Saif Ali

executive director of Dastgyr

Compiled from 3 recorded interviews. Every statement below is drawn from the passage cited beside it.

Saif Ali is the Executive Director of Dastgyr, a company he has described as a technology company and a startup in hyper-growth. He has said Dastgyr gives retailers a marketplace of goods to order from, with next day delivery, and that its core mission is to repair the broken retail supply chain. His career has included work at a BPO startup in Karachi, on a web desk, and at digital and activation agencies, as well as a period spent trying to become a consultant.

Early life and background

Ali was in Houston, Texas, during high school. He intended to become a biomedical engineer. He has said his family lived a middle class life in the US and that his mother encouraged him to pursue technical work in STEM. He has also said his family was facing legal issues. [3]

Ali came to Pakistan with only his father, and the family had no base there. He has said he was 19 or 20 years old when he arrived. He got a job within a month of arriving in Pakistan. [3]

Education

Ali was accepted into the Cullen College of Engineering at the University of Houston. He first attended a community college because it was cheaper, and he did not finish the degree. He left community college after about a year and a half of study without completing it. He has said his background is in data analytics, and he has a computer science background and a strong interest in tech. [3]

Career

Ali's first job was at a BPO startup in Karachi with its front office in Boston. He has said the BPO hired him to answer phones because his English was good enough, and that it worked in business services, with a big focus on app development, digital marketing and business strategy. After severe burnout, he left the BPO and moved to another job. He has also worked as an editor on a web desk. [3]

Ali moved to Punjab for a time and consulted in media and communications. He moved back to Karachi in 2014 and started working in the agency circuit. He worked at a digital agency that he describes as a leading one at the time, and then joined a company that was a powerhouse on the conventional side and wanted to move into digital. [3]

Ali has said he decided to work for himself after feeling dejected with the job market. From 2016 to 2017 he spent about two years trying to become a consultant. He has said he completed six or eight large projects but recovered only 10 to 15 percent of his payments, and that teaching clients analytics was a pillar of his consulting work. [3]

In early 2018 Ali got an opportunity to help lead a digital agency. He has said his role at that agency was his first account management role. He then went to an activation agency. [3]

Digital marketing and influencer work

Ali has said he did a lot of TikTok work in 2020 and ran some very large campaigns on TikTok with brands willing to take risks. On one campaign, about 70 to 80 percent of the budget was on Instagram and 20 to 30 percent on TikTok. He has said TikTok performed about 200 percent higher than Instagram on vanity metrics, that the brand team disliked the TikTok content but could not deny the results, and that engagement from female users on TikTok is much higher than on other platforms. [3]

Ali has said his team was one of the first to establish an influencer marketing platform in Pakistan. The team gathered about five to six thousand influencers, and the whole concept of the platform was micro and nano influencers at scale. He has said the idea was that the same money paid to one creator could instead pay 50 people. He has said influencer engagement averages about 5 to 7 percent and is higher with micro influencers. [3]

Ali has said his team began commercial work in 2013 and that he was one of the first to start working with Telenor. He has said his media team costs 7.5 lakh rupees a month to run, that he is investing in his full team because he is thinking five years ahead, and that his bet is that client spending will grow as client appetite grows. [3]

Views on marketing and agencies

Ali has said content is very powerful when it is used for what it is. He has said the industry joked that DVC stood for discount video commercial, and that clients wanted the production quality that used to cost one crore rupees for 20 lakh rupees. [3]

On creators, Ali has said he is being given sales codes to put on Instagram posts and that people do not leave Instagram through a story or feed post. He has said every creator is overpaid for sales-based conversion, and that some creators are underpaid, many are overpaid, and some are paid when they should not be. He can think of maybe five examples of actual loyalty campaigns or maybe one example of a real consideration campaign. He describes an affiliate model in which creators are paid according to the sales their content makes, and has said brand managers hire people based on who appears in their news feed. [3]

On account management, Ali has said the core skill for an account manager is stakeholder management, that most account managers in Pakistan are clerks, and that in Pakistan the account manager enables only the client side. [3]

Dastgyr

Ali is the Executive Director of Dastgyr. He has described Dastgyr as a technology company, as a startup in hyper-growth and as a digitally enabled business. He has said its core mission is to repair the broken retail supply chain, that it enables trade through a marketplace platform and does not buy the goods itself, and that it gives retailers a marketplace of goods to order from, with next day delivery. He has described Dastgyr as making life easier for small kiryana retailers, and has described his company as a B2B e-commerce company and a B2B e-commerce business. [1][2][3]

Ali has said Dastgyr's top line has grown by 300 to 350 percent and that its team grew from about 300 colleagues to about 600 to 650, most of them operational staff. He has said Dastgyr is fully live in four markets, operates in Karachi and Lahore, and plans to open ten more cities this year. He has said it wants to come to Islamabad eventually to access local tech talent, and that it has more than 40,000 active users. He has said his company has already served 30,000 customers and is mapping the retail sector. [1][2][3]

Ali has said his company closed its Series A round and announced the figure of 37 million, and that the Dastgyr round is the largest Series A equity round in Pakistan. He has said Dastgyr tries to look for strategic capital, and that margin on trade alone does not justify its valuation, funding, team or plans. He has said his company recently announced funding and will offer credit to all its shopkeepers. He has also said five venture-backed B2B players compete for the same pie and that Dastgyr is the only one taking the marketplace bet, and that the regulatory environment makes things easier for his company. [1][2][3]

Ali has said Dastgyr works with distributors and wholesalers as well as manufacturers, and is, for now, the only company that also works directly with manufacturers. He has said his company sources from manufacturers, distributors and wholesalers and sells under its own brand name. He has said Dastgyr has 50 trucks available on the road through its deal with Truck It In, and that it pushes suppliers to use its seller app. He has said his company built an app through which a retailer places orders, like Daraz, and that it runs last-mile delivery and sorting centres. He has said there is only one step in Dastgyr's value chain where it has boots on the ground. [2][3]

Ali has said Dastgyr's model is capital efficient because it runs small sorting centers rather than warehouses. He has said Dastgyr warehouses about 10 to 15% of the goods it sells, and that his company stores about 10 percent of the stock it sells. He has said Dastgyr works close to just-in-time because it can predict demand, and that his company uses cross-docking, so goods spend little time between arrival and dispatch. He has said that in a marketplace, retailers get the best price and best solutions, and that what Dastgyr is doing is nothing short of behavioral change. He has said his company's business model is about one year old, and that the next step, once the business is mature, is a full marketplace model. [2][3]

Ali has said Dastgyr has launched a lending product with buy now, pay later for retailers, and that it piloted its lending for some months before launching it. He has said Dastgyr does not hold its own loan book and is not an NBFC for now, and that it arranges credit scoring from data and approaches private banks privately. He has said the lending is micro lending underwritten by an Islamic bank, because it has to be Sharia compliant. He has said a buy-now-pay-later option will launch soon in his company's app at checkout, and that retailers would pay each invoice within 14 or 30 days under the credit option. He has said his company plans to offer working capital loans eventually, through a micro lending partner. [2][3]

Ali has said Dastgyr's default ratio is about 0.5%, which he calls the lowest in the industry. He has said the average order value of Dastgyr's retailers is doubling and that retailer retention is rising, with users who used to leave in two weeks now staying two months. He has said one shopkeeper now runs two stores, since he no longer needs to leave his shop. He has said tech means one can trace back, because a ledger is maintained. [2][3]

Ali has said Pakistan has about 2 million underserved retailers, and that kiryana shopkeepers drive much of Pakistan's economy. He has said an average kiryana shop in Pakistan runs on 4 to 6 lakh rupees a month, and that a loan of one or 1.5 lakh rupees could transform a shopkeeper's business. He has said his company aims to surround shopkeepers with technology. He has said a co-founder of Dastgyr was part of the early team at Careem. [2][3]

Views

Ali says credit is the secret ingredient to unlocking Pakistan's economy, and that most people do not realise the power of credit. He has said funding is not a true representation of the economy, and that true validation for a startup is paying customers, and growing that base. He has said a startup can be bootstrapped or funded by family and friends, that the startup route is a hit or a miss with many other routes available, and that founders with experience and connections find it easier to raise money. [2]

Ali has said there is a bias in the startup ecosystem that he expects to improve over time. He has said Careem was a major win for the entire region and that the Middle East and Pakistan now have a Careem mafia. He says a step-by-step problem solving approach is missing from many Pakistani tech startups. He has recommended reading Eric Ries's books on the lean startup model, and says he keeps stressing unit economics at every public forum he attends. [2][3]

Ali has said 10 to 20 winning companies may become unicorns, but they are not the only ones that will remain in the economy. He has said that if 100 players enter logistics, only about 10% will succeed. He has said quick commerce worldwide is mainly subsidised with venture dollars, and that it is a hot trend that VCs are very much in love with. He says EdTech and YouTube will win, on platforms that democratise access, and that convenience will win out. He says the arhti takes away the most money without doing anything, and that he most looks forward to a fifth industrial revolution in Pakistan. [2]

Personal life

Ali has said his mother and younger sister live in Mumbai, while he has lived in Pakistan for nine years. [3]

Timeline

2013: His team began commercial work.[3]
2014: He moved back to Karachi and started working in the agency circuit.[3]
2016: He began about two years of trying to become a consultant, lasting until 2017.[3]
2018: He got an opportunity to help lead a digital agency.[3]
2020: He did a lot of TikTok work.[3]

Appearances

Date	Title	Where
2022-06-15	Jazz's CEO on why 4G for all beats 5G for a few	Thought Behind Things
2021-10-11	Why Pakistan's startup boom is a watershed, not a victory lap	Thought Behind Things
2021-08-23	Pakistan's kiryana dukan is the real disruption opportunity	Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

What does Saif Ali do?

Saif Ali is the Executive Director of Dastgyr. He has said Dastgyr's core mission is to repair the broken retail supply chain. He has also said it gives retailers a marketplace of goods to order from, with next day delivery.[1][2]

Where did Saif Ali study?

Saif Ali was accepted into the Cullen College of Engineering at the University of Houston. He first attended a community college because it was cheaper, and he did not finish the degree. He left after about a year and a half of study without completing it.[3]

Where is Saif Ali from?

Saif Ali was in Houston, Texas, during high school, and he has said his family lived a middle class life in the US. He has said he was 19 or 20 years old when he arrived in Pakistan. He has said he has lived in Pakistan for nine years.[3]

What does Saif Ali say about TikTok?

Saif Ali has said TikTok performed about 200 percent higher than Instagram on vanity metrics. He has said the brand team disliked the TikTok content but could not deny the results. He has also said engagement from female users on TikTok is much higher than on other platforms.[3]

What lending does Saif Ali say Dastgyr offers?

Saif Ali has said Dastgyr has launched a lending product with buy now, pay later for retailers. He has said the lending is micro lending underwritten by an Islamic bank, because it has to be Sharia compliant. He has said Dastgyr's default ratio is about 0.5%, which he calls the lowest in the industry.[2][3]

References

Jazz's CEO on why 4G for all beats 5G for a few . Thought Behind Things , 2022-06-15.
Why Pakistan's startup boom is a watershed, not a victory lap . Thought Behind Things , 2021-10-11.
Pakistan's kiryana dukan is the real disruption opportunity . Thought Behind Things , 2021-08-23.

Show the source passages (147 statements)

Saif Ali is the Executive Director of Dastgyr. Executive Director Dastgyr Saif Ali
Saif Ali has said his company closed its Series A round and announced the figure of 37 million. Dostagir ne apni Series A round finally close kar liya hai, and we announced that number of 37 million
Saif Ali has said the Dastgyr round is the largest Series A equity round in Pakistan. It is the largest Series A equity round in Pakistan.
Saif Ali has described Dastgyr as a technology company. Hum ek technology company hain, ek alag domain mein
Saif Ali has said Dastgyr tries to look for strategic capital. hamari koshish hoti hai ke hum strategic capital dhoondhein
Saif Ali has said Dastgyr's top line has grown by 300 to 350 percent. business top line jo hai 300 feesad, 300-350 feesad izafi ho chuka hai
Saif Ali has said Dastgyr's team grew from about 300 colleagues to about 600 to 650. hamari team mein total shayad koi 300 colleagues the, aaj hum takreeban 600-650 pe hain
Saif Ali has said Dastgyr is fully live in four markets. Abhi char markets live hain, fully live hain, fully operational hain
Saif Ali has said Dastgyr plans to open ten more cities this year. is saal ka plan hai ke das aur shehar humein kholne hain
Saif Ali has said Dastgyr wants to come to Islamabad eventually to access local tech talent. we do want to come to Islamabad eventually, especially to have access to the local tech talent
Saif Ali has said most of Dastgyr's staff are operational staff. majority is operational staff because hamara business aisa hai
Saif Ali has described Dastgyr as a startup in hyper-growth. It's a startup, it's hyper-growth, man.
Saif Ali has said Dastgyr enables trade through a marketplace platform and does not buy the goods itself. hum khud khareed to nahi rahe, but hum woh trade enable kar rahe hain marketplace platform ke zariye
Saif Ali has said Dastgyr is a digitally enabled business. we're also digitally enabled businesses
Saif Ali has said Dastgyr's core mission is to repair the broken retail supply chain. jo core mission hai, woh yeh hai ke retail supply chain tooti hui hai, usko humein pehle repair karna hai
Saif Ali is from Dastgyr. In conversation with Saif Ali from Dastgyr, this episode explores startup culture in Pakistan.
Saif Ali has described his company as a B2B e-commerce company. Dastagir is a B2B e-commerce company.
Saif Ali has said Dastgyr gives retailers a marketplace of goods to order from, with next day delivery. by providing them a marketplace of goods that they can order from, get next day delivery.
Saif Ali has said Dastgyr has launched a lending product with buy now, pay later for retailers. we've also launched a lending product so that retailers can have a buy now pay later option
Saif Ali has said Dastgyr piloted its lending for some months before launching it. hum kuch mahino se pilot karte hue aa rahe the lekin ab humne launch kiya hai.
Saif Ali has said Dastgyr's default ratio is about 0.5%, which he calls the lowest in the industry. our default ratio is about the lowest in the industry at 0.5%
Saif Ali has said the average order value of Dastgyr's retailers is doubling. hum yeh bhi dekh rahe hain ke unka average order value bhi double ho raha hai.
Saif Ali has said retailer retention is rising, with users who used to leave in two weeks now staying two months. Unki retention bhi badh rahi hai ke woh banda jo user hamara average mein agar you know do hafte mein bhaag jata tha yeh banda do mahine se hamare saath hai
Saif Ali says credit is the secret ingredient to unlocking Pakistan's economy. so credit is going to be the basically the secret ingredient to unlocking Pakistan's economy
Saif Ali says most people do not realise the power of credit. most people don't realize the power of credit.
Saif Ali has said Dastgyr is mapping the retail sector. hum pure retail sector ko map kar rahe hain
Saif Ali has said Dastgyr works with distributors and wholesalers as well as manufacturers. hum distributor ke saath bhi kaam karte hain aur hum wholesaler ke saath bhi kaam karte hain
Saif Ali has said Dastgyr is, for now, the only company that also works directly with manufacturers. we are the only company right now jo manufacturer ke saath bhi kaam karti hai
Saif Ali has said Dastgyr has more than 40,000 active users. How many people do you have on board? 40,000 plus. 40,000 active users? Active. Really? Yeah.
Saif Ali has said Dastgyr operates in Karachi and Lahore. Filhal hum Karachi Lahore mein kaam kar rahe hain
Saif Ali has said Dastgyr does not hold its own loan book and is not an NBFC for now. Hamari haan apni loan book nahi hai filhal we are not in NBFC.
Saif Ali has said Dastgyr arranges credit scoring from data and approaches private banks privately. Aapki data aapki credit scoring hum karwate hain aur hum jate hain banks ke paas privately right private banks ke paas
Saif Ali has said Dastgyr has 50 trucks available on the road through its deal with Truck It In. Truck It In se jo hamari deal hai abhi hamare paas 50 trucks available hain 50 on the road hain
Saif Ali has said Dastgyr pushes suppliers to use its seller app. humne suppliers ko bhi seller app istemal karne mein force karna hai
Saif Ali has said there is only one step in Dastgyr's value chain where it has boots on the ground. So that's why this this is the only step in the value chain where we have boots on the ground.
Saif Ali has said what Dastgyr is doing is nothing short of behavioral change. hum jo kar rahe hain it's nothing short of behavioral change right?
Saif Ali has said tech means one can trace back, because a ledger is maintained. Tech means ke aap back track kar sakte hain. Tech means ke ledger maintained hai.
Saif Ali has said there is a bias in the startup ecosystem that he expects to improve over time. So, yeah, there is a bias in the ecosystem. I think it'll definitely improve over time.
Saif Ali has said Careem was a major win for the entire region. So, Careem was a major major win for the entire region, right?
Saif Ali has said the Middle East and Pakistan now have a Careem mafia. And now in the Middle East and Pakistan, we have a Careem mafia, right?
Saif Ali has said founders with experience and connections find it easier to raise money. jinka experience hota hai, unki connectivity hoti hai, woh cheez behtar hoti hai, toh aapko raise karna bhi aasaan ho jata hai
Saif Ali has said a co-founder of Dastgyr was part of the early team at Careem. Our co-founder was also part of the early team at Careem
Saif Ali says true validation for a startup is paying customers, and growing that base. Validation, true validation is paying customers and you scaling to even more paying customers.
Saif Ali has said funding is not a true representation of the economy. Funding is not a true representation of economy.
Saif Ali has said a startup can be bootstrapped or funded by family and friends. You can also have a bootstrap startup, you can also have, you know, funding from your family, from your friends and do it on your own
Saif Ali has recommended reading Eric Ries's books on the lean startup model. Eric Ries ki kitabein padhein ki lean startup ka model kya hai
Saif Ali says he keeps stressing unit economics at every public forum he attends. unit economics, unit economics ka dindora peet raha hoon. Har jagah ja ke har mehfil mein ja ke main yehi yehi ro raha hota hoon.
Saif Ali has said 10 to 20 winning companies may become unicorns, but they are not the only ones that will remain in the economy. definitely winners aayengi is tarah ki 10, 12, 15, 20 companies aa jayengi jo ki unicorns ban jayengi, badi ho jayengi, but that doesn't mean ke those are the only ones jo ki economy mein rahengi.
Saif Ali has said that if 100 players enter logistics, only about 10% will succeed. agar for example logistics mein 100 player ghusega, theek hai? Toh usme se successful, it's like a hunger games and usme successful 10% hi hoga
Saif Ali has said the startup route is a hit or a miss, with many other routes available. this is a hit or a miss, but there are a lot of other routes.
Saif Ali says he most looks forward to a fifth industrial revolution in Pakistan. that's also I think what I'm most looking forward to. Yeah. Right? Is the fifth industrial revolution in Pakistan.
Saif Ali says EdTech and YouTube will win, on platforms that democratise access. EdTech will win. Theek hai? YouTube will win. Right? These platforms jahan pe democratized hai.
Saif Ali has said quick commerce worldwide is mainly subsidised with venture dollars. worldwide what you see in quick commerce is mainly it's being subsidized using venture dollars
Saif Ali says quick commerce is a hot trend that VCs are very much in love with. it's a hot trend. It's something that VCs are very much in love with.
Saif Ali has said the regulatory environment makes things easier for his company. again the regulatory environment makes it easier for us
Saif Ali has said convenience will win out. convenience will win out, right?
Saif Ali has said five venture-backed B2B players compete for the same pie, and Dastgyr is the only one taking the marketplace bet. There are five venture-backed B2B players, right? All competing for the same pie. However, we're the only ones taking the marketplace bet.
Saif Ali has said margin on trade alone does not justify Dastgyr's valuation, funding, team or plans. and there's a margin on that, but that alone is is not justify our valuation, our funding either, or our team or our plans.
Saif Ali has said Dastgyr's model is capital efficient because it runs small sorting centers rather than warehouses. hamara model bahut zyada capital efficient hai, right? Kyunki hum chhote chhote sorting centers kholte hain, warehouse nahi karte.
Saif Ali has said Dastgyr warehouses about 10 to 15% of the goods it sells. Jo hum warehouse karte bhi hain, that's about 10 to 15% of all the goods that we sell.
Saif Ali has said Dastgyr works close to just-in-time because it can predict demand. Just-in-time takreeban pe hum kaam kar rahe hain, right? And this works because we know the demand, we can predict that demand, right?
Saif Ali has said in a marketplace, retailers get the best price and best solutions. Retailer ko best price mil rahi hai, best solutions mil rahe hain
Saif Ali says the arhti is the one who takes away the most money without doing anything. poori ki poori ki arhti is the one jo ki kuch nahi kare baghair sabse zyada paisa leke ja raha hai.
Saif Ali has described Dastgyr as making life easier for small kiryana retailers. Hum jo hain chote kiryana retailers ke liye zindagi aasaan kar rahe hain.
Saif Ali was in Houston, Texas, during high school. high school ke time pe toh main Houston mein tha, Texas mein.
Saif Ali intended to become a biomedical engineer. mera pura irada tha ke main biomedical engineer banunga.
Saif Ali says his family was facing legal issues. based on some legal issues that my family was facing.
Saif Ali says his mother encouraged him to pursue technical work in STEM. Amma kehti thin ke technical kaam karo. Jo kehna chah rahi thin woh yeh thi stem mein kaam karo.
Saif Ali was accepted into the Cullen College of Engineering at the University of Houston. I got accepted into the Cullen College of Engineering at University of Houston.
Saif Ali first attended a community college because it was cheaper, and he did not finish the degree. Main pehle community college gaya kyunke sasta hai aur wahan se phir aap transfer kar lete hain. Lekin woh degree kabhi khatam nahi ho payi.
Saif Ali left community college after about a year and a half of study without completing it. main community college bhi khatam nahi kar paya aur dedh saal ki padhai ke baad takreeban main nikal gaya.
Saif Ali says his family lived a middle class life in the US. my family was always living a middle class life in the US as well.
Saif Ali came to Pakistan with only his father, and the family had no base here. hamara koi yahan pe base tha nahi. Upar se main yahan aaya sirf apne walid sahab ke saath.
Saif Ali says his mother and younger sister live in Mumbai, while he has lived in Pakistan for nine years. Amma aur choti behen India gaye. Acha, toh woh 9 saal se India mein hain, Mumbai mein hain aur main 9 saal se Pakistan mein hoon.
Saif Ali says he was 19 or 20 years old when he arrived in Pakistan. I was 19, 20 when I landed.
Saif Ali got a job within a month of arriving in Pakistan. And somehow I managed to get a job within a month of being here.
His first job was at a BPO startup in Karachi with its front office in Boston. I was working at a BPO startup in Karachi. Front office was in Boston.
Saif Ali says the BPO hired him to answer phones because his English was good enough. you speak English well enough, just you know, man the phones to begin with and we'll teach you everything else.
Saif Ali says the BPO was in business services, with a big focus on app development, digital marketing and business strategy. Business services, right? So huge focus on app development, digital marketing and business strategy.
After severe burnout, Saif Ali left the BPO and moved to another job. Toh bahut shadeed burnout ke baad main wahan se cut ke Tribune gaya.
Saif Ali worked as an editor on a web desk. As a as an editor, as an editor on the on the web desk.
After that job, Saif Ali moved to Punjab for a time and consulted in media and communications. But after that, I moved to Punjab for a bit. I was consulting in media and comms, you know, whatever skills I had picked up by then.
Saif Ali moved back to Karachi in 2014 and started working in the agency circuit. Moved back to Karachi in 2014 and started doing the agency circuit.
Saif Ali worked at a digital agency that he describes as a leading one at the time. Toh main brand crew mein tha, jo ke ek bahut us zamane mein leading digital agency thi.
He then joined a company that was a powerhouse on the conventional side and wanted to move into digital. Spectrum conventional side pe powerhouse tha aur unko digital mein aana tha.
Saif Ali decided to work for himself after feeling dejected with the job market. And after that, you know, sort of really down and out, sort of feeling dejected with the job market, maine kaha ke main ab apna kaam karunga.
From 2016 to 2017 he spent about two years trying to become a consultant. 2016-17. I spent about two years chasing a pipe dream ke main consultant banunga aur main logon ke masle, genuinely masle solve karunga.
Saif Ali says he completed six or eight large projects but recovered only 10 to 15 percent of his payments. I learned that the hard way when I you know completed I think six, eight huge projects and had about 10, 15% recovery on my payments.
In early 2018 he got an opportunity to help lead a digital agency. 2018, beginning of 2018. I got an opportunity to help lead a digital agency by the name of Echo.
Saif Ali says his role at that agency was his first account management role. my first time stepping into an account management role as well, right?
Saif Ali then went to an activation agency. Toh nahi main impact gaya tha uh Echo ke baad woh activation agency thi
Saif Ali says he did a lot of TikTok work in 2020. kyunke 2020 mein maine TikTok ke saath bahut kaam bhi kiya tha
Saif Ali says he ran some very large campaigns on TikTok with brands willing to take risks. I pulled off some really big campaigns um and kudos to the brand teams in that case because they were willing to take those risks.
Saif Ali says on one campaign about 70 to 80 percent of the budget was on Instagram and 20 to 30 percent on TikTok. Um about 70%, 80% of the budget was on Insta. Mhm. And you know, a huge litany of influencers. Um and 20-30% was on TikTok
Saif Ali says TikTok performed about 200 percent higher than Instagram on vanity metrics. in terms of ROI, again on the vanity metrics, TikTok performed about 200% higher than Instagram.
Saif Ali says the brand team disliked the TikTok content but could not deny the results. Toh the brand team hated the content but couldn't deny the results.
Saif Ali says engagement from female users on TikTok is much higher than on other platforms. We've seen that engagement from female users especially is a lot higher than it is on other platforms.
Saif Ali says content is very powerful when it is used for what it is. Content is very, very powerful if you utilize it for what it is.
Saif Ali says the industry joked that DVC stood for discount video commercial. hum toh industry mein mazaak yeh karte the ki DVC stands for discount video commercial.
Saif Ali says clients wanted the production quality that used to cost one crore rupees for 20 lakh rupees. Kyunke woh utni hi production quality chahte the jo pehle crore rupaye mein aa rahi thi, 20 lakh rupaye mein.
Saif Ali says his media team costs 7.5 lakh rupees a month to run. jo meri sirf media ki team running ki cost hai, woh meri 7.5 lakh rupaye per month hai.
Saif Ali says he is investing in his full team now because he is thinking five years ahead. Ab main toh invest kar raha hoon is waqt poori team mein because main yeh soch raha hoon ki 5 saal baad kya hoga.
Saif Ali says his bet is that client spending will grow as client appetite grows. meri jo jo jo bet maine li hai woh yeh li hai, ke yaar client ki appetite jab badhegi na, toh woh phir spend bhi us hisaab se badhayega.
Saif Ali says his team was one of the first to establish an influencer marketing platform in Pakistan. I was one of the first, my team was one of the first to establish an influencer marketing platform in Pakistan.
Saif Ali says his team gathered about five to six thousand influencers. humne koi paanch-cheh hazaar influencers jama kar liye the
Saif Ali says the whole concept of his influencer platform was micro and nano influencers at scale. The whole concept was micro and nano at scale.
Saif Ali says the idea was that the same money paid to one creator could instead pay 50 people. The idea there was ki yahan pe aap ek Muzammil ko bilfarz agar 5 lakh rupaye dete hain, aap usi unhi paison mein aap 50 log lein
Saif Ali says influencer engagement averages about 5 to 7 percent. 5 to 7% engagement aati hai on average.
Saif Ali says engagement is higher with micro influencers. Aap micro pe jayenge na woh engagement levels higher hai.
Saif Ali says he is being given sales codes to put on Instagram posts. Mere se Instagram post ke upar sales ke liye you know code diya ja raha dilwaya ja raha hai.
Saif Ali says people do not leave Instagram through a story or feed post. Aap story se swipe up kar lete ho, aap profile se chale jaate ho lekin aap insta story se nahi jaoge, Instagram feed post se nahi jaoge.
Saif Ali says every creator is overpaid for sales-based conversion. Every creator is overpaid for sales based conversion.
Saif Ali says he can think of maybe five examples of actual loyalty campaigns or maybe one example of a real consideration campaign. I can think of maybe, you know, five examples of actual loyalty campaigns or maybe one example of a real consideration campaign.
Saif Ali describes an affiliate model in which creators are paid according to the sales their content makes. Content aap banao. Aap content bana ke cheezein becho jaise jaise bike ga uske hisaab se aapko paisa mil jayega.
Saif Ali says brand managers hire people based on who appears in their news feed. Brand manager bande hire karta hai based on uski news feed pe kaun aata hai.
Saif Ali says his team began commercial work in 2013. Honestly, 13 se humne kaam shuru kiya commercially.
Saif Ali says he was one of the first to start working with Telenor. I was one of the first jo Telenor ke saath humne kaam karna shuru kiya
Saif Ali says his background is in data analytics. mera background data analytics ka hai.
Saif Ali has a computer science background and a strong interest in tech. main mera computer science background hai, tech ka mujhe bada shauq hai.
Saif Ali says teaching clients analytics was a pillar of his consulting work. jo consulting wali jo main baat kar raha tha us pe bhi pura ek hamara pillar sirf yahi tha ke hum jaake logon ko analytics samjhayein
Saif Ali says some creators are underpaid, many are overpaid, and some are paid when they should not be. I think a lot of creators are underpaid. A lot of them are overpaid. A lot of them are paid when they shouldn't even be paid.
Saif Ali says the core skill for an account manager is stakeholder management. the core skill required for an account manager is stakeholder management.
Saif Ali says most account managers in Pakistan are clerks. Pakistan mein yahi hai ke munshi baithe hue hain zyada tar.
Saif Ali says in Pakistan the account manager enables only the client side. lekin yahan pe zyada tar yahi ho raha hota hai ke enabling kisi side ki nahi ho rahi hoti. Ya aap yeh keh sakte hain ke enabling sirf client side ki ho rahi hoti hai.
Saif Ali says his company sells under its own brand name. Toh filhal toh aisa hi hai ke hum Dastageer ke brand se bechte hain.
Saif Ali describes his company as a B2B e-commerce business. Toh it's B2B e-commerce. E-commerce toh aapko pata hai.
Saif Ali says Pakistan has about 2 million underserved retailers. Yahan pe B2B aisa hai ke Pakistan mein taqreeban 20 lakh underserved retailers hain.
Saif Ali says kiryana shopkeepers drive much of Pakistan's economy. Kyunki jab yeh dukan daar hain, kiryana dukan daar Pakistan mein hamari economy chala raha hai.
Saif Ali says his company built an app through which a retailer places orders, like Daraz. humne app banaya hai jiske zariye woh Daraz ke jaise hi woh apna order place karta hai
Saif Ali says his company runs last-mile delivery and sorting centres. Hum last mile delivery bhi karte hain. Um aur hamare sorting centers hain.
Saif Ali says his company is active in Karachi and Lahore. Hum Karachi aur Lahore dono shehron mein active hain.
Saif Ali says his company has already served 30,000 customers. Already hum 30,000 customer bhi serve kar chuke hain.
Saif Ali says his company sources from manufacturers, distributors and wholesalers. So we source from everyone. We have relationships with manufacturers in many cases, we have relationships with distributors and wholesalers.
Saif Ali says his company uses cross-docking, so goods spend little time between arrival and dispatch. Um cross docking hai basically. Cross docking yani maal aane mein aur maal nikalne mein bahut kam waqt hota hai.
Saif Ali says his company stores about 10 percent of the stock it sells. Jo hum store karte hain, koi maybe 10% of all the stock we sell.
Saif Ali says a step-by-step problem solving approach is missing from many Pakistani tech startups. And I think Pakistan mein when it comes to tech companies or a lot of these tech startups, I feel like this sort of step by step problem solving approach is is really missing.
Saif Ali says his company's business model is about one year old. Ji, filhal ek hai lekin actual business model yahi hai, abhi toh ek saal hua hai.
Saif Ali says the next step, once the business is mature, is a full marketplace model. Poori maturity pe aane ke baad yeh agla step yahi hai ke humein complete marketplace model pe aana hai.
Saif Ali says his company recently announced funding and will offer credit to all its shopkeepers. abhi humne recently jo funding announce ki uske saath saath yeh bhi announce kiya hai ke hum apne ab saare dukan daron ko credit dene wale hain.
Saif Ali says the lending is micro lending underwritten by an Islamic bank, because it has to be Sharia compliant. It's basically lending, it's micro lending and it's underwritten by an Islamic bank because it has to be Sharia compliant.
Saif Ali says a buy-now-pay-later option will launch soon in his company's app at checkout. So we're going to give them a buy now pay later solution and it's going to be launched in our app very soon ke woh check out ke time pe they can just select credit.
Saif Ali says retailers would pay each invoice within 14 or 30 days under the credit option. And then they can pay it pay that invoice in 30 days, in 14 days.
Saif Ali says one shopkeeper now runs two stores, since he no longer needs to leave his shop. Jo pehle kar hi nahi sakta tha aur woh do store isliye chala raha hai kyunki ab usko dukan se nikalne ki zaroorat nahi hai na.
Saif Ali says an average kiryana shop in Pakistan runs on 4 to 6 lakh rupees a month. Karyana ki dukan Pakistan mein average 4 se 6 lakh rupaye mahana mein chalti hai.
Saif Ali says his company plans to offer working capital loans eventually, through a micro lending partner. But micro lending partner jab hamare paas hai, humne eventually usko working capital ke loan bhi dene hain.
Saif Ali says his company aims to surround shopkeepers with technology. Dukandar ko humein technology se gherna hai, right?
Saif Ali says a loan of one or 1.5 lakh rupees could transform a shopkeeper's business. Agar us bande ko aapne lakh rupaye ya dedh lakh rupaye ka bhi loan de diya, uski toh duniya badal gayi.