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Jammu and Kashmir: Kids in strife-torn valley redefine start-ups with ‘PaperSquare’

Three Kashmiri teens are already being hailed as future IT czars

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Yaseen, Khursheed and Parveez
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The Silicon Valley innovation ecosystem seems to have found an echo in the Valley back home, where three school students are setting the benchmark for start-ups.

Abrar Yaseen, 17, Muazzam Khursheed, 17, and Haider Parveez, 16, have no formal training in Information Technology (IT), yet they co-own a software developing firm in Kashmir, catapulting the strife-torn Valley into headlines for a new reason altogether.

Transiting between classroom and boardroom, the trio has carved a niche in the start-up culture with their endeavour called ‘PaperSquare’, which has clients ranging from hospitals to schools.

The venture was born after the threesome merged two separate firms to pool resources and consolidate gains, making a leap in the software developing sector. Their offering ranges from web and graphic designing to video editing, artificial intelligence and 3D printing. They haven’t, it bears reiteration, received formal education in any of these sectors.  “Abrar and I are in Class XI and Haider is in Class X. We learned everything through internet. We have merged the two firms we started last year. Everything is on the right track,” said Muazzam. The trio pooled their pocket money to generate capital for the firm. 

“We did not borrow money. We pooled our pocket money and started small. We went to clients and convinced them that we can live up to their expectations. They saw our commitment,” said Muazzam.

But getting here has not been a walk in the vale. Balancing school and work, then convincing parents that they could do it, has been an uphill task. “Like any parent, ours were a bit apprehensive. When we told them that we could excel in this field, they gave us the go-ahead,” he said.

A rented a room in Raj Bagh in Srinagar serves as their headquarters.

“We have divided a schedule in such a way that our education does not suffer and our work, too, goes on smoothly. Each of us goes to office for two days a week after school to complete pending work. We meet in the office on Sundays to take stock of things and chalk out future strategy. It has been working well for us,” Muazzam said.

Last year, the now-merged entities reported a collective turnover of Rs 1 lakh. This year, things have been looking up for the integrated firm with an expanded clientele.

“Our IT teacher has been supportive. He has been in the field for long and has a good network. He used his contacts to help us find clients,” Muazzam said.

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