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 Ahmad Amin (LinkedIn), founder of CUBE Architects.

My name is Ahmad Amin and I am the founder and brand director of CUBE Architects. I graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in Architectural Engineering.

When I think about when I started my career, I go back to my childhood and I can see that architecture was always at the back of my mind —maybe not knowingly at first, but I always wanted to create. When you think about the word architecture in the dictionary, it’s a hierarchical creation of modular objects, which is basically what I was doing when I was younger. When I got older, it clicked — I was always very fond of playing with Lego, building blocks, and using plasticine to mold and make things.

Three of my uncles were also largely influential — two are architects and the third a designer. I loved visiting their offices and I was always interested in seeing what they were working on, and with what materials. Luckily, one of them happened to be young enough for me to even help him with his university projects. So, it’s safe to say that I was going to study it and pursue post-graduation. I did some internships during university, and after I graduated. For six years, I worked for the Architecture and Urbanism Group, which was one of the biggest groups for architecture and urban design in Egypt.

Eventually, I felt like I needed to express myself in another way, which inspired me to launch my business. Working in an environment where I wasn’t fully invested in despite learning a lot through experience was one of the reasons why I looked into my own firm. Another was the company’s focus on classic Mediterranean style, which is popular in Egypt. But I studied the modern style and wanted the freedom to experiment with it and that made me eager to try something new and go beyond those limits with my own firm.

When I thought about the concept, I thought of what I like. I like to experiment with modular and linear shapes; I love geometry, I think in geometric terms, and I always preferred shapes to words and letters. I can make a combination of shapes faster than I can structure a sentence, so I wanted to make that a reality. That was the notion behind CUBE. Even the name came from a very simple shape, and what I believe is the oldest geometric shape, to translate all those things.

Entering the market was challenging because as architects, we didn’t know much about opening a business. At the time, what you needed to do to start your own venture was beyond us — we only knew about design. Responsibilities such as how to manage an office, or get clients, etc, were not our strong suit. If I knew at the time what the management side would take, I would’ve asked for more advice or help on that front.

We try to set ourselves apart from the competition and that took, and still takes, a lot of work. Gaining clients was a challenge but we were able to use our small network and referrals from people I used to work with to get a foot in the door. At some point, I found a client whose house I worked on. It was very modern — not even in what is now our signature style — and that same client took a chance on us and let us design their office. We were still experimenting with what we wanted to do at CUBE by then, but tailored design appealed to many, allowing us to find our niche in the market.

I owe my ability to read people to my professors.It’s important to focus on the small gestures and words that mean a lot more than they seem, and to really listen to the problem because at the end of the day we also need to solve a problem and satisfy a need. That combination of listening, perceiving, and reading with our expressive method is what makes it a tailored experience that takes our clients imagination as far as it can go. I think this sums up what we do.

Success is hard to define. After some thought I realized that being referred to from people is the sign of success. Recommending us to others meant that people trusted us to meet their high expectations, which is an indication that we are doing something right.

I have a lot planned for the next five years. As a designer, I have several interests and tastes. In turn, I want CUBE to reflect this — to become a multi-disciplinary design house where we can make products, furniture, and whatever else we set our minds to. I envision a focus on texture and design, but not limited to just architecture and interiors — the goal is to expand beyond that.

Endure and broaden your horizons was our motto during these times of economic instability and challenges. We took this chance to embrace creativity, and use the ideas we may have set aside in closed drawers like starting new projects, or if people can’t do interior design right now, start on the designs and dedicate more time to them, or to even enter competitions. These are all activities we may not have done before because there was no time. So in times like these, it’s important to find the silver lining and to take advantage of design abilities — if you can manage the stress.

The most rewarding part of this business is seeing the idea become reality. The work is basically a small sculpture coming into a full-scale livable creation that can be experienced spatially and physically — an experience which I find really exciting.

The hardest part of the job comes from the design aspect, mainly on the day the project is delivered because you lose your control over what you have created. Before then, you were in command, you were in charge of the product, and people sought your direction. After delivery, you became a guest in something you’ve worked on for so long. I have eventually grown to love it because it means the project has been fulfilled.

Personal life existed in a small circle because we were all pulling all-nighters and working on projects together when we were studying in college. This lifestyle continued on to work life, but later you start to realize that you can set more boundaries and manage these things better for a healthier balance. But, I’ll admit that it’s very difficult when you have your own business to separate your professional and personal life — it’s still a work in progress for me.

I like to spend my free time with creative outlets: It’s important to have hobbies outside of work, so in my free time I like to either sketch, paint, or read. Staying creative, it never stops. The last book I read was the autobiographical On Writing by Stephen King.

If I hadn’t founded CUBE Architects, I would have made painting a bigger part of my day since it is something I am already passionate about — I’ve already started doing that on the side recently.

Advice to my younger self would be to take a business minor.Because, as I said, when we started we only thought about design. We didn’t know that there was much more to it that takes up a lot of your time and that we’d need help and/or hire people to do that. People don’t tell you everything you need to know when seeking out advice, so it would have been useful to have more background myself.

Thinking of my influences, I turn to my first job: My design managers helped me venture into thinking out-of-the-box when it comes to design, which was very important to me. Also, there were two professors that especially helped me do that during university — Dr. Yehia El Zeiny and Dr. El Ghazaly Kesseiba — who taught me Design, and Design and Form Principles. They really helped me unshackle myself from the boundaries of society in design and creativity, and I am indebted to them for that.

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