In January 2015 when I was coming back to Pakistan after four venturous and exciting months in Silicon Valley, I won’t deny I did have a bitter feeling that I will be welcomed with umpteen hours of load shedding, a dreadful internet connection, and mobile thieves and rishta aunties lurking around me waiting for their shot. Little did I know that amidst this mess I would find a haven I would soon call home.
An opportunity knocked on my door upon my arrival, and I came to visit the Nest i/o for the first time. The Nest i/o is a tech incubator, a project of P@SHA in partnership with Google for Entrepreneurs and Samsung, and in support with the US State department.
The Nest i/o not only provides free space, bandwidth and uninterrupted power supply to the incubated startups (also known as Nestlings), but also a strong business and technology curriculum, testing facilities, a great mentor network and access to investors. Amongst many other business development aspects, Nestlings are also helped with content creation, and market outreach, and all that free of cost and no equity either! Hard to believe? I thought so too.
The rich and vivid interior of the place seemed to hold a lot of promise, but truth be told, I had no idea how this fancy looking place would actually make a difference in our society and deliver what it claimed to — I jumped on board anyway because it all did sound exciting, even if a bit too-good-to-be-true.
Thus, on January twelfth, I took the position of an Entrepreneur in Residence and began my adventure at the Nest i/o. Soon the first batch was incubated, and with each passing day, the festive yet constructive work environment attracted many people and the team grew stronger. The Nest with its incredible mentors teaches startups about entrepreneurship, law, motivation, design, failure, resilience and all kinds of aspects they might come face to face with in life.
The four month cycle was nothing short of pure excitement, a lot of learning, laughter and bliss. Even though I was not an incubatee at The Nest i/o, but I still learnt a lot about things that would help my startup, Artboard prepare itself for the long and fierce journey up ahead.
I made numerous friends and I met a lot of inspiring people that moved me with their stories and motivated me to not give up; Jawwad Farid, Adil Moosajee, Shahjahan Chaudhry, Hareem Sumbul and of course Jehan Ara, to name a few. (Immense love and prayers for you guys ❤)
I also got a chance to work with and mentor a lot of aspiring startups, and learn with and from them as well, throughout my time here. It makes me really happy to see how much the startups have progressed, and how extremely successful a model the Nest i/o has been.
Now as I bid farewell to the Nest i/o, to embark on a new journey, I know that I am leaving a part of me behind. I am immensely grateful for the opportunities I got, the experiences I had, and the people I met. Apart from personal and professional experiences, the defeated and negative mindset I came with, about how far behind we are as a nation — the Nest i/o changed all of it, and I know for a fact, that it’s places and people like these, that have restored my faith in our society.
Thank you Nest i/o, Jehan Ara, the Birds and the Nestlings. Its time to not just fly, but soar through the sky!
Lots of love. ❤
