Umair Masoom Usmani

media executive and founder of Myco

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

Umair Masoom Usmani is a media executive and the founder of Myco, a streaming platform with offices in Dubai, Karachi and Cairo. Usmani was born in Islamabad and worked in sales and marketing for Pakistani broadcasters and banks before moving to Dubai for a financial services marketing role. According to Usmani, Myco has 30 million registered users and holds exclusive English Premier League rights for Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Early life and background

Usmani was born in Islamabad. His family was middle class. His father held two jobs, at Pakistan Television and Radio Pakistan. After school, his family moved to Karachi because his father was one of the first employees of Geo News. Usmani played football as a child in Karachi. [1]

Education

Usmani wanted to get into business studies. He received an offer for naval engineering at NUST in Karachi. He completed his bachelor's degree at the end of 2006 and graduated with a BBA honors degree. He started an MBA immediately after his bachelor's degree and finished it by December 2007. [1]

Career

Usmani has said he wanted to be a marketer as well. He entered a bank as a marketing executive, working as a marketing and media professional, and was soon promoted to marketing manager at the bank. He also went to work at Pakistan Television, at a network that was newly launched at the time, and at another network. He held roles including head of sales, head of marketing and chief commercial officer. He has worked across Pakistani media, from the state broadcaster to ARY, Geo and print. [1]

Usmani received an offer from a bank and became its head of marketing. The bank was co-owned by a business group. Its CEO became his mentor and is also his angel investor. He got an opportunity to move to Dubai for a financial services marketing role. He has said that, although he was not convinced, he took that step for his mother. [1]

Within a year and a half he became chief marketing officer for the entire group, with more than 30 brands and teams reporting to him. His employers became his first investor. Usmani helps other entrepreneurs as a partner and investor, and he is an investor in and co-founder of a live commerce business. [1]

Usmani read the Bitcoin white paper and, with a few friends, began investing in crypto. He has said he made some investments and benefited from them in 2020 and 2021. [1]

Myco

Usmani is the founder of Myco. Myco has been described as having 30 million or more users and operations across Pakistan, Bangladesh and Egypt. Usmani has said the focus market was the GCC and North America, because they were more decentralised and crypto native markets. He decided to focus more on Pakistan. [1]

According to Usmani, Myco has 30 million registered users, of whom about 21 million are in Pakistan, and about 10 million app downloads. The platform averages 7 to 8 million monthly active users. He says 94 percent of the platform's viewing is on mobile, and close to 40 percent of that share is through downloaded apps. The platform works on a freemium model. [1]

Usmani says the company has about 100 people across three offices. The offices are in Dubai, Karachi and Cairo. He says the company is well penetrated in Pakistan and the UAE, and decently penetrated in Egypt and Bangladesh. [1]

He says the company is EBITDA positive but cash-flow negative, and that it has raised over $25 million in equity and debt. He says it has more than $10 million in grant commitments from its blockchain partner. He says the platform reached the finale in season 9 and won an investment. [1]

Usmani says the company's strategy focuses on the Middle East, North Africa and the Indian subcontinent outside India. He hopes the company will eventually go public in the UAE. [1]

The Pakistan subscription costs about 450 to 500 rupees, with discounts for quarterly and yearly subscriptions. Usmani says subscription numbers are still very low. Subscribers can also reach the content through a Jazz app. [1]

Sports at Myco

Usmani says the platform has exclusive English Premier League rights for Pakistan and Bangladesh for three years. The platform holds Wimbledon rights and all squash rights, and Myco holds the exclusive squash rights for Pakistan. Myco streamed and produced a Pakistan squash tournament that no TV channel would produce. [1]

Myco sponsors 20 athletes across different sports. Usmani says no Pakistani media company has invested in alternate sports as much as Myco. He says his platform was the first to work on women's sport. [1]

Usmani says the company possibly has not burned any money on cricket to date. He says cricket's audience is now split about 50-50 between digital and TV, and that loyalty is built through sports other than cricket. [1]

Views

Usmani has said he did not want to follow orders in his life and that he thrives in chaos. He sees three stakeholders in media: viewers, advertisers and content creators. He says viewers are not loyal to any platform, and that advertisers pay CPMs but almost no one watches their ads. He believes creators can only get funding directly from consumers, and he says the vision is true power to viewers. He said consumers can be empowered if people are able to become stakeholders in the platform on which they consume content. [1]

Usmani believes freemium builds loyalty and a funnel of users in a regional market, and he said his cost of user acquisition would fall sharply. He believes a smaller, targeted audience can be worth more than a mass audience. He says the company is staying away from original content creation for now. He says it sees itself as a distribution platform, not a content financier, and that it can offer producers a minimum guarantee that covers their costs. He believes every direct-to-consumer business today is effectively a monopoly. [1]

Usmani says YouTube is becoming increasingly fragmented and noisy, and that YouTube has its own programmatic ad network through Google. He views YouTube as a major menace for original content creators and the local content economy. He says Pakistan does not yet have local programmatic ad networks at scale, and that the company is focusing on premium content until the ad network problem is solved. He says advertisers will pre-commit to cricket and popular drama but not to UGC. [1]

Usmani says Pakistani broadcasters have been slow to accept digital but are coming around, and that some broadcasters have locked up certain production houses. He says original content and subscribers depend on each other, which slows the shift. He says premium entertainment is about 80 percent of the opportunity and sports about 20 percent. He has said peers in media were earning a lot of money because traditional media was booming in Pakistan. [1]

Usmani says Pakistan's biggest loss in the past decade has been human talent. He predicts Pakistan will become one of the most successful economies in its region. He has said people will start coming back in abundance, and that this talent will go and disrupt everything from politics to the public sector. [1]

Timeline

2006
Completed his bachelor's degree.[1]
2007
Finished his MBA by December.[1]
2020
Made investments from which he said he benefited, in 2020 and 2021.[1]
2021
Benefited from investments made in 2020 and 2021.[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2025-10-24 Myco scales on cricket and builds loyalty on every other sport Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

What does Umair Masoom Usmani do?

Umair Masoom Usmani runs Myco as its founder. He also helps other entrepreneurs as a partner and investor. He is an investor in and co-founder of a live commerce business.[1]

Where is Umair Masoom Usmani from?

Umair Masoom Usmani was born in Islamabad. His family later moved to Karachi because his father was one of the first employees of Geo News. Usmani played football as a child in Karachi.[1]

What did Umair Masoom Usmani study?

Umair Masoom Usmani completed his bachelor's degree at the end of 2006 and graduated with a BBA honors degree. He started an MBA immediately afterwards. He finished the MBA by December 2007.[1]

What company did Umair Masoom Usmani found?

Umair Masoom Usmani is the founder of Myco. Myco has offices in Dubai, Karachi and Cairo, and about 100 people across those offices, according to Usmani. He says the company has raised over $25 million in equity and debt.[1]

What is Umair Masoom Usmani known for?

Umair Masoom Usmani is known as the founder of Myco. Myco has exclusive English Premier League rights for Pakistan and Bangladesh, according to Usmani. Myco also holds the exclusive squash rights for Pakistan.[1]

Which sports rights does Myco hold?

According to Umair Masoom Usmani, Myco has exclusive English Premier League rights for Pakistan and Bangladesh for three years. The platform also holds Wimbledon rights and all squash rights. Myco holds the exclusive squash rights for Pakistan.[1]

References

  1. Myco scales on cricket and builds loyalty on every other sport . Thought Behind Things , 2025-10-24.
Show the source passages (114 statements)
  1. Umair was born in Islamabad. I was born in Islamabad.
  2. His father held two jobs, at Pakistan Television and Radio Pakistan. He actually used to do two jobs in Pakistan Television and Radio Pakistan
  3. His family was middle class. we came from a middle-class, uh, family
  4. After school his family moved to Karachi because his father was one of the first employees of Geo News. right after my schooling finished, we moved to Karachi, um, because my dad was actually one of the first employees when Geo News was founded
  5. He played football as a child in Karachi. I used to be a football player when I was a child in Karachi
  6. He wanted to get into business studies. I want to get into business studies
  7. He received an offer for naval engineering at NUST in Karachi. I got an offer to be in NUST here in Karachi for naval engineering
  8. He said he did not want to follow orders in his life. I don't want to be following orders in my life
  9. He completed his bachelor's degree at the end of 2006. I completed my bachelor's end of 2006
  10. He started his MBA immediately after his bachelor's degree. Uske foran baad start kar diya tha maine MBA wahin se CBM se
  11. He finished his MBA by December 2007. I basically finished my MBA by December of 2007
  12. He graduated with a BBA honors degree. I became a BBA honors
  13. His first job was selling ads for an auto magazine. It started with actually me selling ads for a magazine, uh, which was, uh, an auto magazine
  14. He joined the auto magazine after a walk-in interview. that was Motor Magazine and I just walked in and I got the job
  15. He was then hired by a leading Pakistani broadcaster in ad sales and marketing. hired by one of the leading broadcasters in the, in, in Pakistan. Again, in ad sales and marketing
  16. He did an internship at Geo before joining ARY, his first proper job. Geo was more of an internship and then ARY was the first proper job
  17. He was hired as a marketing executive. where they actually hired me as a marketing executive
  18. He became assistant manager for sales and marketing for HBO at ARY Network. I was already an assistant manager for sales and marketing for HBO, which is Home Box Office, at ARY Network
  19. He led an English portfolio, which was Home Box Office. I was leading the English portfolio, which was Home Box Office
  20. He wanted to be a marketer as well. I wanted to be a marketer somewhere as well
  21. He entered a bank as a marketing executive, working as a marketing and media professional. this is a bank called Faisal Bank. Um, so I entered there as a marketing executive or a marketing and media professional
  22. He was soon promoted to marketing manager at the bank. very soon I actually was promoted to the marketing manager position over there
  23. He said peers in media were earning a lot of money because traditional media was booming in Pakistan. people who were parallel to me, now they're making a lot of money because this is the time when media was booming in Pakistan, traditional media
  24. He went to work at Pakistan Television. I went to Pakistan Television
  25. He worked for a network that was newly launched at the time. I worked for a network which was newly launched called Bold Network
  26. He also worked for another network. I also worked for another network called ATV Network
  27. He held roles including head of sales, head of marketing and chief commercial officer. head of sales, head of marketing, chief commercial officer
  28. He received an offer from a bank and became its head of marketing. So, then I actually got an offer from a bank called Burj at that time, which was, you know, this is before Al Baraka acquired it. Um, so I became the head of marketing
  29. That bank was co-owned by a business group. that bank was co-owned by the Gargash Group
  30. The CEO of that bank became his mentor and is also his angel investor. the CEO of that bank was actually the gentleman who's now my mentor for the past very long time. Um, he's also my angel investor
  31. He got an opportunity to move to Dubai for a financial services marketing role. I got an opportunity to move to Dubai in a financial services marketing role
  32. He said that, although he was not convinced, he took that step for his mother. while I was not convinced, I basically, you know, took that step for my mom
  33. Within a year and a half he became chief marketing officer for the entire group. in just, you know, a year, year and a half, I was able to become the CMO for the entire group
  34. He had more than 30 brands and teams reporting to him. I had like 30 plus brands and teams reporting into me
  35. His employers became his first investor. So my employers became my first investor
  36. He says he thrives in chaos. I just thrive in chaos
  37. He helps other entrepreneurs as a partner and investor. I'm helping other entrepreneurs and becoming their partner, their investor
  38. He read the Bitcoin white paper and, with a few friends, began investing in crypto. I read the Bitcoin white paper and you know, with the along with a few friends, I started investing here and there in crypto
  39. He said he made some investments and benefited from them in 2020 and 2021. I made some investments and I was a beneficiary in 2020 and 2021
  40. He said consumers can be empowered if people are able to become stakeholders in the platform on which they consume content. if the consumer can be empowered, if there is capability for people to actually become stakeholders in the platform that they consume content on
  41. He has worked across Pakistani media, from the state broadcaster to ARY, Geo and print. I worked for all the media entities in Pakistan from the state broadcaster to ARY to Geo to uh print media platform
  42. He sees three stakeholders in media: viewers, advertisers and content creators. There's three stakeholders in that media economy
  43. He says viewers are not loyal to any platform. They're not loyal to any platform
  44. He says advertisers pay CPMs but almost no one watches their ads. They're paying $1, $2, $3 depending on the market, they're paying CPMs, but no one is really watching their ads
  45. He believes creators can only get funding directly from consumers. the only way ke everyone who's looking for funding in content, in the world of content can get funding is if they're trying to get funding directly from the consumer
  46. He says the vision is true power to viewers. Our vision is true power to viewers
  47. He said the focus market was the GCC and North America, because they were more decentralised and crypto native markets. the focus market was actually GCC and North America because they were more decentralization and crypto native markets
  48. He decided to focus more on Pakistan. I decided to come and focus more on Pakistan
  49. He says the company has 30 million registered users. today we are at 30 million registered users
  50. He says the company has about 10 million app downloads. We have around 10 million downloads across apps
  51. He says 94 percent of the platform's viewing is on mobile. it is mobile we are 94% mobile
  52. He says close to 40 percent of the 94 percent mobile share is downloaded apps. close to uh 40% of that 94% is apps downloaded
  53. Subscribers can also reach the content through a Jazz app. in order to get that you can also get that through Tamasha which is basically Jazz app
  54. He says the platform has exclusive English Premier League rights for Pakistan and Bangladesh for three years. for the next three years just to give you context we have the exclusive rights for Pakistan and Bangladesh for English Premier League
  55. He says the platform averages 7 to 8 million monthly active users. our average monthly active users are sitting around 7 to 8 million
  56. He says the platform works on a freemium model. we work on a freemium model today
  57. The platform holds Wimbledon rights and all squash rights. We also have rights to stuff such as Wimbledon. We have all the squash rights
  58. He says the company has about 100 people across three offices. we have around 100 people across three offices
  59. The company's offices are in Dubai, Karachi and Cairo. Our offices are in Dubai and Karachi and Cairo
  60. He says the company is well penetrated in Pakistan and the UAE. in terms of presence and market penetration we are well penetrated in Pakistan as you know we are well penetrated in UAE
  61. He says the company is decently penetrated in Egypt and Bangladesh. we are decently penetrated in Egypt and Bangladesh
  62. He says the company is EBITDA positive but cash-flow negative. We are EBITDA positive uh cash flow negative but EBITDA positive
  63. He says the company has raised over $25 million in equity and debt. we've raised over $25 million till now in equity and debt
  64. He says the company has more than $10 million in grant commitments from its blockchain partner. $10 million plus in grand commitments from our blockchain partner which is Aptos
  65. He says the platform reached the finale in season 9 and won an investment. we made it to the finale in season 9 and we won an investment
  66. He says the company's strategy focuses on the Middle East, North Africa and the Indian subcontinent outside India. Our focus is sub-India. So Middle East, North Africa and the Indian subcontinent outside of India
  67. He hopes the company will eventually go public in the UAE. hopefully ultimately being able to do an IPO in UAE
  68. He believes freemium builds loyalty and a funnel of users in a regional market. the best strategy is always to do a freemium play which means that you build loyalty and you build your own funnel
  69. About 21 million of his 30 million registered users are in Pakistan. apne 30 million registered users hain jismein se 21 million jo hain woh Pakistan mein hain
  70. He said his cost of user acquisition would fall sharply. meri jo cost of user acquisition hai woh bilkul neeche chali jayegi
  71. Subscriptions in Pakistan began about three weeks before the interview. in our biggest market which is Pakistan, we just started the subscription offering three weeks ago
  72. The Pakistan subscription costs about 450 to 500 rupees. it's uh 450 rupee uh subscription close to 500 rupees
  73. He says subscription numbers are still very low. Subscription number is very low
  74. Discounts apply for quarterly and yearly subscriptions. if you pay for a quarter you get a discount, you pay for the full year you get a further discount
  75. He says most of the ad revenue comes from live sports. the bulk of our ad revenue, it comes in live sports
  76. He said content considered exclusive enough, with demand for a subscription, is put behind a paywall. anything which you feel you have exclusive enough and there's a demand to be able to sell a subscription towards it, you put that behind a paywall
  77. The platform has more than 30,000 watch hours of premium entertainment content. We have more than 30,000 watch hours of premium entertainment content across the platform
  78. He says his platform has the most podcasts of any streaming platform in Pakistan. I think the highest amount of podcasts on any streaming platform in Pakistan you'll find on Miko
  79. He says Pakistani broadcasters have been slow to accept digital but are coming around. they still think digital is like but now they're coming to terms
  80. He believes a smaller, targeted audience can be worth more than a mass audience. shayad aapke 20,000 segmented correct audience ki zyada value hogi versus 20 million mass audience ki
  81. He says YouTube is becoming increasingly fragmented and noisy. YouTube in my opinion is becoming increasingly um fragmented and noisy
  82. He says YouTube has its own programmatic ad network through Google. YouTube has their own programmatic ad network which is Google
  83. He says the company is focusing on premium content until the ad network problem is solved. right now we decided ke yaar jab tak yeh problem solve nahi hota toh hum zara premium content pe focus karte hain
  84. He says Pakistan does not yet have local programmatic ad networks at scale. we don't have local programmatic genuine ad networks at scale
  85. He says advertisers will pre-commit to cricket and popular drama but not to UGC. But they are not willing to bet on UGC
  86. He says premium entertainment is about 80 percent of the opportunity and sports about 20 percent. despite us only having sports, which is only 20% of the opportunity, 80% of the opportunity is premium entertainment
  87. He says original content and subscribers depend on each other, which slows the shift. So you need the original content to bring in the subscriber and you need the subscriber to bring in the check
  88. He views YouTube as a major menace for original content creators and the local content economy. YouTube is a big menace for, you know, original content creators and the local content economy
  89. He says some broadcasters have locked up certain production houses. unko lock kiya hua hai kuch broadcasters ne
  90. A large Pakistani production studio reached out to him recently. one of the uh largest production studios in Pakistan reached out to me
  91. He believes every direct-to-consumer business today is effectively a monopoly. everything that is direct to consumer today, everywhere in the world is a monopoly
  92. He says the company is staying away from original content creation for now. we are kind of staying away from solving for the, you know, original content creation
  93. He is an investor in and co-founder of a live commerce business. the company that now I backed and I'm also co-founder in is a live commerce business
  94. He says the company can offer producers a minimum guarantee that covers their costs. we have that capability to ensure a minimum guarantee that covers your cost and you can keep the upside
  95. He says his company sees itself as a distribution platform, not a content financier. we are at the end of the day we are a distribution platform
  96. Myco sponsors 20 athletes across different sports. If you look at the badge of Myco athletes, aapko 20 athletes aise milenge from different sports categories, jinko Myco ne sponsor kiya
  97. He says no Pakistani media company has invested in alternate sports as much as Myco. there is no platform, no media company in Pakistan that has invested in alternate sports as much as Myco has done over the past two to three years
  98. Myco holds the exclusive squash rights for Pakistan. Now, Myco is the exclusive squash rights for Pakistan
  99. Myco streamed and produced a Pakistan squash tournament that no TV channel would produce. Myco not only streamed it, we also produced it because no one was willing to, no TV channel was willing to produce it
  100. He says his platform was the first to work on women's sport. we were the first platform that worked on women's sport
  101. He says the company possibly has not burned any money on cricket to date. humne cricket pe shayad aaj tak ek rupiya nahi jalaya
  102. He says cricket's audience is now split about 50-50 between digital and TV. cricket pe bhi ab 50-50 pe aa gayi hai audience by the way
  103. He says loyalty is built through sports other than cricket. You build loyalty with the other sports
  104. He first interacted with the Endeavor Pakistan team about 18 months before the interview. So around I think 18 months ago, first I interacted with the Endeavor Pakistan team
  105. He says he has been through more than 20 interviews in the Endeavor process. I've gone through a bunch of interviews, I would say more than probably 20 plus interviews till now
  106. He said he was flying to Cambridge on a Monday night for the final stage. I'm flying to Cambridge uh Monday night to be at the ISP which is the final final stage
  107. He said that at the growth stage, Endeavor is a really big stamp. at growth stage, Endeavor is like a really big stamp
  108. He said he has established a couple of international partnerships based on the interview process he has been through. internationally I've been able to establish a couple of partnerships based on you know, the interview process that I've been through
  109. He says Pakistan's biggest loss in the past decade has been human talent. I feel that the biggest loss has been human talent
  110. He predicts Pakistan will become one of the most successful economies in its region. Pakistan will be one of the most successful economies in this region
  111. He said people will start coming back in abundance. people will start coming back in abundance
  112. He said this talent will go and disrupt everything from politics to the public sector. this talent will go and disrupt everything from politics to the public sector
  113. Umair Masoom Usmani is the founder of Myco. Umair Masoom Usmani, the Founder of Myco, a rapidly growing OTT and creator-monetization platform
  114. The episode description says the venture has 30M+ users and operations across Pakistan, Bangladesh and Egypt. now with 30M+ users and operations across Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Egypt