Small-town boys Usman Ahmed and his brothers from Sahiwal founded an international business intelligence firm Bilytica. Today, Bilytica serves markets across the US, Europe, the Middle East and other regions and has an estimated valuation of US$ 10 million.
Azhar Rizvi:
Usman had assembled an excellent team but bad experiences with partners had shaken their confidence. We helped them to expand their marketing capabilities, product development and develop a sound business plan, so they could replicate their success in the region. As a result, they are now expanding in the Middle East. During my association with them, we worked on expanding their vision, market reach and plan. The team of brothers started with a small order in Finland and a one-room office at their uncle’s residence in 2008. Today, Bilytica has offices in six countries around the world and negotiates million dollar deals regularly. The story is a testament to strong family values and offers a difficult lesson about deception in business.
The Story of Bilytica
Usman Ahmad and his siblings own a multi-million-dollar IT company with tens of international offices and IT products with over 100,000 users. Their core domain is Business Intelligence, Data Science, Machine Learning and Smart IT products based on data. The startup, grown to a multi-national, has an interesting story.
Born in Sahiwal, a small town in central Punjab, Usman Ahmad and his siblings were raised in a middle-class family that placed strong emphasis on good education. His father owned a small electronics shop and his mother is a homemaker. Usman and his siblings worked hard to get admission into good colleges in Lahore.
After graduation, Usman worked in the technology sector with multinational companies like Teradata, Vodaphone, Logica and Nokia. While living in Finland in 2008, Usman and his brothers, Nauman Ahmed, Muhammad Awais and Muhammad Moin, launched Bilytica, a Business Intelligence and Applications company.
By 2016, eight years since its inception, Bilytica has grown into a multi-million-dollar business. The company serves 12 international markets including Pakistan, Australia, Peru, Russia, the UAE, the UK, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Indonesia and Turkey. From a three-person home office in Lahore to a global presence that employs over 150 people, Bilytica’s growth and Usman’s journey have been extraordinary.
Today, Usman and his siblings believe that the family’s sacrifices and their parent’s single-minded focus on their education have been repaid several times over.
Read more about Usman and Bilytica as they navigated doing business internationally in Entrepreneuring Pakistan
