Hustle, Humility & Hard lessons Before the Spotlight | Duckstories ft. Talha Ahad with Cynia Ejaz

Описание: In this episode of Duckstories, Talha Ahad, Founder & CEO of TCM, sits down with Cynia Ejaz, Head of Learning & Innovation at Telenor Pakistan shares an unfiltered conversation about failure, resilience, and building meaningful work in uncertainty.

From growing up in Islamabad without a father and being raised by a working mother, to navigating student life in London through odd jobs, financial survival, and loneliness, Talha reflects on the experiences that shaped his humility, curiosity, and leadership mindset. He opens up about the early, unpolished journey of TCM, failed experiments, platform dependence, deleted pages, external pressure, and the emotional cost of leading a media organization in Pakistan’s volatile environment.

This episode goes beyond media and entrepreneurship, it’s about staying grounded through chaos, learning to lead yourself before leading others, and choosing integrity when shortcuts seem easier.

Timestamps:


0:00 – 6:11  Introduction and early life

6:11 – 9:28  Early motivations, curiosity & the decision to start TCM
9:28 – 24:00  Vision, risks & early struggles abroad
24:00 – 33:38 Setbacks, failures & the resilience required to keep going
33:38 – 43:42 Building TCM from scratch: setbacks, threats & responsibility
43:42 – 46:00 Systems, discipline & learning to be kinder to oneself
46:00 – 57:01 Mental health, burnout & staying focused
57:01 – 1:01:01  Learning from powerful people & extracting real value
1:01:01 – 1:05:50 Culture, inclusivity & building a human-first organization
1:05:50 – 1:07:45  What’s next for TCM: vision, AI & the road ahead
1:07:45 – 1:08:54 Closing thoughts & final reflections