Khazanay Founder: I Met Sam Altman & He Loved Our Startup | 483 | TBT

Описание: In this episode of Thought Behind Things, we sit down with Usman Saleem, Co-Founder & CEO of Khazanay, Pakistan’s biggest used sneaker and thrift brand.

Usman shares his journey from losing his father at an early age, working graphic design jobs for just ₨8,000 a month, to building one of Pakistan’s most disruptive retail startups.

We talk about:
– How Khazanay sold its first pair of shoes
– Meeting Sam Altman at Y Combinator
– How they refurbish branded sneakers
– Tapping into leftover clothing
– Khazanay’s scale & Growth
– Long-term growth, Islamic finance, and Pakistan’s 2050 outlook

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Muzamil's LinkedIn:   / muzamilhasan  
Usman's LinkedIn:   / mhdusmansaleem  
Endeavor's LinkedIn:   / endeavor-pakistan  

Special thanks to Kickstart for providing us with the studio space.
You can find out more about them at: https://kickstart.pk/

Listen on:
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3z1cE7F
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3cgIkf
Google Podcasts:    / @tbtgo  

Credits:
Executive Producer: Syed Muzamil Hasan Zaidi
Associate Producer: Saad Shehryar
Publisher: Talha Shaikh
Editor: Jawad Sajid

Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
2:09 - Early Life, Father’s Passing & Graphic Design Jobs
7:28 - Excuses vs Action & Refusing to Settle
14:42 - MBA Journey, Early Business Attempts & Khazanay Spark
20:37 - What Khazanay Originally Was
22:53 - Evolution of Khazanay & Early Struggles
29:20 - First Order & Selling the First Pair of Shoes
30:43 - Early Support & Disrupting Thrifting in Pakistan
33:40 - Meeting Sam Altman at Y Combinator
38:16 - Refurbishing Branded Shoes & Sourcing Process
40:21 - Why They Didn’t Expand Into Too Many Categories
43:12 - Current Scale: Sales, Team Size & Outlets
44:46 - Sourcing Strategy & Choosing Store Locations
47:52 - Using Local Distribution Networks for Unsold Stock
54:35 - Sourcing Challenges & Moving Into Second-Hand Clothing
1:00:27 - Opportunity in Leftover Clothing & Customer Demographics
1:05:49 - Women as Primary Buyers & Humna Example
1:10:38 - Long-Term Plans, Expansion & Islamic Finance
1:22:06 - Pakistan of 2050
1:25:56 - Anyone Can Deploy Fiber Internet Now
1:26:37 - Pakistan’s Circular Debt Fix by 2028?
1:28:00 - Closing Note