Most people talk about “starting young.”Hanzala Raja actually did it.Straight out of A-levels, while his friends were planning gap years and university transfers, he walked into his father’s office, failed a few times, learned fast, and stumbled into the idea that would become Highfy Pakistan’s fastest-growing beauty commerce brand.This episode isn’t a glorified success story.It’s a blueprint for anyone who feels “too young,” “too unprepared,” or “not ready yet.”What you’ll hear in this conversation:How early failures turned into Highfy’s first sparkWhy dining-table conversations became the real business schoolHow he built a beauty destination doing 1,500+ orders/dayWhy 90% cash-on-delivery is both a constraint and an opportunityThe discipline behind growing 120% YoYHow they stayed profitable from day oneThe mental switch that turned him from a student into a founderBalancing university, scaling, and real-world pressureWhy execution is better than ideas, especially at 20-somethingHanzala’s story is a reminder:You don’t need a degree, a network, or permission.You need a starting point, and the focus to stay on it.This episode is for the young builders who feel the itch to begin,and for the older founders who forgot what real hunger looks like.If you’re building anything in Pakistan today… you’ll want to listen to this.

Most people chase growth. Rashid Mehmood chased meaning.From the frontlines of journalism to his years working with the Navy, and now as the founder of Kasib, his journey is a study in reinvention, the kind that forces you to confront who you are beneath all the roles, titles, and noise.On Podcast for Phoenixes, Rashid breaks down the moments that shaped him, the silence after chaos, the discipline that built resilience, and the realization that purpose isn’t found in what you do, but why you do it.He speaks about the gap between potential and self-awareness, about raising a generation that questions more and conforms less, and about the hard truth that success without identity feels empty.This isn’t a story about career transitions.It’s a story about coming home, to yourself.

Why do so many capable people in Pakistan struggle to build anything lasting? It is not a lack of ideas. It is a lack of systems that support execution.In this deep conversation, Zubair Qureshi explains how real progress starts by changing the conditions that shape entrepreneurs. He breaks down the challenges in mindset, policy, and infrastructure, and what it takes to turn raw talent into national strength.If you are building, funding, or influencing the future, this episode gives you practical ways to shift from reacting to reshaping. It is not about short-term wins. It is about long-term foundations.Zubair draws from his work across sectors to show what it means to build an ecosystem where entrepreneurs can thrive. In this episode of Podcast for Phoenixes, we focus on the builders behind the scenes, the ones designing environments where others can rise.