How One Guy Used AI to Build an Entire Tech Startup in 5 Months ft. Fahad Hassan | TBT Podcast

https://muzamilhasan.com/podcast/apply Are electric vehicles actually taking over Pakistan, or are drivers suffering from severe "range anxiety"? In this episode of the Thought Behind Things podcast, I sit down with Fahad Hassan, a self-taught developer who dropped out of A-Levels, spent a decade freelancing on Upwork, and used AI to build "ChargePK"—Pakistan’s premier EV charging aggregator app—in just 5 months. While everyone is busy chasing speculative crypto coins or generic AI hype, Fahad focused on a real, physical problem: helping EV owners find chargers, check live availability, and plan trips across cities. We discuss how he built an omni-platform app (iOS, Android, CarPlay, Watch) entirely solo using AI, the brutal realities of Pakistan's early-stage EV infrastructure, and why building "boring" utility apps for local industries is where the real money is. If you want to see what practical, AI-aided software development looks like in the trenches of Pakistan, watch this until the end. Timestamps: 0:00 Intro: The EV Wave in Pakistan & Meeting Fahad Hassan 2:28 Dropping Out of A-Levels to Start Coding in 2012 3:56 The Birth of ChargePK: Solving Personal "Range Anxiety" 7:03 Building Solo: How AI Cut Multi-Platform App Development to 5 Months 11:26 Can You Build an App With AI If You Can't Code? 14:38 UX & Design First: Why He Built Native Instead of Taking the Shortcut 16:29 Monetization & B2B Partnerships: Working with Charging Stations 21:55 The Reality of EV Infrastructure in Pakistan (Lahore to Karachi) 24:46 How Big Is Pakistan's EV Market? 27:11 Check-ins, Rewards and an In-App Wallet 30:45 Outro & How to Test/Give Feedback on ChargePK