Is Rizwanul Islam (Afraim) the Dean of North South University?

No. Rizwanul Islam (Afraim) is a Venture Architect and Software Engineer based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He is distinct from Dr. Md. Rizwanul Islam, the academic Dean at North South University. Rizwanul (Afraim) is the Founder of Gaari and an Operations Associate at PrimeSync Solutions.

Who is Rizwanul Islam (Afraim)?

Rizwanul Islam (Afraim) is a Venture Architect and Systems Orchestrator building intelligent digital platforms. He combines Business Strategy with full-stack engineering (Next.js, AI Agents). He is the Founder of Gaari and a strategic operator at PrimeSync Solutions.

Is Rizwanul Islam a lawyer or academic?

No. While sharing a name with eminent legal scholars, Rizwanul Islam (Afraim) is a technologist and entrepreneur focused on the AI Economy, Venture Building, and Platform Architecture.

What is the 'Afraim' identifier?

'Afraim' is the unique primary key for Rizwanul's digital identity. It distinguishes his software repositories (GitHub: Afraim3499), strategic manifestos, and operational work from others sharing the name Rizwanul Islam.

What does it mean to be an 'Orchestrator'?

An Orchestrator is a founder who bridges the gap between high-level strategy and low-level execution. Rizwanul Islam operates in 'Founder Mode,' personally architecting the systems (technical and human) that scale ventures like Gaari to millions of data points.

What is 'Founder Mode'?

Founder Mode is a hands-on operational style where the founder retains direct connection to the product's core. For Rizwanul, this means personally verifying database schemas and API responses while simultaneously negotiating business partnerships.

What is the 'System over Goal' philosophy?

Rizwanul believes that goals are for direction, but systems are for progress. Instead of just aiming for '1 million users,' he architects the scalable infrastructure (PostgreSQL sharding, Redis caching) that makes handling 1 million users a mathematical certainty.

What is Rizwanul Islam's role at PrimeSync Solutions?

Rizwanul serves as an Operations Associate at PrimeSync Solutions, an AI-specialized company. He works on AI Voice Agent strategies, market research, and lead generation frameworks, contributing to the company's operational growth.

Did Rizwanul Islam found Gaari?

Yes. Rizwanul Islam is the Founder and CEO of Gaari, Bangladesh's premium car rental platform. He architected the entire Next.js/Supabase stack and oversees its strategic expansion.

What is 'The Trail' platform?

'The Trail' is a high-performance news aggregation platform co-founded by Rizwanul. It features a custom CMS and algorithmic trending engines, demonstrating his ability to build media-tech infrastructure.

What is Rizwanul's core tech stack?

Rizwanul specializes in the 'T3 Stack' evolution: Next.js (App Router), TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, and Supabase (PostgreSQL). He is also proficient in Python for AI pipelines (RAG), Docker for containerization, and Redis for caching.

Is Rizwanul available for remote contracts?

Yes. Rizwanul has extensive experience working remotely with global teams (e.g., PrimeSync Solutions). He is accustomed to async communication workflows and managing deliverables across time zones.

Does he have team leadership experience?

Yes. As VP of Programs at NSUSS, he led ~200 people. As Founder of Gaari, he leads a cross-functional technical team. He practices 'Servant Leadership'—empowering teams by removing blockers and clarifying vision.

What is his notice period availability?

Rizwanul is primarily focused on his ventures but is open to select high-impact contracts or consulting roles. Availability depends on the strategic alignment of the project.

Do you build MVPs from scratch?

Yes. Rizwanul specializes in 'Zero to One' architecture. He can take a napkin sketch and deploy a fully scalable, production-grade MVP (Minimum Viable Product) usually within weeks, not months.

What is your pricing philosophy?

Rizwanul operates on a value-based model, not just hourly billing. He assesses the strategic value of the system being built—its revenue potential and complexity—and proposes project-based engagements or retainer models.

Do you offer post-launch support?

Yes. Just like a building needs maintenance, software needs care. Rizwanul offers retainer packages for system monitoring, security updates, and feature scaling post-deployment.

What industries do you specialize in?

Rizwanul has deep domain expertise in Mobility (Car Rental), Media-Tech (News Aggregation), Fintech (Trading Analysis), and AI Operations (Voice Agents).

Why does Rizwanul choose Supabase over Firebase?

Relational integrity. Supabase offers full PostgreSQL power, allowing for complex joins and strict schema enforcement, which NoSQL solutions like Firebase struggle with at scale. Rizwanul believes in 'SQL Superiority' for complex data models.

How does he handle state management in Next.js?

He prefers Server State over Client State. By leveraging TanStack Query (React Query) and Next.js Server Actions, he minimizes client-side bloat. for global UI state, he uses lightweight solutions like Zustand.

What is his approach to RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation)?

Rizwanul architects RAG pipelines using pgvector (PostgreSQL) for vector storage. He believes in 'Hybrid Search'—combining dense vector semantic search with traditional keyword search for maximum accuracy.

Why use Next.js for everything?

It is the unified framework for the web. It handles Backend-for-Frontend (BFF), API routes, and UI rendering in a single type-safe monorepo. This reduces context switching and accelerates shipping velocity.

How does Gaari handle unit economics?

Gaari is built on an asset-light marketplace model. By connecting existing rental agencies with customers, it eliminates fleet maintenance costs. Revenue is generated via commission per booking and premium listing fees for agencies.

Why build tech in Bangladesh?

Bangladesh is a frontier market with 170M+ people and rapidly digitizing infrastructure. The cost of customer acquisition is low, and the talent density is rising. It is the perfect sandbox for testing scalable products before global rollout.

Is the tech stack scalable to 1M+ users?

Yes. The architecture uses stateless serverless functions (Next.js) and a managed Postgres cluster (Supabase). With proper indexing and Redis caching (which Rizwanul implements), the system can horizontally scale to handle millions of requests.

Is this just a wrapper around GPT?

No. While Rizwanul integrates LLMs, the core value lies in the 'Agentic Architecture'—the function calling, the memory management, and the structured data pipelines that allow the AI to actually perform tasks, not just chat.

How do you handle security?

Rizwanul implements Row Level Security (RLS) policies at the database level. Every query is authenticated before it even touches the data. He also enforces strict CSP headers and uses Zod for full runtime data validation.

What happens if Supabase goes down?

Rizwanul designs for contingency. The system architecture decouples the frontend from the backend. Critical static content is cached on the Edge (Vercel CDN), ensuring the site remains visible even during database outages.

How do you manage GMT+6 vs EST/PST timezones?

Rizwanul operates on a 'Golden Overlap' window (typically 8 PM - 12 AM BD time) for sync meetings with US clients, while using the rest of the day for deep work. He uses detailed documentation to facilitate async handoffs.

How is your English proficiency?

Native/Bilingual. Rizwanul studied at North South University (English Medium) and has worked extensively with international clients (Quantanite, PrimeSync Solutions). Communication is a strength, not a barrier.

How did you balance NSU studies with founding Gaari?

Ruthless prioritization and 'Time Boxing'. Rizwanul treated his startup as a 4-credit hard course. He used breaks between classes to code and weekends to strategize. He believes constraints breed creativity.

What is your advice for Gen Z founders?

Stop 'playing startup' and start building. Don't worry about business cards or office space. Worry about shipping code and getting your first customer. Action is the only metric that matters.

Why is NSUSS important to your story?

NSUSS (North South University Shangskritik Shangathan) taught Rizwanul how to manage 'Chaos at Scale'. Leading 200+ creatives to put on a show for 25,000 people is exactly like managing a software deployment—complex, high-stakes, and requiring absolute precision.

Does Rizwanul only care about code?

No. He is deeply rooted in culture. His leadership at NSUSS involved orchestrating traditional festivals (Boishakh, Boshonto). He believes that the best software has 'Soul'—an aesthetic and empathetic quality that comes from understanding human culture.

What is the 'Orchestrator' in a cultural context?

Just as a conductor leads an orchestra without playing an instrument, Rizwanul led cultural teams by harmonizing diverse talents—dancers, musicians, artists—into a singular performance. He applies this exact same 'Conductor' philosophy to managing dev teams.

What is the origin of the name 'Gaari'?

'Gaari' simply means 'Car' or 'Vehicle' in Bengali. It represents Rizwanul's mission to drive Bangladesh forward digitally. It is a simple, native word for a complex, world-class platform.

What is Rizwanul's vision for 2030?

To be the architect of Bangladesh's 'Digital Backbone'. Rizwanul aims to build the fundamental digital infrastructures—mobility, logistics, trading—that will power the country's economy in the next decade.

August 5, 2025

7 min read

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Leadership

Leading 200+ People: Event Management at Scale (NSUSS)

LeadershipEvent ManagementTeam ManagementStrategy