Arifur Rahman Naim’s path to entrepreneurship was unconventional. Growing up in a village near Kuakata in Bangladesh’s Barishal division, his childhood was deeply connected to nature, far from the digital world he would later master. His journey included studying at a madrasa known for exceptional results, dropping out of university, working freelance, and eventually founding JoulesLabs in 2017. Naim’s career has been shaped by intentional learning, strategic networking, and a dedication to creating something impactful.
Today, JoulesLabs operates as a 25-30 person engineering agency, having served diverse clients such as FundedNext, the Bangladesh Navy, and European EV companies. Beyond its client portfolio, Naim’s story stands out for his thoughtful approach to partnerships, candid assessment of past errors, and a vision for scaling impact while upholding quality.
In this discussion, Naim reflects on his entrepreneurial journey and the development of JoulesLabs. He shares institutional lessons from his madrasa, the realities of establishing a services business in Bangladesh, the wisdom gained from finding the right co-founder, and the transition from coding to leadership. His narrative highlights the importance of surrounding oneself with capable individuals, the power of commitment in collaborations, and the ongoing effort required to build sustainable organizations.
Arifur Rahman Naim, Co-founder of JoulesLabs, shared insights into his background and the path that led him to establish the company. His educational background is in Computer Science and Engineering from Dhaka International University. The agency was founded in 2017, following various jobs and contractual marketplace work.
Naim spent his early life in a village near Kuakata, in the Kalapara Upazila of the Barishal division, until Class 8. He then moved to Jhalakathi for Classes 9 and 10, completing his SSC there.
Reflecting on his childhood, Naim appreciates growing up close to nature, surrounded by rivers, canals, wetlands, and ponds, without digital devices. He considers this experience a blessing, especially when comparing it to contemporary digitalized lifestyles.
After Jhalakathi, Naim moved to Dhaka for HSC, attending Dhaka Science College, and later Dhaka International University for his undergraduate studies.
During his college years (2008-2010), the computer science and outsourcing industry in Bangladesh was gaining traction. Many training centers offered courses in computer skills and outsourcing. Initially considering textile engineering, Naim was inspired by his cousin and older brother to pursue CSE. He began exploring computers and learning coding even before university.
The exposure individuals receive often influences their choices. Naim’s madrasa years, specifically at Jhalakathi N.S. Kamil Madrasa for Classes 9 and 10, were particularly formative. This Alia Madrasa was, and remains, a top-ranking institution, significantly impacting his career.
The institution achieved remarkable results, with a high percentage of students receiving top grades. Beyond academics, it fostered leadership through initiatives like a student parliament. Naim noted that the institution attracted talented teachers from across the country, providing them with autonomy to implement innovative educational ideas while maintaining accountability. The principal, a charismatic and motivating leader, managed these highly qualified teachers effectively, inspiring students and alumni alike. This environment instilled discipline, which Naim believes was crucial for his future.
Naim’s experiences at the madrasa, followed by Science College and university, instilled a mindset of striving for substantial achievements. Before university, he delved into coding, seeking guidance from industry seniors and learning through shared tutorials and small contractual projects. This proactive approach, reaching out to build connections and leverage available opportunities, was a defining characteristic of his early career.
His programming career effectively began outside of university. He eventually dropped out, not out of pride, but due to circumstances. By then, he had entered the job market, working as a web developer for local companies using PHP, and later taking on contractual work in marketplaces. While marketplace work offered higher earnings, Naim soon realized he wasn’t learning new skills. He made a conscious decision to prioritize learning over easy money, hitting a “full stop” on other pursuits to focus on skill development.
Around 2014, Naim enrolled in a PHP and WordPress course at TechMaster, taught by Hasin Hayder. His primary goal was to connect with Hasin Bhai, a prominent figure in Bangladesh’s IT industry. This led to an opportunity to join ThemeBucket, a company co-founded by Hasin Bhai, in 2015. Working at ThemeBucket until 2016 provided Naim with invaluable experience, learning from respected and down-to-earth co-founders who offered significant ownership and fostered confidence.
Towards the end of 2016, Naim’s colleagues at ThemeBucket observed his aptitude for managerial tasks over pure programming, suggesting a potential career transition. Simultaneously, a job offer from a company in Thailand emerged. He traveled to Bangkok for a 15-day trip to finalize pre-joining procedures for a CTO-type role, managing mobile apps and websites for a brain supplement business.
However, Naim felt homesick and realized the role wasn’t purely IT-focused. He proposed working contractually from Bangladesh, which the company accepted. This opportunity became the first contract for JoulesLabs. Naim returned to Bangladesh, obtained a trade license, and officially launched JoulesLabs on October 3rd, 2017.
Initially, JoulesLabs operated as a sole proprietorship. The official establishment of the institution boosted Naim’s confidence, allowing him to more effectively leverage his existing network in Thailand and Singapore. He secured significant deals, including a joint venture with his Singaporean and Malaysian friends to create a Singapore-based company where Naim served as CTO, with JoulesLabs handling tech development. This early exposure to international clients fostered a strong aptitude for delivering high-quality services and developing effective processes, such as weekly Loom video updates for clients.
The first three years of JoulesLabs focused on team building, initial agency branding, and establishing client relationships. Naim’s active engagement in the developer community through groups like DevTravelers, organizing events and attending meetups, significantly eased the initial hiring process. The company grew from four members to 14-15 people, operating from Mirpur DOHS, steadily building its foundation.
The COVID-19 pandemic presented a serious challenge, causing main contracts to fall through overnight. JoulesLabs navigated a difficult period before making a comeback. By 2021, with a team of 10-15 and established networks, Naim recognized the need for a dedicated partner to oversee the engineering side, allowing him to focus on international networking and business development. He sought a passionate individual to ensure learning, quality, and accountability within the engineering house.
This led to a partnership with Mehedi Hasan Nahid (Nahid Bin Azhar), a former colleague from ThemeBucket and a highly respected engineer known for his open-source contributions and expertise in PHP, Laravel, and Go. Nahid Bhai, who had extensive experience at companies like Pathao, Telegram, and Portonics, shared an entrepreneurial mindset and a passion for coding, teaching, and organizing tech events, while disliking business development. This complementary skill set formed a “beautiful combination.”
The partners engaged in thorough discussions, outlining pros, cons, and work division, before formalizing their partnership on January 1st, 2021. Naim emphasizes that their prior experiences with partnerships and business challenges, coupled with mutual respect and complementary skills, were crucial to its success. A key lesson for successful partnerships is mutual commitment and undivided attention to the core business, avoiding side affiliations. The ability to communicate openly and respectfully, even during disagreements, is also vital.
The period since January 2021 has been a journey of renewed enthusiasm. After onboarding the co-founder and rebranding in June 2021, JoulesLabs secured a significant contract with FundedNext (then Jayed Corp, now Next Ventures). JoulesLabs built the initial main backend of the platform, providing a managed team for about a year and a half. This collaboration offered Naim valuable learning opportunities from Jayed Bhai’s vision and energy, and showcased Nahid Bhai’s experience with large-scale projects.
Other milestones include working with a UK-based EV company on battery and swapping station technology, involving complex IoT integration. JoulesLabs also contributed to the digitization of the Bangladesh Navy and developed the modern Webflow-based website for BIDA as a sub-vendor. Recently, the company signed an agreement with Moar, a pioneering co-working space in Dhaka, to digitize its entire system.
Today, JoulesLabs is an engineering team of 25 to 30 people. The company has re-evaluated its brand positioning, recognizing the need for greater growth. After working across various sectors like e-commerce, LegalTech, EdTech, AdTech, and GovTech, JoulesLabs has decided to focus its efforts. The current strategic focus is on SaaS and AI development, leveraging existing experience and fulfillment capacity to attract more specialized clients. The challenge now lies in business development and marketing to scale the organization further.
Reflecting on the journey from “zero to one” (establishing a sustainable company) and “one to ten” (scaling to a mid-sized company), Naim acknowledges early mistakes. In the initial three years, a lack of streamlined processes and SOPs led to reactive operations and friction. After 2021, the focus shifted to building robust processes, correcting these early shortcomings. JoulesLabs now believes it has the organizational capacity to scale from 30 to 300 people, with the primary challenge being business development and market trust. The company is at an early stage of serious growth, aiming to build systems for sales and marketing.
The organizational culture at JoulesLabs is centered on building an “engineering house” – an environment optimized for engineers. This includes offering fully flexible office hours, recognizing that engineers thrive with autonomy. Project selection prioritizes impactful work and learning opportunities for engineers, even over high financial returns. The company conducts client interviews to assess project viability and manage expectations, ensuring engineers work on projects they can learn from and enjoy. Project Managers prepare tasks, allowing engineers to focus on development. Monthly all-hands meetings reinforce cultural values, encouraging open-source contributions and knowledge sharing through active feedback mechanisms.
Naim views a service business as capable of predictability with proper sales, marketing, and positioning. He notes that while product businesses are often more challenging due to higher failure rates and complex marketing, service businesses allow for greater employment opportunities and foreign currency generation, aligning with JoulesLabs’ ambition. The company’s business development strategy is evolving, with a strong belief that solving marketing challenges will unlock significant growth.
As a founder, Naim has evolved to think from an “impact perspective,” focusing on creating positive impact and being responsible with opportunities. His learning process involves extensive networking with industry experts, converting insights into actionable plans, and continuously learning from books, podcasts, and courses, then implementing these learnings to achieve results.
Common mistakes Naim identifies for founders include: neglecting marketing in the early stages, which can significantly hinder growth; confusing importance with urgency, leading to micro-management and inefficiency; and delaying the implementation of processes and SOPs, which are crucial for smooth service operations.
Naim’s productivity is driven by a strong vision and spiritual motivation, aiming to create impact for both worlds. He tries to start his day early with Fajr prayer, incorporating family engagement and walks, and strives to finish work early to maintain a healthy routine, though he admits this is often a challenge.
Looking ahead, JoulesLabs has ambitious plans. In the short term (three to five years), the goal is to expand the team to 500 to 1,000 engineers and extend operations to several more countries. This vision, partly inspired by Raisul Bhai of Brain Station 23, emphasizes job creation and bringing foreign currency to Bangladesh.
