Salman Parekh

Pakistani entrepreneur and founder of Manto

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

Salman Parekh is a founder and CEO of Manto. Salman Masood Parekh is the founder and CEO of Manto, and previously launched Mansa Studios.

Early life and education

Parekh was born in Karachi and is of Memon heritage. He is the only son in his family, and his father established a career in business from scratch. During his childhood, Parekh lived on the seventh floor of a building and was once taken to OMI hospital in Karachi. He also developed an ambition to become an actor during his childhood. [1]

His parents desired for him to memorize the Quran, leading him to attend a madrasa called the Islamic Institute for Education across two periods lasting four and three years. He did not complete the memorization of the Quran. While at the madrasa, he developed an ambition to pursue acting. Parekh transitioned to the madrasa's school division, completing two to three classes in six-month terms, before switching to Central Model High School in the eighth grade, where his sister also studied. After failing the eighth grade, he changed schools upon entering the ninth grade. [1]

During his intermediate education, Parekh attended three different colleges across two years and failed his intermediate examinations. Following a six-month gap year, he enrolled at CBM in Karachi to study computer science. He attended university through his first year, during which he regularly fell asleep in classes. [1]

In September 2012, Parekh moved abroad to attend the University of Sussex, where he completed a foundation program and an undergraduate degree in marketing. During his undergraduate studies, he conducted a case study on Netflix's business model, and one of his instructors worked in brand consulting for companies including Amazon and Louis Vuitton. He subsequently pursued a master's degree in e-business management and served as a course representative. He contracted shingles while studying, and submitted his master's thesis on 25 August 2017. [1]

Media and content creation

Parekh began creating videos while studying at university. Following a ban on YouTube, he switched to publishing videos on Facebook. He reinvested his YouTube earnings into video production, teams, testing, and experimentation. He also appeared on CNN. Parekh lived in the Kingdom for three to four years, where he began frequently wearing kurta shalwar during his final year. Upon returning to Pakistan in 2017, he stopped making videos due to family issues and shut down his social media activity. By 2019, he had resumed producing content. [1]

Manto

Parekh planned to produce a series documenting the launch and operation of an e-commerce business. He founded Manto, with Muzamil Hasan Zaidi present on the brand's first day. Although Parekh did not have a background in fashion or textiles, he spent six to seven months learning about fabrics, stitching, and sizing. He presented a case study to his father to request financial investment and took an investment of 1,000,000 rupees. [1]

Manto initially launched with plain dresses, beginning with an initial test round investment of approximately 150,000 rupees. The first batch consisted of 40 dresses made from cut pieces of fabric purchased directly from factories, with 10 garments stitched initially for photographs. In the early stages of the business, Parekh personally quality checked, ironed, and repacked each dress before shipping. Following an initial test run of 500 dresses, he sourced fabric to manufacture 540 dresses using a polyviscose and lycra blend. [1]

After spending six months searching for painting and fabric vendors, Parekh asked his wife, who had taken short courses in digital artwork and digital textile design after their marriage, to design dupattas to pair with the brand's plain dresses. Manto later grew to serve tens of thousands of customers, shipping products globally, excluding India and Israel, using courier services including DHL and UPS. [1]

Views and personal life

Parekh married his wife, Bisma, on 25 August 2017, and they have a child. His sister established a home-based children's clothing business. In 2018, Parekh performed the Hajj pilgrimage. He considers prayer and spirituality to have been consistently helpful to him. [1]

Parekh defines a brand by trust and considers the failure to fulfill promises to be the most damaging factor for a brand, believing trust cannot be achieved through shortcuts. He views the role of a marketer as making and fulfilling promises, and advocates targeting niche audiences rather than attempting to cater to the masses or making average products for everyone. He believes products should develop organically and favors serving a smaller customer base properly over rapid scaling. Parekh values customer feedback as a contribution to improving offerings, avoids making future predictions, and aims to contribute by learning daily to benefit those around him. [1]

Timeline

2012
Moved abroad to study at the University of Sussex[1]
2017
Submitted master's thesis, married Bisma, and returned to Pakistan[1]
2018
Performed the Hajj pilgrimage[1]
2019
Resumed creating content[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2023-05-12 The slow brand: how Manto was built without a plan Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is Salman Parekh?

Salman Masood Parekh is the founder and CEO of Manto. He previously launched Mansa Studios. Born in Karachi, he completed a foundation program, an undergraduate degree in marketing, and pursued a master's degree in e-business management.[1]

What is Salman Parekh's role at Manto?

Salman Parekh is the founder and CEO of Manto. He spent six to seven months learning about fabrics, stitching, and sizing. He prepared a case study and presented it to his father to request financial investment. His business grew to tens of thousands of customers after starting with a smaller customer base. His brand ships products globally, excluding India and Israel.[1]

References

  1. The slow brand: how Manto was built without a plan . Thought Behind Things , 2023-05-12.
Show the source passages (95 statements)
  1. His full name is Salman Masood Parekh. आज हमारे साथ मौजूद हैं सलमान पारेख. सलमान मसूद पारेख? Yes. मसूद पारेख. सलमान मसूद पारेख
  2. He is the founder and CEO of Manto. सलमान मसूद पारेख who is the founder and CEO of मंटो
  3. He previously launched a platform called Mansa Studios. previously he started the platform called मानसा studios
  4. He was born in Karachi. मैं कराची शहर के अंदर पैदा हुआ
  5. He attended a madrasa across two distinct periods, one lasting four years and the other three years. I had two phases in मद्रसा one was four years and the other one was three years
  6. His parents desired for him to memorize the Quran. मेरे वालदेन के एक बहुत बड़ी ख्वाहिश्ति के मैं कुरान हिवस करूं
  7. He was unable to complete the memorization of the Quran. मैंने भी कुछ हद तक कोशिश की लेकिन I am sure कि कुछ हद तक कमी रह गई थी and unfortunately I could not do it
  8. The madrasa school he attended was named Islamic Institute for Education. this मद्रसा school was called Islamic Institute for Education.
  9. He shifted to the school division of the madrasa and finished two to three classes in six-month terms. तो फिर मैं उसकी school side में move हुआ जहां पर मैंने छह छह महीने के अंदर दो तीन classes की
  10. He attended university through at least his first year. And up until the point of my university first year I would sleep in my classes
  11. He developed an ambition to pursue acting during his time at the madrasa. it's because of my time in मद्रसा I learnt and I started having an ambition of acting.
  12. He regularly fell asleep during classes through his first year of university. And up until the point of my university first year I would sleep in my classes and that became a part of my identity
  13. He developed an ambition to become an actor during his childhood. then that becomes somewhat your passion, that becomes your goal and I eventually then wanted to become an actor.
  14. He switched from a madrasa to a regular school in eighth grade. तो मैंने school shift किया eighth class के अंदर
  15. His sister attended Central Model High School. Central model high school, incredible school, my sister went there
  16. He enrolled in the eighth class at Central Model High School and failed. Central model high school, incredible school, my sister went there but it was too strict and not suitable for me for a kid that has been in and out of the system. Another very interesting story but I went there in eighth class but I failed.
  17. He lived on the seventh floor of a building during his school years. मेरे मैं 7th Floor पर रहता था, 3rd Floor पर मेरा एक दोस्त रहता था मोहिस.
  18. He previously studied at a madrassa. because again I had learnt one thing in मद्रासा that helped me get my way out.
  19. He was taken to OMI hospital in Karachi during his childhood. तो he took me to this hospital OMI in कराची
  20. He failed the eighth grade. Failed in that eighth grade and then I had to change the school.
  21. He switched to a different school when entering the ninth grade. नहीं मैं school change किया और जब ninth grade के अंदर नई school के अंदर पहुंचा
  22. He changed schools in the ninth grade. नहीं मैं school change किया और जब ninth grade के अंदर नई school के अंदर पहुंचा
  23. He attended three different colleges over the span of two years during his intermediate education. तो inter में मैंने अपनी दो साल के अंदर तीन colleges change की.
  24. He is an only son. You are the only son. Yes I am the only son.
  25. He enrolled at CBM in Karachi following a six-month gap year. तो मैं छह महीने gap year के बाद मैं चला गया कराची में एक university CBM
  26. He studied computer science at CBM. कराची में एक university CBM और वहां पर मैंने computer science के अंदर although I did not want to do computer science.
  27. He went to study abroad at the University of Sussex. So, alhamdulillah I was fortunate enough to be able to go outside and I went to the University of Sussex.
  28. He completed a foundation program and an undergraduate degree in marketing. I did foundation and then I did my undergrad in marketing.
  29. He moved abroad in September 2012. बारह में. दो हज़ार बारह September is when I went.
  30. Parekh began creating videos while studying at university. तो मैंने कहा यार I can't just sit down, I would start making videos in these times. तो मैं अपनी university के अंदर videos बनाना हूं.
  31. Parekh switched to publishing videos on Facebook after YouTube was banned. मैंने तकरीबन तीन चार महीने किया उसके बाद आपको याद देखिए YouTube ban हो गया. And we moved to Facebook then
  32. Parekh moved abroad in September 2012. दो हज़ार बारह September is when I went.
  33. Parekh is the only son in his family. I was the last son and I was the only son and I was pampered in some sense
  34. Parekh moved to the Kingdom. Now when I move to The UK, obviously all of that had gone because I am in a new space where I don't know anybody, nobody knows me.
  35. Parekh stopped making videos after returning to Pakistan due to family issues. when I came back in Pakistan. Made a couple of videos कोई family issues की वजह से. I had to stop again.
  36. Parekh once appeared on CNN. In fact you ended up on CNN. [Guest] One time
  37. Parekh spent three to four years in the Kingdom. कुछ तीन चार साल UK के अंदर सीखा भी नहीं है
  38. Parekh failed his intermediate examinations. this is the same kid जो कि अपने enter के अंदर fail हो चुका था.
  39. Parekh conducted a case study on Netflix's business model during his undergraduate studies. in my undergrad I was a little bit intrigued by the business model of Netflix, I had done a case study
  40. Parekh pursued a master's degree in e-business management. I went on to do my masters in e business management.
  41. Parekh served as a course representative during his master's program. Because I was a course representative तो I had some conversations with him
  42. Parekh contracted shingles while studying. I was so much into studying at that point, I got a disease called shingles.
  43. Parekh had his master's thesis deadline on 25 August 2017. My thesis submission was on 08/25/2017
  44. Parekh got married on 25 August 2017. My thesis submission was on 08/25/2017 and so was my wedding.
  45. Parekh returned to Pakistan in 2017. 17. 17. I came in '17.
  46. He returned to Pakistan in 2017. 17. 17. I came in '17.
  47. His master's thesis submission took place on August 25, 2017. My thesis submission was on 08/25/2017 and so was my wedding.
  48. He got married on August 25, 2017. My thesis submission was on 08/25/2017 and so was my wedding.
  49. His father built a career in business from scratch. मेरे वाल्त साहब from scratch back in his day he's been in business and he's always been in business.
  50. He went on the Hajj pilgrimage. जब हज पे गया right after that and that again was a reawakening कि ok this is something that I have to stop right now and I stopped
  51. He shut down his social media activity. तो I completely shut down my social media. So even if you go right now I would post once a year now
  52. He performed Hajj in 2018. 2018 हज किया और वह करते कराते 2018 का end हुआ
  53. He planned to produce a series in which he would start an e-commerce business and film the entire process. at that point I was thinking कि मुझे एक series करनी है जिसके अंदर मैं e commerce शुरू करूंगा and I wanted a sponsor for that कि मैं e commerce शुरू करूंगा and I would film all of it.
  54. Muzamil Hasan Zaidi was with him on day one of Manto. We also tried to start in fact on day one in मंटो मुज़मिल हसन जैदी was with me.
  55. He was making content in 2019. Because 2019 में you were doing content and I told you listen, stop doing content.
  56. During his final year in the Kingdom, he began frequently wearing kurta shalwar. So कुर्ता शिलवार का एक idea जब I was in UK तो in the last year I started wearing कुर्ता शिलवार a lot
  57. He did not come from a background in fashion or textiles. I had no idea of fashion, I had no idea of textile, I don't come from that background.
  58. He spent six to seven months learning about fabrics, stitching, and sizing. it took me good six to seven months to learn about all of these particular things.
  59. He reinvested his YouTube earnings into YouTube production, teams, testing, and experimentation. YouTube से जब कमाया तो वो YouTube की चीज़ों में ही लगा दिए और teams testing experimentation के अंदर लगा दिए
  60. He made 40 dresses for his first consignment. चालीस dress बनाए थे जो first consignment था.
  61. He initially had only 10 of the first 40 dresses stitched to take photographs. मैंने चालीस में से भी stitch करवाया है only 10 जिसकी मुझे pictures लेनी थी
  62. His initial investment for the first test round was around 150,000 rupees. Initial investment जो first test round था that was around 150,000 rupees.
  63. He is of Memon heritage. Obviously मेमन है तो कुछ ना कुछ numbers तो inbuilt आते
  64. He prepared a case study and presented it to his father to request financial investment. I made the case study and I took it to my father and I was like this is the next step that I want to take and this is the bare minimum investment that I would require
  65. He took an investment of 1,000,000 rupees. then I took an investment of 1,000,000 rupees
  66. He sourced his fabric directly from factories from the beginning. पहला भी आपने factory. From day one factory.
  67. He purchased cut pieces of fabric for his first batch of 40 dresses. So जब first time जब 40 dresses लिए those were cut pieces
  68. He used a polyviscose and lycra blend for a subsequent lot of dresses. next time लौट ली तो it was the first time it was not even poly viscose के अंदर lycra which is stretchable as well.
  69. He sourced fabric to produce 540 dresses. पांच सौ चालीस dresses, 540 dresses का मैंने कपड़ा, कपड़ों का, dresses
  70. He considers prayer and spirituality to have been consistently helpful to him. Again नमाज़, spirituality, अल्लाह has always been extremely helpful and obviously it was a part of his plan.
  71. He consciously aimed to build his business slowly rather than scaling rapidly. I consciously wanted to make sure that it's a slow journey because quick journey के अंदर अमूमन बहुत ज़्यादा बहुत जल्दी अगर आप prematurely famous हो जाते हैं, scale कर जाते हैं तो there is lot of times आपका scale ही आपके business को kill कर देता है.
  72. His sister started a home-based children's clothing business. मेरी sister जो है she is a housewife she's got two kids and she want she's always wanted to try something. तो उन्होंने अपना बहुत home based type एक बच्चों के कपड़ों का कारोबार शुरू किया.
  73. Parekh initially started his clothing brand with plain dresses. अभी तक हमने जितनी बात किया हमने जो plain dresses हमने शुरू किया and obviously you start pivoting in that slow journey of creation.
  74. Parekh's wife took short courses in digital artwork and digital textile design after their marriage. हमारी शादी हुई तो उसके बाद उन्होंने एक दो मुख्तलिफ short courses लिए जिन्होंने digital artwork and digital textile design दो दो महीने तीन तीन महीने course किया.
  75. Parekh asked his wife to join in and help create dupattas to pair with the brand's basic dresses. I was like, can you please join in and help me make a couple of these तुपट्टा and ओनी because हमारी dresses बिल्कुल basic है.
  76. Parekh spent six months searching for painting and fabric vendors. तो हम फिर छह महीने लग गए जिसके अंदर हम painting vendors ढूंढ रहे है. हम कपड़े के vendors ढूंढ
  77. Parekh and his wife Bisma have a child. and we had a baby then. तो बिस्मा was I think trying to make her sleep.
  78. He and Bisma had a baby. बिस्मा was just done designing and we had a baby then. तो बिस्मा was I think trying to make her sleep.
  79. He considers customer feedback and advice to be generous contributions that help improve future offerings. if someone's coming and giving you either negative or positive feedback अगर advice दे रहे तो I think it's very generous of them to take out their time and help us build the next right thing
  80. Parekh attended university, where one of his instructors worked in brand consulting for companies including Amazon and Louis Vuitton. In my university, job मेरे teacher ने एक, the person used to do brand consultation for some of the most luxurious brands in the world including Amazon, Louis Vuitton
  81. Parekh defines a brand as being essentially about trust. essentially in one word, a brand is a trust.
  82. Parekh holds that failing to fulfill promises causes the greatest damage to a brand. nothing damages a brand more than failing to fulfill its promises, more than being distant from the promises it makes
  83. Parekh believes that building trust cannot be achieved through shortcuts or hacks. trust एक ऐसी चीज़ है that it cannot be hacked. There is no shortcut, there is no way you can cheat it out कि I do a tactic, I do a hack जिसकी वजह से trust करना शुरू हो जाए.
  84. Parekh views the role of a marketer as making a promise and ensuring it is fulfilled. as a marketer your job is to make a promise and then make sure to fulfill it.
  85. Parekh believes businesses should focus on specific niche audiences rather than attempting to cater to the masses. in today's time, it's not the time of masses, it's the time of niche, it's the time of आपके जो एक particular psychography है आप उसको लेकर चलते हैं
  86. He believes that attempting to make a product for everyone leads to creating something average. अगर आप सबके लिए बनाएंगे तो you have to make something very average.
  87. His business grew to tens of thousands of customers after starting with a smaller customer base. We did not start with 100 people, we did not start with thousand people. Now we have tens of thousands of customers.
  88. He believes that a product must be developed organically up to a certain point to become polished. until a particular point you have to build it organically for the product for yourself to be polished.
  89. He initially tested a run of 500 dresses when launching his brand. I thought that now I am ready to maybe test this 500 dress.
  90. In the early phase of his business, he personally handled quality checking, ironing, and repacking for each dress before shipment. हम hard rest pack करने से पहले hard rest खोल के A to Z उसकी quality checking करते थे फिर उसकी ironing करते थे फिर उसको repack करके पूरा उसका system करते थे
  91. He prioritizes serving a smaller number of customers properly over expanding rapidly. I don't want thousand customers if I cannot serve 100 rightfully.
  92. His brand ships products globally, excluding India and Israel. I am shipping to the rest of the world right now except for India and Israel.
  93. His business uses international courier companies including DHL and UPS. we use third party logistics company जैसे DHL हो गया, UPS हो गया
  94. He prefers not to make predictions about what will happen in the future. I don't like to make a lot of predictions कि future के अंदर क्या होना है, क्या नहीं होना
  95. He believes that the best way he can contribute is by learning something every day so that people around him can benefit. The best way I can contribute is if I can learn something every day and if I I become a more learned person, hopefully the people around me can get some benefit