It was a very hot day of June 2014. I was with my Art Director – Muddassir Hassan and CTO – Fahad Mobeen at the lunch. We have been talking about a potential of having a Pakistani marketplace where freelancers of Pakistan are able to showcase their talent and find online jobs. That day, 27th June, officially placed the foundation of the idea “Rozgar Pakistan” and we decided to move forward with the idea.
We all work full time in a software house and for us to develop a PRODUCT was no less then a challenge, the time constraints, pressure of ongoing clients, the killer deadlines, will to overcome all stumbling blocks to craft and draft codes of this marketplace. The threat of being vulnerable from security point of view, website down time, optimization of the code were always in my mind as were moving slowly yet on a steady pace with the development of this portal. We all knew, we were going to be a part of larger Pakistani story, a unique website and the very idea of helping other Pakistani freelancers mesmerized us all the time, we were always focused and energized.
Days passed by, we kept moving forward, the team stood up for the challenge, there was not a single day when we did not talk about the website, shared new and innovative ideas or missed out on a set deadline to roll-out a module. This seems hard to believe, right?. Such was the passion and the dedication that deep in our hearts we all knew – this is an investment toward a goal.
Then came November, the portal went LIVE and with “zero” advertisement, we only used social media and word of mouth advertisement to spread out the word, the traffic started to come in.
We were blessed enough to be picked by “Pro Pakistani” and the rest is history, other joined the ranks and honored us on their reputable blogs e.g (http://pakwired.com/pakistan-freelance-sector-takes-shape/).
Website was initially launched with model of freelancers posting service and employers purchasing those. Now the website has (POST A JOB model where, employers from Pakistan and rest of the world can “Post PROJECTS” and hire freelancers), a Social Network where freelancers get in touch with each other, discuss solutions to the problems and share interesting stuff.
The website has over 3000 users a day (with over 90% Pakistani audience). This is the last day of the year as I write this blog and website is just over 7 weeks old. This has been a fabulous year where the concept is turned into a reality and a start-up is created. Sky is the limit, those who dream big, do big, the disappointments on the way have to be dealt-with and one has to face them, we were always there to face, defy all odds.
The silver lining here is, the portal is headed into a right direction, people are signing up, posting projects, purchasing services and collaborating in social network.
We look forward to a prosperous 2015 with a hope that, all Pakistani freelancers use Rozgar Pakistan and find the website, a happy, good place to stay and WORK!.
See you all in next year. My prayers and best wishes for everyone.
