dein
  84. He hopes for less somersaulting and more consistency in whatever one does. So I just hope that there is hope, always hope and there is um less summer salts and more consistency in whatever you do.
  85. He describes himself as optimistic. Toh I am optimistic and I think we all should be uh because otherwise we wouldn't be here.