? OUR FOUNDER OF THE WEEK — Every Tuesday, Founder of the Week looks at how a successful member of Egypt’s business or startup community got their big break, asks about their experiences running a company, and gets their advice for budding entrepreneurs. Speaking to us this week is Hind Wassef (LinkedIn), co-founder of Egyptian bookstore Diwan.

My name is Hind Wassef, I'm one of the co-founders of Diwan. Diwan was founded in 2001, and opened its doors in 2002. Diwan, at its inception, presented something exciting — a new wave of energy when it comes to culture and reading, something that was not in an ideal place at the time. I believe that is what Diwan still presents. Over the years, I’ve held multiple positions, such as managing director and CEO, and I was in charge of operations as well as the Arabic book section. I received my bachelor’s degree from the American University in Cairo with a major in political science and a minor in English and comparative literature. I then went on to do a master’s degree in English and comparative literature.

What interested me in political science was the theory aspect of it. I enjoy connecting things logically and then implementing them in reality. I then shifted into philosophy, then into literature. For me, fiction and narrative writing, drama, and poetry are where I believe the truth of humanity lies. This is not to downplay non-fiction or actual history, but I believe that art and fiction are really where humanity realizes its potential.

After graduating, I didn’t know what to do with my degree. At that point in life, you’re very idealistic and want to help society, so I went into development work. I worked at the Population Council for five years, where we did a study on adolescence. The study was, for me, very interesting because it looked at a group that wasn't looked at before. From there, I also did four years of part time teaching at AUC. Again, it was really interesting to interact with younger people and see how they're thinking and see how they can impact society. That’s where the connection between literature and social development happened.

We were five friends — myself, Nadia, and three other partners. Everyone was at a crossroads in their career, not knowing where to go next. There was a moment where we were discussing hypotheticals. If you were to open your own business, what would it be? The five of us were saying we would open a bookstore. Why? We felt new blood was needed in the book world. We started to build it up in our own heads. It would be east and west, because we are east and west — and we are the full range in between. It would house four languages because we are multilingual.

What really helped make Diwan a reality was the location. We fell in love with the place in Zamalek, and I thought, “if a bookstore is not going to succeed in this location, then it will never succeed.” Bringing Diwan to life was a trial and error kind of situation. There was no blueprint. We learned from our mistakes. Sometimes the stakes are too high, but we are very grateful that we were able to make those mistakes. Today, what makes Diwan different is that it is true to who we are, I don't believe in riding a wave just to ride the wave. I believe in riding a wave to also change the wave, to give it that which only you can provide. I think Diwan did that and continues to do that.

I wanted to listen to criticism before I wanted to listen to praise. In the early days, we were learning from our customers. Whatever our customers asked for, we went out and ordered — 99% of the time, it worked. The key is to listen to your customers and to always provide that which is new. Not jarringly, alienatingly new, but challengingly new.

I worry about the word successful, but honestly, the first time where I felt Diwan added value was on the very first day. We opened with just one copy of every book that we stocked. We were so scared that we weren't going to be selling anything. Nobody believed in the fact that we were going to succeed. Success is a very tricky word, because I think to be successful, you have to renew that success every day. Something that I take immense pride in is that our team of customer service representatives, Diwan’s earliest recruits, are now its heads of branches.

Our constant and yet unfulfilled dream is for us to branch out of Cairo, Alexandria, and the resorts — I want to go national. This would be my dream for Diwan, for us to be in the towns of the Delta, in the towns of Upper Egypt. In the towns where, by everybody's admission, culture is alive and the numbers are there, but they are so underserved.

I want to see more physical connection throughout the industry. Everyone is virtually connected nowadays, and I think what's really important is the physical connection in a physical bookstore with a physical book, with a physical person, with someone giving a talk in a room with other people participating.

Putting a book in a customer's hand and watching them take it home is one of the most fulfilling aspects of being part of Diwan. Hearing how it has impacted people's lives is incredibly rewarding. On the other hand, the most difficult part is waking up and asking yourself: “What fire am I going to have to put out today?” All of it was new, and growing the business and growing the team came with its own number of problems.

The last book I read was Midnight in Cairo by Raphael Cormack. It’s essentially a dissertation about the bars and the cafés of Cairo at the turn of the century. From there, he looks at singers and dancers and the arts field, especially related to the sort of music and performance that came hand in hand with the formulation of the national identity and the beginning of the political independence movement.

If I hadn’t co-founded Diwan, I would be a teacher. I value a connection with younger people. When you’re teaching, you’re equally learning. When I taught, it was one of the most rewarding times of my life. Up until this day, I've had some of my older students come out of the woodwork and say, “oh, remember me? You taught me,” after the launch of our podcastFil Diwan.

If I could give advice to my younger self, it would be “learn.” Learn a bit more of the boring nuts and bolts of business — more accounting, how to read a balance sheet, that sort of thing. Learn the things that don't come naturally to you. For young entrepreneurs starting out today, don't be in a rush. Being in a rush might cost you, and while I think it's important to follow your dream, it's also important to be cautious. Never think that you are successful, that would be the beginning of the end.

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