A listing on Startup Network puts your startup in front of customers, investors, partners and future teammates who are browsing Pakistani startups. But a half-finished profile with a blurry logo and a one-line description gets scrolled past. This guide walks you through every part of a strong profile, explains how featured listings, verification and reviews work, and shows you how to turn inquiries into conversations.
How people find you on the network
Startup Network lists three kinds of things: startups, jobs and events. Visitors find startups in a few ways:
- Search by name, keyword or tagline.
- Browse by category, such as AI & Automation, Tech & Software or E-Commerce & Retail, and by region.
- Featured sections, including featured startups on the homepage.
Members can bookmark listings to come back to later and send inquiries straight to the listing owner. As an owner, you see how many people viewed your listing and clicked your contact details. Every one of these depends on the quality of your profile.
Before you start: gather your assets
You will move faster if you prepare these first:
- Your logo as a clear, square image.
- A wide cover image.
- A one-line tagline and a 150 to 300 word description.
- Short bios of your founders and key team members.
- Your business email, phone or WhatsApp number and website.
- Links to your active social media accounts.
- The month and year you were founded.
You will need a free account. From your dashboard you manage your listing, reply to inquiries and see your stats.
Fill in each part of the profile
Logo
Your logo appears in search results and on your listing page, often at a small size. Use a simple version with good contrast on a white background. Avoid long text inside the logo, because it becomes unreadable when small.
Cover image
The cover sets the tone of your page. The listing form suggests an image of 1500 × 1000 pixels. Use a real photo of your product, team or workplace, or a clean branded graphic. Keep important text away from the edges so it is not cropped on phones.
Tagline
The tagline is the line most people read before deciding whether to click, and it is searchable. Say what you do and for whom, in plain words. Compare these hypothetical examples:
- Weak: “Revolutionising the future of commerce.”
- Better: “Bookkeeping app for small shops in Pakistan, in Urdu and English.”
Description
Answer the questions a visitor actually has. A simple structure:
- The problem: who struggles with what, in one or two sentences.
- Your solution: what your product or service does and how it works.
- Who it is for: your main customers and the cities you serve.
- Proof: real customers, partners, awards or programmes you have completed. Only include facts you can back up.
- Your stage and what you are looking for: customers, partners, hires or investment.
Use short paragraphs and the words your customers would search for. Avoid buzzwords that could describe any company.
About the team
People back people. Name your founders, give each one a sentence on their background and role, and mention relevant experience. Investors and job seekers will look for it.
Category and region
Choose the category that matches what you sell, not what technology you use. A food delivery startup that uses AI still belongs in food, because that is where its customers look. Then choose the region where you are based, so people searching by location can find you.
Contact details and social links
Use a business email you check daily and a phone or WhatsApp number someone actually answers. Add your website and only the social accounts you keep active. A link to an abandoned page makes you look inactive. Check that every link opens correctly.
Preview, submit and keep it current
The form shows you a preview before you submit, so check it on your phone as well as a laptop. New listings are usually reviewed before they go live, and changes to a live listing can go back for review too. Plan your updates rather than editing several times a day.
Update your profile whenever something important changes: a new product, a new city, a new team member or a milestone you can prove.
Featured listings, verification and reviews
- Featured listings. Paid packages can mark a listing as featured. Featured listings get a badge and higher placement, and can appear in featured sections such as the homepage. You can choose a featured package when you add your listing, or upgrade an existing one from your account.
- Verification. A verified badge tells visitors the listing is managed by the real business. Some paid packages include it. If your startup was listed by someone else, you can claim the listing. After the team confirms that you own or represent the business, for example through a work email or an official page, you can edit the profile, reply to reviews and show the verified badge.
- Reviews. Members can rate your startup out of five stars and write a review. As the owner, you can reply. Thank people for positive reviews. Answer critical ones calmly, explain what you have fixed and invite the reviewer to contact you directly.
Respond to inquiries quickly
An inquiry is a warm lead. The person found you, read your profile and took the time to write. Inquiries arrive in your dashboard, and your reply reaches the sender by email.
- Use an account email you check daily, so you notice new inquiries quickly.
- Reply the same working day. Even a short “Thanks, we will send details by tomorrow” keeps the conversation alive.
- Use templates for common questions about pricing, partnerships, investment and jobs, then personalise the first line.
- Suggest a next step, such as a short call or a WhatsApp chat, and offer two specific times.
- Log every inquiry with its date, topic and outcome, so you can see which ones turn into customers or partners.
Use your analytics
Your dashboard shows listing views, contact clicks and leads over recent weeks. Read them together:
- Many views but few contact clicks: your tagline, cover or description is not convincing. Rewrite them and compare the next month.
- Contact clicks but few inquiries or calls: check that your phone number and email work and that someone responds.
- Few views: review your category and region, and make sure your tagline uses words people search for.
Also list your jobs and events
You can post jobs and events alongside your startup profile. Job pages can let applicants send their CV, with applications arriving in your dashboard. Event listings can include your event website or joining link. Both give people another way to discover your startup.
Your profile checklist
- Upload a clear, square logo and a 1500 × 1000 pixel cover image.
- Write a tagline that says what you do and for whom.
- Write a 150 to 300 word description with problem, solution, customers, proof and what you are looking for.
- Add your team with names, roles and short bios.
- Choose the right category and region.
- Add working contact details and only active social links.
- Preview on your phone before you submit.
- Reply to every inquiry the same working day.
- Check your views and contact clicks monthly and improve your profile.
Sources and further reading
- Startup Network Pakistan homepage
- Add a listing (Startup Network Pakistan)
- Explore listings (Startup Network Pakistan)
- SEO Starter Guide: titles, descriptions and image alt text (Google Search Central)
- How to improve your local ranking on Google, including replying to reviews (Google Business Profile Help)
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