Product Architect, UX/UI Designer

Zeeshan’s Question: How are entrepreneurs creative?

Keystone Title: One the Brand: Preservation & Promotion of Pakistan’s Culture through Apparel

Abstract: Zeeshan Rasool’s Keystone takes the form of a business plan for ONE – a clothing brand based in Pakistan which aims to produce apparel that portrays the traditional elements of the diverse cultures of Pakistan. Within the plan, Rasool evaluates the industry of Pakistan and provides a summary of the company before evaluating and presenting the sale and marketing strategies of ONE. Additionally Rasool details a design plan for launching the first physical ONE store, which involves calculating the financial viability.

Tell me about Quupe.
Quupe is a business I co-founded during my Master’s degree program in digital media. It’s an online sharing economy platform.

Basically, with Quupe, you can rent things from people nearby. Or you can rent out your stuff that is just sitting there, not generating income.

So say this weekend I want to head out on a powder-chasing road trip with friends and document the whole thing…
You could rent a sweet teardrop trailer, a camera-mounted drone, and snowboards.

And champagne flutes.
Yep.

And if we break a few glasses?
Every item can be insured up to $10,000 now, which has been very well received with our rentee community. The moment our insurance increased, so did the value of the items available.

How’s the business going?
It’s going really well. Every day, people are renting from Quupe. Our vision is to create a world that lives on reusability, creates zero waste and fosters a healthy community.

What advice would you give a current Quest student?
Go on an exchange. It will give you insight into international cultures. I went to Zeppelin University in Germany in 2012.

What was the Zeppelin University like?
The school was  in a beautiful location, right next to Lake Constance, from where you could see the shore of Switzerland and Austria. The best part was the diversity of students I interacted with as there were a number of other exchange students during the term I was visiting. I made some great friends from France, Colombia, Israel, Spain, China, Turkey, and obviously Germany. The campus had great classes with open space design, and the profs were brilliant.  

How did the exchange complement your Quest education?
I was interested in entrepreneurship and business, and the exchange term at Zeppelin helped me obtain the knowledge I was looking for. I ended up taking a number of Master level courses, which helped me broaden my perspective on international business, brand strategy and technology management.

What was your favourite part of the exchange?
It was one of the best life experiences I’ve had: the campus location, academic rigor, friends I made, places I travelled — it was simply wonderful.

How did Quest help prepare you for your life and career?
It helped me diversify my thinking, to be open and receptive to multiple perspectives.

Favourite quote?
“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.” – Steve Jobs