“Talent without guidance is nothing but a wasted potential,” says Muhammad Burhan Mirza. In Pakistan, Burhan Mirza’s name is synonymous not only with the developing IT industry but also with mentorship within it. With a net worth of around $2.3 million and investments in 15+ IT startups, Mirza is, without a doubt, an IT tycoon who is on a mission to prepare the young generation for a better tomorrow.
In a recent conversation, he stressed on the fact that there are many IT founders in the market, but very few are following a strategy or blueprints to execute it to completion and sustain it until profitability. The primary problem being their training, which is also why most startups in the country fail in their first two years. “When I meet the founders of today, especially the tech founders – they have the means and the idea but the strategy and the vision to sustain in the market is missing” he further explained. The barrier lies within the system; for founders, there are not enough avenues to seek guidance and mentorship.
The Coach360 is a flagship project of Burhan Mirza, designed to provide founders with the necessary guidance. Through this organization, Mirza intends to support the individuals seeking mentorship behind the founding of an IT Startup and other walks of career success.
He emphasized that for IT founders, government support is non-existent. Most of the individuals in this industry are self-taught. “I see very minimal support from the government institutions to IT founders. They don’t realize that time has changed, and so should they,” Mirza added. Global economies, including those of India, the USA, and China, among others, derive more than 10% of their GDP from high-tech products and services. “Let’s not talk about other high-tech companies like Microsoft, Apple, Meta, or Amazon, but only Google generates billions of dollars in revenue,” said Mirza. “This is only possible because of their perfect IT setup, with steady leadership and growing IT infrastructure,” he added more.
According to him, support is one thing. In Pakistan, a systematic suppression of the IT industry is evident through ruthless auditing and the harshest quality control measures applied to the industry as a whole. Such actions, contrary to the regularities, not only discourage new founders but also disrupt the existing organizers in running their companies smoothly. Constructive criticism is one thing, and criticizing to eliminate is something else. Pakistan’s tech ecosystem suffers from the latter.
One thing that global economies did early on was to establish self-sustaining information technology (IT) systems and infrastructure. This includes the educationa
l framework, which pertains to IT development, integration of diplomas, and long-term courses. Then, there are professional training sessions, conferences, workshops, and seminars. “From my experience, I have realized one thing: founders are not born. They are made through appropriate systems,” said Mirza.
In his opinion, these days, in Pakistan’s IT ecosystem, many founders have a background in sales, and to them, founding a company is merely a sales gimmick. However, the reality is utterly contrasting. Selling a product or service and founding a company are two different skills. One should not be confused here. However, the real hurdle lies in the fact that there is no single government entity to guide people in this difference. “I appreciate people becoming IT founders. At least they are doing their part. The rest is the role of government,” he shared.
Skills360 Pakistan another of Mirza’s flagship institutions, aims to equip young people with the tools necessary to build a robust IT infrastructure. Through Skills360, Mirza aims to equip individuals with the skills to secure a job, launch their own freelancing business, and achieve career success. Although Skills360 is not accompanied by a degree program, it equips the youth with in demand skills to get started. “The IT industry is still in a nascent stage, and the founders can be pioneers,” Mirza said. Furthermore, he pointed out the fact that we need to be more regressive in training young people if we want the IT industry to thrive in Pakistan.
Among many highlights, one was that the complete onus of such hurdles and obstacles in the IT industry is not only on the government but also on the large companies that have been generating revenues and not investing in skill development. “One thing I have noticed by the time is that founders want the skilled profiles but deny to invest in them,” he further explained. This is the irony and clear lack of vision on the part of the founders.
Like every other major economy in the world, including Pakistan, digital transformation is inevitable. Every aspect of our lives is now either directly influenced by digitalization or indirectly associated with it. From one sleep cycle to another, we heavily consume it. “Another ironic part is that we enjoy new IT products and services daily but still perceive it to be a bad career choice. This needs to be changed,” Mirza added.
For Mirza, digital innovation is not just another thing happening in current affairs; he is a major part of it. He has been at the forefront, steering this transformation since the early 2010s.
In such a fast-paced tech, the perception still rules, and the Tech sector is still in the bad light. “The IT sector still faces backlash from the people at large. They still think it is a scam,” he continued. With this baggage, expecting founders, let alone successful ones, is nothing short of a dream. Mirza also raised concerns over the increasing churn-out ratio of employees from the startups, “It is because of lack of approach and the nerves to be in the game,” he said. According to him, running a startup and maturing it into an established company is an art. It requires the perfect blend of precision and patience.
While in the conversation, a few other aspects of the industry were also discussed, but these concerns hold more importance. Although these are the sad and ironic realities of the industry, Mirza remains hopeful and sees a better future for the country’s IT sector.