Muhammad Sarmad Farooq

co-founder of Truck It In

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

Muhammad Sarmad Farooq is a co-founder of Truck It In, a company that has three co-founders. He worked at Careem for five years and was its first supply manager in Pakistan and the first employee in Islamabad, where he launched the city. He studied materials science at GIK and graduated in 2015.

Early life and background

Farooq was born in Talagang and grew up there before later moving out of the town. He says his early life was spent in Talagang. His village lies in the belt between Talagang and Mianwali. He describes himself as a small town boy from Talagang. [1]

Farooq says 60 to 70 percent of his family works in the transport business. His father worked as a fleet owner in the transport industry. Farooq says his father, uncles and relatives were fleet owners in the 1980s. [1]

Education

Farooq finished high school in 2008. After a gap year, he started his degree in 2011. He applied to GIK and NUST, among other institutions, and studied at GIK. His first preference at GIK was mechanical engineering, but he did not qualify for it. He says he chose manufacturing by mistake. [1]

Student ventures and early plans

During university Farooq imported electronics from China and sold them to wholesalers. He also had a ride hailing startup idea, which his team tested in the market. In his fourth year he came first in a university business idea competition. Farooq applied for jobs at McKinsey and at a second company, and reached the final stage at both. He says he focused on creating jobs rather than looking for one. [1]

Careem

Farooq says his titles changed over time and included supply manager, ops manager and fleet manager. In his first two years working as a supply manager, he held a new role about every three months. He says about 95 percent of the efforts in his role went to supply. His roles also included government relations, PR and crisis work. [1]

Farooq became head of fleet ventures on a Prime Minister Youth Business Loan programme that was launched with the government and JS Bank. He describes subsidised loans for drivers who had never owned an asset. He says he headed the programme for almost 10 months. [1]

Farooq moved to Dubai, where his main market was Saudi Arabia. He says he had earlier launched Careem's food delivery across Saudi Arabia, and that his team launched in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Makkah and Madinah. In his last role he was head of commercial for last-mile delivery in the Saudi market. [1]

Farooq says his team worked with Amazon and Carrefour, among others. His team managed Amazon's peak season across the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and he says Amazon was one of its top revenue contributors at the time. He says the team decided to offer last-mile delivery as a service. [1]

Leaving Careem

Farooq's last month at Careem was February 2021. He says his team cashed out its equity in January 2020, and that a co-founder quit Careem Pakistan in August. He also says that because salaries in Pakistan differ from those abroad, he could finance himself easily for the next six months. [1]

Truck It In

Farooq says he spent two to three years researching what business to start, and spent his Friday and Saturday weekends researching trucking. His team explored retail models. He says the team's skills suited an operations-heavy business such as trucking. He says a pilot his team ran took place in August 2020, and that unit economics were positive from the first day. [1]

Farooq says the company's vision is to digitise the market and improve truckers' lives. He says it serves about nine or ten industries, with customers including Unilever, small factories and steel, and that it onboarded factories directly on the demand side. The rate agreed on the company's platform is defined and will not change, he says. He adds that the company puts its margin on top of the pricing that comes from the supply side. [1]

Farooq says a tier A company such as Unilever or Nestle would have 60 to 90 day credit terms with the company. Small bakeries pay in cash, and the company does not extend them credit. He says cash collection is not an issue in about 90 percent of transactions, and that the company has fewer than 3 percent back-outs. [1]

Farooq says about 90 percent of the business is in the top eight cities, and that the company has physical presence in those eight cities. The company runs a 24/7 call centre for truckers and customers. He says the company raised funds in Q2, Q3 and Q4 of 2021, and that the round closed as a seed round. He says product development and the team matter because the business is people heavy and ops heavy. [1]

Views

Farooq says the main challenge in Pakistan is culture, not technology. He says digitisation in Pakistan's market was limited, including in trucking. He describes the adda model as one that earns a commission as a middleman fee, and says the most recent disruption in the industry was the mobile phone. [1]

Farooq says a truck moving from point A to point B had a high average trip fare. At the time he felt the market was not big enough and the fees were too small. He says the margins did not look good and that the Pakistani market did not look as mature as the Saudi market. [1]

Farooq expects AI-led changes to be carried out within the next ten years. His view is that Pakistan will be a completely digital country in 28 years. He expects change in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Central Asian countries, and says he has no choice but to stay positive about the future. [1]

Personal life

Some of Farooq's relatives are serving officers in the Air Force and the Army. Farooq is based in Islamabad. [1]

Timeline

2008
Finished high school.[1]
2011
Started his degree after a gap year.[1]
2015
Graduated.[1]
2020
His team cashed out its equity in January, and a pilot his team ran took place in August.[1]
2021
Last month at Careem was February, and the company raised funds in Q2, Q3 and Q4, closing as a seed round.[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2022-10-07 The trucker's son who raised $17.5M to fix freight Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is Muhammad Sarmad Farooq?

Muhammad Sarmad Farooq is a co-founder of Truck It In. He worked at Careem for five years, where he was Careem's first supply manager in Pakistan. He is based in Islamabad.[1]

What does Muhammad Sarmad Farooq do?

Muhammad Sarmad Farooq is a co-founder of Truck It In. He says the company's vision is to digitise the market and improve truckers' lives. He says it serves about nine or ten industries.[1]

Where did Muhammad Sarmad Farooq study?

Muhammad Sarmad Farooq studied at GIK. His degree was in materials science, with a specialisation in manufacturing. He graduated in 2015.[1]

Where is Muhammad Sarmad Farooq from?

Muhammad Sarmad Farooq was born in Talagang and grew up there. He says his village lies in the belt between Talagang and Mianwali. He is now based in Islamabad.[1]

What company did Muhammad Sarmad Farooq found?

Muhammad Sarmad Farooq is a co-founder of Truck It In, which he says has three co-founders. He says the company raised funds in Q2, Q3 and Q4 of 2021, and that the round closed as a seed round.[1]

Did Muhammad Sarmad Farooq work at Careem?

Yes. Muhammad Sarmad Farooq worked at Careem for five years. He was Careem's first supply manager in Pakistan and the first employee in Islamabad, and his last month at Careem was February 2021.[1]

What is Muhammad Sarmad Farooq known for?

Muhammad Sarmad Farooq is known as a co-founder of Truck It In. He also worked at Careem for five years, including a last role as head of commercial for last-mile delivery in the Saudi market.[1]

References

  1. The trucker's son who raised $17.5M to fix freight . Thought Behind Things , 2022-10-07.
Show the source passages (90 statements)
  1. Farooq grew up in Talagang and later moved out of the town. What was it like growing up & then moving out of Talagang?
  2. Farooq was born in Talagang. Main ah Talagang mein paida hua.
  3. Farooq's village lies in the belt between Talagang and Mianwali. Aur mera jo gaon hai, woh Talagang aur Mianwali ke darmiyan woh jo belt aati hai, usmein hai.
  4. Farooq describes himself as a small town boy from Talagang. Nahi, bilkul ah small town boy hi hun
  5. Farooq says his early life was spent in Talagang. So mera jo early life hai, woh meri saari Talagang se.
  6. Farooq says 60 to 70 percent of his family works in the transport business. family ke hamare log 60 to 70 percent log aise hain jo transport ke business mein
  7. Farooq's father worked as a fleet owner in the transport industry. mere abu is saari industry ke andar as a fleet owner kaam kar rahe the
  8. Farooq says his father, uncles and relatives were fleet owners in the 1980s. meri yeh jo abu the woh 1980s mein aur mere chacha taya aur mere jo rishtedar un logon ne us time fleet owners the
  9. Some of Farooq's relatives are serving officers in the Air Force and the Army. Jo remaining log hain unmein se armed forces join ki hui hain, abhi bhi ah Air Force, Army ke andar serving officers hain hamare family ke
  10. Farooq studied at GIK. What was his time at GIK like?
  11. Farooq started his degree in 2011, after a gap year. phir maine ek gap year liya aur phir. Theek hai, 2011 mein aapne start kiya. Ji.
  12. Farooq finished high school in 2008. High school mera tha 2008
  13. Farooq graduated in 2015. 2015 mein aapne graduate kiya? Ji, 2015 mein.
  14. Farooq says his GPA was 2.38. Yaar, aap nalayak hain, mera 2.38 tha.
  15. Farooq's degree was in materials science, with a specialisation in manufacturing. meri jo degree thi, woh material sciences thi, specialization usmein manufacturing thi
  16. Farooq's first preference at GIK was mechanical engineering. So meri pehli preference mechanical thi GIK ke andar
  17. Farooq did not qualify for mechanical engineering. usmein first usmein main obviously qualify nahi kar saka mechanical mein
  18. Farooq says he chose manufacturing by mistake. Toh maine ghalti se us time manufacturing kar liya.
  19. Farooq applied to GIK and NUST, among other institutions. Yaar, maine GIK mein apply kiya tha, NUST mein bhi apply kiya tha aur UET ke andar bhi apply kiya tha.
  20. Farooq says the GIK years were an amazing experience. Yaar, kamal ka experience tha. Ek toh yeh tha ke duniya se dur
  21. Farooq says GIK has few distractions for anyone who wants to work. Agar aapne koi kaam karna hai toh GIK mein koi distractions toh hain nahi
  22. Farooq says he learned a great deal during his four years at GIK. lekin woh jo chaar saal jis mahol ke andar raha na, us mahol ne mujhe bahut kuch sikhaya
  23. After his first year at GIK, Farooq realised he wanted to do something else. Ya jab mera first year complete hua tha Muzamil GIK mein, toh mujhe realize ho gaya ke yaar main toh phans gaya, kahin hal ja, mujhe zindagi mein kuch aur karna hai.
  24. Farooq wanted to move into computer engineering. Toh maine us time pe yeh socha ke mujhe jaana hai ah computer engineering mein
  25. Farooq told his family he would complete the degree but never work in that field. main degree poori karunga ismein, lekin kabhi bhi job nahi karunga is field ke
  26. During university Farooq imported electronics from China and sold them to wholesalers. Phir maine China se kuch cheezein import karta raha electronics ki, wholesalers ko udhar bechta raha
  27. In his fourth year Farooq came first in a university business idea competition. Aur fourth year mein tha toh us time pe main university ka ek business idea competition hua tha toh usmein first aaye the
  28. During university Farooq had a ride hailing startup idea, which his team tested in the market. Us time ek ride hailing startup ka mera idea tha jisko humne obviously market ke andar test out bhi kiya tha, Dasti Sawari ke naam se.
  29. Farooq applied for jobs at McKinsey and at a second company, and reached the final stage at both. Aur McKinsey ke andar main final stage pe gaya tha, PNG ke andar bhi final stage pe gaya tha
  30. Farooq says he focused on creating jobs rather than looking for one. Mera zyada focus yahi tha ki agar kuch karna hai toh job creation ki taraf jayein
  31. Farooq worked at Careem. What was it like working in Careem and how did his career progress?
  32. Farooq worked at Careem for five years. Maine Kareem ke andar paanch saal kaam kiya.
  33. Farooq was Careem's first supply manager in Pakistan and the first employee in Islamabad, where he launched the city. phir main Kareem ka us time first supply manager tha Pakistan ka, Islamabad ka pehla employee tha jisne Islamabad ko launch kiya tha
  34. Farooq says his titles changed over time and included supply manager, ops manager and fleet manager. Phir supply manager, ops manager, yeh titles change hote rahe, lekin us time fleet manager bolte the.
  35. In his first two years working as a supply manager, Farooq held a new role about every three months. pehle do saal toh maine kaam kiya as supply manager aur uske andar har teen mahine baad main ek naye role mein hota tha
  36. Farooq says about 95 percent of the efforts in his role went to supply. is wajah se aapki 95% of jo efforts hoti thi, woh hamesha supply pe jaati thi
  37. Farooq says his roles included government relations, PR and crisis work. Aur multiple aapko roles, government relations wale rahe, PR wali side pe, ya crisis ke jitne the.
  38. Farooq became head of fleet ventures on a Prime Minister Youth Business Loan programme that was launched with the government and JS Bank. Prime Minister Youth Business Loan ka hamara ek program tha jo humne government ke saath aur JS Bank ke saath mil ke launch kiya tha. Usmein main head of fleet ventures ban gaya.
  39. Farooq describes subsidised loans for drivers who had never owned an asset. subsidized loans dete the aise drivers ko jo hamare basically captains hote the, jinhone zindagi mein kabhi koi asset own nahi kiya
  40. Farooq says he headed the programme for almost 10 months. So usko maine head kiya almost 10 months.
  41. Farooq moved to Dubai, where his main market was Saudi Arabia. Bilkul, Dubai move ho gaya aur hamara jo primary market thi, Saudi thi.
  42. Farooq says his team launched in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Makkah and Madinah. Humne Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Makkah, Madinah woh sab launch kiya
  43. In his last role Farooq was head of commercial for last-mile delivery in the Saudi market. Last role mein main head of commercial tha last mile delivery ka, Saudi market ka.
  44. Farooq says his team worked with Amazon and Carrefour, among others. Us time humne Amazon ke saath kaam kiya, Noon, uske baad wahan pe Carrefour
  45. Farooq says his team managed Amazon's peak season across the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and that Amazon was one of its top revenue contributors at the time. Amazon ke saath peak season hum logon ne UAE aur Saudi ke andar manage kiya, hamara one of the top us time revenue contributor tha
  46. Farooq says the team decided to offer last-mile delivery as a service. hum log specialize karein operations ke andar, deliveries ke andar toh last mile as a service bhi hum offer kar sakte hain
  47. Farooq says he had earlier launched Careem's food delivery across Saudi Arabia. Kareem ne apni food delivery jo maine usse pehle launch ki thi poori Saudi ke andar Kareem Now ke naam se
  48. Farooq says digitisation in Pakistan's market was limited, including in trucking. Pakistan ke andar market ke andar digitization itni zyada nahi thi jo ki trucking ke liye bhi true hai by the way.
  49. Farooq says a truck moving from point A to point B had a high average trip fare. Uske lihaz se agar ek truck move kar rahe hain point A se point B, so obviously uska average trip fare bahut zyada hota tha
  50. At the time Farooq felt the market was not big enough and the fees were too small. Us time mujhe lag raha tha ki shayad market ka scale itna bada nahi hai aur jo jo fee aap charge karte hain woh bahut thodi hai
  51. Farooq says the margins did not look good and that the Pakistani market did not look as mature as the Saudi market. margins itne sahi nahi lag rahe the, market humein lag raha tha ki jaise Saudi mein mature thi, utni mature idhar nahi nazar aa rahi thi
  52. Farooq's last month at Careem was February 2021. Feb 2021 mera last month tha Kareem ke andar.
  53. Farooq says his team cashed out its equity in January 2020. jab hum logon ko hum logon ne apni equity cash out ki thi toh woh January 2020 tha
  54. Farooq says a co-founder quit Careem Pakistan in August. Mere saath jo dusre co-founder hain Haider unhone August mein quit kar diya tha Kareem Pakistan.
  55. Farooq says that because salaries in Pakistan differ from those abroad, he could finance himself easily for the next six months. Pakistan ke andar obviously salaries versus udhar different hoti hain toh main aasani se uh finance kar sakunga agle 6 mahine
  56. Farooq says a pilot his team ran took place in August 2020. jo August 2020 mein pilot humne run kiya tha
  57. Farooq says unit economics were positive from the first day. Hum unit economics positive the pehle din se.
  58. Farooq says he spent two to three years researching what business to start. Kyunke usse pehle ki research toh pehle 2-3 saal mein chal rahi thi ke yaar kya karein, fala kya karein.
  59. Farooq says he spent his Friday and Saturday weekends researching trucking. Udhar Friday aur Saturday off hota tha toh weekends pe mera sirf ek hi kaam hota tha ke main research karta rehta tha trucking trucking trucking
  60. Farooq says his team explored retail models. Phir retail ke andar jo bazaar, retail, dastageer, jugnoo yeh saare kar rahe hain usko bhi hum explore kar rahe the
  61. Farooq says the team's skills suited an operations-heavy business such as trucking. obvious ho gaya ke hum zyada suited hain ops heavy business ki taraf jo ke trucking ke andar ho.
  62. Farooq says there are three co-founders. Toh teen teen co-founders hain? Teen co-founders hain. Right.
  63. Farooq thought about starting Truck It In. How did he end up thinking about starting Truck It In?
  64. Farooq says the company's vision is to digitise the market and improve truckers' lives. hamara vision bhi yahi hai ke hum logon ne market ko digitize karna hai aur trucker ki zindagi improve karni hai.
  65. Farooq says the main challenge in Pakistan is culture, not technology. it's not the technology problem, it's the culture problem
  66. Farooq describes the adda model as one that earns a commission as a middleman fee. Toh adday ka sara business model is based on commission for a middleman fee essentially.
  67. Farooq says the most recent disruption in the industry was the mobile phone. Sabse recent jo disruption hui woh mobile phone ki thi is industry ke andar
  68. Farooq says the company serves about nine or ten industries, with customers including Unilever, small factories and steel. Hum logon ne PNG, Unilever, choti factories, steel ke andars, hum taqreeban koi 9 ya 10 industries ko serve kar rahe hain abhi.
  69. Farooq says the company onboarded factories directly on the demand side. hum logon ne demand side pe directly factories ko onboard kiya
  70. Farooq says the company has fewer than 3 percent back-outs. hamare less than koi 3% backouts hain.
  71. Farooq says the rate agreed on the company's platform is defined and will not change. ab hamare platform pe jo rate agree ho raha hai woh defined hai aur woh woh change nahi hoga
  72. Farooq says the company adds its margin on top of the pricing that comes from the supply side. jo pricing humein supply side se aayi uske upar hum apne margins incorporate karte hain
  73. Farooq says a tier A company such as Unilever or Nestle would have 60 to 90 day credit terms with the company. Agar aap tier A company hain, PNG, Unilever, Nestle type hain, so obviously aapke saath mere 60 to 90 days ke credit terms honge.
  74. Farooq says small bakeries pay in cash and the company does not extend them credit. Ek agar asal mein koi bakery wala hai to woh hamesha cash mein pay karta hai, hum usse credit karte hi nahi hain
  75. Farooq says cash collection is not an issue in about 90 percent of transactions. 90% of the transactions mein cash collection issue hi nahi hai
  76. Farooq says about 90 percent of the business is in the top eight cities. Hamare jo 90% of the business hai woh top 8 cities ke andar
  77. Farooq says the company has physical presence in those eight cities. Aur un 8 cities mein Already hamare physical presence hai
  78. Farooq says the company runs a 24/7 call centre for truckers and customers. Hamara 24/7 call center hai. Trucker ke liye bhi hai, customer ke liye bhi hai
  79. Farooq says product development and the team matter because the business is people heavy and ops heavy. Product development. Bilkul aur team kyunki people heavy, ops heavy business hai.
  80. Farooq says the company raised funds in Q2, Q3 and Q4 of 2021. So 2021 ke andar Q2, Q3, Q4 in teenon ke andar raise kiya
  81. Farooq says the round closed as a seed round. lekin hamara round close ho gaya tha seed round tha
  82. Farooq says there are about 6 lakh (600,000) freight vehicles. toh takreeban 6 lakh ke kareeb hain aapke paas freight vehicles usmein
  83. Farooq estimates that about 1 percent of the market is moving this way. Andaz, aap yeh samajh lein 1 percent tak toh mere khayal mein is direction mein hum log ja rahe hain
  84. Farooq says there are many players in the space but few are legitimate. Yaar aaye toh bahut zyada hain. Lekin kitne legitimate hain jin ko aap keh sakte ho ke yaar yeh log sahi khel rahe hain.
  85. Farooq says the real long-term value of the business is data, not revenue. the real value here is not anything else like I'm revenue aur isko ghumate phirate rahenge but actually data hai na in the long run
  86. Farooq expects AI-led changes to be carried out within the next ten years. jo AI ki hum baat karte hain toh obviously woh toh agle 10 saalon mein hi cheezein execute ho jayengi
  87. Farooq's view is that Pakistan will be a completely digital country in 28 years. 28 saal baad ka toh completely digital Pakistan nazar aata hai
  88. Farooq expects change in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Central Asian countries. Pakistan, Bangladesh, aapki Central Asian countries ke andar aapko change nazar aayengi
  89. Farooq says he has no choice but to stay positive about the future. Yaar Muzamil hamare paas toh choice hi nahi hai positive rehne ke ilawa
  90. Farooq is based in Islamabad. Ji, based out of Islamabad.