Osamah Nasir

Karachi food blogger and digital marketer

Compiled from 1 recorded interview. Every statement below is drawn from the passage cited beside it.

Osamah Nasir is a digital marketer and Food blogger. Nasir came across a post in a Facebook group about a top advertising agency hiring an intern. He spent two years working in advertising.

Early life and background

Nasir was born and raised in Karachi. His mother is a doctor, and he has two elder brothers. [1]

He said he was very academic from childhood. He was a shy child, and he said he would put himself in uncomfortable situations such as public speaking, and that he attended Model UN events. His father was supportive, and he said his family was really supportive. [1]

Education

Nasir spent about 14 years in school, including time at City School. For A-levels he spent two years at another institution, and he moved there because at the time A-levels were offered only there. He received straight A grades in his O-level exams. When the O2 results came, he received straight B grades. He also moved from the medical stream to commerce. [1]

For his A-levels he took economics, mathematics and General Paper. He dropped accounts because he did not find it interesting. He earned an A in economics in his AS-level exams, and he said he took that paper without tuition or extra support. He ended up with A-double B grades, which he said were good enough for universities. [1]

Nasir took the IBA test and missed the cut-off score in mathematics. He chose a BBA at ZABIST, moved into social sciences and said he enjoyed his time there. He holds a degree in social sciences with a major in economics. [1]

Nasir moved to Budapest to pursue a degree. He studied at a Budapest campus of the University of Buckingham, in a programme with evening classes that left daytime free for internships or work. His father said he would pay his tuition. His visa was refused for the fall intake of the programme, and he pursued International Management, which he described as the equivalent of an MBA. [1]

Career

Nasir came across a post in a Facebook group about a top advertising agency hiring an intern. He spent two years working in advertising. He said advertising work led him into digital marketing. [1]

Nasir worked for a startup for two years, and it dissolved abruptly. His next move was also in the startup space. He also took part in an AIESEC programme. He spent eight weeks in a village in Indonesia. The Indonesia placement was self-sponsored, so he paid his own costs. [1]

bitcoin.com

Nasir got an internship at bitcoin.com after five interview rounds. He described bitcoin.com as a large domain for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. The internship turned into a full-time job after eight months, and he was offered a salary paid in Bitcoin. [1]

Karachi Food Guide

Nasir's food blog ran under the name Karachi Food Guide, and he stayed anonymous. He said he planned to stay anonymous so he could write what he thought, and that anonymity gave him the power to say what he thought. He said that after something he wrote, people started to investigate who was behind it, and he felt a bit fearful. He said he planned to change his name and reveal that he had run the blog for eight years. [1]

An article listed his food blog among pioneering names in the field. He said the blog had no monetisation or brand collaborations at that stage. He was offered 15,000 rupees to put up three posts. He said he had not given the food blog enough priority while focused on his career. [1]

Nasir said Meri Dukan is primarily meant to support businesses that do no marketing of their own. A biryani video he posted reached about 700,000 views, and he made a biryani series. He said he would maybe want to start a food page of Karachi. [1]

Views

Nasir said he came to see food as highly subjective over time, and that he now sees food places in terms of value for money. He described food places in tiers, including fine dining and a mid-tier. He said good bun kabab appeals to people of every social class. [1]

He said he wanted to be optimistic about Pakistan, and that living in Karachi is currently slightly challenging. He said Pakistanis persevere and find ways to get things done. He hopes Karachi becomes a financial hub with booming companies, and that global firms such as Netflix and Facebook will have a presence in Pakistan by 2050. [1]

He said solo travel lets a person be anyone they want, and that hate and nafrat exist only at borders. He said he felt cherished and celebrated. [1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2022-09-26 Hurt and alone in Mumbai, he learned the hate lives at the border Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is Osamah Nasir?

Osamah Nasir is a Karachi-born digital marketer and food blogger. His blog ran under the name Karachi Food Guide. He holds a degree in social sciences with a major in economics.[1]

Where is Osamah Nasir from?

Osamah Nasir was born and raised in Karachi. His mother is a doctor, and he has two elder brothers.[1]

What blog did Osamah Nasir run?

Osamah Nasir's food blog ran under the name Karachi Food Guide. He stayed anonymous while running it. An article listed the blog among pioneering names in the field.[1]

Did Osamah Nasir work at bitcoin.com?

Osamah Nasir got an internship at bitcoin.com after five interview rounds. The internship turned into a full-time job after eight months. He said he was offered a salary paid in Bitcoin.[1]

References

  1. Hurt and alone in Mumbai, he learned the hate lives at the border . Thought Behind Things , 2022-09-26.
Show the source passages (78 statements)
  1. He was born and raised in Karachi. born and raised in Karachi
  2. He spent about 14 years in school, including time at City School. 14 saal school ke andar, school full, you could say ke you know in City School grade 5
  3. He spent two years at another institution studying for A-levels. So for A-levels I moved to PF Chapter, two years I spent there.
  4. He moved to that institution because at the time A-levels were offered only there. us zamane mein sirf A-levels wahin pe offer ho raha tha
  5. He said he was very academic from childhood. To shuru se I was very into academics. Bachpan se hi main na kitabi keeda aap samajh le
  6. His mother is a doctor. my mom's a doctor, right?
  7. He has two elder brothers. And I have two elder brothers
  8. He received straight A grades in his O-level exams. towards um O-levels, you know, straight A's aaye
  9. When the O2 results came, he received straight B grades. ke jab O2 aaya, straight B's
  10. He moved from the medical stream to commerce. I took a step to move from medical to commerce.
  11. He took economics, mathematics and General Paper for his A-levels. Bas maine phir I took economics, math aur hamare compulsory subject hota tha GP.
  12. He dropped accounts because he did not find it interesting. maine course accounts mujhe nahi samajh aaye, I didn't find it interesting at all, drop kar diya
  13. He earned an A in economics in his AS-level exams. Phir jab AS ka grade aaye to I was more mentally prepared kuch bhi ho. To D aaya, E aaya, par economics mein A aa gaya.
  14. He said he took the economics paper without tuition or extra support. maine aise hi without tuition or any support paper diya
  15. He ended up with A-double B grades, which he said were good enough for universities. I ended up with A-double B, which was a good enough grades to get anywhere in in in the in universities
  16. He took the IBA test and missed the cut-off score in mathematics. IBA ka paper diya to math se bas cut-off score se reh gaye
  17. He chose a BBA at ZABIST. To maine kaha BBA ab karna hi hai to ab phir ZABIST seem like a more feasible option.
  18. He moved into social sciences and said he enjoyed his time there. Phir um ab main social sciences mein to aa gaya, but I really enjoyed my time there.
  19. He holds a degree in social sciences with a major in economics. you have a degree in social sciences and major in econ
  20. His father was supportive. Mere abba was supportive, unhone kaha yaar jo aasani se ho jaaye.
  21. He said his family was really supportive. But my family was really supportive.
  22. He said he would put himself in uncomfortable situations such as public speaking, and that he attended Model UN events. I'll put myself into very uncomfortable situations like public speaking. Ghus jao, nahi aata bolna. Main MUNs mein ja raha hoon.
  23. He was a shy child. because you were a shy kid once upon a time
  24. He came across a post in a Facebook group about a top advertising agency hiring an intern. ek random Facebook group pe university ka hi tha ke yaar our top advertising agency hiring an intern
  25. He spent two years working in advertising. So I spent two years in advertising and then I knew for the fact ke I want to pursue a degree in this.
  26. He said advertising work led him into digital marketing. And that's what paved my career into digital marketing.
  27. He moved to Budapest to pursue a degree. I moved towards Budapest.
  28. He studied at a Budapest campus of the University of Buckingham. The university program that I took, University of Buckingham ka campus hai wahan par ek.
  29. The programme had evening classes, which left daytime free for internships or work. They have an evening program. And during the day you could do an internship or work
  30. His father said he would pay his tuition. Toh abba ne bas yehi condition rakhi thi ke yaar I'll pay for your tuition.
  31. His visa was refused for the fall intake of the programme. But visa nahi laga in the fall program jo inka hota hai.
  32. He pursued International Management, which he described as the equivalent of an MBA. International Management which is an equivalent of MBA aap keh sakte ho because it has all the subjects
  33. He got an internship at bitcoin.com after five interview rounds. there were like five rounds for that interview for that internship. And I got in.
  34. He described bitcoin.com as a large domain for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. at a bitcoin.com mein which is a very uh renowned for or the largest domain for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency
  35. The bitcoin.com internship turned into a full-time job after eight months. internship for the first eight months and then it turned into a full-time job
  36. He was offered a salary paid in Bitcoin. hum aapko salary bhi Bitcoin mein denge
  37. He wanted to become financially independent so he could return to Pakistan on his own terms. pehle I would want to be financially independent. Taake if I want to come back that is on my own terms.
  38. He said he travelled to 10 countries. A lot. I traveled 10 countries.
  39. He said he moved back by his own choice and not because of COVID. I did move back but it's on my own choice not because of COVID or anything
  40. He said visa issues, a Pakistani passport and a 90-day limit were factors. visa ki baat aa gayi and Pakistani passport and 90 days and they're like we can't invest so much
  41. His food blog ran under the name Karachi Food Guide, and he stayed anonymous. Aur food blog mein anonymous tha us zamane tak because it was run under Karachi Food Guide
  42. He said he planned to stay anonymous so he could write what he thought. main anonymous rahunga taake mujhe jo samajh aaye main bolun
  43. He said anonymity gave him the power to say what he thought. Anonymity gave you that power.
  44. He said that after something he wrote, people started to investigate who was behind it, and he felt a bit fearful. one time I remembered that I wrote and people started to investigate ke banda kaun hai. So I felt a bit fearful of my own
  45. He said he planned to change his name and reveal that he had run the blog for eight years. I can change my name and I can reveal that you know for eight years this was me behind this
  46. He was offered 15,000 rupees to put up three posts. aapko 15,000 rupay denge aap teen post lagaye
  47. He worked for a startup for two years, and it dissolved abruptly. the startup I was working for for two years it dissolved quite abruptly
  48. He said he had not given the food blog enough priority while focused on his career. I realized ke maine food blog ko itni priority nahi de raha because I'm focusing more towards my career
  49. His next move was also in the startup space. Then my next move was also in a startup space.
  50. He said Meri Dukan is primarily meant to support businesses that do no marketing of their own. Meri dukan is primarily to support uh these businesses jo koi marketing apni nahi karte
  51. A biryani video he posted reached about 700,000 views. 7 lakh views mere biryani ke video pe aa rahe hain
  52. He made a biryani series. Biryani series kar dali maine
  53. He described food places in tiers, including fine dining and a mid-tier. Ek aapka bahut posh ho gaya. You know the restaurant the fine dining. Ek second mid-tier hai.
  54. He said good bun kabab appeals to people of every social class. Anyone and any social status would want to eat a good bun kabab
  55. He said he now sees food places in terms of value for money. how I see it now is in terms of the value for money
  56. He said he came to see food as highly subjective over time. But then over time I've realized that food is so subjective
  57. He said he would maybe want to start a food page of Karachi. I would want to maybe start a food page of Karachi
  58. He said he wanted to be optimistic about Pakistan. I would want to be optimistic because I feel we have seen change
  59. He said living in Karachi is currently slightly challenging. because living in Karachi right now is slightly challenging
  60. He said Pakistanis persevere and find ways to get things done. So I feel us as a nation we are so how to say we persevere.
  61. He hopes Karachi becomes a financial hub with booming companies. I would wish to see Karachi being a financial hub.
  62. He hopes global firms such as Netflix and Facebook will have a presence in Pakistan by 2050. I would want to have the Netflix, the Facebook to be present in there in 2050
  63. He said solo travel lets a person be anyone they want. what solo travel does to you is that you can be anyone you want
  64. He said hate and nafrat exist only at borders. this hate and this nafrat just exists at borders
  65. He took part in an AIESEC programme. AIESEC program, right.
  66. He spent eight weeks in a village in Indonesia. Aur Indonesia ke mein ek gaon mein raha for eight weeks.
  67. The Indonesia placement was self-sponsored, so he paid his own costs. It's self-sponsored by the way, so you have to pay for everything.
  68. He was in Mumbai. So I was in Mumbai and maine kaha yaar che din se hum yahi pe hain
  69. He attended a conference lasting 15 days. It was a conference for 15 days.
  70. He said it was all in 2015. And this was all 2015.
  71. He went to a hospital, which he said was a government hospital. Ab pahunche hospital to um it was a government hospital of course
  72. Doctors told him his wrist was shattered and needed surgery. They told me ke meri wrist is shattered aur that need surgery.
  73. He was told that surgery could be delayed. Surgery can be delayed.
  74. He said he had to go through the whole surgery. But then I had to go through the whole surgery here.
  75. He travelled by bus from Amritsar to the Wagah border, about 45 minutes, then went to Lahore airport for a flight of about two hours. Amritsar to Wagah border is a 45 minutes bus. Ab phir wahan se Lahore airport and a two hours flight
  76. He said he felt cherished and celebrated. I am so cherished and celebrated here
  77. An article listed his food blog among pioneering names in the field. Usme bade bade naam likhe hue the Aliza Zafar, Tapuja Veri who were like pioneers and big names already. Right at the bottom and this article still exists was my food blog.
  78. He said his food blog had no monetisation or brand collaborations at that stage. usko monetization toh aayi nahi thi. Neither in brand collaborations or otherwise.