The MIGHTY Tech Nut- Sawant Shah

By Sara Waqar Khan

There are some people who (by staying behind the curtains) manage each and every act on the stage. Sawant Shah from yello.pk is one of them. Yello.pk describe him as

’Tech nut on the inside and choclatey smooth on the outside, he charms us into doing what is needed and keeps us from screwing it all up. Never afraid to wear many hats at one time, he keeps it all together and headed in the right direction’.

CodeWeek: Briefly tell us about your personal and professional life.

Sawant Shah: Telling the story of my life in a brief way would make it a little uninteresting, as then I’ll have to cut out all the spicy parts. Nonetheless, here are some relevant tit-bits out of the book of my life: I was born and raised up in a beautiful town called Jamshoro (1.5 hours from Karachi). My education – up till graduation – is from Hyderabad, while I did my post-graduation from Karachi.

My professional life so far has been quite diverse: I’ve been an instructor, a software engineer, an HR manager, a business development manager, and currently, Strategy Director at yellO.pk.

CodeWeek: Tell us about major personal achievements in your life? Awards and Recognitions.

Sawant Shah: I have achieved quite a few things in my life and won a few awards and recognitions during my education and career. But there are certain things, which are beyond any award or recognition. Some of them I already have, such as, my awesome parents, my family, my loved ones and my friends; while there are those that I have yet to achieve, such as help my fellow Pakistanis in making our country prosper; play my part in the growth of IT sector in Pakistan; and help humanity at large. This is what I am working towards.

CodeWeek: What is yello about and where did the idea of yello.pk emerge from?

Sawant Shah: In the simplest of terms, yellO is your local city guide. Everything that’s happening in your city (in Pakistan), you can find it on yellO. And if you can’t find it there, then you can certainly add it there by yourself. yellO is the brain-child of Samir Feroze, and he came upon this idea upon his return from England, when he had difficulty finding interesting places in Karachi.

CodeWeek: How did you come on board at yello.pk?

Sawant Shah: It was at the Second Floor (now T2F), Karachi, where Samir persuaded me to join his young startup. While sipping coffee at T2F that day, we dreamt of changing the world. I really liked his vision. It was that day that I decided to accept this challenging new role at yellO.

CodeWeek: Where is it headed towards? Where do you see yello.pk 5 years from now?

Sawant Shah: yellO is headed towards becoming the website of choice whenever people wish to learn anything about their city – past, present, future. In the next 5 years, we are not only aiming to reach among the top 10 most visited websites in Pakistan, but we may also extend yellO and its services to other countries as well.

CodeWeek: How are you promoting your work across Pakistan? How do you reach out and increase the yelling community.

Sawant Shah: Community development has been a major focus of yellO since the start. We have developed a few programs at yellO to encourage community growth and participation. Apart from online community development, we also have offline programs to attract the youth into the fold of yellO: one, the university program, where we hold stalls at universities; and two, the Community Ambassadors program, where we create and train aspiring young people to become ambassadors of their neighborhood or campuses and help them volunteer and lead in social causes that are highlighted through yellO.

We also have a yellO.pk membership card (in physical form) that offers some nice perks around town, such as discounts at restaurants and special invitations to events.

CodeWeek: What is your opinion of the IT sector in Pakistan? Where do you see it in the next 5

years?

Sawant Shah: The IT sector in Pakistan has a lot of potential, but unfortunately, due to lack of vision and resources, our IT sector is lagging behind in this globally competitive world. We need more entrepreneurs, who can innovate and bring something new to the table. Let’s broaden our vision and lets think global.

In the next 5 years, if we are to grow – and not remain stagnant, or far worse, slump – we have to build a roadmap for the future. In the next 5 years, we should target at least $15 – 20 billion in revenue from IT sector, improve our education system and diversify our human resource. And on top of that, all the stakeholders should join to build a roadmap for the future of IT in Pakistan.

CodeWeek: What are your personal and professional plans for the next ten years?

Sawant Shah: Another question that delves into the book of my life. But this time, however, that page is blank. I have never really planned my life. I live my life as it comes. So as of yet, I don’t know what I’ll carve on this blank page in the future. May be I’ll take over Google or Apple as a CEO, or maybe I’ll form my own innovative company. Or maybe I’ll just go discover the world and become a digital nomad. Only time will tell.

CodeWeek: Anything you wish to add, which you think has been left out and is important?

Sawant Shah: Yes! I am always ready and willing to guide the young IT fellows (non-IT ones are welcome too) and wannabe entrepreneurs, so they can get in touch with me anytime. The recommended way to do so is through Twitter, as that’s quick and fast communication – for both you and me. My twitter handle is: @sawant.

CodeWeek: Any parting words

Sawant Shah: Thank you CodeWeek for this honor. I really appreciate your work and wish you all the best for the future. Thanks to Sara as well, for being so patient with me and giving me ample amount of time for this interview.