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Man quits investment banking career, joins brother to launch startup: ‘We raised $1.5 million’
After graduating, both brothers initially pursued different career paths before ultimately deciding to join forces and launch their own venture.
The entrepreneurial journey is often a lonely road, but brothers and co-founders, Hasan and Omair, proved that having just one believer can change everything. Taking to Instagram, the duo shared a nostalgic post reflecting on their transition from corporate employees questioning their future to successful entrepreneurs. Having built an app that has already amassed over 100,000 downloads, the brothers revealed their biggest milestone yet: raising $1.5 million from top-tier investors and advisors.
“Find someone who believes in your dreams before the world does. Looking back, it’s honestly been a crazy few years,” read a post shared on the official Instagram page of “Peek A Box”.
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It continued, “We went from two brothers with an idea, questioning whether we should leave our jobs, to building an app that’s now been downloaded by over 100,000 people. But the biggest lesson isn’t about the downloads, the fundraising, or the milestones.”
The post added, “It’s that you don’t need everyone else to believe in your dream first. You just need a few people who believe in you. For us, that was each other.”
The post is accompanied by a series of visuals showing before-and-after life updates of the brothers. One of the slides highlights how much they have raised for their startup. “Now, we raised $1.5m with top-tier investors and advisors behind us.”
What did social media say?
An individual praised, “Proud of you boys, come a long, long way.” Another commented, “Proud of you both! The goats.”
Also Read: Meet the IIT Kanpur-educated founder who made $8 million in a single day
A third expressed, “Amazing story well done!” The fourth wrote, “Amazing journey and it’s only the beginning!”
Who are Hasan and Omair Sarwar?
The brothers completed their higher education at the University of Warwick. Soon after, Hasan started his career as an investment banker while Omair focused on real estate after his stint as a management consultant.
They left their job and started “Peekabox” in 2025. It is a UAE-based “Food-tech platform for stores to list their surplus food at a discount for customers.” The company partners with bakeries, restaurants, cafés and grocery stores.
“I spoke to my brother Omair about it, and from that first conversation, it just clicked,” Hasan told Gulf News when asked why he decided to leave the field of investment banking.
“We both felt we had the commercial instinct to make this work, not as a charity, but as a real business that creates a win-win for retailers and consumers,” he said.
