Everyone sees the lives of businessmen and successful people and often says, “What a life they live.” But what often remains untold is the struggle these successful people go through. They usually start from the bottom and reach the top due to their:
- Determination
- Hard work
- Risk-taking traits
An example from our country, Pakistan, Salim Ghauri, the founder of NetSol Technologies, shares his inspiring story of how he built NetSol from scratch and grew it from nothing to everything.
How Did Salim Ghauri’s Early Life Unfold?
Salim Ghauri was born in Bahawalpur in Punjab, Pakistan 1955. His father decided to move to Lahore, the capital of Punjab, during Mr Salim’s early life since he wanted to groom his children in an environment that he deemed more open than Bahawalpur.
He commends his father’s bold move of shifting to Lahore along with his whole family as a courageous decision since their family was not well off in terms of financial situation.
Later on, young Salim pursued his preschool and high school education in Lahore before traveling abroad to Romania in 1974 to pursue his education further.
University Life in Romania
Unlike his brothers, who moved to the UK and USA, Mr Salim was the only one of his siblings to move to Romania. His father was dealing with Romanian clients, so he shifted his son to Romania.
Salim Ghauri was not in favor of this decision. As compared to Pakistan’s mild to hot temperatures, Romania was a cold country. So moving abroad alone to such a country wasn’t easy.
“I am what I am today because of this decision.“
Though initially reluctant to move, Mr. Salim’s perspective changed, and he says,
From Degree To Finding Passion
In Romania, he pursued his degree in Petroleum Engineering, and during his second year of studies, he saw a computer lab for the first time.
“It was a room with only one teleprinter.”
Mr. Salim Ghauri said he was handed a paper with a “2+2=4” calculation. After discovering that no one but the computer came up with the result, he was mesmerized by the computer’s power. From then on, his interest switched from petroleum engineering to computer Sciences.
He hunted for information about computers and their capabilities. His search for computer knowledge was purely done independently, and he did not seek help via classes from institutions or schools.
Work-Life in Saudi Arabia
Mr. Salim Ghauri moved to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1978 to land a job there. First, he applied to a computer-related position at CitiBank, Riyadh.
But with no experience on his hands, he had to pursue a job from another company as a “transport manager.” He accepted and worked for a while before CitiBank gave him a job offer.
As opposed to the first job in Riyadh, CitiBank offered:
- Half the amount of salary he was already earning
- No car, as opposed to this first company
- Relocation to Dammam
- Working night shifts
Despite these apparent downgrades, He accepted the offer, stating, “I just wanted to get into the computer field.”
Creating First Software
During his time at CitiBank, he learned coding after job hours and learned enough when a Lebanese man approached and asked him to design software that would handle payrolls.
Mr Salim successfully delivered the software, and when asked for the charging amount, Mr Salim expressed he had no idea how much the software was worth.
The Lebanese client handed him a cheque worth 10,000 Saudi Riyals. Mr. Salim realized he was on the right path to building a career.
By now, a Saudi colleague, acknowledging his skills, came up with the idea of starting a coaching business.
Business and Job Clash
Upon finding Mr. Salim’s business, CitiBank came up with the request to either choose his job or the business he was doing. Mr Salim immediately gave up his job and continued pursuing his business.
Later down the road, after the success of the business, the Saudi colleague of Mr Salim took over before kicking him out, and hence, Mr Salim came back to Pakistan in 1986.
Return to Pakistan and Immigration to Sydney
During his one-year stay in Pakistan, Mr. Salim learned Australia was looking for computer professionals.
- Applied for an immigration visa
- Landed a stable job, and
- Continued to work for eight years in Sydney
The company he was working for in Australia set up a room of PCs, a typical software setup we see today, and was soon occupied by developers from India.
Mr. Salim was impressed by the design and thought of starting a company similar to that in Pakistan, and hence, he shifted back to Lahore after his extended stay in Sydney.
Setup in Lahore and Call to Thailand
Upon returning to Lahore, Mr Salim set up his compact office in DHA, where he patiently waited for customers. After a long while, he received a call from one of his brothers, who informed him of a client in Thailand looking for software development.
Mr Salim soon visited Bangkok, signed a deal worth 40,000 pounds, and arranged developers for a contract of 6 months. He saw the agreement signed in Thailand as the birth of NetSol technologies.
Taiwan, Turning Point of NetSol
After several tries to search for possible clients, Mr Salim received a client from Taiwan in 1997 for finance software. The client needed help matching Mr. Salim’s proposed price, as their stated budget was approximately one-third of the charging price.
However, Mr. Salim accepted the amount under the condition that the software rights were to be retained by him. The following project was completed under the exact condition of rights retention, and this is how NetSol slowly evolved to what it is today.
He says that the client of 1997 was still his client after 26 years since their first contract. Mr. Salim views honesty and quality services as key to keeping a customer.
NetSol Today and How Mr. Ghauri Envisions it in The Future
NetSol today has an estimated net worth of and has workers around the globe. NetSol was listed on NASDAQ in 1999, 3 years after its founding in 1996. It was recorded in Pakistan in 2004 and has been commended by multiple notable figures in Pakistan.
Mr Salim sees NetSol as “in its early stages” and expects it will be Pakistan’s most prominent and leading IT company in the coming decades. He also expects the company to have exquisite long-term benefits.
Final Words
Mr. Salim did not have it easy moving to Romania alone, and learning computers over there was purely out of his self-determination and interest. His loss of business in Saudi Arabia set him back, and even though he was well settled in Australia, the risk he took of leaving Sydney and returning to Lahore was difficult.
However, the birth of NetSol in Thailand and the rights retention decision in Taiwan forged NetSol into what it is today.
The risks Mr. Salim took throughout his pursuit of starting a software company were significant, and even though he suffered losses, he successfully inaugurated NetSol and inspired young Pakistanis to pursue the field of computer sciences.
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