Tell us about yourself?
Q-commerce and food tech entrepreneur with 15 years of experience. Angel investor and founder of 5 companies in the UAE: YallaMarket, Tawreed, iiko Middle East, DocsInBoxs and GeCo
What do you think is the single biggest misconception people have when it comes to startups?
I think people naively believe they can predict the future of the startup by logic. Nobody knows why exactly there is success or failure
If you could go back in time to any moment from your journey, and give yourself one tip, what would it be?
The UAE is a really good place to start a business. So my advice to myself would be to move to Dubai earlier!
What makes you stand out as an entrepreneur?
I’m very well organised – able to manage 10 roles, 1000 to-dos, 100 goals and I can’t forget anything.
What are some of the best working habits you’ve gained over the past couple of years?
Plan the week on Sunday evening: many people don’t plan, but it really helps to gain clarity, focus, confidence and stay headed in the right direction.
Give us a bit of an insight into the influences behind the company?
The pace of life is accelerating. We already spend minutes or even seconds on most things. In a world where we focus our attention on one thing just for one second, it’s weird to spend an hour buying groceries and other products. Yalla!Market customers don’t wait — they live and spend only 15 minutes to get what they need.
Where do you see your business in five years?
Yalla!Market is going to open 500 dark stores for hyperlocal grocery delivery (in a radius of 3 km) across The Gulf Cooperation Council countries. Yalla!Market is going to be a household name in terms of fast grocery delivery. The company’s goal is to free our customers’ time so they could spend it on family, hobbies or work instead of going to the supermarket.
What do you think the biggest challenge will be for you in getting there?
To find the right balance between speed of growth and profitability, so Yalla!Market will be the best economy in the world in this segment.
Talk to us about your biggest success story so far?
It took me and my team just 47 days to launch a new q-commerce company in Dubai — the time between the idea for the project and the first completed order. Now we have 200 members in our team and deliver more than 20K orders per month.
How do clients and customers find you? Are you much of a salesperson for yourself?
Yes, I’m a salesperson for my own business. I use social networks to broadcast the news and insights about my business: I’m just posting all we do on Instagram and LinkedIn and people coming.
What one tip would you give to fellow startup founders?
The best business tip to a startup founder is to “Go on”! Try not to dwell on failure. Learning from mistakes and moving on is what sets true entrepreneurs apart from everyone else. When your goal is blocked, choose another path or choose a different, more attainable goal.
And finally, what do you hope the future brings both you personally, and your business?
The opportunity to inspire thousands of achievers to achieve more observing how Yalla becoming a Unicorn
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