Articles by Tahir
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Gratitude For A Handshake
Gratitude For A Handshake
Two weeks ago, I shook hands with a stranger for the first time after a gap of about a year. Both of us had masks on…
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Tahir Qazi shared thisIf you run an IT consulting/services firm, you have probably lived through some version of this. Around 2023, there was a period at iQuasar where almost every leadership meeting ended the same way. Someone would say, “Wait, which sheet is the correct one?” And for a few seconds, the room would go quiet. Not because people were careless. Quite the opposite. Everybody was working hard. Probably too hard. Sales had one hiring assumption. Delivery had another understanding of bandwidth. Recruitment was trying to fill roles that kept changing priority every few days. Finance had a different utilization view entirely. At one point, one of our delivery managers admitted he had started maintaining his own parallel tracker because he no longer fully trusted the central one. I wish I could say that was unusual. It wasn’t. For years, we thought we were being scrappy and efficient. In hindsight, I think we were slowly building operational debt. The strange thing is that the business itself looked fine from outside. Clients were active. Revenue was healthy. Teams were busy. Busy enough that nobody stopped asking why simple questions were becoming difficult to answer. Who is actually available next month? Can we commit to this ramp-up confidently? Is this team genuinely underutilized or just incorrectly allocated? I remember one deal in particular that still bothers me. Good client. Good project. Somewhere in the mid six-figure range annually. We delayed responding long enough internally that the client moved ahead elsewhere. Not because we lacked engineers. Because nobody trusted the staffing visibility enough to commit quickly. That was difficult to admit to ourselves. Especially after spending years believing the hard part of this business was external competition. Nobody really talks about this phase publicly in IT services. The phase where the company is growing, but internally everybody starts creating workarounds for the system. Shadow spreadsheets. Private trackers. Backchannel staffing conversations. People relying on memory because reports feel outdated by the time they reach them. And then leadership slowly becomes a group of adults trying to reconcile operational reality through twenty browser tabs and six versions of the same spreadsheet. Especially because this got worse for us exactly when the business was doing better. Now with AI changing delivery expectations so quickly, I feel many firms are entering an even more intense version of this. Clients expect faster turnaround. cycles have shortened dramatically. And internally, a lot of companies are still trying to operate through systems built for a slower pace. I do not really have a polished conclusion here. Mostly curiosity. Have other IT consulting firms hit a point where growth stopped feeling exciting and started feeling operationally confusing?
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Tahir Qazi posted thisI didn’t expect to feel this way again. Lately, it feels like I’m back at square one. Not in terms of the business. iQuasar has come a long way since those early days. But in terms of… certainty. That feeling of knowing what works, what doesn’t, what to double down on is not as steady anymore. And it reminds me of how this all started. In the early 2000s, we were trying to build iQuasar across two very different worlds at the same time, Srinagar in Kashmir and Northern Virginia in the U.S. In Srinagar, uncertainty was visible. You could plan a week, and the week would have its own plans. Connectivity, movement, even basic coordination had a layer of unpredictability. In Virginia, things looked stable from the outside. But the uncertainty was still there, just in a different form. You are raising a family. You are juggling multiple roles because you cannot afford not to. You are working without the tools you ideally need. You do not have enough resources, so every decision carries weight. Two very different environments. The same underlying feeling. You are trying to build something without the comfort of knowing if you are doing it right. What stayed was the internal state. You are figuring things out as you go, with no real benchmarks. No clear signal that you are on the right track. Just work in front of you, and a quiet doubt running alongside it. There was a phase where I genuinely thought this might not work. Just a constant, low-grade uncertainty. What changed things was not clarity. It was getting absorbed in smaller pieces of work. Finishing one thing properly. Then the next. And over time, those small wins started holding things together. I did not think of it as a strategy back then. It was simply the only way forward that did not feel overwhelming. Right now, speaking to a lot of founders running service businesses, I hear a very similar undercurrent. Things are shifting quickly. AI is changing how services are delivered, how they are priced, even how clients perceive value. And there is just a lot coming at you. Tools, information, opinions, constantly. It becomes difficult to tell what actually matters and what does not. Are we still building this the right way? I do not have a crisp answer to that. If anything, I feel closer to that early phase again. The only thing that feels familiar is going back to the work itself. Keeping things manageable enough to move. Letting some clarity come from doing, not just thinking. Even as I write this, I am not fully sure if that is enough this time. I am trying to understand this better. What has this shift actually changed for you in the way you are building day to day?
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Tahir Qazi posted thisAre you braving the winter storm Fern to be at the National 8(a) Association’s 2026 Small Business Conference in Nashville, TN? We are! Amin Bhat and I are going to be at iQuasar LLC’s booth #200. Come see us to get to know what we are building for our amazing GovCon community of customers, partners, and vendors. Safe travels and can’t wait to see you all! #N8aSBC
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Tahir Qazi shared thisI was in Kashmir a few weeks ago, and the founders I met kept repeating what we’ve discussed in the roundtables: "we should build ventures for customers outside the valley." I agree with that ambition. But I’m realizing the first step is still very "local." Even the most global businesses usually start by proving their offer in one market they can serve really well. For a Kashmiri founder, that first market doesn’t have to be only Kashmir. It could be Srinagar, Delhi, Dubai, or Doha or even a very specific audience that behaves like a local market. The goal of that first market is simple: collect proof. Proof that the business works in real life, and proof an investor can actually trust. This feels especially relevant for tech-enabled businesses such as edtech, logistics, ecommerce, etc. A small market makes it easier to see potential: you can watch behavior closely, fix problems quickly, and learn what really matters before things get big. DoorDash did exactly this. It started with one small area near Stanford. They put a few restaurant menus on a simple site, used one phone number for orders, and in the early days, the founders did the deliveries themselves. They watched a few numbers: who was willing to pay for delivery, who ordered again, and which restaurants stayed. Once those numbers became steady, they raised a seed round and then used it to improve the product and expand nearby. For me, the lesson is clear. Even if we want customers outside Kashmir, we still begin by choosing one real market we can serve well. Which "local" markets are the best testing grounds for tech-enabled businesses in edtech, ecommerce, or logistics?
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Tahir Qazi posted thisiQuasar Software Solutions is looking to fill two roles in its on-site software team in Srinagar: Senior Lead - Software Engineering - Provide technical leadership to a young software development team - Build SaaS products and take them to market - Engage with customers to understand requirements and build solutions Senior Lead - AI/ML and MLOps - Build enterprise grade AI applications and take them to the market - Incorporate AI functionality into existing SaaS applications - Engage with customers to understand their pain points and build AI driven solutions - Lead and mentor a young and dynamic team If you have strong communications, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence skills; crave to work in a team with a dynamic startup culture; are purpose driven; and have 6+ years of experience in software development, this might be for you. If interested please send your resume and a note to careers@iQuasarSolutions.com. [No direct inquiries with me, please.]
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Tahir Qazi shared thisThe Cleared Talent Crunch 2026 - Practical Strategies to Hire, Retain, and Compete in GovCon iQuasar LLC is hosting this LinkedIn Live on November 24 at 10:30 am. Register here: https://lnkd.in/eu3Wb3KyTahir Qazi shared this🧑💻 The Cleared Talent Crunch 2026: Strategies to Hire, Retain, and Compete in GovCon As cleared talent shortages continue to reshape the government contracting landscape, effective strategies for hiring, retaining, and competing for top talent are more crucial than ever. Join us live on November 24 at 10:30 AM EST for a deep dive into the cleared talent crunch, featuring Farrukh Shah, Senior Recruitment Manager at iQuasar LLC, and Shoaib B., Marketing Manager at iQuasar LLC. In this 45-minute session, we’ll explore: 🔹How to streamline clearance-related hiring delays 🔹Adapting recruitment to focus on skills and clearance readiness 🔹Designing retention programs that reduce turnover 🔹Building partnerships with cleared staffing firms 🔹Aligning talent strategies with compliance and contract requirements 💡 Don’t miss these practical, actionable takeaways to help you stay ahead in the competitive GovCon talent market. 🔗 Join the conversation and secure your spot now! #ClearedTalent #GovCon #GovernmentContracting #ClearedRecruitment #TalentAcquisition #SecurityClearance #WorkforceStrategy #FederalHiring #GovConRecruiting #StaffingSolutions #ClearedStaffing #TalentRetention #GovConSuccess #iQuasarLive
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Tahir Qazi shared thisThe Invisible Jinn and the Gig Economy: This was my first time riding a driverless robotaxi, using a service by Google's sister company Waymo. While the experience brought back the childhood memories of reading Alif Laila - the Arabian Nights - it also provided a moment of reflection and clarity. Millions of jobs in the gig economy providing services with companies like Uber, Ola, DoorDash, etc., and, by extension, in organized sectors like business process management are vanishing or fundamentally changing. Clearly the pace of transformation will be modulated by maturation of technology, economic fundamentals of stock replacement, technology adoption lifecycles, etc. Those of us in knowledge or business process outsourcing industies cannnot but see this as an inflection point! I don't know if there is a "copyable" answer for all companies, but those who have invention, adpatability, and resilience in their DNA are likely to find this as an opportunity. And those who have been preparing for this moment are likely to win. How do you see KPO/BPO industries transforming? What are some transformation models you can think of or have seen working?
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Tahir Qazi shared thisIt has been about 90 days that we started a conversation on the state of entrepreneurship in Kashmir. Got overwhelming support that led to the creation of "The Waav (Fanning the Embers) Initiative." The next logical step is to go from thinking and discussion to executing. The wait to express your interest as a founder, aspiring founder, investor, or a mentor in the Waav Iniitiative is over. Here is the registration form: https://lnkd.in/eABcMz5c Please share your interest by Oct 19th. So many founders, aspiring founders, mentors, and investors have reached out directly to me. I would appreciate it if you can register your interest using this form to help a small team get us organized. Can't wait to see us give shape to a small but meaningful initiative collectively and work together to make a difference!
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Tahir Qazi shared thisI recently took Uber while traveling and met Tenzing, a Bhutanese immigrant, who at 45 is taking classes during breaks from driving, to learn how to code. He showed me his hand-scribbled notebooks and said that he learns best when he writes what he is learning. Upon learning that I worked in the tech industry, he urged me to search "Bhutan Mindfulness City" and consider visiting Bhutan. I did look it up: * https://lnkd.in/ewayMVZ3 * https://gmc.bt/ I was deeply inspired by Tenzing's desire to keep on learning, as the world around him required a changed skill set. What also inspired me about Tenzing was his pride in his identity and commitment he felt towards his own. He had nothing to gain from asking me to visit Bhutan. Talking to him reminded me of a favorite quote of mine attributed to Canadain farmer, Nelson Henderson: "The true meaning of life is to plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit."
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Tahir Qazi reacted on thisTahir Qazi reacted on thisReacting to public RFPs is one of the most fragile growth strategies in GovCon. Over the last five years, I’ve seen the most successful contractors win—not by being the biggest—but by engaging early and shaping the opportunity before it hits the street. At iQuasar, we help government contractors shift from reactive bidding to proactive pursuit planning. If you want to win more right-fit opportunities, let’s talk. #GovCon #FederalContracting #BusinessDevelopment #CaptureManagement
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Missouri State Customer Experience Program
Advisory Board
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Habitat for Humanity - Burlington County
Board Member
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Revive Kashmir
Board Member
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Kashmir Education Initiative
Board Member, President
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Amana Academy Charter School
Board Member, Strategic Planning and Leadership
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Child Nurture and Relief
Board Member, Founder
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Connected Digital Infrastructure Association
TIWA Rebrands as CDIA to Reflect Expanding Focus on Connected Digital Infrastructure. Watchung, NJ – March 2, 2026 – TIWA, The Inbuilding Wireless Association, today announced it is officially rebranding as CDIA – The Connected Digital Infrastructure Association, effective immediately. The move reflects the organization’s broader focus on the evolving digital infrastructure ecosystem serving commercial, corporate, and industrial real estate. The Association is owned by Fifth Gen Media, Inc. Rich Berliner, CEO of Fifth Gen Media, explained the strategic decision: “After extensive discussions with our Advisory Council and real estate leaders, it became clear that the industry has evolved beyond the narrow definition of inbuilding wireless. Today’s real estate stakeholders are thinking holistically about connectivity, integration, and digital infrastructure across their entire portfolio. CDIA better represents the full scope of technologies and partnerships shaping modern buildings and smart environments.” The rebrand acknowledges that digital infrastructure now encompasses wireless systems, fiber, IT integration, smart building technologies, data platforms, and the convergence of real estate and technology strategy. CDIA will maintain the core mission established under TIWA — fostering collaboration between digital infrastructure vendors, integrators, and commercial real estate decision-makers — while expanding its platform to support a broader range of stakeholders." This week, CDIA will debut its bimonthly publication, Digital Infrastructure Insights, delivering thought leadership and actionable perspectives for the connected infrastructure community. Developed with input from real estate executives, technology providers, IT leaders, and industry advisors, the publication will address marketplace trends, integration challenges, and emerging opportunities across the built environment. CDIA is a membership-based organization and is now welcoming industry leaders committed to advancing collaboration across the digital infrastructure landscape. Members gain access to curated real estate and vendor networks and strategic introductions including the newly formed Real Estate Advisory Council. Darlene Pope, a respected commercial real estate executive, will chair the Real Estate Advisory Council and will soon announce the inaugural group of CRE leaders serving in this role. Berliner added: “The demand for connected digital infrastructure is accelerating rapidly. CDIA represents the next phase of our evolution — moving beyond events to create a trusted, collaborative community where real estate and technology leaders can engage meaningfully, share insights, and shape the future of connected environments.” https://www.cdiausa.com/
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