Shahjahan Chaudhary
Managing Partner at Machinelab Ventures
Shahjahan Chaudhary
Managing Partner at Machinelab Ventures
Lisbon, Lisbon
Overview
Work Experience
Managing Partner
2020 - Current
Fintech and AI venture development, financing of projects + corporate innovation across the globe. We partner with people and companies on a mission to change the world. Https://www.mlvp.io
Board Member
2023
Advisor - International Partnerships & Growth
2023
Arbisoft is 900+ strong in 5 global offices focused on Artificial Intelligence, Traveltech and Edtech. Our partner platforms - kayak.com and edX.org - serve millions of users every day.
Board of Advisors
2022
The Indus River Valley Institute (IRVI) is Pakistan’s first culture, heritage & identity think tank to reclaim the lost roots to our ancestors who passed through the Indus River Valley or settled there over millennia. At IRVI we de-colonise and debunk myths of shared & overlapping histories bringing them onto one united, holistic platform from the following regional stories: - The Silk Road - The Indus river watershed & delta - The China connection & KKH - Kabul, Afghanistan & Peshawar - Persia; Darius the Great - Greeks, Kalash & Alexander the Great - Mohd bin Qasim, the Arabs and Thatta - Central Asia & the Mughals - Southern Russia & the Indo Scythians - The Indus valley civilization, Mesopotamia and Egypt - Gandhara and Buddhism into India - Sikhism and Ranjit Singh IRVI’s vision is a self-sustaining institution to further the discourse that has been started by Architect and Founder Cube Edutours Zain Mustafa through his journey tracing and revealing Pakistan’s broader 7,000 year old cultural identity and its inter-connectivity to the Silk Road in conjunction with the Indus River valley bioregion.
Board Member
2020
Empowering fintech and financial entities globally, helping them go-to-market, innovate and scale with a rich platform.
Director
2018 - 2020
I built & led the award-winning National Incubation Center Karachi in the country's largest city helping launch 100+ startups in the first 3 years. Funded by Ignite National Technology Fund (Ministry of IT & Telecom), with $5 million in federal funding NICK is a partnership between LMKT, PTCL, HBL, PPAF and NED University. Our mission is to unlock the power of innovation and ideas to transform Karachi into a livable and globally competitive city.
CEO
2010 - 2018
Launched Pakistan’s pioneering Digital & Social Agency in 2008 – worked with top fashion retail brands like HSY, Sana Safinaz, Alkaram, Asim Jofa and EGO. Also worked with leading food brands including Domino’s Pizza, Movenpick, 14th Street Pizza, OPTP and Gun Smoke. Worked with one of the big 5 banks – UBL – and the largest Islamic bank – Meezan Bank – on their digital campaigns. Worked with FMCG clients like Searle, Dalda, EBM and Young’s. Worked with a large non-profit – Education Fund for Sindh and supported smaller non-profits like Orange Tree Foundation and Ayesha Chundrigar Foundation. Meezan Bank Designed & managed performance-based and awareness campaigns for products like Kafalah and Remittances. Re-designed and launched the current website. HSY & Asim Jofa Built two of the largest fashion brands from zero to over a million fans each on Facebook. Consulted for their social and digital strategy for over 4 years. 14th Street Pizza Designed the name, logo, identity, packaging and launch campaign for the pizza brand that changed food marketing in Pakistan. 14th Street beat Pizza Hut’s delivery business in areas where it was operating within 3 months of launch. Domino’s Pizza After 8 years of losing money in the Pakistani market, Domino’s hired a new CEO in 2012. Having heard about our success with 14th Street, he contacted us to help revive the brand. Under his leadership and with our brand and digital support, the brand stopped its long, slow decline and grew 50% in the first year.
Board Member
2014 - 2016
P@SHA is the trade body of software companies in Pakistan. As part of the P@SHA Board and Treasurer, I have been directly involved in the setting up of The Nest i/o, a technology incubator supported by Google, Samsung and the US State Department.
Board Member
2012 - 2015
PeaceNiche promotes democratic discourse and conflict resolution through intellectual and cultural engagement. Committed to becoming a vibrant centre of Pakistan’s developing civil society, PeaceNiche works in the areas of Arts & Culture, Science & Technology, and Advocacy. Web: http://www.t2f.biz/
CEO
2004 - 2010
Launched a premium direct-mail magazine with 10,500 copies in 2004. Grew it to a team of 30 with offices in Karachi and Lahore and a combined circulation of 63,000 copies every month. By doing geographic targeting and limiting circulation to 10,500 copies in each area, HOMEXPRESS became the first-choice for retail brands and small advertisers. As a pioneer in the business, HOMEXPRESS inspired many copycat products. I was responsible for: 1. Creating the concept 2. Idea validation 3. Pricing & business growth 4. Printing & vendor relationships 5. Magazine distribution 6. Financial management 7. Team development The business was sold to a group of investors in 2010.