Sunny Ali

CEO of Extreme Commerce

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

Sunny Ali is the founder & CEO of Extreme Commerce. After graduating, Ali started his career as a computer engineer. He worked as an IT consultant and network engineer.

Early life and background

Ali was born in Karachi in 1977 and raised there. In 1992 his father began computer programming work, and Ali became a programmer too. Ali worked with his father at a computer training centre, teaching and developing software. [1]

Education

Ali studied at a college in Karachi and graduated in the 1990s. He held several network certifications, including Cisco certifications. [1]

Career

After graduating, Ali started his career as a computer engineer. He worked as an IT consultant and network engineer. In 2001 he moved to Singapore, and he later moved to Australia. He became an Australian citizen. Ali also started a network consultancy. [1]

Ali went bankrupt in 2008. He has said that the global financial crisis cut funding worldwide and badly hurt his business. [1]

E-commerce in Malaysia

In 2009 Ali moved to Malaysia, where he had always wanted to live. In Malaysia he started an e-commerce business. He wanted an online business that earned money from developed-world customers while he lived in a cheaper country. He has said he did not want to depend on one country's economy, because he had gone bankrupt through it. [1]

The business operated mainly in the US and the UK. It held its own inventory and did not use drop shipping. Inventory was held in Malaysia, where staff packed orders and DHL gave good rates. Ali has said his team studied eBay trends before choosing products, and products were then sourced from China based on that research. He stored stock in Amazon warehouses in the UK and the US. [1]

Ali expanded into e-commerce markets including the Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, Canada, Italy and Spain. In 2011 he went bankrupt again, which he called a soft bankruptcy. He took bank loans and restarted the business for the third time. He moved the business from his own website to online marketplaces, a move he made because he judged that American shoppers were shifting to marketplaces. [1]

Ali went bankrupt a third time, around 2015. He has said the business had scaled up considerably and he was selling about 500,000 dollars a month. He has said the business was deeply involved with Amazon technically but lacked business skills. Ali has said he had worked on about 300 products before narrowing to his top sellers. He chose to focus only on top sellers, on Amazon FBA, in one market, and said the formula became profitable. [1]

Extreme Commerce

At first Ali planned to rent Malaysian Amazon accounts to people in Pakistan. Amazon IDs could not be created in Pakistan at that time. In Pakistan he held seminars on how to do business on Amazon. [1]

He created a Facebook group and answered questions from members. Ali has said a Pakistani citizen living in Pakistan could open a US company and get a US tax ID. He has said he did not know how the group would be monetised. Ali has said the group and community started in 2017. [1]

Ali is the CEO of Extreme Commerce. He has said Extreme Commerce grew into an ecosystem and a capacity building platform. He describes it as a capacity building platform and an ecosystem that includes his own business. He has said training was never the core business of Extreme Commerce, which focuses on the journey, and that its training began in 2018. [1]

Ali set a goal of creating 1 billion US dollars of economic activity in Pakistan. By his own calculations, about half a billion dollars of economic activity has been created in Pakistan. [1]

Ali has said Extreme Commerce is a private commercial business, not a charity or foundation, and that it is not a course-selling company. He has said it has never run aggressive marketing campaigns. He has said the success rate of an online course is no more than 10 to 15 percent. He has said the journey has a 52 percent chance of success and a 48 percent chance of failure. [1]

Boot camp and incubation

Ali has said the boot camp has roughly 100 plus employees who only support the journey. He has said the virtual boot camp was built because many group members could not afford the boot camp. He said the recorded boot camp training was offered free of cost. The video boot camp now has roughly 150 skills, including Amazon skills, he said. He said about 175,000 people are using the VBC. [1]

He said he gave the VBC free of cost to 99.5 percent of its users. He said building the VBC cost about 500,000 dollars, and that he personally paid to sponsor roughly 1,000 to 1,200 students. He has said all of his employees are on payroll rather than paid by commission. [1]

Ali estimated the monthly incubation fee at around 23,000 to 24,000 rupees in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. He said incubation runs in eight Pakistani cities and that the boot camp received 10,000 to 12,000 applications a year. He said his incubation success rate is above 70 percent, and that a student who spends six to eight months in incubation is about 70 percent likely to earn money. [1]

Ali said about 33 percent of incubatees were earning from non-Amazon services, and about 66 percent were still earning from Amazon. His goal is for 66 percent of incubatees to earn from non-Amazon services next year. He described the agency model as two people forming a partnership. He said people also earn money through Etsy and Shopify. He estimated that 60 to 70 percent of those who went through the system are likely earning money. [1]

Extreme Commerce College

Ali built Extreme Commerce College after considering students' problems. He has said the college works with Pearson, whose qualifications it offers. The college has four tracks. It has one floor for teaching and another for incubation. [1]

The first year of the programme is HNC and the second is HND. A student can complete the third year with an English university or in Pakistan. [1]

Views

Ali has said people need a degree, whatever its quality. He has said his videos since 2018 repeatedly tell people not to abandon their degrees. He believes education will solve many of Pakistan's problems. [1]

He has said bad governance could make Pakistan a failed state like Somalia, and that he cannot predict what Pakistan will look like in 2050. He has said human capacity building is a government task. Citing Pasha, he has said that 10 to 12 percent of IT graduates are employable. [1]

Ali has said regulation should go as far as data tracking, profiling and journey tracking. He wants to build a data-driven organization, like Tesla, and has said he plans to invite an audit firm in 2023 to audit the organization's data. He has said he is building profiles that estimate success chances for university graduates and matric holders. He has said he strongly opposes blind following. [1]

Personal life

Ali's family lived in Malaysia, and his parents lived with him. He has said he went into severe depression. On his father's advice he saw a psychiatrist, who diagnosed him with depression. Ali has said he was prescribed medicine and recovered quickly. [1]

Timeline

1977
Born in Karachi.[1]
1992
His father began computer programming work, and Ali became a programmer.[1]
2001
Moved to Singapore.[1]
2008
Went bankrupt.[1]
2009
Moved to Malaysia and later started an e-commerce business there.[1]
2011
Went bankrupt again, which he called a soft bankruptcy.[1]
2015
Went bankrupt a third time, around this year.[1]
2018
Extreme Commerce began its training, according to Ali.[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2022-09-19 Three bankruptcies before building a million-member community Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is Sunny Ali?

Sunny Ali is the CEO of Extreme Commerce, which he describes as a capacity building platform and an ecosystem. He was born in Karachi in 1977. His career includes work as an IT consultant and network engineer and an e-commerce business in Malaysia.[1]

What does Sunny Ali do?

Sunny Ali is the CEO of Extreme Commerce. He built Extreme Commerce College and has said that Extreme Commerce is a private commercial business, not a charity or foundation.[1]

Where is Sunny Ali from?

Sunny Ali was born in Karachi and raised there. He later moved to Singapore in 2001 and then to Australia, where he became an Australian citizen. In 2009 he moved to Malaysia.[1]

Where did Sunny Ali study?

Sunny Ali studied at a college in Karachi and graduated in the 1990s. He also held several network certifications, including Cisco certifications.[1]

What is Extreme Commerce?

Sunny Ali says Extreme Commerce is a capacity building platform and an ecosystem that includes his own business. He has said it is a private commercial business and not a course-selling company. Its programmes include a boot camp, incubation and Extreme Commerce College.[1]

How many times did Sunny Ali go bankrupt?

Sunny Ali went bankrupt three times. The first was in 2008, the second in 2011, which he called a soft bankruptcy, and the third around 2015.[1]

What e-commerce business did Sunny Ali run in Malaysia?

In Malaysia, Sunny Ali started an e-commerce business that operated mainly in the US and the UK. It held its own inventory in Malaysia and did not use drop shipping. He stored stock in Amazon warehouses in the UK and the US.[1]

What is Extreme Commerce College?

Extreme Commerce College was built by Sunny Ali after he considered students' problems. The first year of the programme is HNC and the second is HND. The college has four tracks and one floor for teaching and another for incubation.[1]

References

  1. Three bankruptcies before building a million-member community . Thought Behind Things , 2022-09-19.
Show the source passages (96 statements)
  1. Sunny Ali is described as the CEO of Extreme Commerce. CEO Extreme Commerce Ft. Sunny Ali
  2. Sunny Ali was born in Karachi and raised there. Main Karachi mein paida hua hoon, wahin pe raised up hua hoon.
  3. Sunny Ali was born in 1977. 1977 mein paida hua hoon main.
  4. In 1992 his father began computer programming work, and Sunny Ali became a programmer too. 1992 mein Abu ne hamare ek computer programming ke upar kaam shuru kiya. Main bhi programmer ban gaya us chakkar mein.
  5. Sunny Ali worked with his father at a computer training centre, teaching and developing software. apne father ke saath computer training center mein hi hota tha, wahan pe main kaam karta tha. Teaching bhi karta tha, software development bhi karta tha
  6. Sunny Ali studied at a college in Karachi and graduated in the 1990s. Phir 1990s mein Bahria mein maine graduation ki, apne Bahria College mein padha hoon main Karachi mein.
  7. Sunny Ali held several network certifications, including Cisco certifications. Mere paas network ki kaafi saari certifications thin, MCSC, Cisco wagera ki.
  8. After graduating, Sunny Ali started his career as a computer engineer. Aur uske baad maine apna career ka start kiya hai computer engineer, as a computer engineer.
  9. Sunny Ali moved to Singapore in 2001. Phir uske baad 2001 ke baad main 2001 mein Singapore chala gaya.
  10. Sunny Ali worked as an IT consultant and network engineer. Ji bilkul, as a IT consultant, network engineer.
  11. Sunny Ali later moved to Australia. Phir wahan se main Australia chala gaya.
  12. He became an Australian citizen. main uske baad Australian citizen bhi ban gaya.
  13. Sunny Ali started a network consultancy. Maine network consultancy start ki.
  14. Sunny Ali went bankrupt in 2008. 2008 mein main pehli baar phir bankrupt ho gaya.
  15. Sunny Ali said the global financial crisis cut funding worldwide and badly hurt his business. Woh global financial crisis aaye the jiski wajah se puri duniya mein funding kam ho gayi aur phir hamara business kaafi affect hua.
  16. In 2009 Sunny Ali moved to Malaysia, where he had always wanted to live. Wahan se phir 2009 mein main phir Malaysia aa gaya kyunke shuru se hamesha se Malaysia mein rehne ka mujhe shauk tha
  17. In Malaysia Sunny Ali started an e-commerce business. Malaysia mein aake dobara phir maine second time next business start kiya aur is baar maine e-commerce start kiya.
  18. Sunny Ali wanted an online business that earned money from developed-world customers while he lived in a cheaper country. Main chahta tha ke online business ho, paise main develop world se kamaun, rahoon main saste mulk mein
  19. Sunny Ali said he did not want to depend on one country's economy, because he had gone bankrupt through it. main ek mulk ki economy pe depend nahi karna chahta kyunke main uski wajah se bankrupt hua tha.
  20. His e-commerce business operated mainly in the US and the UK. Main US mein operate kar raha tha, iske alawa UK mein, do major markets thi meri.
  21. The business held its own inventory and did not use drop shipping. Nahi, drop shipping toh nahi tha, woh model tha ke hum hamare paas order aata tha toh hamare paas inventory hoti thi.
  22. Inventory was held in Malaysia, where staff packed orders and DHL gave good rates. Toh inventory meri Malaysia mein hoti thi, toh mere employees Malaysia mein usko pack karte the, DHL ke saath hamare bade ache rates hote the.
  23. Sunny Ali said his team studied eBay trends before choosing products. hum thoda bahut eBay ke upar study karte the ke market mein trend kya chal raha hai
  24. Products were then sourced from China based on that research. Uski base pe phir China se samaan mangwa lete the
  25. Sunny Ali stored stock in Amazon warehouses in the UK and the US. maine apna samaan kuch Amazon ke warehouse mein rakhwa diya, UK mein rakhwa diya, US mein rakhwa diya.
  26. He expanded into e-commerce markets including the Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, Canada, Italy and Spain. Maine phir Philippines ki e-commerce market mein ghus gaya, Indonesia ki e-commerce market mein ghus gaya, Australia, Canada, Italy, Spain
  27. In 2011 Sunny Ali went bankrupt again, which he called a soft bankruptcy. woh phir 2011 mein dobara bankruptcy hui. Soft bankruptcy bolunga isko main
  28. Sunny Ali took bank loans and restarted the business for the third time. Toh maine bankon se loan lene shuru kar diye, dobara teesri baar start kiya.
  29. Sunny Ali moved his business from his own website to online marketplaces. ab maine socha ke main website se nikal ke ab mujhe marketplace mein jaana hoga.
  30. He made the move because he judged that American shoppers were shifting to marketplaces. Kyunke mujhe andaza ho gaya ke American market jo hai woh marketplace ki taraf shift ho rahi hai.
  31. Sunny Ali went bankrupt a third time, around 2015. phir teesri baar main dobara bankrupt hua hoon, 2015 mein kahin jaake.
  32. Sunny Ali said the business had scaled up considerably and he was selling about 500,000 dollars a month. Us waqt tak mera business kaafi scale up ho chuka tha. Main mahine ka 5 lakh dollar becha karta tha
  33. Sunny Ali said the business was deeply involved with Amazon technically but lacked business skills. Technically toh ghuse hue the hum log Amazon ke andar, lekin woh jo business ke skills hote hain, woh missing the.
  34. Sunny Ali said he went into severe depression. Yeh itni severe thi ke main phir severe depression mein bhi chala gaya
  35. On his father's advice Sunny Ali saw a psychiatrist, who diagnosed him with depression. Yeh Abu ka mashwara tha, toh jiski wajah se phir main doctor ke paas gaya aur unhone diagnose kiya ke aap depression ke andar hain.
  36. Sunny Ali said he was prescribed medicine and recovered quickly. Toh mujhe medicine di aur phir uske baad badi speed mein recover hua hoon main.
  37. Sunny Ali's family lived in Malaysia, and his parents lived with him. Family saari Malaysia mein thi meri. Mere parents bhi mere saath hi the hamesha se
  38. Sunny Ali said he had worked on about 300 products before narrowing to his top sellers. Pehle main karta tha 300, 300 products pe kaam.
  39. Sunny Ali said he chose to focus only on top sellers, on Amazon FBA, in one market. Maine decide kiya ke main apne top sellers pakadta hoon, bas top sellers pe kaam karta hoon, baaki sab chhod do aur main sirf yeh FBA karunga, yani ke Amazon ke warehouse bechunga aur sirf ek hi market mein kaam karunga.
  40. Sunny Ali said the formula became profitable. Woh formula chal pada, woh profitable tha
  41. At first Sunny Ali planned to rent Malaysian Amazon accounts to people in Pakistan. mere paas ek solution tha ke main Malaysian IDs jo hain woh rental pe provide kar sakta hoon Pakistan mein.
  42. Amazon IDs could not be created in Pakistan at that time. Pakistan mein Amazon ki IDs toh banti nahi thin.
  43. In Pakistan he held seminars on how to do business on Amazon. Um, us business plan ke liye phir maine Pakistan mein aake thode bahut seminars kiye, logon ko guide kiya ke Amazon pe business kaise hota hai.
  44. He created a Facebook group and answered questions from members. phir maine Facebook ka group create kiya, logon ko add kiya, logon se maine kaha ke agar koi sawal hai toh kar lein.
  45. Sunny Ali said a Pakistani citizen living in Pakistan could open a US company and get a US tax ID. aap United States mein company khol sakte hain, United States mein as a Pakistani citizen Pakistan se rehte hue aap America mein tax ID bhi le sakte hain.
  46. Sunny Ali said he did not know how the group would be monetised. Toh phir mujhe khud nahi pata monetization kaise hogi.
  47. Sunny Ali set a goal of creating 1 billion US dollars of economic activity in Pakistan. Maine ek goal set kiya tha us waqt ke 1 billion US dollar ki hum economic activity create karenge Pakistan mein
  48. Sunny Ali said by his own calculations about half a billion dollars of economic activity has been created in Pakistan. meri calculations ke mutabiq half billion dollar ki economic activity create ho chuki hai Pakistan mein.
  49. Sunny Ali said Extreme Commerce grew into an ecosystem and a capacity building platform. Woh itna evolve kiya hum logon ne ek large platform ban gaya, ecosystem ban gaya, ek capacity building platform create kar diya hum logon ne.
  50. Sunny Ali says Extreme Commerce is a capacity building platform and an ecosystem that includes his own business. Extreme Commerce is a capacity building platform, ek ecosystem hai jismein mera bhi business shamil hai
  51. Sunny Ali said about 33 percent of incubatees were earning from non-Amazon services. roughly 33% jo incubatees hain, jo incubators mein baithe hue hain hamare, woh is waqt non-Amazon services se paise kama rahe hain.
  52. About 66 percent of incubatees were still earning from Amazon. 66% abhi bhi Amazon se bana rahe hain
  53. Sunny Ali said his goal is for 66 percent of incubatees to earn from non-Amazon services next year. mera goal hai ke 66% agle saal tak non-Amazon hone chahiye, 33% Amazon hone chahiye.
  54. Sunny Ali described the agency model as two people forming a partnership. Achha agency ka concept yeh hai ki do logon ko hum kehte hain aap log partnership kar lo aapas mein.
  55. Sunny Ali said the group and community started in 2017. Zahir hai 2017 mein isi start hua, group ban gaya, community ban gayi.
  56. Sunny Ali said his videos since 2018 repeatedly tell people not to abandon their degrees. Maine 2018 se meri videos maujood hain jismein baar baar main inko hammering kar raha hoon, degree nahi chhodni
  57. Sunny Ali said people need a degree, whatever its quality. Degree achi ho, buri ho, jaisi bhi ho, duniya walon ko chahiye.
  58. Sunny Ali said he believes education will solve many of Pakistan's problems. main yeh samajhta hoon ke education will solve a lot of problems.
  59. Sunny Ali said bad governance could make Pakistan a failed state like Somalia. agar hum bad governance ke haath mein chadeinge toh hum Somalia ki tarah ek fail state ban sakte hain.
  60. Sunny Ali said he cannot predict what Pakistan will look like in 2050. Nahi main toh honestly nahi predict kar sakta. 2050 mein Pakistan kaisa hoga.
  61. Sunny Ali said, citing Pasha, that 10 to 12 percent of IT graduates are employable. Mera jo 25,000 bacha on average IT ka graduate university mein jaata hai, usme se Pasha kehta hai ji 10%, 12% employable hai.
  62. Sunny Ali said human capacity building is a government task. Capacity building, human capacity building, yeh in fact governments ke kaam hote hain.
  63. Sunny Ali said regulation should go as far as data tracking, profiling and journey tracking. To regulation ek had tak honi bhi chahiye, data tracking honi chahiye, profiling honi chahiye, journey track hone chahiye.
  64. Sunny Ali said he wants to build a data-driven organization, like Tesla. data driven organization banana chahta hoon. Jaisa Tesla hai.
  65. Sunny Ali said he plans to invite an audit firm in 2023 to audit the organization's data. 2023 mein main kisi large organization ko, audit firm ko bulaunga, bolunga bhai aap hamare data zara audit karein
  66. Sunny Ali said he is building profiles that estimate success chances for university graduates and matric holders. Jo insaan university ka graduate hai, uska success ka yeh chance hai, jo matric pass hai, uske success ka yeh chance hai.
  67. Sunny Ali said Extreme Commerce is a private commercial business, not a charity or foundation. private commercial business hai. Yeh koi charity ya foundation toh hai nahi.
  68. Sunny Ali said Extreme Commerce is not a course-selling company. We are not a course selling company.
  69. Sunny Ali said the journey has a 52 percent chance of success and a 48 percent chance of failure. Hamari journey mein 52% success ka chance hai, 48% failure ka chance hai.
  70. Sunny Ali said Extreme Commerce has never run aggressive marketing campaigns. Pehli baat, extreme commerce ne kabhi bhi woh aggressive marketing nahi ki.
  71. Sunny Ali said the success rate of an online course is no more than 10 to 15 percent. Jo course hota hai uska success rate 10-15 percent se zyada nahi hota.
  72. Sunny Ali said the boot camp has roughly 100 plus employees who only support the journey. boot camp mein koi roughly 100 plus employees hain jo sirf yahi kaam karte hain.
  73. Sunny Ali said the virtual boot camp was built because many group members could not afford the boot camp. group mein bahut saare log yeh puchte the ki hum afford hi nahi kar sakte boot camp ki journey, yeh journey badi mehngi hai.
  74. Sunny Ali said the recorded boot camp training was offered free of cost. unko maine record karke phir video boot camp bana diya aur woh maine unko free of cost dena shuru kar diya.
  75. Sunny Ali said the video boot camp now has roughly 150 skills, including Amazon skills. humne toh roughly is waqt 150 ke qareeb skills hain including Amazon skills
  76. Sunny Ali said about 175,000 people are using the VBC. Is waqt paune do lakh log VBC use kar rahe hain.
  77. Sunny Ali said he gave the VBC free of cost to 99.5 percent of its users. VBC 99.5 percent logon ko free mein de diya hai maine.
  78. Sunny Ali said building the VBC cost about 500,000 dollars. nahi 500,000 dollars laga hai VBC ko build karne mein.
  79. Sunny Ali said he personally paid to sponsor roughly 1,000 to 1,200 students. roughly koi 1000, 1200 bachon ko maine jeb se hi ki hai
  80. Sunny Ali estimated the monthly incubation fee at around 23,000 to 24,000 rupees in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad mein shayad 23, 24,000 rupaye hoga monthly
  81. Sunny Ali said incubation runs in eight Pakistani cities. Pakistan ke 8 shehron mein incubation hai.
  82. Sunny Ali estimated that 60 to 70 percent of those who went through the system are likely earning money. System mein ja ke usmein likely 60, 70 percent toh paise kama rahe honge
  83. Sunny Ali said all of his employees are on payroll rather than paid by commission. Hamare saare employees payroll ke upar hain. 100% payroll ke upar hain
  84. Sunny Ali said the boot camp received 10,000 to 12,000 applications a year. 10 se 12,000 applications aati thi boot camp ki
  85. Sunny Ali said his incubation success rate is above 70 percent. usse hamare incubation ka success rate 70 plus percentage hai is waqt.
  86. Sunny Ali said a student who spends six to eight months in incubation is about 70 percent likely to earn money. Jo bacha incubation mein 6 mahine, 7 mahine, 8 mahine guzarta hai woh 70 percent likely paise kamata hai.
  87. Sunny Ali said training was never the core business of Extreme Commerce, which focuses on the journey. extreme commerce ke andar kabhi bhi training hamara core business raha nahi.
  88. Sunny Ali said Extreme Commerce began its training in 2018. Training humne 2017 mein toh nahi 2018 mein in fact start ki hai.
  89. Sunny Ali said the college works with Pearson, whose qualifications it offers. UK ki Pearson ke saath hai aur Pearson walon ki yeh qualifications hoti hain.
  90. Sunny Ali built Extreme Commerce College after considering students' problems. bacchon ki problems ko samajhte hue maine phir isi college banaya. Extreme Commerce College banaya.
  91. The first year of the programme is HNC and the second is HND. Pehle saal ko HNC kehte hain, dusre saal ko HND kehte hain.
  92. A student can complete the third year with an English university or in Pakistan. Uske baad jo teesra saal hota hai, woh bacha England jaake kisi bhi university ke saath apna undergrad kar sakta hai. Theek hai. Ya woh university program ko third year Pakistan mein bhi la sakte hain aap.
  93. The college has four tracks. Usmein chaar different tracks hain jinke upar hum kaam karte hain.
  94. The college has one floor for teaching and another for incubation. To maine college is tarike se design kiya ke uska ek floor college hona chahiye, dusra floor incubation hona chahiye.
  95. Sunny Ali said he strongly opposes blind following. Blind following ke main sakht khilaf hoon.
  96. Sunny Ali said people also earn money through Etsy and Shopify. Etsy se bhi paise bante hain, Shopify se bhi paise bante hain.