Daily Times

You are a writer, blogger, entrepreneur and publisher. Tell us one thing that you are really good at.

I think being an entrepreneur would be what I am actually good at. Writing and other skills are things that complement it well but I happen to always find a way to do business and that I feel is my greatest strength

What are your companies’ strengths?

Honesty in financial and professional matters, Goodwill acquired over 9 years of hard work and the ability to never give up in the face of adversity with an opinion to match our ethics when I say our I mean me and Amena Kamaal who founded this company.

You are the chief executive officer of Mindmap Communications that deal with brands marketing and PR as well as celebrity management. Are you responsible for image building too?

Yes, we are a content and PR agency who does brand development as well as image consultancy with a focus on narrative building for goal oriented results. That means, we seek to influence narrative towards the positive for anyone image brand or person.

What type of clients do you take up?

We deal with a lot of clients in the lifestyle space as well as in corporate development and even in the health sector. So we aren’t averse or selective of a particular industry but we do like a challenge in narrative building so we mainly like to take up assignments that deal with this specific field.

What would you regard as a challenge?

Influencing through micro interventions narrative to swing public opinion is my most favourite challenge.

Over the years, you have worked with numerous celebrities and A-listers? With whom have you shared the best camaraderie with?

I really don’t like to play favourites and maintain a great camaraderie with whoever we work with. There is no hot list for us.

Who has been the most annoying?

One of my greatest friends in the industry Ahsan Khan can be very annoying at times because he wants to do something new every two days. It’s hard to keep up with him but I love the challenge.

How do you deal with unhappy clients?

I don’t think there is any way to make someone unhappy happy. I try to set expectations to a realistic marker from the first meeting and then if they aren’t satisfied I simply advise them to try someone else. Many people don’t know what they want themselves at times so it’s not a bad idea to give them time to figure things out.

What are you currently working on?

At the moment we are running the public relations of 35 or so brands just in Karachi but one of the dearest projects these days to us is the PR of an amazing thalassemia facility called AMTF.

What according to you has been your biggest achievement so far?

I think when we came into the field, PR on digital in general and narrative building in specific were unheard of and we have played our small role in introducing how and what these tools are to the Pakistani market.

You are one of the top most influential people of this field in Pakistan. Who has influenced you to pursue your current line of work?

My father who has taught me the merits of entrepreneurship and calling a spade a spade. The first made me successful and the second one saved me from allying myself with the wrong kind of people.