r/PakStartups

A family friend who runs a fairly large wholesale/B2B pharmaceutical distribution business asked me to build custom software for inventory and invoice management.

The biggest challenge wasn't the coding, it was gathering the requirements. They are highly non-technical (which is completely understandable), so it took a long time to understand their workflow and translate it into software. After the first demo, they requested more features and reported a number of issues. I kept iterating, and after about 3-4 rounds of demos and feedback, I implemented everything they asked for

Now, surprisingly, they don't seem interested in using the application.

I completely understand if a product doesn't meet the customer's needs—they shouldn't be expected to use it. But in this case, every feature they requested was eventually implemented.

Some examples:

• They wanted to operate the software entirely with the keyboard because using a mouse slows them down when creating invoices containing hundreds or even thousands of products. I redesigned the application so that an entire invoice can be created, edited, and switched between without touching the mouse.
• They wanted a customer ledger. I had no accounting background, so I had to learn how ledgers work before implementing one.
• I implemented some fairly complex tax calculations based on their business rules.
• It's a Windows desktop application that runs offline because that's what best suited their environment.

Since I primarily work on a Mac provided by my employer, I didn't want to use it for personal work. I ended up buying a separate Windows PC for around 120k just for this project. So I've invested not only a significant amount of time but also my own money.

I've tried following up several times to understand what's going on. From what I can tell, the owner is generally happy with the software, but the employees (the people who would actually use it every day) don't seem interested in moving away from the old tools they are familiar with. It feels like the problem is less about the software itself and more about user adoption and resistance to change.

At this point, I'm not sure what to do.

I don't want to abandon the project because I have invested a lot into it, and I think it could be useful for other businesses as well.

For those of you who have built B2B software or run a software business:

• How would you approach this situation?
• Is it worth trying to find other customers instead of convincing this one?
• How do you even find businesses that might need this kind of software if you're a developer with no sales or marketing experience?

I would really appreciate any advice from people who've been through something similar. Apologies for the long post.
Jazak Allah...

Hi! I’m starting my marketing agency and looking to get a voip calling software. Have used vonage but i cannot subscribe form my Pakistani card/ip. Someone suggested callhippo but the reviews are very unsatisfactory.

My requirements are: fixed charges/ month for unlimited calls and messages. USA number. Reliable customer support. And easily accessible from Pakistan. TIA for your time and suggestions.

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Hello Reddit fam,

I have been doing remote part time jobs so far, and now that I unofficially graduated (BS English), I am ready to take full time roles and move to Isb from kpk

Here's a brief summary of my experience:

1. Worked as a sales associate (Cold outreach to clients regarding web development services).

2. Content writer and Researcher:(Made articles and YouTube scripts, also searched content regarding the scripts for the editor)

3. Content Creation

4. Appointment Setter: (Worked with a UK based agency, commission based role)

5. Worked as an assistant :(Freelance)

6. Worked as an Assistant Manager with a Media Agency

7. Project Manager

I lost my job back in April, and then I didn't actively look for another role due to my final terms exams. Now that I am done I am looking for full/part time roles in any related roles. I would really appreciate getting an opportunity or any leads ..

Please upvote or comment for better reach

Thank you in Advance!

Asking here because freelancers are always into such sort of investment scehems.
I have some money sitting idle in my bank account that I'd like to put to work. I've already invested a portion in PSX (Pakistan Stock Exchange) stocks and gold, but I still have around PKR 7 million in free cash that needs a home.

I'm 27, male, and working a full-time job in Lahore, so I can't give active time or attention to whatever I start. It has to be passive.

I was considering buying a rental property, but I'm not confident this budget will get me a good rental property in a decent location. The returns and quality don't seem worth it at this price point.

I'm also wondering if I should buy into a branded franchise, like BATA or something similar.

I'd like some guidance from someone experienced, basically a proper plan comparing my options (real estate, franchise, stocks, gold, fixed income, etc.) given the PKR 7 million budget, keeping in mind this needs to be passive.

Quick message for founders here;

If you're leaning on AI-assisted coding, or developing apps quickly, security review will often get pushed back.

Ofc, speed matters, but it can result in things like auth issues, exposed keys, injection risks, etc. slipping in unnoticed.

If this sounds like you, I'm a cybersecurity professional who can take a look at your code, and flag vulnerabilities, suggest fixes, or just give you peace of mind before a launch or investor demo.

If you're interested, let's connect and chat!

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

Does anybody here have info on sea freight from Pakistan to UAE ? Any recommendations for companies that I can contact

so I am starting my own clothing business (at the age of 16) with high quality products better then high end brands such as ethnic and etc, however the problem is I spent all my money on clothes almost 22k (I saved up 40k) rn and plan to spend 18k on stitching and designing. I do use instagram all day long and can handle the marketing with my friend and family but the problem is even though I did do graphic designing I still can’t make my own logo, hence I need help but I cant afford to pay. My brands name will be Mahaya’s, it will be a women‘s clothing brand.

Given the recent boom in remote opportunities, I believe a lot of people are moving to Islamabad and other good cities. But problem is the hostels run by people here lack three fundamentals things:
Privacy
Hygiene
Self service flexibility

The Hostal I am proposing will feature a private acoustic pod so other members in the room won’t hear you or get disturbed, you’ll have a private cubical air conditioned. A shelf in fridge to keep your stuff which will be monitored so no tampering or stealing, a cabined to keep your pots if you’d like to cook or make tea or have a shaker.

The beds will be double so one can sleep comfortably.
The food will be cooked with proper hygiene and by restaurant level chefs. Bathrooms will have a bathroom attendant who will wash them twice daily and would be available by a quick app based tap.

Coworking hall as well, option to order tea and other bakery items.

Feasibility suggests 55k-65k per head F sectors ISD. This is more geared towards professionals but everyone is welcome.

What do you guys think will this be something people will be interested in?

Edit: Thank you for all contributing to the list of ideas. I want to add two more things:
-On demand fresh bedding
-Pod cleaning service tag you can leave on when you require a deep clean.

Hi everyone,

I'm a full-stack developer based in Lahore with 9+ years of experience building web applications.

I'm currently building GapReachAI (https://gapreachai.com⁠), a B2B SaaS that helps agencies and freelancers find website issues and reach businesses with a genuine reason instead of sending generic cold emails.

The MVP is in progress, and I'm looking for a non-technical cofounder who enjoys talking to customers, validating ideas, building partnerships, and helping shape the business side.

I'm not looking for someone to write code that's my responsibility.

Ideally, you:

- Enjoy sales, marketing, or customer discovery.

- Can dedicate consistent time each week.

- Want to build a long-term startup, not just a side project.

- Are comfortable working for equity while we validate the business.

If this sounds interesting, leave a comment or send me a DM. I'd be happy to share what I've built so far and discuss whether we'd be a good fit.

Hi Everyone,

My wife and I runs a small business in Pakistan in the beauty products industry and we wanted to get some advice from other business owners. Specially who has the expereince in handling bulk orders.

One of the biggest challenges we are facing right now is cash on delivery service. Here are some of the challenges we face.

1. Customers returning empty boxes or replacing the product with something junk.

2. Most of the times, the courier guy hands over the package before collecting the payment

3. In many cases COD parcels get rejected altogether.

Because of these issues we decided to take 60–70% advance payment and keep the remaining amount on COD. While this has helped reduce our losses but it has also affected our sales because many customers do not want to pay in adavance due to muliple reasons.

We would really appreciate advice from other business owners. How do you deal with these challenges?

Also which courier services do you use for COD orders and which ones are most reliable for your business?

Thankyou in advance.

Edit : Before replying anything like "you dont't know anything about pakistani market" please keep this in mind that we do not have business background. We are new in the business, still learning and in growing stage. We just want to understand if 100% COD is worth it or no ? How are small businesses managing their COD losses while selling original products and keeping margins very low due to competition.

Has anyone with a Pakistani 2Checkout/Verifone merchant account been charged the new $500 monthly platform fee after June 2026? I'm trying to determine whether this policy affected everyone or only certain merchants.

Hello people.
I am not a tech guy but lately from almost two years I have been exploring AI tools and stuff. I find them really cool and amazing.
from the past 6 months I actually turned few of my raw ideas to reality or near to reality to be precise.
One of them is a trading bot that trades on BITGET futures manages each and every single thing on its own.
Its live from almost 2 months. No fancy results but it wasn’t too bad either. It made me almost 65$ from 165$.
Now I was thinking to put more capital in it then I thought why should not i try to bring it to market as a service?
And a few more ventures I am working on.
I would like to get advice on this.
Thanks.

Hi. If you’re a single/2 person run ecom operation what would you say is a good earning. I recently started to scale and increased my profits and just started running ads and stuff so want to know where I stand. Just want to get an idea but if you want to drop your niche in the comments please do that too