Syed Muzamil Hasan Zaidi

Early life and background

His mother's family has always lived in Karachi, and his father's family is from Lahore. His father took a job at Askari Bank, a new bank, as one of its founding team. The family lived in a rented house for two years, from 1992 to 1994, and in 1994 got the house in which Zaidi still lives. The family settled in Lahore after they migrated. [2]

The family had to go through a court case over the house. Zaidi says the room he grew up in housed his mother, his father and four siblings, himself included. His grandmother was very old and had Alzheimer's. He moved out of that room at the age of 14. [2]

Zaidi says that growing up he gave a lot of roadside charity. He says he redirected all of that roadside charity to an organisation. [1]

Education

Zaidi attended O-levels at Beaconhouse Margalla Campus and A-levels at Beaconhouse Bani Gala Campus. He could not get into LUMS because of his grades. He went to FAST Karachi for a couple of months and described it as a horrible experience. He started university at FAST in 2011. He completed a four-year bachelor's degree in computer science with a major in data analytics. [2]

Lolz Studios

In 2010 Zaidi took a year off and started Lolz Studios, where he did photography. Lolz Studios moved into video in 2012. It made comedy skits until 2015. In 2015 the Lolz Studios Paris attack video went viral unexpectedly. [2]

Zaidi decided he could not go back to only comedy or entertainment videos, because content could make an impact. He says the audience in Pakistan had not yet evolved to where it is now. He says YouTube was banned in Pakistan at that time. [2]

Smart homes startup

Zaidi started a smart homes startup that installed security cameras in houses. The startup failed, and he went to the United States, where his family lives. [2]

Teradata

Teradata was Zaidi's dream job when he started at FAST. He joined Teradata in 2016 and left in October 2018. He has said he was planning to pursue media and e-commerce full time. [2]

DPL

Zaidi received a job offer from DPL. At DPL he worked as a full-time head of digital marketing for about three to four months, from December to March. He says he does not have the temperament for a 9-to-5 job, and that his strengths span several areas and cannot be limited to one specialist skill. He left DPL to return to the media side of things. [2]

Work with the creator industry

In March 2019, the Information Minister called in the digital industry. Officials reached out to Zaidi as someone who represents creators. He describes himself as one of the oldest creators, with international experience and publications. He argued for a framework that would target specific issues without devastating the entire industry. He says the biggest problem for the industry was the trust deficit with the government. [2]

Zaidi says he knew at the time that grassroots, peri-urban and second-tier areas would rise. After the Kartarpur corridor opened, he took creators from across Pakistan there. He went to Karachi, met all the creators and talked to them. He helped bring creators to the Digital Pakistan launch. [2]

He says the industry held a meetup with the Prime Minister in January 2020. He says a photo was taken that was designed around the Oscar selfie. He says older generations did not see content creation as a legitimate career. [2]

In March 2020, during Covid, Zaidi was helping as a volunteer. He says he saw the best of Pakistan during Covid in 2020 and that the Covid work was done for free. He says he was directly connected to the Prime Minister's office. [2]

Zaidi and Salman Parekh created an influencer network. The influencer network had about 40 to 50 million followers in total. He says the network worked at zero rupee cost and no influencer took payment. [2]

Recent activities

Zaidi says he appeared on national news several times in the past year. He says he went to Karachi and held three meetups. He recently took a trip to Dubai. [1]

He says he is starting an exclusive community. He says his team builds the structure and systems around his work. He took a couple of months off. [1]

Views

Zaidi says influence cannot be measured by views, followers or likes. He describes himself as a conversationalist rather than an investigative journalist, and says he trusts his viewers. He says there is a constant rise in polarisation, particularly in Pakistan, and that society moves like a pendulum, swinging between extremes over time. He says social media is a drug, and that one tends to dehumanize the audience, treating it as clicks, likes and shares. He says people now have the means to verify information and should use them. [1][2]

He says he has always believed hope is a powerful survival mechanism. He says he learns best by speaking to people and understanding why they made their decisions. He says consumer behaviour and psychology have always been his main area of study. He says he needed to think about what he was doing and why he was doing it. He says people should run after value rather than money, and that he is all about impact. [1][2]

Zaidi says Pakistan's economy is structurally broken and that Pakistan needs to reform and that reform is painful. He says PIA made a loss of 90 billion rupees last year, and argues that PIA and steel, among others, should be privatised. He says many people in Pakistan do not pay taxes and generally lack an investment mindset. He argues that circumstances in Pakistan rewarded laziness. [1]

He says he does not agree with the term brain drain, and that it is good if lakhs of people leave Pakistan. He says human capital export brings in about 30 billion dollars a year, more than textiles. He says he knows many Pakistani VPs in Silicon Valley. He says Pakistan is a bigger opportunity than anywhere else because it has many problems to solve. [1][2]

Zaidi says people need to globalise themselves and understand where the world is going. He has said China is going to be the world's largest economy by 2026. He says the future of the world is being created in the Middle East, and that he became convinced that the Middle East is where opportunity lies. [1]

He predicts Pakistan will have no water crisis by 2050 and will be well integrated with the world. He says this is the century of Asia. He says change and evolution are inevitable. [2]

Personal life

Zaidi says his cousin died during a difficult period. He says he was being misunderstood continuously. His father warned him that media was very unsustainable. He says he went into massive depression. [1][2]

He says he is still in Pakistan and expects to be for the foreseeable future. He says he may leave Pakistan at some point in his life, and that he would never be happy anywhere else. He has a child. [2]

Timeline

1992

The family moved into a rented house, where they lived until 1994.[2]

1994

The family got the house he still lives in.[2]

2010

Took a year off and started Lolz Studios.[2]

2011

Started university at FAST.[2]

2012

Lolz Studios moved into video.[2]

2015

The Lolz Studios Paris attack video went viral unexpectedly.[2]

2016

Joined Teradata.[2]

2018

Left Teradata in October.[2]

2019

In March, the Information Minister called in the digital industry.[2]

2020

In January, the industry held a meetup with the Prime Minister. In March, he began helping as a volunteer during Covid.[2]

Appearances

Frequently asked questions

References

1. Muzamil Hasan on going global and Pakistan's reform moment . Thought Behind Things , 2023-02-20.
2. The surgery that could end Muzamil's career . Thought Behind Things , 2022-07-20.