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 Karim Mostafa (LinkedIn), founder and CEO of Eduhive.

My name is Karim Mostafa and I’m the CEO and founder of Eduhive, a leading education management company. I graduated from AUC in 2003 with a Mass Communications degree and a marketing concentration. I also minored in Theater which was a great experience — a bit bohemian but rewarding.

I’d say I started my career during the last two summers of my undergrad when I interned at Al Ahram Beverages Company (ABC) and was lucky to receive an offer as soon as I graduated to be the assistant brand manager for Fayrouz. I stayed there for three years, reaching the role of brand manager.

I launched Eduhive because I always knew that I wanted to start a family business and not work for anyone. Knowing that, education made a lot of sense for us because it’s an essential service — like food and healthcare, education is a defensive sector. Egyptians love educating their kids so it made sense from an investment perspective too. At the time, the food and beverage industry was not as big as it is now, so we ventured into this sector starting with the BCCIS brand in 2003, and then opened our first school in 2005.

To figure out how to enter the market, I worked with mentors already well-versed in the education field. I sought out experienced K-12 operators with whom we were previously acquainted, and l were generous enough to share a lot of information that helped me get a proper start.

Eduhive stands apart from the competition because it’s an asset light education management company that offers full turnkey solutions to investors wanting to enter the education field. Whether it’s competitive analysis, campus design, awarding contractors, accreditation bodies, local governmental approvals, admissions and marketing, establishing a school and managing it, or healthy ROIs, we provide it all. Also, we have our own brands but we can manage other pre-existing brands, and/or create new ones.

Growing up, I was always outnumbered, always outgunned, but that’s what motivated me and now I am always hungry to grow and over achieve. Of course, money has always been a motivator, but it has never been “the” motivator. Instead, achieving and delivering on my promises is in my DNA and thus translated into my company’s motto.

There are a ton of indicators of success. It could be when your plans work or when returns are achieved, but the most rewarding thing in my field is the impact. When I bump into a student who graduated years ago, has completed university, and now has a job, and they come over to say hello and thank me for the education they received, that is when I know I am successful.

In the next five years, I hope Eduhive will grow to manage more K-12 schools across more governorates in Egypt and branch out to K-12 schools located outside of Egypt. I also would like to pursue university/college education management next.

With the recent economic challenges we have been facing, it has been very challenging and very stressful. But, we know this turbulence is a temporary period that will pass and we have developed strong maneuverability strategies that we stick to during these times.

That being said, there are things I would change about the industry. First, the regulation needs a lot of work. The education business could be doing much, much better and attracting more FDI if regulations become more “investor friendly.” We could also benefit from more collaborative work with the government in the PPP pipeline to hopefully overpass the unaffordable land prices set for education projects.

The hardest part of this job is that we are dealing with the most precious asset there is — your kids. This means that we take on a lot of responsibility, almost like a second parent. We move students, teach them, feed them, help build their character — essentially mirroring what parents do at home.

Amidst the chaos, it’s important to balance home and work life. I try to be a very present father and husband. I attend my kids' school events, take them to practices (as often as possible) and dedicate weekends to my family. Work never ends but I have established an organized routine with an 8 am workout, 10 am start at the office where I work until 6 pm, and then comes family time.

If I hadn’t gotten involved in education, I would like to think that I would be a beach bartender in another lifetime, but for this reality, I would like to work in farming and exporting fruits and vegetables.

If I could provide some guidance to my younger self, I’d say take it easy and step by step. Risks are important but they can turn ugly. Be careful because you will encounter a dark side of the business that no one ever tells you about, and it is up to you to find out.

My advice to new entrepreneurs is to just get it done. It sounds simple, I know, but it actually isn’t. When you work, do the job as briefed, do it on time, do it on budget — most people fail to do so. Finally, don’t over promise.

When I manage to get some freetime, I box, I fish, and I travel. These three habits are very important to my mental stability and balance.

It can be hard to navigate personal, social, and professional life, and maintain the integrity of each, but my DNA is what you see is what you get. I have the same personality and attitude across all aspects of life. My attitude has rarely changed since I was a little kid, which sometimes is a minus, but most of the time it is a plus.

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