Our present is the result of our decisions and choices. When you are on track to create a legacy, nothing inspires you but your commitment to inspire yourself and raise the bar everyday. Yes, I inspire myself.
The answer came at the end of a 12-hour day in DIFC Dubai, May 2023. The room went silent, then erupted in applause. It was a moment of owning the hard work, the sacrifice, and the resilience. Today, I am ready. Not because the world changed, but because I did.
The year was 2001, Computer Sciences was the major, coding was the vibe, and I needed a part-time job. A tools wholesale business needed someone to answer phones. Simple enough. Life had more interesting plans, essentially my first lesson of entrepreneurship. Within months, I had moved from answering phones to designing graphics, reorganizing their warehouse, bossing the boss, and the official tea-maker and lunch-grabber. The education was watching them navigate uncertainty, messy, unpredictable business decisions and still having the energy to think big and scale. I learned about their past venture failures, their how and why and I wanted it all too! Their resilience became my foundation. That experience taught me something no business school could: success isn’t about avoiding failure or preventing fires, it’s about building the capacity to learn from setbacks quickly and turn constant firefighting into strategic advantage. By the way, Primeline Tools scaled massively in the last two decades and still growing strong.
Between 2006 and 2018: five children, nine moves, pendulating between full homemaker mode to booms n busts to working for non-profits. I took on some projects that let me flex my creativity muscles and I also filled up journals with ideas. In 2015 came my introduction to autism, followed by the slow acceptance that it’s real and that my third daughter had it. There was a complete perspective shift, about life, purpose, happiness that followed. Overall, these weren’t ‘lost years’, they were intensive training in the most complicated project management that exists: real life.
I’ve been extraordinarily lucky, I may have had tough battles but my boxing ring had padded wall and that padding was my family. My parents and siblings, have been my biggest blessings. They are also bestest vacation-buddies, free caregivers for my kids for almost two decades, best cheerleaders, most generous, hardworking, smart, witty and people in the world. Alhamdolillah!
My mom deserves special mention. All my core beliefs come from watching her manage everything without ever complaining or dropping the ball. This taught me something fundamental: the most powerful support systems are built on genuine knowledge of each other. They’re always there, no judgement, no fluff, no formalities.
While I was juggling the complexities of single-mom life and trying to grow the business while somehow cutting down my own work hours, a beautiful partnership opportunity arrived.
Some collaborations are career-changing.
Others are life-changing.
Working with Shafaat Hashmi turned out to be both.
He saw capabilities in me that I hadn’t fully recognized. I had built competence across many areas, but my thinking around scale was limited. Suddenly, I found myself venturing into the GCC, stepping onto international stages, and managing teams across continents.
What we didn’t expect was the duo effect—and it’s real. On one hand, I finally found someone with a similar speed of thought, which meant more ideas, more ventures, more leaps. Each project has felt like an MBA of its own because of the wisdom and experience Shafaat brings. Bahrain and Mawin Venture Park are the newest chapters in our journey—and easily the most spectacular so far.