Umar Javed

CEO of tkxel

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

Umar Javed is the founder & CEO of tkxel. Javed received job offers from IBM and another company. He also received an offer to work in the US.

Early life and background

Javed says his family's elders came to the area after Partition. The family lived in Model Town. [1]

Education

Javed completed matriculation in 1991. He completed his FSC at a government college, where he studied pre-engineering. He decided to go to UET. He studied electrical engineering and says he was passionate about it. [1]

He went to university in 1994 and came out in 1999. He says his engineering years were among the most wasted of his life, because of repeated strikes. He says he finished as an electrical engineer knowing little computer science. [1]

He says he never received money from his parents for his education and studied on scholarships. He studied at LUMS for two years. [1]

Career

Javed received job offers from IBM and another company. He also received an offer to work in the US. He turned down a Microsoft offer to move to the US because his mother had just been diagnosed with ALS. He worked at a software company for a year or two. He says he was unable to keep working because he was mentally very stressed because of his mother. [1]

He says teaching felt natural to him, so he continued teaching at LUMS. He also taught in Faisalabad and at other universities. He offered to help a university in Faisalabad set up a computer science department. [1]

He describes an academy as his first entrepreneurial experience. At one point the academy had around 50 to 70 students, he says. He says he started a software company around 2006. [1]

tkxel

Javed says his first company was an IT services company founded in 2006. He says he was an equal partner in the company. He formally started the company in 2008. He says he reached out to people on LinkedIn to find projects. He says the company met a person in the UK by chance who gave it work, and that person remains a customer today. [1]

He says he had no formal training as a CEO. He says he became CEO because he was the first to join and the CEO share was unclaimed. He says he thought he could either run the company or do coding. He wanted to build a truly multinational company from Pakistan. He decided the company needed a sales function and that he had to learn sales. [1]

He cites the book Predictable Revenue, written by a Salesforce seller, as a guide for his selling. He says the company hired someone based in the USA at 20,000 dollars a month. He says the company organised and structured its sales function around 2013 or 2014. He says the sales team numbers about 40 to 60 people. He says the company does every sale from Pakistan to clients abroad. [1]

He estimated the company had 60 to 80 staff in 2013. He says the company is more than a 20 million dollar company and makes over 10 million dollars in new sales a year. He says about 90 to 95 percent of the workforce is in Lahore. He says the company has offices in Europe and the US, with few staff there, and is looking at Latin America. He says he has a product company, funded at around 11 to 12 million dollars, doing a lot of gaming on the blockchain. [1]

He says that at 700 staff the company is planning for 1,500 to 2,000 next year, not 800. He says the company could see a headcount of 50,000 in the next five to eight years, or perhaps ten. He says 70 to 80 percent of the company is new. [1]

He says the company sees itself as the Apple of software services. He says the company charged higher rates and tried to hire the best people. He says that because the company sold at higher rates, it was not much affected. He says the company's engineering pipelines are among the best. The company's name was built from the words technology and acceleration, after a preferred domain was unavailable on GoDaddy. [1]

He says the company hires 30 to 40 people a month and has screened 400 to 600 candidates for them. He says the acceptance rate for screened candidates is 3 to 4 percent. He says the company separated talent acquisition from HR, because a single HR head tended to fail. He says the company calls its HR function a people department and treats staff as internal customers. [1]

He says the company plans to put millions of dollars into training programmes over the next two to three years. He says the company plans to train 1,000 people, with a guaranteed job for the top 20 to 100. He says almost every staff member does an hour or two of training each week. He says the company holds a breakfast briefing every Friday where engineers share their experience. He says the company runs paid competitions, through which it gets data. [1]

Views on growth and culture

Javed describes compounding growth and a hockey stick curve once a company passes critical mass. He says good policies, leaders and ecosystem stability would speed up growth. He advises any company growing past 100 to 300 staff to preserve its processes and culture. He says rapid growth can erode a company's processes and culture. [1]

He says culture includes work ethic and trust. He says cosmetic facilities are not culture. He says the company wants to avoid micromanagement and gives staff tools to measure and correct themselves. He says a ranking tool lets a manager show staff where they stand, without shouting at them. He says showing staff their own data matters most for the middle 60 percent. [1]

He says working in a company is an investment in yourself, especially early in a career. He says willingness to learn, not courses or trainers, is the bottleneck for scaling training. [1]

Views on Pakistan's IT industry

Javed described the industry as a blood bath at the time, because talent supply is limited and everyone competes for it. He says Pakistan's IT firms have a demand problem and do not know how to sell. He argues that continued outsourcing after 9/11 shows a large gap between demand and supply. [1]

He says the company will do it its own way, with or without the government. He expects companies to move into solutions work, which is easier to staff than bespoke software. He says companies are investing in the supply side themselves and forming consortiums. [1]

He says the industry itself must generate both supply and demand. He says the government's best role is to stay out of the way. He believes market forces adjust the supply of IT talent over time. He says everyone has the right to freelance, and a company should not decide for them. He suggests that software exporters should be allowed to keep their earnings in dollars. [1]

He says he would raise money from the market, acquire businesses and bring them to Pakistan. He says he cannot take capital abroad for this purpose, and calls it a problem. [1]

Views on technology and the economy

Javed describes 2010 to 2020 as a rather boring period. He sees 2020 to 2030 as a decade of more innovation. He says remote work and communication tools will keep growing over the next few years. He believes Pakistan has large scope for digitisation. [1]

He says he is skeptical of decentralised cryptocurrencies. He thinks decentralised currency does not suit those in power. He says he sees no clear killer application for the new technologies yet. [1]

He thinks a recession can be good because it creates room for new disruptions. He says that in hard times a business must innovate, cut costs or go out of business. [1]

Views on Pakistan's future

Javed describes himself as very patriotic by nature. He has said he wanted to build a company worth billions of dollars and sell it to help repay Pakistan's debt. He says his teaching was focused on enabling people and bringing economic prosperity. He says the company's vision is to produce economic prosperity and equality wherever it works. He says companies like his will stand in the middle and connect talent with the large opportunity out there. [1]

He thinks that, barring an untoward incident, Pakistan will be a great country. He sees a better Pakistan by 2050. He describes intolerance as a ticking time bomb for Pakistan. [1]

Timeline

1991
Completed matriculation[1]
1994
Went to university[1]
1999
Came out of university[1]
2006
Founded his first company, an IT services company[1]
2008
Formally started the company[1]
2013
Estimated the company had 60 to 80 staff[1]
2013 to 2014
The company organised and structured its sales function[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2022-10-19 Going from 700 employees to 7,000: Umar Javed's plan Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is Umar Javed?

Umar Javed is the CEO of tkxel. He was born in Lahore and has lived there all of his life. He completed a Master's in computer science and taught at LUMS for about eight to ten years.[1]

What does Umar Javed do?

Umar Javed is the CEO of tkxel. He says he had no formal training as a CEO and became CEO because he was the first to join and the CEO share was unclaimed. He also taught at LUMS for about eight to ten years.[1]

Where is Umar Javed from?

Umar Javed was born in Lahore and has lived there all of his life. His family lived in Model Town. He says his family's elders came to the area after Partition.[1]

Where did Umar Javed study?

Umar Javed completed matriculation in 1991 and his FSC at a government college, where he studied pre-engineering. He decided to go to UET and studied electrical engineering. He went to university in 1994 and came out in 1999. He also completed a Master's in computer science and studied at LUMS for two years.[1]

What company does Umar Javed lead?

Umar Javed is the CEO of tkxel. He says the company is approaching 700 people and is more than a 20 million dollar company. He says about 90 to 95 percent of the workforce is in Lahore.[1]

When did Umar Javed start his company?

Umar Javed says his first company was an IT services company founded in 2006. He says he was an equal partner in the company. He formally started the company in 2008.[1]

Did Umar Javed work as a teacher?

Umar Javed taught at LUMS for about eight to ten years. He also taught in Faisalabad and at other universities, and offered to help a university in Faisalabad set up a computer science department. He says teaching felt natural to him.[1]

Where does the name tkxel come from?

Umar Javed is the CEO of tkxel. The company's name was built from the words technology and acceleration, after a preferred domain was unavailable on GoDaddy.[1]

References

  1. Going from 700 employees to 7,000: Umar Javed's plan . Thought Behind Things , 2022-10-19.
Show the source passages (106 statements)
  1. He is the CEO of tkxel. Going From 700 Employees To 7000 Ft. CEO tkxel
  2. He was born in Lahore and has lived there for all of his life. main Lahore mein paida hua aur Lahore mein hi saari umar raha hoon
  3. He says his family's elders came to the area after Partition. a middle family mere walidain jo mere dada wagera the wo pre-partition ke baad partition ke baad idhar aaye the
  4. His family lived in Model Town. Humare Model Town mein hum rehte the, wahin pe ek school hai, Divisional Public School
  5. He completed matriculation in 1991. maine 91 mein matric matriculation kiya tha
  6. He completed his FSC at a government college. Government College se maine apni FSC ki
  7. He studied pre-engineering in his FSC. Government College se maine FSC ki, pre-engineering ki
  8. He decided to go to UET. humne kaha ji UET chale jayenge
  9. He studied electrical engineering and says he was passionate about it. Toh electrical engineering mein chale gaye aur woh I think I feel I was very passionate about electrical engineering
  10. He says his engineering years were among the most wasted of his life, because of repeated strikes. these were some of I think the most wasted year of my life in the sense ke engineering karne gaye the, wahan pe kabhi ek hartal, kabhi dusri hartal
  11. He went to university in 1994 and came out in 1999. 94 mein gaye, 99 mein nikal aaye
  12. He says he never received money from his parents for his education and studied on scholarships. I never got any money from my parents for my education, hamesha scholarship pe padhta raha
  13. He completed a Master's in computer science. That was a Masters in Computer Science
  14. He studied at LUMS for two years. toh LUMS ke do saal jab maine padhe
  15. He says he finished as an electrical engineer knowing little computer science. main electrical engineer ho ke nikla tha, mujhe computer science ki koi bahut zyada cheezein nahi aati thi
  16. He received job offers from IBM and another company. mujhe IBM ne offer kar di, Angro ne offer kar di
  17. He also received an offer to work in the US. Is dauran mujhe US se bhi offer aa gayi
  18. He turned down a Microsoft offer to move to the US because his mother had just been diagnosed with ALS. offer hui Microsoft ke andar uh, US jaane ki, us waqt uh, taza taza meri mother ko yeh ALS diagnose ho raha tha, I was in a uh, uh, humein pata bhi nahi tha kya hai, yeh saara kuch hai, toh I I I decided not to go uh, for her
  19. He worked at a software company for a year or two. Techlogics mein kaam karta tha, kuch ek do saal maine kaam kiya wahan pe, ek software company badi achi thi
  20. He says he was unable to keep working because he was mentally very stressed because of his mother. uske baad mujhse kaam nahi hota tha because I was mentally very stressed out because of my mother
  21. He says teaching felt natural to him, so he continued teaching at LUMS. padhana mujhe bada natural sa kaam lagta tha, toh phir main LUMS padhata raha
  22. He also taught at LUMS, in Faisalabad and at other universities. LUMS mein padhata raha, Faisalabad mein padhata raha aur bhi universities mein padha raha tha
  23. He offered to help a university in Faisalabad set up a computer science department. Government College University Faisalabad, maine unhe kaha ke yaar aisa karte hain ke main aa ke na yahan pe computer science ka department aapke saath establish karta hoon
  24. He taught at LUMS for about eight to ten years. maine LUMS mein koi aath das saal padhaya
  25. He describes an academy as his first entrepreneurial experience. Mujhe kuch karna tha, so I-Panda Academy. Toh wahan pe that was my first entrepreneurship experience
  26. At one point the academy had around 50 to 70 students, he says. it was a very well running academy for someone like mujh jaise bande ke liye, 50, 60, 70 bacha wahan pe aata tha
  27. He says he started a software company around 2006. I about back in 2006 I believe, I started a a company, a software company
  28. His first company was an IT services company founded in 2006. maine pehli company uh, back in 2006 start ki, that was an IT services company
  29. He says he was an equal partner in the company. I was an equal partner in there
  30. He formally started the company in 2008. 2008 I started uh, Techcel formally
  31. He says he reached out to people on LinkedIn to find projects. I was I was randomly reaching out to people on LinkedIn uh, and trying to find a project
  32. He says the company met a person in the UK by chance who gave it work, and that person remains a customer today. By chance UK mein humein ek banda mil gaya jo ke usne kaha achha batao tumhare paas kya hai? What do you want to sell? Toh maine usko bataya. Toh usne humein kaam de diya. Woh aaj bhi hamara customer hai
  33. He says he thought he could either run the company or do coding. I thought ke ya toh company chala sakta hoon ya coding kar sakta hoon
  34. He wanted to build a truly multinational company from Pakistan. I really wanted to make a true multinational company out of Pakistan
  35. He decided the company needed a sales function and that he had to learn sales. You really have to learn sales, how it works in sales and marketing and you really have to establish it
  36. He cites the book Predictable Revenue, written by a Salesforce seller, as a guide for his selling. predictable revenue, sales force, apni selling ke liye woh kitaab, woh sales force ka ek seller tha jisne woh kitaab likhi thi
  37. He says the company hired someone based in the USA at 20,000 dollars a month. humne 20,000 dollar per month pe ek USA gora Pakistani hire kiya
  38. He says the sales team numbers about 40 to 60 people. this is our sales team is like a 40, 50, 60 people
  39. He says the company does every sale from Pakistan to clients abroad. We do every single sale right out of here from Pakistan to abroad
  40. He says the company is more than a 20 million dollar company and makes over 10 million dollars in new sales a year. we are more than a 20 million dollar company and we do 10 million dollar plus new sales har saal
  41. He says the company is approaching 700 people. So yaar we are approaching about 700 people
  42. He says about 90 to 95 percent of the workforce is in Lahore. 90-95% of our work force is out of Lahore
  43. He says the company has offices in Europe and the US, with few staff there, and is looking at Latin America. Now we have offices in Europe and US, but very few head counts and we are looking at Latin America as well
  44. He estimated the company had 60 to 80 staff in 2013. 2013 mein I would say hamara koi 70-80 hoga, 60-70 hoga
  45. He says the company organised and structured its sales function around 2013 or 2014. 2013-14 mein ke maine organize, organized way mein structure kiya, sales karni shuru ki, sales department banana shuru kiya
  46. He says the company sees itself as the Apple of software services. The way we tend to see ourselves is Apple of software services
  47. He says the company charged higher rates and tried to hire the best people. hum higher rate pe charge karte the, apne logon ko achhe log rakhne ki koshish karte the
  48. He says that because the company sold at higher rates, it was not much affected. but because we were selling at a higher rate, we were not that affected
  49. He described the industry as a blood bath at the time, because talent supply is limited and everyone competes for it. This is right now a blood bath in the industry because we have a limited supply and everyone is vying for the same supply
  50. He says Pakistan's IT firms have a demand problem and do not know how to sell. Hamare paas demand side ka bhi masla hai. Humse becha bhi nahi jaata. Hamein bechna aata bhi nahi hai
  51. He argues that continued outsourcing after 9/11 shows a large gap between demand and supply. agar 9/11 ke baad bhi Pakistan ko outsourcing milti rahi hai na US se, toh chahe jitni bhi miqdaar mein thi, it's just an indication ke kitna demand supply ka gap hai
  52. He says he had no formal training as a CEO. meri koi as a CEO training nahi hai
  53. He says he became CEO because he was the first to join and the CEO share was unclaimed. because I was the first one who joined the company and the share of the CEO was empty so I took it
  54. He has said he wanted to build a company worth billions of dollars and sell it to help repay Pakistan's debt. main yeh company ek badi bana loon na jo billions of dollars ki ho, toh main bech ke na Pakistan ka qarza utaar doon
  55. He describes himself as very patriotic by nature. bahut zyada patriotic bhi hoon nature mein
  56. He says his teaching was focused on enabling people and bringing economic prosperity. for bringing an economic prosperity, for enabling people, my teaching was also very much focused on that
  57. He says the company's vision is to produce economic prosperity and equality wherever it works. hamara vision yeh hai ke hum economic uh prosperity hum jahan pe bhi kaam karein wahan pe prosperity aur equality zyada se zyada produce karna chahte hain
  58. He says companies like his will stand in the middle and connect talent with the large opportunity out there. companies like us will stand in the middle and can connect this talent with humongous opportunity out there
  59. He says the company plans to put millions of dollars into training programmes over the next two to three years. we are now in our next two three years roadmap putting in a considerable that that could be a millions of dollars of money into just this training programs
  60. He says the company holds a breakfast briefing every Friday where engineers share their experience. hamare har Friday ko hamare office mein na ek uh hoti hain breakfast briefing jismein ache engineers aake apna experience batate hain
  61. He says the company plans to train 1,000 people, with a guaranteed job for the top 20 to 100. hum 1000 bacha lenge, koi program banayenge, will try to train them uh and we will we will guarantee the top 20, 30, 40, 50 or 100 will have a guaranteed job at Techsol
  62. He says willingness to learn, not courses or trainers, is the bottleneck for scaling training. Courses bhi available content bhi available hai, trainers bhi available hain, willingness mujhe lagta hai bottleneck hai
  63. He says the company will do it its own way, with or without the government. government or no government we are going to do it our way
  64. He expects companies to move into solutions work, which is easier to staff than bespoke software. Number one companies will start getting more and more into solutions uh making people available and enabling them for solutions is much easy much easier job as compared to enabling them for bespoke software development
  65. He says companies are investing in the supply side themselves and forming consortiums. companies are investing themselves on the supply side. Uh companies are creating consortiums, groups, having their own inputs to make it happen
  66. He says a ranking tool lets a manager show staff where they stand, without shouting at them. You don't have to scream at the guy, you have to say yaar listen like there's a tool and this is where you rank
  67. He says showing staff their own data matters most for the middle 60 percent. To unko unka data dikhana jo ke specially beech ka 60 percent hai bada important hota hai
  68. He thinks that, barring an untoward incident, Pakistan will be a great country. other than any untoward incident, I think we will be a great country
  69. He sees a better Pakistan by 2050. But 2050, I see a better Pakistan anyway
  70. He describes intolerance as a ticking time bomb for Pakistan. intolerance hamara mere khayal mein ticking time bomb hai
  71. He sees 2020 to 2030 as a decade of more innovation. 2020 se 2030 mujhe zyada innovation wala decade nazar aa raha hai
  72. He describes 2010 to 2020 as a rather boring period. 2010 se 2020 ko main bada boring time samajhta hoon
  73. He says he is skeptical of decentralised cryptocurrencies. decentralized cryptos I am skeptical
  74. He thinks decentralised currency does not suit those in power. decentralization of currency actually doesn't suit anyone for that matter who is in power
  75. He says he has a product company, funded at around 11 to 12 million dollars, doing a lot of gaming on the blockchain. so we have a product company which is like 11, 12 million dollar funded company doing a lot of gaming on the blockchain
  76. He says he sees no clear killer application for the new technologies yet. So I don't see there is any killer application out there other than speculation
  77. He thinks a recession can be good because it creates room for new disruptions. recession in general could be a good thing ki jahan pe naye disruptions create hon
  78. He says that in hard times a business must innovate, cut costs or go out of business. Halaat kharab hain, bhaiya ya toh aap uh uh you know innovate karo, cut down karo ya aap go out of business
  79. He says remote work and communication tools will keep growing over the next few years. remoting, more communication tools agle do char saal yeh aur badhte rahenge
  80. He believes Pakistan has large scope for digitisation. Lekin Pakistan mein itself digitization ki kaafi gunjaish hai
  81. He suggests that software exporters should be allowed to keep their earnings in dollars. aap software companies, especially exporters ko denge, ab ab zahiri baat hai rupee depreciation waghera hoti hai, aap lekar aate hain, ho jaata hai, aap rakh lene dein unko dollars mein
  82. He says the company could see a headcount of 50,000 in the next five to eight years, or perhaps ten. hum maybe in the next 5 7 8 years hum 50 hazar head count bhi dekh sakein, shayad 10 saal baad
  83. He says that at 700 staff the company is planning for 1,500 to 2,000 next year, not 800. ab hum 700 pe hain to hum agle saal 800 to nahi soch rahe, hum agle saal 1500 2000 soch rahe hain
  84. He describes compounding growth and a hockey stick curve once a company passes critical mass. To again critical mass theory hai ke jab aapne critical mass cross kiya to phir woh aap hockey stick pe chadna shuru kar dete hain
  85. He says good policies, leaders and ecosystem stability would speed up growth. Achi policies, ache leaders, achi environment, ecosystem stability, isko accelerate kar dega growth ko
  86. He advises any company growing past 100 to 300 staff to preserve its processes and culture. I would like to advise jo bhi company is stage se 100 200 250 300 se upar jaati hai usko yeh karna chahiye
  87. He says the company calls its HR function a people department and treats staff as internal customers. We call it a people department and and they this is this is all our internal customer
  88. He says culture includes work ethic and trust. Culture ke andar work ethic aati hai. Absolutely. Culture ke andar trust aata hai
  89. He says cosmetic facilities are not culture. This is not culture. This is cosmetic. Cosmetic facilities.
  90. He says the company's engineering pipelines are among the best. hamari engineering pipelines na they are really top of the line
  91. He says the company wants to avoid micromanagement and gives staff tools to measure and correct themselves. we don't want to micromanage but we want to give you tools so that you can measure yourself and you can correct yourself
  92. He says 70 to 80 percent of the company is new. 400 500 banda yaani ke 70 80 percent of the company nayi hai
  93. He says rapid growth can erode a company's processes and culture. is chakkar mein na aapke processes aur culture ki band baj jaati hai
  94. The company's name was built from the words technology and acceleration, after a preferred domain was unavailable on GoDaddy. Techcel ka jo naam hai na woh jo GoDaddy mein main dhoond raha tha mujhe domain nahi thi mil rahi. To woh phir maine technology aur acceleration ka bana liya
  95. He says the company hires 30 to 40 people a month and has screened 400 to 600 candidates for them. Hum har mahine agar let's say 30 ya 40 log bhi hire karte hain, toh un 40 logon ko hire karte karte hum koi 400, 500, 600 log toh screen kar chuke hote hain
  96. He says the acceptance rate for screened candidates is 3 to 4 percent. 1000 kar chuke hote hain on 3-4% acceptance rate ke upar
  97. He says the company separated talent acquisition from HR, because a single HR head tended to fail. Hamein kuch arsa pehle talent acquisition HR ke functions ko humne alag kar diya because single head of HR jo hai na woh fail ho jata tha
  98. He says the company runs paid competitions, through which it gets data. These are paid competitions, you can win and through that we get data
  99. He says working in a company is an investment in yourself, especially early in a career. Working in a company is actually initially in in in your days is investing in yourself
  100. He says almost every staff member does an hour or two of training each week. Almost every single one of them goes through an hour or couple of hours of training every week
  101. He says he would raise money from the market, acquire businesses and bring them to Pakistan. main yeh market se ikhatte kar loonga paise. Main unko acquire karta hoon, unka business utha ke Pakistan le aata hoon
  102. He says he cannot take capital abroad for this purpose, and calls it a problem. Bas uske liye main capital bahar nahi leke ja sakta. Yeh problem hai
  103. He says the industry itself must generate both supply and demand. Supply humne khud generate karni hai, demand humne khud generate karni hai
  104. He says the government's best role is to stay out of the way. The rest the the best the government can do is to stay out of the way
  105. He believes market forces adjust the supply of IT talent over time. generally mein uh thoda sa believer hun ke market forces jo hoti hain na woh apne aap ko khud adjust karti rehti hain
  106. He says everyone has the right to freelance, and a company should not decide for them. freelancing everyone in the world has a right to do it aur aap mein koi nahi hota as a company kehne wala