If you are a student, especially one in NUST, you’ve probably heard of or even used CYKIQ. CYKIQ is a bicycle sharing service which is making short distance travelling easier. CYKIQ’s vision did not just encompass a service that would earn it a large amount of profit. It had to do with creating a difference, an impact. The founders wanted to create a more viable, economic and environment friendly option for commute. Ammara Tariq, co-founder of CYKIQ, believed in this vision.
Even though the idea for it was conceived in 2013, Ammara came into the picture in 2014. She had always been passionate about design but became more so during university.
“Design is powerful. It can change the world” says Ammara. “Everything around you is design. It is designed very consciously through a designer”
Initially, Ammara contributed to CYKIQ through her designs but soon, she became a much bigger, more important part of the venture. “I stepped in as product designer but CYKIQ made place for me. I am now handling product design, the events, PR and dealing with everything that is happening within the campus right now”
The journey, as Ammara tells us, has had its fair share of ups and downs. “It was hectic because I also had to focus on my degree: the reason my parents sent me here. But honestly, I was able to do it because of how supportive my family was and if you don’t have that, it won’t be as easy for everyone.”
Despite how hectic it can get, Ammara manages to find time for herself. “My happy place is Netflix,” she laughs. She has managed to draw the perfect balance between work and the time she makes for herself and has evolved as an individual through the process. “If you’re still the same person you were in your first year then you’ve done something wrong. University completely changes you. You make a place for yourself. You plug yourself in various things. If you’re still the same person, you haven’t done justice to your time there”
Along with personal growth came professional growth as well. Ammara invested her energy, time and mind into CYKIQ and consequently, it garnered a highly positive response from its users. One compliment, in particular, made her proud of what she’s achieved. “This one time I was travelling in a Careem and the driver asked me if I had been on TV yesterday. I said I was as I had given an interview the day before. He immediately started telling me of how he lives in Rawalpindi and has made use of the service and cycles himself. The entire ride was such a joyful experience as we talked about CYKIQ the whole time. It made me extremely happy.”
Ammara has learnt how to maintain healthy relationships while also building a career at the same time.
“Personally, I am not emotionally dependent on people but people get emotionally dependent on me. You feel like you have to give something back at the risk of being selfish. I’m a workaholic, you see. And even though, there were people around me who understood me and my work, there were also those who didn’t. People don’t always understand your work. So you can’t be dependent on anyone. This stays. This is something that has started to define me. So investing your time properly where things are going to last is very important. What do you want to do? Where do you want to see yourself?” When asked if she regrets anything from her past experiences, Ammara was quick to answer. “I’ve realized now that there were times when I should’ve taken a stand and I did not. Those are the small things that come to mind now. Maybe now the course of actions would have been different”
In the end, Ammara had just once advice for anyone out there who is thinking of becoming an entrepreneur. “Entrepreneurship is not for everybody. If you think you’re going to make a lot of money off of it, that’s not it. We live on a budget. We have to give back to our vision. As much as I would love to tell you to be super passionate and invest all of your time in it, I can’t. Because if you give 10 years to something that doesn’t work out then your 10 years are gone. So always have a backup plan as well. It eventually paid well for all of us but it did not pay well for a very long time before that. So just believe in yourself and believe in your vision.”
And on that ambitious note, we left as Ammara prepared for another meeting.
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