Erik Gordon, co-founder and CEO of Flash: Each week, My Morning Routine looks at how a successful member of the community starts their day — and then throws in a couple of random business questions just for fun. Speaking to us this week is Erik Gordon (LinkedIn), CEO of Flash.

My name is Erik Gordon and I am the co-founder and CEO of Flash. Flash is a fintech company that aims to enhance society’s financial wellbeing and improve people's relationship with money. Flash’s main product currently is called scan and pay, through which customers can scan a Flash QR code and pay with a saved card or digital wallet. From the business side, it’s an easier and cheaper alternative to the POS machine.

I'm American, but I've been living in the MENA region for the past 10 years. The Middle East has always been an interesting place for me to live and work. I love Egypt, where everything is unique, the people and the culture.

My first job was actually in the finance field in New York for two years, before I moved to Dubai to work as a business consultant, which was a nice stepping stone to emerging markets in the Middle East. I ended up coming to Egypt because I wanted to learn Arabic, and after studying for a few years I got a job at Uber. The company moved me back to Dubai for a regional role where I stayed for two years, but during the covid-19 pandemic I decided it was time to do my own thing and I moved back to Egypt to start Flash.

The idea of Flash sparked in my head when I first came to Egypt and I witnessed society's reliance on cash. During the time of covid, consumer behavior started to change and people started to rely more on digital payments. There were also many initiatives that rose and were supported by the presidency and the central bank. I felt it is a great chance to contribute to the digital transformation happening in the economy and have a real impact on people's financial wellbeing.

I used to be a night owl before, but I shifted to being a morning person and an early riser. I always love working at night, but I realized lately as I'm getting older that it's no longer the best approach and it’s not super healthy. Now, I usually wake up between 7 and 8 am. I then either go to the gym or spend some time doing yoga and meditation. I try to set time for myself and start the day with activities that give me positive energy. I go to the office using my bike, as both my work and home are located in Maadi and I really enjoy cycling in the beautiful streets.

My normal working day usually starts at 10 am when I arrive at the office. I start having calls with people either externally or internally discussing problems; basically anything that I'm the bottleneck for. Afterwards, I start having one-to-one meetings with my team members to discuss next week’s priorities. Sometimes I have external meetings with partners outside the office and in some cases it requires traveling.

My responsibilities as a CEO and co-founder of a startup aren’t fixed. My biggest responsibility is working with the team to solve whatever the toughest problems that we're facing. Sometimes it's related to recruiting or partnerships and sometimes to developing the product or the team. My team and I always make short-term or medium-term plans which are more efficient than long-term ones. Also, there's also a lot of admin work required in an early-stage startup.

On a personal level, I am trying to have more time dedicated to my family and friends, but having my family in the US makes that hard. At some point in life, you realize you get satisfaction by having deep connections with yourself, your family and your friends.

On a professional level, I want to have as much of a positive impact as I can. I would like to inspire more people, and encourage them to chase their dreams. I would also love to expand the business into other markets in Africa and the region.

For most of my career I had no work life balance and I was prioritizing work more, but I started having a work life balance and I believe it's important. You also have to know your worth as a person and not to measure it by the amount of success you achieved in your business.

When I’m done with my work, I usually love to get away from screens. I love reading, contemplation and journaling, preferably on my balcony while having a cup of herbal tea. I always love to read the Enterprise issues during the weekend as I prefer to read them in detail. Having a more in-depth look at the news and what is going around in Egypt and the world is important.

Harry Potter has always been my favorite book,as you'll find a lot of real life lessons applicable to life, to business and to leadership. Honestly, I've learned more from reading that book than I have from anything else.

The best piece of advice I have been given was “never settle.” The real growth, development and impact happens out of your comfort zone, and you won’t grow as long as you are staying in this zone. One of my colleagues in my first job in New York once told me this and it has always stuck in my head.

Tags: