LUMS BSc Graduate Secures Milestone Deal at Shark Tank Pakistan

Syed Muhammad Ismail, a LUMS BSc Management Science 2021 graduate and co-founder of Saraaf, has achieved a groundbreaking milestone by securing a $5.4 million deal on Shark Tank Pakistan—the largest investment commitment in the show's global history. This incredible accomplishment surpasses the previous record of $2.5 million, setting a new benchmark worldwide.

Ismail credits LUMS for his career’s success. “My entrepreneurial journey began in LUMS right before my sophomore year, when I started my first company at just 19 years of age. I was manufacturing trophies and memorabilia for sporting events like GT20 Canada and Pakistan Sports Awards; it was a small business that helped me pay my tuition fee at LUMS with my hard-earned money. The environment at LUMS was such that it encouraged students to take such steps, think of innovative ideas, and solve real-life problems,” says Ismail.

However, when COVID-19 hit and physical events became a rarity, Ismail’s business struggled. He then started a second company with childhood friends: Digitorm, an e-commerce marketing agency. “The digital world was booming, and a hybrid class system at LUMS during my final year allowed me to focus on this business while not compromising my studies. This convinced me of one thing: entrepreneurship was my passion, and that is where my future lies.” Thus, after graduation, he continued working on Digitorm and Saraaf side by side, while eventually exiting Digitorm and taking on a full-time role at Saraaf.

Saraaf, which translates to 'guarantor/exchanger' in Persian, came into being when Ismail joined the co-founders of Saraaf, Bilal and Asfan, who were already working in the industry in 2021. Before that, it was simply an onyx and marble exporting business. It was exporting Pakistani and Afghani onyx to China, and the trio foresaw a gap appearing in the market for commodities. This is when they realised that their expertise was not about bringing a specific stone or marble from this region but about actually bringing an in-demand commodity from a region where it is almost impossible for others to source materials from. All this, they understood, was due to a lack of trust, security of payments, and strong supply chain networks—all three problems that they were solving. Then, they diversified and delved into sourcing materials like cotton, coal, LPG, and zinc lad ores from Central and South Asian countries, where these commodities and minerals were in rich supply. Since cotton and zinc lead ores were the most in demand, they kept sourcing them along with onyx and marble.

Today, Saraaf is a leading B2B commodity sourcing company, connecting global markets with premium materials from Central and South Asia, including onyx, marble, cotton, and lead. With over a decade of experience and more than 55,000 metric tons delivered across regions, Saraaf is revolutionising commodity sourcing on a global scale.

Ismail, an avid follower of Shark Tank, considered it the “perfect platform” to share their vision and gain investors' confidence while the team was raising capital for expanding Saraaf. Luckily, it was just the right decision.

While the Saraaf team was sceptical regarding the amount they were asking for, they were confident in their business, their idea, and their numbers. This confidence was seen by the sharks, mixed with the combination of photographic evidence of the Saraaf team’s struggle and sacrifice to achieve this from the ground up. This combination helped gain their trust, and one shark, Usman Bashir, believed in their idea and made the commitment accordingly.

Having secured the largest commitment ever across the entire global series, the Saraaf team is ready to become the top choice for commodity and mineral sourcing from Central and South Asia. This is a typically traditional industry that they aim to digitise and formalise, allowing for seamless sourcing solutions with only a few clicks. Today, with this huge investment commitment, the Saraaf team stands tall. LUMS wishes Ismail and his team the best of luck for the future!