Saim Iqbal — Founder

Peter Thiel famously said, "Every moment in business happens only once." At 18, I joined the Pakistan Military Academy as a cadet and was selected to represent Pakistan at West Point in the United States. However, by the age of 20, a mistake left me out of the army with no clear path forward. This became my "Steve Jobs moment." Driven by a desire for financial success, I moved to Canada to study Computer Science. I balanced my classes with a variety of roles, working as a sales associate, snow shoveler, dishwasher, and server. During this time, I poured my savings into crypto trading and unfortunately lost a significant portion of my capital. Despite the setback, I maintained a dream of working at Tesla. When Tesla visited Dalhousie University, a chance meeting led me to the founder of Koii Network. He saw potential in me and offered me a software developer internship. I fully committed to the role, working from 7 AM to 2 AM and eventually moving into the office. I transitioned into operations and eventually stepped up as Head of Operations during a period of company restructuring. This role allowed me to represent Koii at global events in Singapore, London, and Lisbon. While at a gathering in Singapore, I found myself surrounded by the very millionaires I once aspired to be. I noticed that many of them seemed uncontent. It was a turning point for me. I realized that wealth alone was not what I wanted. During a sabbatical in Pakistan, a friend shared a horrific experience she had with a ride hailing service. I soon discovered that nearly every woman I knew had a story about feeling unsafe while commuting. Despite the clear need for change, the issue remained unaddressed. I felt a calling to act. I moved back to Pakistan and founded Pinkfly, a ride hailing service designed to make women feel safe, comfortable, and empowered. Pinkfly facilitated over 5,000 rides and provided hope to many women, but I noticed a recurring pattern. Most of our customers were university students who needed affordable, reliable daily travel. This was a gap in the market that remained entirely offline. To solve this, I founded Raasta, which is the Urdu word for "a way forward." Raasta is now reinventing how students across Pakistan commute to their schools and universities. Through this process, I have developed a deep love for my country and its people. We all have a limited time, and I want to leave behind a legacy. For my own selfish reasons, I want to spend my life changing the world for the better.

Stackforce AI infers this person is a social entrepreneur with expertise in EdTech and transportation solutions.

Location: Islāmābād, Pakistan

Experience: 1 yr 4 mos

Career Highlights

Founded multiple startups addressing critical social issues.
Achieved a 4.3 GPA in Computer Science.
Represented Pakistan at international events.

Work Experience

Aghaaz

Founder & CEO (2 mos)

Raasta (formerly PinkFly)

Founder & CEO (2 mos)

Founder & CEO (1 yr 2 mos)

Viva Labs (YC W22)

Business Development Consultant (3 mos)

Koii Network

Head of Operations (1 yr)

Software Developer (1 yr)

Pakistan Army

Gentleman Cadet (1 yr 3 mos)

Education

Bachelor's degree at Memorial University, Newfoundland and Labrador

Bachelor's degree at Dalhousie University

Online education didn't feel like real education at Covid-19 Break

Bachelor's degree at University of Manitoba

Saim Iqbal

Founder

Islāmābād, Pakistan1 yr 4 mos experience

Key Highlights

Founded multiple startups addressing critical social issues.
Achieved a 4.3 GPA in Computer Science.
Represented Pakistan at international events.

Stackforce AI infers this person is a social entrepreneur with expertise in EdTech and transportation solutions.

Contact

Skills

Other Skills

PythonReact.jsExpress.jsMongoDBIpfsBlockchainSmart ContractsNode.jsJavaScriptFront-End DevelopmentREST APIs

About

Experience

1 yr 4 mos

Total Experience

1 yr 2 mos

Average Tenure

2 mos

Current Experience

Aghaaz

Founder & CEO

Feb 2026 – Present · 2 mos · Pakistan · Hybrid

In Pakistan, Mathematics has been reduced to a tragedy. It is a subject of "memorize this formula," "solve for X," and "get marks in the Board exam."
We have stripped the soul out of the subject.
Math was not written in a textbook. It was discovered by humans who were curious.
When we force a Pakistani child to memorize a formula without showing them the problem that formula solved, we aren't teaching them. We are programming them.
That is why we are building Aghaaz.
We are not just an EdTech Startup. We are a time machine. We are rebuilding Math from the ground up for Grades 1-12. We won't ask students to memorize answers; we will ask them to invent the questions.
We are throwing away the "Ratta." We are bringing back the "Why."
This is the Aghaaz of a new way to think.

Raasta (formerly pinkfly)

2 roles

Founder & CEO

Promoted

Dec 2025 – Feb 2026 · 2 mos

While running Pinkfly, I saw a massive, ignored gap: thousands of students were struggling to find affordable, reliable ways to get to school.
Which is why I'm building Raasta:
to digitize and revolutionize student commutes across Pakistan. We are building the infrastructure that helps the students reach their educational institutes safely and affordably.

Founder & CEO

Oct 2024 – Dec 2025 · 1 yr 2 mos

PinkFly is a ride-hailing service designed exclusively for women, addressing the safety and accountability gaps left by traditional ride-hailing services in Pakistan. With over 12 million young working women and female students in need of safer travel options, PinkFly empowers women to travel confidently without fear or vulnerability.
Key Features:
Rigorous Driver Training: Every driver undergoes in-depth sensitivity and professional training to ensure a safe, respectful environment for passengers.
Live Monitoring: Rides include real-time monitoring, deterring unsafe behavior and providing accountability.
PinkLine SOS Button: An emergency feature that notifies contacts and authorities, designed to ensure immediate action when needed.
Pinkfly launched in Islamabad and Rawalpindi and facilitated over a 5000 safe rides. While we had traction, we were not making any money and were burning cash

Viva labs (yc w22)

Business Development Consultant

Jul 2024 – Oct 2024 · 3 mos · Remote

Viva Labs is an AI company that creates video interactions with AI-generated characters. Their main product, VivaChat, allows users to have real-time video conversations with AI avatars, making interactions more engaging for various uses.
As a Business Development Consultant at Viva Labs, I worked closely with the founder, Vishal, to create a strong GTM strategy.
We also explored ideas for new verticals, like sales roleplay tools and a speech coaching platform, that could be developed in the near future.

Koii network

2 roles

Head of Operations

Promoted

Jan 2023 – Jan 2024 · 1 yr

Koii Network is a decentralized network of thousands of devices that combines the power of hardware and people, which is at the heart of DePIN.
I was about to start working at a warehouse because I needed money when the founder of Koii Network, who I had been speaking with for a few months, offered me a job as a developer. I accepted because we should never pass up a good opportunity, and I really liked what they were building.
This was my first real-world job, and I was eager to prove myself. I would go to the office at 8 a.m. and leave at 8 p.m., working hard to learn everything I could. In less than a year, I was promoted to Head of Operations.
I gained hands-on experience managing people, creating pitch decks, handling fundraising, and much more. It was one of the best experiences of my life and taught me lessons I’ll carry with me forever.

Software Developer

Jan 2022 – Jan 2023 · 1 yr

Pakistan army

Gentleman Cadet

Sep 2016 – Dec 2017 · 1 yr 3 mos · Pakistan · On-site

During my time as a Cadet in the Pakistan Army, I learned resilience, discipline, and leadership.
Was among the top cadets in my course and selected to go to US military Academy at Westpoint (didn't get to go)
Became a Corporal
Achieved a mile time under 5:15 mins