Yesterday, Tomorrow, and Everything In-Between: 40 Years of Innovation

The year was 1984. I had just finished high school when I got my hands on a Sharp PC-1401, a pocket computer that felt like a glimpse into the future. I still remember, my scientific calculator had broken, and my father sent me to buy a replacement. It was love at first sight when I saw the Sharp PC-1401. Somehow, I managed to convince my father to buy it, despite its steep price.

This remarkable little device, introduced in 1983, was a combination of a scientific calculator and a portable computer, complete with a BASIC interpreter and bytecode compiler. At first, I was captivated by its ability to store text, but before long, I discovered I could program it. That realization sparked something profound.

I remember buying Barron’s BASIC Programming book, which had just been released that same year. Looking back, I can’t pinpoint exactly why or how it all happened, but it did, and it changed my life forever. At the time, I had no idea where computers would take me or what the future held. But it felt as though I had uncovered a pearl of the future from the vast ocean of time.

One of my earliest experiments was writing code to simulate Saturn’s rings on the Sharp PC-1401. It wasn’t much, just a few pixelated grey circles and Saturn’s globe, but it was magical. That taste of programming led me to purchase an SVI-328 the same year, a home computer with a massive 80KB of RAM and Microsoft Extended BASIC. By then, I was teaching kids English, Mathematics, and Physics, earning about PKR 250 a month. With the SVI-328, I dove deeper into programming, creating everything from tic-tac-toe games to spaceship shooters and practical applications.

I even began building programs for others. My friend @Tariq Soomro, who had a keen interest in astrology, inspired me to write a horoscope program. For fun, I also automated the ticketing system for Blue Lines, the sole bus coach service between Hyderabad and Karachi. The system issued tickets seat by seat, displayed availability for upcoming days, and maintained transaction histories. The owners never knew their process had been digitally transformed; I had done it purely for the joy of solving problems with code.

Years later, I led the development of an ERP system for chemical manufacturing, which was used in five countries across two continents. Those years were both exciting and challenging. When the 2000 tech bubble burst, I had to make the difficult decision to close the company, a moment that taught me invaluable lessons about resilience and reinvention.

My next chapter began when I joined Species360 as CIO, moving to the United States to help digitize an entire industry. I still smile at the memory of my interview with Nate Flesness . When he invited me to visit their office before deciding to join, I joked, “What’s the worst that could happen, your office is in a basement?” As it turned out, their office was in the basement of a building at the Minnesota Zoo.

Launching ZIMS by Species360 - Zoological Information Management System was one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of my career. Coordinating with over 600 experts from 42 countries to develop 300+ standards, building the world’s largest animal conservation database, and managing last-minute hurdles were all monumental tasks. I vividly recall writing a FoxPro script to migrate few hundred million transactions of lifetime data for millions of animals, working almost non-stop for two days in our Gurgaon office to meet the deadline. We launched on time, and it was worth every moment. (remember? Elisabeth Hunt Suruchi Jain (she/her) Ranita Uppal Gargi Ms Doug Verduzco )

Later, I founded Ideagist.com, which grew from a small website in Minneapolis to a platform with users in 193 countries and two UN-recognized territories, helping over 30,000 ideas along the way. My more recent journey brought me back to Pakistan, where I have been working to support the national innovation ecosystem and the formation of ASPIRE Pakistan , a story that deserves its own book, along with one about ZIMS. There are so many people to remember for sharing the knowledge, to support me through thick and thin, and to propel my journey, including Rajiv Tandon, Ph. D. Evan Blumer Art Murray Azeem Amir Shahnawaz Khan Duncan Bolton Mohammad Anwar Khan Kashi Ahmed Masaood YUNUS Naeem Zafar Anwar Shah Prof Bhawani Shankar Chowdhry Kamran Mirza Shahzad Gul Tariq Din Yousuf Mamsa (there is a limit here on how many I can tag so more tags when I will write my memories on Ideagist and Aspire Pakistan).

Fast forward to today, and it feels like I’ve lived a lifetime shaped by that first spark. Since 1984, I’ve traveled to over 70 countries, worked in 22, lived on three continents, and built two SaaS systems from scratch to global scale. Most remarkably, I’ve helped digitally transform an entire industry.

Looking back, it’s fascinating to reflect on the journey, from writing BASIC programs on a pocket computer to leading transformative global projects. Along the way, I’ve developed skills I never could have planned for: strategic thinking, technical expertise, creativity, resilience, empathy, and above all, curiosity.

Now, I stand at another exciting juncture in my life. As a boy in 1984, I couldn’t imagine how computers would shape the world. Today, I am better equipped to foresee the next wave: Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Computing. These technologies are set to reshape humanity’s future, with the potential to revolutionize education, healthcare, and agriculture. I hope they will one day help eradicate illiteracy, poverty, disease, and hunger.

Just as I once reaped the benefits of a small investment in a Sharp PC-1401, I now approach this new frontier with the same excitement, but with the wisdom and clarity of experience. I feel incredibly fortunate to be alive at a time when humanity is on the cusp of a new era of technological advancement, one that will define our future for centuries.

As we embrace these innovations, let us work together to use technology responsibly, ethically, and with purpose. Together, we can ensure a brighter, more equitable future for the generations that follow.

The journey that began in 1984 isn’t over, it’s entering its most exciting chapter yet.

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