London Inc. Winter 2021 - 52

Zamir Khan
Founder and CEO, VidHug | 39
As a solo operator, Zamir Khan stared down the 'viral moment' as the popularity of video platform VidHug
exploded almost overnight. Connecting with community and trusting his instincts, he is leading one of the
city's newest and most exciting tech successes.

What's your biggest business achievement? In March
of 2020, the world changed and the problem that VidHug - a
platform for surprise group videos, for things like birthdays
or special occasions - solves was suddenly a problem that
everyone had. We saw our traﬃc grow from a few hundred to
well over 100,000 visitors per day. Over the course of a few
weeks, the business went from one-person, part-time operation
to a thriving startup that should probably be staﬀed by up to a
dozen team members. The phrase 'building the airplane while
ﬂying it' couldn't be more apt in this case. Each hire - we now
have a team of six - came in and had to drink from the proverbial
al ﬁrehose in their role. They handled it amazingly and
have taken VidHug to heights I never dreamed of.

20 UNDER 40 * CLASS OF 2020

Whatt about your biggest business obstacle?
And how do you face up to it? As a productsed founder, that part of the business comes
focused
rally. Not much else does. Marketing, sales,
naturally.
uiting, operations and more are all areas I
recruiting,
nue to learn on the job. Left unchecked, that
continue
perience can lead to doubts, indecisiveness
inexperience
and even bouts of impostor syndrome. Meeting
this challenge means seeking out and lisng to mentors and building a team
tening
with strengths in areas we need, but
also learning
earning to trust your gut in
making
ng and owning key decisions.
Whatt has the Covid-19
demic taught you about
pandemic
self and your work?
yourself
When
n the circumstances
demand
and it, we're all
capable
ble of rising to
meet new challenges,
es, ﬁnding
another
her gear and
reinventing
enting
ourselves.
elves.

52 | londonincmagazine.ca | WINTER 2021

Don't worry about the destination.
What you'll remember are the people and
the journey. Take the time to appreciate
them both

Knowing what you know now, what advice would you
give to a young you? Don't worry about the destination.
What you'll remember are the people
p
and the journey. Take
the time to appreciate them both.
What books have you read lately? Almost all
the books I read these days are with my children.
During Covid, we have,
hav at any given time, about
50 books on loan from the library. I love reading
with them and readi
reading out loud with silly and
dramatic voices. From
Fro The Chronicles of Narnia
to illustrated Frozen spin-oﬀs
to board-books
s
with our toddler, I'm still a kid at heart.

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London Inc. Winter 2021

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