The Birth of Seenaya: A Mother-Daughter Journey

Author(s): Saman Khan, Maha Khan

Hello and welcome to Seenaya's very first blog post! We're Saman and Maha, the mother-daughter duo behind this venture, and we’re thrilled to share our story—a tale of heritage, passion, and family.

A Tale of Two Cities: Lahore to New York

Maha: I grew up in Lahore, Pakistan until I was 15 years old, after which I moved to the U.S. for boarding school. My parents stayed in Pakistan, and I went on to attend college in Indiana before moving to New York to pursue a career in finance. The fast-paced world of finance was exhilarating, but after years of grueling work hours, I found myself yearning for something more fulfilling. Inspired by my father, who built his own business from the ground up in Pakistan, I decided to pursue an MBA and explore entrepreneurial opportunities.

Starting at a young age, my father continually emphasized to my brothers and me that there was no better career choice than working for yourself. That lesson stuck with me, and I knew I wanted to build something of my own.

Saman: I have spent my life in various cities across Pakistan, eventually settling in Lahore after marriage. While Maha was pursuing her MBA, I was completing my Executive MBA in Lahore. My entrepreneurial journey began long before my Executive MBA, as I ran my own clothing line for six years. After completing my Executive MBA, I began exploring ideas for a new venture. Meanwhile, Maha was delving deep into skincare—a passion deeply rooted in our family traditions.

The Struggle to Find a Co-Founder

Maha: In the MBA world, there's a culture of co-founder "speed dating" where you’re expected to find a co-founder after just one coffee chat. Both my mother and I struggled to find the right partner because our ideas were so deeply embedded in our culture and family. We eventually realized it was unfair to expect someone outside of our culture and family to share the same passion for our ideas.

Saman: We both expressed our frustrations to my husband, Maha’s father. He listened patiently and then suggested something so simple yet so profound: Why not talk to each other about working together? My sons had already started a company together in Pakistan in 2016, so the idea of working with family wasn’t foreign to us. One conversation led to another, and soon we were in deep discussions about collaborating on a venture. We had finally found the missing piece of passion and connection we had been searching for.

Rediscovering Our Roots: The Inspiration Behind Seenaya

Our research journey led us to our (great) grandmother, Sultan (nickname: Bia), a woman truly ahead of her time. In the 1970s, she created her own line of jams, packaged them, and leased vans to distribute her products—she was the original entrepreneur of the family.

Beyond her business acumen, she was renowned in our family for defying the odds of aging, thanks to a book of skincare recipes she had created. Unfortunately, this book was lost over the years, but that loss set us on a journey of talking to extended family members to gather any knowledge they had about her recipes. While we were disappointed to lose the book, this journey of reconnecting with family became an unexpected blessing, and Bia’s recipes, along with the family stories, inspired our first two serums.

The Birth of Seenaya

With love & gratitude,
Saman & Maha