Suneel Sarfraz Munj

Early life and background

Munj was born in Krishan Nagar, an area of Lahore now called Islampura, and grew up in Lahore. His father had his own business. The family moved from Krishan Nagar to Garden Town and later to Gulberg. [1]

Education

Munj attended Divisional Public School in Model Town, Lahore, and completed his FSc at Government College. He applied to UET but was admitted to LUMS. [1]

He completed a BSc at LUMS in 2002, majoring in economics with a minor in computer science. Munj says he graduated from his BSc with a cumulative GPA of 2.94. During his BSc he went to the London School of Economics twice for summer school. He began a two-year MBA in 2003 and graduated in 2005. [1]

Career

Munj says he has never held a job. He ran a store importing gift items and also worked in the wholesale and retail of meat. After his MBA, he washed car tyres at a dealership on Defence Main Boulevard. [1]

Munj says he wanted to understand the car trade before taking part in it. He says he entered the car trade himself to learn how imports and resale work, and that he kept losing money by buying cars and reselling them. He says he has owned and sold more than 100 cars, and that he has been a car enthusiast since his LUMS days. [1]

Munj says he has done 25 other ventures besides PakWheels. He says he has likely failed in 24 of those 25 other ventures. [1]

PakWheels

Munj says PakWheels was founded in 2003 and has three co-founders, including himself. The PakWheels forums started in 2003, and online classifieds were added in 2005 to 2006. Munj says PakWheels was the first online classifieds platform in Pakistan. He says he began working full time on PakWheels in 2008, and he has been its chairman since before 2016. [1]

Munj says PakWheels is in the business of lead generation and does not buy or sell cars. He says PakWheels was not revenue positive until the end of 2021, and that 2022 was the first year it was in the green. He says PakWheels chose to disrupt itself rather than wait to be disrupted. [1]

Munj says a competitor entered the market and then left quickly. He says PakWheels' unique selling point is its community. He also says Facebook began to take off around 2008. [1]

PakWheels started Pakistan's first third-party inspection service, Munj says. The inspection service produces a report of more than 200 points, and Munj says PakWheels kept improving it from 2012 to 2015. He says the PakWheels team went to Careem's centres where cars were inducted. [1]

Munj says banks had a conflict of interest in valuing used cars, so PakWheels offered inspections and valuations. He says a bank was the first to come on board with PakWheels. He says PakWheels now works with several banks on used-car financing. [1]

PakWheels launched its auto parts business in late 2017 or 2018. Munj says the parts store was started to deal with fraud on the platform. He says PakWheels makes sure parts sold are what sellers claim them to be, Chinese or original. [1]

PakWheels also launched a concierge service called Sell It For Me. Munj says PakWheels charges 1% of the sale price if the car sells, and advises sellers on the real market price based on real transaction data. He says closing a deal is a better measure of success than the number of calls. [1]

Munj says the PakWheels YouTube channel started in late 2014 or 2015. He says the channel started by accident, without a plan. He says PakWheels now has a full video team. [1]

Views

Munj says a classified platform is not responsible for trades between buyers and sellers. He says he has sold his own cars through PakWheels listings. He says PakWheels does not take dictation from anybody. [1]

Munj says PakWheels has revolutionised how people buy and sell cars in Pakistan. He says it was built in Pakistan with in-house technology. He says the car market is growing every day, and that cars in Pakistan are a lasting asset, held much like a prize bond. [1]

Munj says Pakistan's first comprehensive auto policy came in 2016, and that 15 companies showed interest in Pakistan under it. He says about 13 car brands are sold in Pakistan today. He says Pakistan's annual car output was about 200,000 units with three makers and is about the same with 13. [1]

Munj says Pakistan has no unified electric vehicle policy and has very few EV charging stations after years of promises. He says Pakistan makes many promises but the ground reality is very different. He does not think most cars worldwide will be electric by 2030 and says it will take time. [1]

Munj says startups are over-glamorised. He says a real company keeps what it owns and survives in the market. He also says he does not measure success by money. [1]

Timeline

2002

Completed a BSc at LUMS.[1]

2003

Began a two-year MBA. PakWheels was founded and its forums started.[1]

2005

Graduated from his MBA. Online classifieds were added to PakWheels in 2005 to 2006.[1]

2008

Began working full time on PakWheels.[1]

2012

PakWheels began improving its inspection service, a process that continued to 2015.[1]

2016

Pakistan's first comprehensive auto policy came in, and Munj was already PakWheels chairman.[1]

2022

The first year PakWheels was in the green.[1]

Appearances

Frequently asked questions

References

1. PakWheels wasn't revenue positive until 2022 . Thought Behind Things , 2022-04-04.