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 Ahmed Habib (LinkedIn), CEO and president of Edrak and Harvest Holdings.

My name is Ahmed Habib and I’m the president and CEO of Edrak and Harvest Holdings. I studied finance and information systems at George Washington University and supply chain management at The University of Tennessee. I got my first job working closely with a CEO. I was only there for a few weeks before I openly disagreed with his strategy — and was asked not to come back to the office. Afterward, I started working at Knight Transportation. I didn’t know it at the time, but those first few years greatly shaped the core values that I have taken with me throughout my career.

I always knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur, so when I was given the chance to grow into a managerial position, I politely declined and decided to pursue entrepreneurship. I tried to start my own business — and failed a few times before the ball finally started rolling with TKG (Turn Key Group), a hotel furnishing company that I started with my partner.

From there, we began to diversify. We went into architecture, interior design, and construction, before exiting the industry in 2013. I had become fond of the startup concept, and that is when Harvest Holdings was born. I co-founded it as an investment vehicle with family members with the intention to support founders that had a promising vision, across different industries. We provided the know-how and the financial investments that they needed to pursue their project.

My entrance into the family entertainment industry happened in 2018 with a full acquisition of Edrak, the entertainment management company that owns the rights to Kidzania. Little did we know that covid-19 would soon hit and the plan would change completely.

We took a huge, but calculated risk. I knew that parents would be exhausted and looking for a fun educational venue to take their kids when the pandemic calmed down. So we created a partnership and began construction for another family entertainment brand: Kids Station, which was initially founded by Maged Khater. I remember being called crazy, but it worked out to our advantage. By the time places started reopening after covid-19, we had two locations ready for operation.

Our family entertainment brands continued to grow from there with Kimet, Nutty Scientists, and Sky Park. We have other brands in different industries, such as Daily Bloom and Cottonball. If it were up to me, I’d probably found one or two brands a year.

Figuring out what I needed to do wasn’t a smooth journey. I went through rounds and rounds of trial and error with help from great mentors along the way. I think experience is the number one thing you learn from people who are ahead of you. There’s a quote I’ve always believed in: “Hard work beats intelligence and experience beats both.” As long as you have a solid plan and ask the right questions, they will be more than happy to help.

I seek support from my team, which wasn’t easy for me to do. I used to work 14-16 hour days, six days a week, wanting to do everything myself. That’s not practical. I hire people who follow the same values I do. I hire people who are incredible at what they do. They are better than me in their field and that’s why I need to trust them if I want my business to prosper. I have my business partners, who are also my family, to thank: Zena Sallam and Nazih Sallam. The trust and investment they put into Harvest Holdings is a major pillar that pushed it to success.

I promote disagreement within my organizations. We are used to living in a hierarchical, rule-based society and I believe that structure could sink a business. If you shoot down a bad idea, you’re ruining the possibility of getting an incredible idea later on. As a leader, I need to give people the courage to suggest their ideas. I would often even suggest stupid ideas to encourage the team to disagree with me. We need all minds to be actively engaged.

We’ve faced so many bumps in the road, especially since covid-19. One of the biggest challenges is the current macroeconomic climate and the rising inflation rate. What I’ve learned is that you need to be flexible. If you’re rigid, you’ll break. We’ve been adapting through it and being as resilient as we can.

The hardest part about our business in specific is the huge responsibility that comes with it. You have parents trusting you with their kids, we have to be able to live up to that responsibility and be as conscious as possible.

It’s also very rewarding. When someone asks what we do, I love to say, “We’re in the business of unforgettable memories,” because we truly are.

Am I successful? I don’t think I know the definition of success. I am able to provide for myself and others — is that success? I can lay my head on my pillow and sleep comfortably at night. That’s success. But in terms of what the world deems as success, I don’t think I am. I’m capable of and responsible for doing so much more than what I’ve done. I just hope when it’s my time, someone looks back and says it was a success. But until then, it's a work in progress.

I have this vision that I would love to bring to life within the next five years. I look up to Walt Disney, so if I’m still in this industry, I would want to create a value-adding entertainment world that fits into and highlights our rich Middle Eastern culture. I have no idea how I’m going to achieve that but I believe life works 99% through God’s grace and 1% through hard work. But I’ll be working hard every day.

Advice I have for young entrepreneurs that I wish I knew earlier: Any business owner needs to embrace the challenges. There’s no way except through it. You need to learn to tone down your ego and get in tune with yourself. It’ll be smoother that way.

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