WeWork Collapsed? Are Pakistani Coworking Spaces NEXT? Ft. CEO Colabs Omar Shah | 459 | TBT

Find out more about Endeavor: https://pakistan.endeavor.org

In this episode of Thought Behind Things, we’re joined by Omar Shah, the Co-Founder & CEO of COLABS, Pakistan’s leading coworking space platform with over $5M in funding.

From his early days at Abraaj Capital to building a workspace empire in Pakistan, Omar breaks down the real challenges of scaling startups, building brand credibility, and attracting global investment in Pakistan’s high-risk economy.

We uncover:
Why most Pakistani startups fail to scale
The truth behind WeWork’s collapse
Colabs’ expansion into the Middle East
The business mindset gap between India & Pakistan
And the harsh truth: "Pakistan was overselling coworking"

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Special thanks to COLABS for providing us with the studio space.
You can find out more about them at:
COLABS: https://www.colabs.pk

Listen on:
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3z1cE7F
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3cgIkf
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Credits:
Executive Producer: Syed Muzamil Hasan Zaidi
Associate Producer: Saad Shehryar
Publisher: Talha Shaikh
Editor: Jawad Sajid

Chapters:
0:00 - The Untapped Potential of Co-working in Pakistan
4:10 - Omar Shah’s Journey: Lahore to Global Finance
8:28 - Lessons from Abraaj & Scaling Struggles in Pakistan
12:46 - Abraaj’s Fall & Omar’s Leap into Entrepreneurship
23:43 - Vision & Scale of COLABS’ Co-working Platform
33:08 - COLABS’ Enterprise Model & Economic Advantage
43:38 - Learning from WeWork: Sustainable Co-working Path
50:37 - Expanding COLABS: Pakistan & Saudi Partnerships
55:47 - Tackling Economic Challenges with Export-Led Growth
1:03:09 - COLABS’ Global Strategy: Dollarized Contracts & Singapore Entity
1:09:32 - Saudi Arabia’s Nascent Co-working Market & COLABS’ Vision
1:16:29 - Funding Journey & Pakistan’s Economic Outlook
1:33:38 - Omar Shah’s 25-Year Vision for Pakistan