Saad Bin Shafiq | Founder of AI Synapse

Saad Bin Shafiq is a serial entrepreneur, AI innovator, and growth strategist with an unyielding drive to build, break, and reinvent. His entrepreneurial DNA was evident from the start—selling PB&J sandwiches at six and reverse-engineering aeronautical engineering books at thirteen, he learned early that true success is forged through curiosity and relentless effort.

At nineteen, Saad boldly cold-called the COO of a hedge fund seeking a job. When told he lacked experience, he didn’t retreat. Instead, he spent two weeks making 140 unsolicited cold calls per day on behalf of the company. After generating three qualified leads, he called back and declared, “Your leads are waiting.” That persistence earned him a commission-based role, proving that credibility isn’t granted—it’s earned through relentless determination.

The Journey of Reinvention
Born and raised in Pakistan, Saad always sought unconventional paths. In high school, he struck a deal with his principal: in exchange for skipping classes, he would deliver a fully functional school website within three months. Remarkably, he built it in a week, though he delayed its release by two months to preserve his autonomy.

After earning a scholarship to study in the U.S., Saad funded his ventures by washing dishes, waiting tables, and promoting nightclubs. He launched multiple startups—from Shopify stores to innovative SaaS tools—demonstrating an early mastery of both commerce and technology. His resilience was put to the test during the COVID era in Miami. Broke, jobless, and sleeping on a friend’s couch, he hustled by packaging Chinese food from 8 PM to 6 AM for just $380 a week while relentlessly developing new ideas. Drawing on his college nightlife experience, he began promoting clubs and brokering charters for yachts, mansions, private jets, and supercars. A subsequent role at a corporate company saw him devising partnership strategies estimated to bring in nine figures within three years. Soon after, he founded his own growth agency, working entirely on a revenue-share commission basis and scaling four different startups from $0 to $1M ARR. It was during this phase he built the MVP for AI Synapse—to automate his sales process so he could work smarter, not harder—and began using it to reach new clients with a groundbreaking AI product.

Building AI Synapse – From Zero to $1.2M+ in Enterprise Deals
Saad’s pivotal breakthrough came when a Fortune 500 company approached him for an AI-driven HR automation solution—a solution he didn’t yet have. Undeterred, he rallied a small team of two engineers and embarked on an intense, 14-day coding marathon—working 14 to 18 hours a day with zero sleep and no margin for error. The result was a functional demo that secured a seven-figure contract. This success was the catalyst for AI Synapse—a platform designed to replace outdated ATS and HRIS systems with an AI-powered recruitment and talent management solution that automates hiring, onboards top talent, and predicts workforce trends.

Today, AI Synapse has been bootstrapped to over $1.2M in enterprise deals and is on track to hit $5M ARR in the next 12 months, with a broader vision of reaching $10M ARR as it continues to disrupt the hiring industry.

Philosophy: Speed > Perfection
Saad’s approach is rooted in rapid execution and a relentless obsession with solving real problems. His core beliefs are clear:

• Speed Beats Perfection: Waiting for perfection is just procrastination.

• Obsession Outlasts Talent: Hard work and grit always trump raw intelligence.

• Take Initiative: No one hands you permission—you seize it.

His proudest moments are not measured by wealth alone but by survival and breakthrough: buying his first mattress after months on a friend’s couch in Miami; savoring clean bottled water for the first time after nine years of Brooklyn tap water; and unveiling his first AI Synapse banner at the Alif Summit in San Francisco, marking a new era for his company.

Today, Saad Bin Shafiq is not only leading AI Synapse to redefine recruitment globally but is also laser-focused on taking the company public within the next five years. His relentless hustle, proven track record, and visionary leadership make him a standout founder—one whose journey continues to inspire and disrupt the industry.