Business and brand go hand in hand.

Byline: KHALIL AHMED

Interview with Mr. Hammad Khan - an entrepreneur

PAGE: Tell me something about yourself, please:

Hammad Khan: I have my bachelors in business administration (marketing) from SZABIST Karachi. As a teenager, I always thought that whether I have to work for other people or work for myself, and I got my answer soon enough. I never had the intention to do a job, I am not saying it's a bad thing, it's not everyone's cup of tea.

I launched my first venture in 2016 when I was 22. I was always an all-rounder, being the jack of all trades. I was good at sports as well as studies. Sports taught me discipline and competitiveness and the ability to never give up, which is very important when you step into professional life. It looks pretty good in student life but trust me it's not. It requires a lot of strong-headedness to stay in the game.

PAGE: Could you share your experience of being an entrepreneur and launching your own brand?

Hammad Khan: Experience is not as easy as it sounds, especially, when you are an entrepreneur. I have done two ventures as yet - Chai Deewaari which was an open-air cafe offering tea and parathas. It was a great venture as we were the pioneers of that market segment. Second was Hammad Ibrahim who was basically offering stitched clothing for women. Currently, I own three ventures - Infinity Courts which is an indoor turfed ground that facilitates 5 v 5 futsal and cricket, Khan's Chai Lodge is again an open-air cafe and MidTown Burgers is a burger joint.

As far as experience is concerned, it has been a very bumpy ride. The word entrepreneur sounds cool but has a lot of weight to be precise. Long hours, a lot of mental pressure and the ability to put out fires as they come along are actually the recipe of an entrepreneur. You have to be a jack of all trades, from Marketing, Finance, Supply Chain and other departments.

Launching a brand requires a lot of hard work and paperwork. Launching a brand is not that hard, maintaining and growing it is the real struggle. Moreover, there are two sides to a venture, one a business and the second the brand, and both require a lot of grinding to grow.

PAGE: Which products launched by you have fared well?

Hammad Khan: As an entrepreneur, I do believe every business has its own charm, however, I do not like the merchandising business. I like building brands. I have expertise in food and clothing businesses and am now somewhat in the playing turfed arena business, so I stay...