r/PakStartups

Hi i have around 80k pkr saved and i want to invest in a real business/startup preferably based in lahore. So DM if anyone is looking for investments into thier business startup.

26F doing job, but want to start a startup with minimum investment. I can't be a corporates rat my entire life so even if I can start with something small with a bit of an extra effort I'm more than willing to do it and with the opportunity for the business to grow more with time

Can someone help me out to figure what I can do? Any ideas? I work as a digital marketer, but please avoid suggesting me to open a agency. Anything else? It doesn't need to be completely relevant to what I'm currently doing

I started my thrift business 3 years back, was working great but then I got too occupied with my MBA and job that I couldn't go back to it. And now the market is too competitive + Ads Cost TOO MUCH now.

I can invest somewhere around 1-2lac (a bit flexible) initially so something in that range

Hey everyone,

I’m 18, doing FSC in Pakistan, and I’m basically starting from scratch financially. No investment, no proper income source, and I’m trying to figure out what actually works in 2026 to start earning.

I’ve been researching a few options but I’m not sure what’s real and what’s just online hype:

AI website creation (selling simple websites to small businesses)

Building small apps using AI tools and publishing them

Dropshipping through platforms like Markaz / HHC

Importing and reselling products locally

Freelancing / basic digital services

The problem is I don’t have capital, so I’m trying to understand what is actually realistic to start with zero money in Pakistan and what skills actually lead to income instead of just tutorials.

If anyone here has experience in startups or online earning, I’d really appreciate honest advice — what should a beginner actually focus on first, and how did you get your first income?

Also if anyone is working on a startup and needs someone part-time for basic work (learning, assisting, handling small tasks, etc.), I’m genuinely willing to contribute and learn along the way.

Thanks for reading.

Hi I am looking for digital marketing agency who can manage all social media/ content creation/ online advertisement and perhaps lead generation for my fmcg business- based out of Islamabad, ideal would be if agency is located in Isb as well - let me know which are agencies are best - thanks

Hi everyone,

I need some advice regarding starting a computer/laptop business in Pakistan.

I was working as a freelancer, but now I want to move into an offline business. I’m thinking about opening a computer/laptop shop where I can sell laptops, build PCs, and offer repair services.

I live in a small city with a population of around 100,000 people, and there are many small villages connected to the city as well. Currently, there is only one proper computer shop here.

The issue is location and rent. Near that existing computer shop, the rent for a decent shop is around PKR 150k–200k per month. However, a little away from that area, I found a shop for PKR 45k per month. That shop is located in an area with many electronics shops, so there is still some relevant foot traffic.

I have experience in laptop repair and PC building, and I can learn quickly. My total budget is around PKR 4 million.

I have two main questions:

Which shop/location would be better for starting this business: the expensive main location or the cheaper shop near electronics shops?

What are the profit margins like in the laptop/computer sales and repair business in Pakistan these days?

I’d really appreciate advice from anyone who has experience in computer shops, laptop repair, electronics retail, or small businesses in Pakistan.

Thanks.

I am at the thinnest line of make or break.

My car parts marketplace website which I just built out of frustration with the market. Turned real serious after I strategically hooked in sellers to my platform. I knew the problem was real, huge marketplaces, Bilal gunj, Sher Shah etc yet 95% sitting offline. It was a literal gold mine because they have the absolute cheapest rates and the ones online were resellers of either their own products, brands or just plain placeholders ( fake quantities )

I convinced the sellers that they could unlock huge online potential and seo if they just gave me a yes. I would upload their products and help them in every way possible. Hours and hours of convincing and now I am sitting 1 or 2 weeks shy of launch with about 35 sellers, 1500+ car parts uploaded and not just production ready but almost business ready site. ( working on seo ) my friends even ordered 2 3 times and were surprised by the crazy cheap rates.

It’s because it’s the only real car parts marketplace. Here’s the issue tho. I ran out of dimes, I was surviving and doing risky stuff by putting back into business from earnings of client projects but now wo kaam thanda parh gaya. Demand is low. I purchased whatever I could to keep the grind alive just till launch, bought ai subscriptions, domain emails vps all of the stuff needed as a last stand and risking bahir ka khana 😭🙏

I literally can’t even afford 2 days of foodpanda atm lmao. Even though I love this pressure and it’s a great feeling to have risking everything and believing this to work. Pure Adrenaline, it has got me crazy pumped up cutting off sleep hours, making reels, communicating with sellers and doing dev all by myself. But I really need to move fast and consider any options.

I have a very very strong portfolio. With apps developed, full stack dev experience of 6 yrs, fiverr reviews, jobs what not. What options do I have? Because with the situation of freelancing right now I doubt I could make it work. I could go to any lengths to have this project staying alive.

Where do I go from here?

Would buy semi formal/ minimalistic design of Eastern Wear in Pakistan?

Online ecom store.

My wife is a fashion designer, pushing her to pursue her dream of becoming business owner.

Hi Im H.(25yo) from Lahore . I think the current state of Tele-Medicine in Pakistan is in shambles .It's just booking apps with no user friendly experience. I want to build an ecosystem where everything from booking an appointment to medicine delivery is available that too with user convenience.

I need a person who has knowledge about this industry and can help me through.

If you think you can bring something to the table ,Hit me Up .

I used to spend a lot of time reading reviews of different brands before buying anything typically on Facebook or Reddit, so I thought of building this website: brandreview.pk and would appreciate feedback from the PakTech community.

The idea is simple: a platform focused on aggregating reviews of brands in Pakistan from different platforms so people can check real experiences before buying products or using services.

Right now I’d love input on things like:

• Website design / first impression
• Speed / usability
• Is the concept useful for Pakistan?
• Features you’d want to see
• Anything confusing or broken

Trying to build something actually useful for local consumers, so even blunt criticism is welcome.

Would really appreciate if you could take 2 minutes to check it out and share thoughts: brandreview.pk

Thanks

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Need honest advice: UK LTD vs US LLC (Stripe, taxes, structure confusion)

Hey everyone 🤝

I need some real advice from people who’ve actually been through this.

I’m from Pakistan and running an ecom marketing agency. I registered a UK LTD around 3–4 years ago. Every year I’ve been doing the filings properly, but to be honest, most of my actual payments were going through my wise personal account, so the UK company didn’t have much real activity.

Recently my Wise accounts got closed, which forced me to rethink everything and fix my structure properly.

---

What I’m doing now:

Moving to Stripe for payments (around 4–5% fees) bcz of wise account closure.

Connecting everything to company account (because no option left)

Keeping everything clean, recorded, and compliant

---

Where I’m confused:

With a UK LTD:

Around 19–25% corporation tax on profits

Plus compliance, accounting, etc.

Now that everything will be properly recorded through Stripe and bank, I’m honestly not comfortable with that level of tax, and I also don’t want any issues later.

---

What I’ve been seeing online:

Chat gpt says:

Open a US LLC

It's 0% tax (if you’re non-US and no US activity)

You only pay tax in Pakistan

But I’m not sure how true or safe that is long-term.

Is it true? 0% as a non resident? I only pay tax in Pakistan?

---

My main questions:

1. Should I just continue with my UK LTD and accept the tax as the cost of doing things properly? Honestly I'm not comfortable.

2. Or should I switch to a US LLC now before things scale further?

3. Is it practical to:

Open a US LLC

Move operations there (open new stripe/banks)

Then dissolve the UK LTD later?

4. What are the real challenges with US LLC?

Stripe setup

Bank accounts

Compliance

Benefits

Challenges

5. For people using Stripe internationally, what structure are you using?

---

My goal:

Clean and compliant setup

No future legal/tax issues

Reasonable tax efficiency (not trying to do anything shady)

Smooth operations (payments, banking, scaling)

---

Right now I feel stuck between:

UK LTD → higher tax but more straightforward

US LLC → potentially lower tax but more setup + uncertainty

---

I was thinking to continue using UK LTD stripe and other accounts without worrying and later on before filing I can open a LLC and dissolve the UK ltd? Will there be any issues if I do this? Or what approach I should take?

Would really appreciate honest advice from experienced people, especially those running similar setups from Pakistan or remotely.

Thanks a lot 🙌

What are some events and meetups you recommend going? And which city would be the best (Lahore, Islamabad, Karachi, etc)? Me and my co-founder are looking to attend some.

Hey everyone,

I’m currently based in the EU and working as a software engineer (4+ years experience). I’ll be moving back to Pakistan soon and want to start a business instead of going back into a full-time job.

In the past, I tried building two tech startups, but both failed mainly due to poor user acquisition and distribution, not the product side.

Given my background, the most obvious path seems to be starting a software agency. My concern is:

• I don’t have strong marketing or sales skills

• I’ve struggled with distribution before and don’t want to repeat that mistake

• Not sure how sustainable/general agencies are long-term with AI changing things

So I’m trying to figure out:

1. Is starting a software agency still a good move in 2026?

2. How do people actually get their first few B2B clients reliably (without just spamming cold DMs)?

3. Would it make more sense to niche down early (e.g. AI integrations, specific industry, etc.)?

Also open to connecting with people who have experience in B2B sales or have built agencies before especially if you’ve solved the “getting first clients” problem.

Appreciate any advice.

I built an AI-powered email outreach system that works as a desktop application (EXE). The idea is to help small businesses automate cold email outreach without needing technical knowledge.

- What it does:

Upload a CSV of leads (business name, email, niche, website)

Automatically generates personalized emails for each business

Sends emails via Gmail SMTP

Tracks delivery status and logs results

Runs completely locally on the user’s computer

-AI part:

The system can generate customized emails in two ways:

AI mode (API-based, for smarter personalization)

Template mode (fallback without API)

So users can still run it even without external AI services.

-What makes it interesting:

I also added a license-based system so it works like a small SaaS product:

Each user gets a unique license key

The software verifies it through my server

Access can be controlled (activate / deactivate / expire licenses)

This allows it to be sold on a monthly subscription model

Do you think small businesses would actually pay monthly for something like this if positioned as a “done-for-you lead outreach system” instead of just software?

Would love feedback from people who’ve built or sold SaaS tools before.

I recently visited Fortress Square Mall, Lahore and noticed there is no snacks kiosk or vending machine over there. (Other than a sweet corn kiosk). Everything else is on the top most floor where there is foodcourt.

I do feel like the amount of shoppers is less over there as compared to other bigger malls but I wouldn’t say it’s dead.

Would putting up a snack kiosk work? By snacks I mean Chips, juice, biscuits and drinks. One thing to keep in mind here is that this mall doesn’t have any grocery store which is why I felt the need for a place to buy drinks atleast.