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 Amr Gamal (LinkedIn), co-founder and CEO of Octane.

My name is Amr Gamal, and I’m the co-founder and CEO of Octane, a B2B digital payments solution to vehicle-related expenses in Egypt. Studying telecommunications and electronics at Ain Shams University definitely had a big impact on Octane — Engineering gives you a structured and analytical way of thinking that was critical to building the company.

Our four main products enable businesses to optimize, streamline, and control all on-the-road payments. That includes fuel and toll payments, and maintenance and cash management. The idea came to me as a result of the obstacles I encountered during my experience in a Fortune 500 company operating in the region. I found that transportation-related payments had unstructured cash cycles, were demanding to manage, and susceptible to fraud. I felt like that something had to and could be done from an operational standpoint.

My corporate background prepared me for becoming an entrepreneur. If I hadn’t spent time in McKinsey, P&G, Orange, and Vodafone, it would have taken me longer to pinpoint the tools I needed to build Octane. That’s not to say that you can’t start a company without corporate experience, but being part of an already structured organization and being aware of the mechanics that make a company run smoothly (or not) helped us create our own arsenal.

If I had to choose a metric by which we are successful, it would be by the impact we have, not just on the businesses we help, but the individuals we’ve had the privilege to work with and/or support. It’s hard to accept praise, but the few instances where it was easier were when people who didn’t know we founded Octane commended our services.

I see Octane becoming the Visa or Mastercard of vehicular and on-the-road payments — To become a part of and facilitate anything related to those payments. The way to get there is to make sure the customer is getting exactly what they need from our services. We offer consumables, as do many others, but that’s not all we do. Our value propositions — 35-45% in savings, seamless operation, a structured cash cycle, and cutting edge analytics — are what set us apart.

The recent economic challenges refined our priorities. People are the most important asset at Octane, and we wanted to make sure that everyone affiliated with us was able to weather what was happening. That was our main focus. We were impacted greatly, as our revenue is calculated in USD, which means that ours were slashed overnight. But we had to work around it just like with any other challenge and view it as a chance to grow, and of course, that has to happen from the inside out. If your team isn’t dedicated to overcoming a challenge together, it simply won’t happen — it’s a mindset thing.

If I could change anything about the industry, it would be having digital fuel payments be the only kind of payment the government accepts from B2B customers and companies. Digitizing fuel is a big step towards several of Egypt’s initiatives, including Digital Egypt, financial inclusion, and Egypt Vision 2030. Government supervision of this market will ensure that it’s protected and properly regulated, just as EGPC and NTRA are.

The most rewarding aspect of my business is the sense of achievement of getting things done or making an impact. That’s always what I’ve looked forward to the most with any job. Even the small achievements are worth celebrating, but the fact that two years ago, there was nothing like Octane on the scene, and that now not only is there a market but also competitors, people moving around, talking to each other… It’s monumental.

The hardest part of my job is maintaining focus. There is a wealth of interesting ideas that I’d like to explore, but I have to force myself to keep moving. I already know our goals and how to get there — anything else is a distraction, everything else comes and goes. The motivation comes from being convinced that the best way forward is what we have laid down, and being deeply committed to our work. That motivation is also strongly supported by those I share a vision with, with those who are just as committed to it. We help each other keep the end goal in sight.

My personal and professional lives are not balanced. I think it’s impossible, at least right now. But doing what I do professionally would have also been impossible if I didn’t have the support system that I am lucky enough to have in my mother and my wife primarily. And if a balance is possible, I wouldn’t know where to start. But at the same time, it’s important to try. I will try to dedicate a week out of each season to spend with my family, but sometimes the situation at work becomes so intense that you can’t focus on anything else. But even maintaining this imbalance would be impossible without a super understanding support system within your family and your friends.

I would tell young entrepreneurs to make sure you have the right people on your side — you will be spending more time with these people than you do with your family. And understand yourself and your skills inside and out. Recognize when you’re not the right person for a specific position — you need to know when you step down and bring in someone who can help both you and the company grow. Lastly, thrive for structure. Do everything, then structure it. Make sure the company isn’t just dependent on people, but dependent on the processes that govern it. Without structure all you’ll ever have is a mess, even if it’s made up of good ideas.

Tags: