I have started four companies and closed one of them. Meridian employs 340 people across three countries and has never missed a payroll. I write about what that actually took.
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Shahriar Kabir
Founder and Chief Executive · Meridian Group · founded 2011
I started Meridian in 2011 with two people and a rented desk. It is now a group of four businesses in logistics, light manufacturing and software, employing 340 people in Bangladesh, Malaysia and the UAE.
The company I closed taught me more than the three that worked. I say so publicly, because founders hear about the wins far too often and about the shutdowns almost never.
Track record
- 2024
Meridian Logistics reaches profitability
Took the freight arm from a loss to a steady margin in eighteen months by cutting the routes that never made money instead of chasing volume.
340 staff · 3 countries - 2022
The Malaysia expansion
Opened Kuala Lumpur with a team of six, all local hires. It reached break-even in its eleventh month.
Break-even in 11 months - 2019
Closing Shiplane
Shut a business with fourteen staff. Everybody was paid in full and eleven of them were placed elsewhere in the group before the doors shut.
The one that did not work
- 2011 — nowFounder and Chief ExecutiveMeridian GroupFour businesses, 340 people, three countries.
- 2016 — 2019FounderShiplane TechnologiesFreight software. Closed in 2019 when the market did not come.
- 2020 — nowChairBangladesh Freight AssociationElected twice. Works on the customs rules that cost small operators the most.
- 2018 — nowAngel investor and board adviserEleven companiesSmall cheques, a lot of time. Mostly first-time founders in logistics and manufacturing.
- BuildingCompany formation, hiring the first twenty, operating rhythm
- MoneyFundraising, debt structuring, unit economics
- ScaleCross-border operations, franchise models, succession
- BoardsChairing, governance, founder coaching
Talk to me directly.
No assistant, no gatekeeper. Founders, journalists and anyone with a serious question about running a business here.
- Emailhello@example.com
- Phone+880 1735 000000
- Based inDhaka, Bangladesh