OUR FOUNDER OF THE WEEK– Every Tuesday, Founder of the Week looks at how a successful member of Egypt’s startup community got their big break, asks about their experiences running a business, and gets their advice for budding entrepreneurs. Speaking to us this week is Nour Galal (LinkedIn), founder and CEO of Rafeya Fashion.

My name is Noura Galal and I’m the founder and CEO of Rafeya. I’m currently 31 years old; I started Rafeya in 2016 with the aim of raising awareness about self-acceptance and making every girl feel beautiful through her clothing because there is no single, stereotypical idea of what a beautiful woman looks like. We offer women the chance to customize their clothes according to their specific measurements to avoid the typical restrictions imposed by the fashion industry.

I originally studied English literature and then worked for many years in an education-focused NGO called the Educate Me Foundation. I helped build the first two community schools and my interactions with the people there allowed me to see a gap. Despite very difficult circumstances ranging from FGM to domestic violence, to being the main earners in their families, the women there are heroes. And so I decided to support them in their quest to learn a craft that is lucrative and allows for growth because some of them sold products that did not necessarily have an important demand in the market. These women inspired me to start something that combines supporting these women and also advancing the cause of self-love and acceptance through custom-made products as someone who personally had a hard time finding garments I liked that also suited me.

An important part of Rafeya is the sense of ownership the women I work with feel. When I first started the business, the workers took a percentage of each garment we sold. Although this model is no longer feasible — because as we grew, we developed a different production system with many lines of clothing — I still very much care to instill this sense of being in this together. The better our work and the quality of our products the more we will grow together

The most rewarding part of my job is seeing processes unfold: I love watching different problems — and, trust me, there are many — get resolved. In this industry, there are constantly new challenges and things are never stagnant. From issues like sourcing raw materials to resolving quality and market penetration issues, I love seeing results, solutions, and growth. Another thing I like is seeing the factory and number of workers grow as well as the impact of the work we do on the people who make it.

The most challenging part of my job is that I’m always learning things on the go. I didn’t study fashion nor design and so things are not always easy, particularly since we’re doing something new. Unlike other brands that may say they are inclusive, we do not just offer plus size models — an XXXL garment in a regular store is an XL in our sizing charts. We also care to provide women with garments that are flattering, suitable to individual women’s shapes, and well-tailored with delivery services across all of the country’s governorates. The technical side is also challenging for two reasons: Producing using computers to create clothing is not easy, particularly as customers don’t always know how to take their measurements accurately. Another important challenge is that the stigma around local brands, despite having improved, is somewhat persistent. Customers don’t always trust that our products will correspond to the images we post, but that’s slowly changing.

We are a completely self-funded business. My brother and I are co-founders: He focuses more on the e-commerce and analytics side of things. We are not currently thinking of bringing in investors because the business is growing and we are yet to know exactly what our needs are going to be. We are in the process of scaling the factory — which we own — so we are very much still figuring things out.

Our energy right now is more focused on short-term goals without losing sight of our purpose. We also want to stand out from a market that is quickly becoming saturated with casual wear — particularly since the raw materials are the same across companies and brands. We want to do that by launching a new swimsuit line in addition to our couture collection in addition to printing our own fabrics with our in-house textile designer. Another important goal we want to accomplish is to narrate our story better. I want to introduce our positive social impact — which is supporting local artisans — without making clients feel like they have to compromise on quality in order to do good. I want them to feel like they can have both: High quality garments that also stand out from today’s exploitative fast fashion industry.

For advice, I mainly turn to my team. They are the most aware of what’s happening in the business. We make decisions together because generic business advice is not always possible to implement according to my specific situation. Because we customize all our products, our model is different and so we can’t always benefit from outsiders’ experience when it comes to specific issues.

The advice I would give people who are starting their business is to just try yourself out.The best thing to do is to set a plan, execute it, see the results, and then judge and amend accordingly — no two experiences or businesses are the same. Another thing is that marketing is one of the most important things. Because even if you have the most amazing product, with significant added value but if there is no channel linking you to your audience, you will not sell and your creations will be stuck in the conceptual stage — this is something I learned the hard way. There was a point in time where my business was losing money because, as an e-commerce brand, if I do not have appropriate visibility, I cannot survive. And the more data you have, the more information you have about what your customers need.

Having your own business is very consuming. I am burned out most of the time but I try to make time for my social life and health. So in my down time I try to slow down, rest, and establish a balance that can provide me with the stamina I need to keep going. I also love animals and love spending time with my dog, Goldie, and her friends — she has a busy social life.

My family resisted the idea of Rafeya in the beginning. They saw it more as a side thing to do in parallel with another job. But that changed as the business prospered. As I started traveling, appearing on television, growing the team, and becoming more financially independent, they started feeling like I was accomplishing something. They also felt that way when they saw my products.

A local brand that I think is killing it is Macrame.RouH. The founder and I previously worked together and she is now doing a tremendous job in Assiut teaching women the art of macramé. She has managed to take something that some thought to be obsolete and reintroduce it in fashion, home décor, and a lot of other products. She created jobs in Upper Egypt, which I think is very impressive. I also like Tawasol, an NGO which combines education and training for underprivileged families in Greater Cairo.

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