Qasim Asad Salam

co-founder and CEO of RemoteBase

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

Qasim Asad Salam is the co-founder and CEO of RemoteBase, a platform that matches companies with software engineers. He and others started a software house called Creative Morph, which turned into RemoteBase in the middle of COVID.

Early life and background

Salam was born and raised in Lahore. He built his first website at age 11. He worked and freelanced while at school and throughout college. [1]

Education

Salam attended Beaconhouse School and then LUMS University. He spent time at LSE before transferring back to LUMS. He wanted to drop out of college in his first year. [1]

In his first year at LUMS he was a director in seven student societies. He says LUMS student societies helped kick off his career. He graduated from LUMS. [1]

Career

Salam started three to five startups while still at LUMS. The last of these startups was a social network for university students. He says 70 to 80 percent of the LUMS campus was on the platform within the first two weeks. He says the platform was scaled to ten universities, and that at one point it had over 20,000 daily active users. He says he did not sell the platform. [1]

While working on a social network for university students, he met his co-founder. An angel investor from Silicon Valley told him she wanted to take him to Silicon Valley. He told the investor he had no money, and she said she would pay for everything. He describes a house in which 18 people, all founders, lived together. [1]

Plan9 and PlanX

Salam spent many nights sleeping at Plan9 and was there for about a year, or a little over. He says Plan9 is an incubator and PlanX an accelerator, and the two are very similar. He says participants received 100k a month at Plan9, which they did not receive at PlanX. He says most startups at Plan9 failed. After Plan9 he joined PlanX, which was in the same building. [1]

United States visa

Salam held a tourist visa when he was told to go to the US. He changed his visa status and obtained an O1 visa. His own company hired him on a salary. [1]

RemoteBase

Salam says his company automated each process and built a platform. He says its earliest customers are still with it today, unless they have gone out of business. He says its average client lifetime is two and a half to three years. He says its price point is considerably lower than that of these competitors, and that it does a great deal of long-term work. [1]

He says his company has started to work with designers. He says it has people in Nigeria and in many other countries. He says about 100 professors already work with RemoteBase, and each of their client contracts says they can give RemoteBase one hour a day. [1]

He says his company first hires people onto an internal bench, assigns them a buddy and gives them some training. He says it throws people in at the deep end, giving them real-world tasks and no books or courses. He says one person, after two and a half years of working with his company, is at Amazon with an annual pay of over 200k dollars. One of his first hires was earning 15,000 rupees as an intern for a professor. [1]

Views

Salam says he is not a big fan of the formal education structure. He says the gap between universities and the job market is huge. He says the current mass-market training model produces zombies, and that degrees are fairly irrelevant and the hardcore skill set is what is needed. [1]

He says remote work is no longer the future; it is now. He says companies formed during COVID cannot go back to the office. He says political structures are no longer allowing the immigration that used to happen. [1]

Salam says Pakistan's total IT exports are about 2 to 2.5 billion dollars. He says Tata Consultancy's IT exports alone are about 25 billion dollars. He says the net earnings from IT exports come into the country entirely in the form of salaries. [1]

He says Pakistan has the sixth largest population in the world and one of the highest English-speaking populations in the world. He says Pakistan's passport is one of the worst in the world. He says he personally saw the grand devaluation of 2019. [1]

He says he has absolutely zero hope from the political system and the government. He says politically the country is going down the drain. He says he sees Pakistanis working globally and improving their livelihoods. He says governments' role and jurisdiction will shrink as people work remotely across the globe. [1]

On technology, Salam says Web 3 is a good rebrand for blockchain and that he is not a huge believer in NFTs. He says that if given a billion dollars to bet on something, he would bet on AI over anything else. He says a person's creative human element is their main utility in the AI age. He says that for something like Amazon FBA the success rate would be 3 percent, or 4 percent if he is being generous. [1]

Personal life

Salam says he intends to apply for his green card. He says he splits his time 40 percent and 40 percent between two places, with 20 percent in Dubai. [1]

Timeline

2019
Salam says he personally saw the grand devaluation of 2019.[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2023-03-20 Pakistan's IT exports vs one Tata subsidiary Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is Qasim Asad Salam?

Qasim Asad Salam is the co-founder and CEO of RemoteBase, a platform that matches companies with software engineers. He was born and raised in Lahore.[1]

What does Qasim Asad Salam do?

Qasim Asad Salam is the co-founder and CEO of RemoteBase, a platform that matches companies with software engineers. He says his company automated each process and built a platform.[1]

Where did Qasim Asad Salam study?

Qasim Asad Salam attended Beaconhouse School and then LUMS University. He spent time at LSE before transferring back to LUMS. He graduated from LUMS.[1]

Where is Qasim Asad Salam from?

Qasim Asad Salam was born and raised in Lahore. He attended LUMS University and graduated from it.[1]

What company did Qasim Asad Salam found?

Qasim Asad Salam is the co-founder of RemoteBase. He and others started a software house called Creative Morph, which turned into RemoteBase in the middle of COVID.[1]

What did Qasim Asad Salam do before RemoteBase?

Qasim Asad Salam started three to five startups while still at LUMS, and the last was a social network for university students. He was at Plan9 for about a year, or a little over. After Plan9 he joined PlanX, which was in the same building.[1]

What does Qasim Asad Salam think about AI?

Qasim Asad Salam says that if given a billion dollars to bet on something, he would bet on AI over anything else. He says a person's creative human element is their main utility in the AI age.[1]

References

  1. Pakistan's IT exports vs one Tata subsidiary . Thought Behind Things , 2023-03-20.
Show the source passages (69 statements)
  1. Qasim Asad Salam is co-founder and CEO of Remotebase. Qasim Asad Salam is the CEO & Co-Founder at Remotebase.
  2. He was born and raised in Lahore. Born and raised in Lahore. Lived my pretty much my entire life in Lahore before I moved to the US.
  3. He built his first website at age 11. website pehli banayi thi jab 11 saal ka tha
  4. He worked and freelanced while at school and throughout college. I was working as well while I was in school, while I was all through college as well, freelancing
  5. He attended Beaconhouse School and then LUMS University. So Beaconhouse School and then LUMS University.
  6. He spent time at LSE before transferring back to LUMS. beech mein I did go to LSE for a bit but eventually transferred back into LUMS
  7. He wanted to drop out of college in his first year. first year of college I wanted to drop out as well
  8. He says he is not a big fan of the formal education structure. I not very, not a big fan of yeh jo poora education structure hai
  9. He graduated from LUMS. jaise hi main LUMS se graduate hua
  10. In his first year at LUMS he was a director in seven student societies. So in my freshman year, I was a director in seven different societies.
  11. He says LUMS student societies helped kick off his career. LUMS ki jo ek khaas baat thi which really, really helped me as well and start kick off my career is ke societies ka bahut scene tha
  12. He started three to five startups while still at LUMS. sirf LUMS ke andar hi I did like three, four, five different startups while in LUMS
  13. The last of these startups was a social network for university students. So the last one I did was called CampusFeed. So it was a social network for university students
  14. He says 70 to 80 percent of the LUMS campus was on the platform within the first two weeks. within the first two weeks LUMS ke andar 70-80% poora campus was on the platform
  15. He says the platform was scaled to ten universities. Phir we scaled it to 10 different universities
  16. He says the platform at one point had over 20,000 daily active users. At one point it had over 20,000 daily active users
  17. He says he did not sell the platform. Yeah, I didn't sell it. I couldn't sell it
  18. An angel investor from Silicon Valley told him she wanted to take him to Silicon Valley. us mein ek angel investor aayi hui thi Silicon Valley se. Toh usne kaha ke I want to take you to Silicon Valley
  19. He told the investor he had no money, and she said she would pay for everything. I told her mere paas paise bhi nahi hain aur kuch bhi nahi hai toh she's like no, I'll pay for everything
  20. He describes a house in which 18 people, all founders, lived together. they were like 18 different people living in the same house. Saare founders the
  21. While working on a social network for university students, he met his co-founder. I was doing CampusFeed and I met my co-founder there
  22. He spent many nights sleeping at Plan9. I spent many nights sleeping at Plan9
  23. He says most startups at Plan9 failed. most startups jo hain woh fail kar gaye the Plan9 mein
  24. He was at Plan9 for about a year, or a little over. I think about a year or a little over a year
  25. He says Plan9 is an incubator and PlanX an accelerator, and the two are very similar. It's very similar. Plan9 ko woh incubator kehte hain, PlanX ko woh accelerator kehte hain
  26. He says participants received 100k a month at Plan9, which they did not receive at PlanX. Plan9 ke andar aapko 100k per month milta hai, PlanX mein nahi milta aapko
  27. After Plan9 he joined PlanX, which was in the same building. Then I got into PlanX, woh usi building mein uske neeche hota tha
  28. He and others started a software house called Creative Morph. phir humne ek software house start kiya by the name of Creative Morph
  29. The software house turned into RemoteBase in the middle of COVID. right in the middle of COVID turned into RemoteBase
  30. He held a tourist visa when he was told to go to the US. mera tourist visa laga hua tha toh usne kaha tum US chale jao
  31. He changed his visa status and obtained an O1 visa. Visa apna maine change of status karaya, O1 visa lagwaya
  32. His own company hired him on a salary. Apni company thi exactly aur meri company ne hi mujhe hire kiya tha on a salary
  33. He says he intends to apply for his green card. So abhi maine apna green card karna hai
  34. He says he splits his time 40 percent and 40 percent between two places, with 20 percent in Dubai. I am 50/50 between both. 40/40 and then 20% in Dubai
  35. RemoteBase is a platform that matches companies with software engineers. we are a platform that matches companies with software engineers
  36. He says his company automated each process and built a platform. humne har process ko automate kiya aur ek platform bana diya
  37. He says his company's earliest customers are still with it today, unless they have gone out of business. hamare jo earliest customers hain if they have not gone out of business they are still with us today
  38. He says his company's average client lifetime is two and a half to three years. Hamare jo average client lifetime uh hai woh over jitni bhi company ko you know two and a half three years hue hain
  39. He says his company's price point is considerably lower than that of these competitors. dusra hamara price point bhi kaafi kam hai from these competitors
  40. He says his company does a great deal of long-term work. It's longer term. So hum log bahut zyada long-term kaam karte hain
  41. He says remote work is no longer the future; it is now. The future ab today is remote. It's no longer the future.
  42. He says companies formed during COVID cannot go back to the office. companies that are being formed right now ya jo COVID mein form hui thi, they can't go back to the office
  43. He says political structures are no longer allowing the immigration that used to happen. political structures aren't allowing for that immigration to happen uh jo ke pehle waqt mein ho rahi thi
  44. He says Pakistan's total IT exports are about 2 to 2.5 billion dollars. Hamari jo total IT ki export hai I think do dhai billion dollar ki hai
  45. He says Tata Consultancy's IT exports alone are about 25 billion dollars. Us Tata Consultancy ki jo sirf IT export hai na woh 25 billion dollar ki hai
  46. He says the net earnings from IT exports come into the country entirely in the form of salaries. IT ke andar net jo aapke export hai na woh saari ki saari in lieu of tankhayein bilkul mulk mein aa rahi hain
  47. He says he has absolutely zero hope from the political system and the government. absolutely zero hope from the political system, from the government, from all of those
  48. He says Pakistan has the sixth largest population in the world. We have the sixth largest population in the world
  49. He says Pakistan has one of the highest English-speaking populations in the world. We have one of the highest English speaking populations in the world
  50. He says Pakistan's passport is one of the worst in the world. kyunki hamara worst passport in the world hai aur kya naam hai one of the worst
  51. He says he personally saw the grand devaluation of 2019. yeh maine khud personally dekha jab yeh devaluation, the grand devaluation of 2019 hit ki
  52. He says Web 3 is a good rebrand for blockchain. So talking about Web 3, I think it's a good rebrand for the blockchain
  53. He says he is not a huge believer in NFTs. not a huge believer in like NFTs aur yeh saari cheezein
  54. He says that if given a billion dollars to bet on something, he would bet on AI over anything else. if you gave me a billion dollars today to bet on something, I'd bet on AI versus any other
  55. He says his company has started to work with designers. designers humne start kar diye hain
  56. He says his company has people in Nigeria and in many other countries. so we have people in Nigeria, we have people in a lot of other countries as well
  57. He says his company first hires people onto an internal bench, assigns them a buddy and gives them some training. Hum aapko pehle internally bench pe hire karenge. Aapka ek buddy bana denge, aapko thodi training denge
  58. He says about 100 professors already work with RemoteBase, and each of their client contracts says they can give RemoteBase one hour a day. Hamare paas you know 100 professors hain jo ki already remote base ke paas hain, jinke har contract with the client ke andar yeh likha hua hai ki woh din ka ek ghanta remote base ko de sakte hain
  59. He says the gap between universities and the job market is huge. Jo gap between the universities and the job market is huge
  60. He says his company throws people in at the deep end, giving them real-world tasks and no books or courses. Hum unko paani mein phenkte hain, unko actual real world task dete hain, koi books nahi dete, koi courses nahi dete
  61. He says one person, after two and a half years of working with his company, is at Amazon with an annual pay of over 200k dollars. after two and a half years of working with us, he is currently at Amazon and his annual is over 200k dollars
  62. One of his first hires was earning 15,000 rupees as an intern for a professor. one of the first hires that I've ever made was getting paid woh 15,000 rupaya kama raha tha apne professor ke paas kaam karne ke liye as an intern out of college
  63. He says the current mass-market training model produces zombies. Our current system of mass market training model is zombies
  64. He says a person's creative human element is their main utility in the AI age. the only utility a human being has is the creative human element that a human being has
  65. He says that for something like Amazon FBA the success rate would be 3 percent, or 4 percent if he is being generous. Amazon FBA pe late ho aur kehte ho ke yaar 1 million banda aayega aur aa ke kar lega aisa nahi hoga. Success rate hoga 3 percent. Bahut main generous ho raha hoon 4 percent
  66. He says he sees Pakistanis working globally and improving their livelihoods. I see you know full fired up Pakistanis working globally, improving their livelihoods
  67. He says governments' role and jurisdiction will shrink as people work remotely across the globe. jo governments hain unka role thoda sa kam hota jayega and governments jo hain unki jo jurisdiction hai woh thodi kam hoti jayegi because people will start working remotely
  68. He says politically the country is going down the drain. politically, unfortunately, the country is like going down the drain
  69. He says degrees are fairly irrelevant and that the hardcore skill set is what is needed. degrees are fairly irrelevant. Um you need the hardcore skill set