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 Sarah Yousri, creative director and founder of Pilcrow Boutique Creative Studio.

I’m Sarah Yousri and I’m the creative director and founder of Pilcrow Boutique Creative Studio. My journey as a designer began while taking an Adobe InDesign class as an undergrad studying Integrated Marketing Communications at AUC. I realized that the class was really in tune with my strengths — including organization and creativity — and just sparked a love for design in me. At that point, switching majors would have meant another three years of studying, so I instead decided to teach myself everything I could about the different design programs over one summer. I juggled several jobs, including in marketing, during the rest of my undergraduate studies and, wherever possible, I incorporated design work into the marketing jobs I took on. Once I graduated, I landed a job as an account executive as a social media marketing agency, but I began feeling constrained by social media design, so I pushed for the agency to take on branding projects — a new branding department I ultimately established and led for two years.

I eventually began to branch out and take on freelance gigs, which is when I created the name Pilcrow. I decided it was time to establish an agency and start building a team in 2019, when Mansour Group approached me to take on Fresh Food Market’s private label, which is when I knew I wasn’t going to be able to do it on my own anymore. Today, Pilcrow has a multi-skilled team of 12 employees that has worked with over 110 clients.

Pilcrow is a boutique creative studio that does branding, rebranding, graphic design solutions, UI/UX design, animation, and 3D design, as well as brand strategy and copywriting. We provide businesses and individuals with very high quality service at very affordable prices, because we believe everyone deserves extraordinary visual representation.

I bootstrapped Pilcrow and built it out of my own personal savings — I’m the sole investor in the business and I don’t regret it at all. However, we’re currently looking into potential angel investors to support our expansion plan. I think we’re at the point where we need outside investment to grow our business, which is a bit difficult for me because I find it difficult to ask for help, especially when it comes to money [laughs].

This year has been quite hectic for us. We’re growing at a very fast pace and I’ve never studied entrepreneurship or anything of the sort to prepare me for the business side of things, so it’s been challenging to keep up with everything. We’re currently setting up the foundation of the business in a much more structured way to help prepare us for our biggest goal of the year and exciting next chapter. It’s been challenging, but I’m grateful for the journey and I feel like I’m learning a lot about different areas.

I don’t think exiting my business will ever be an option for me. I truly and wholeheartedly love my job — but in a parallel universe, if I were to leave, I would definitely stay on as an employee. I find myself doing more day-to-day operations and less designing myself, which is something I miss doing a lot. I’m still very hands-on in the designing process but I’m more of a spectator now than an actual designer.

To build my business, I gave up more than I had imagined. I sacrificed my peace of mind, certain parts of my lifestyle, and — most importantly — what little “me time” I had for myself. I don’t regret it at all, though.

The best part of the job is how I’ve been able to help businesses of different sizes to compete on an international level. I’ve met many extraordinary people throughout my 12-year career.

The worst part of the job is all the stress. I never imagined that I could feel this kind of pressure and stress on a daily basis. I try to embrace it, though, because when the worst moments pass, I try to remind myself that I have built something great from a very young age and that everything is happening the way it should. In other words — I’m embracing the journey.

Being the founder of a startup is and isn’t a lonely journey. Running a business is really not easy. I sometimes find myself missing out on things in life that were very much a part of it back when I was a freelancer, but I’ve also met so many people who are going through similar struggles, which helps me realize that I’m not alone in a sense.

My biggest piece of advice for someone thinking of starting their own business is to go with the flow and not overthink things. And don’t get frustrated when things don’t go according to plan — the proverb “We plan, God laughs” is the truest thing.

When I face a difficult problem, I turn to my mentors, my best friends, and my parents. I used to think I could fix any problem on my own — and I can if I put my mind to it — but I’ve learned to not be afraid to ask for help.

My family had mixed feelings about my choice to launch my own business. My dad was terrified [laughs]. I don’t think he felt like I had what it takes to run a business, but he’s also not a risk-taker. I remember him trying to scare me out of taking the step, which just drove me to work twice as hard to prove that I could do it. In a twisted way, I’m grateful to him for trying to discourage me. My mother was hesitant but ultimately supportive. She really wanted me to pursue my masters degree abroad, and kept reminding me that once I have my own business, I won’t be able to focus on my studies. But I think that I learn on a daily basis — just not necessarily in the traditional academic way.

In another life, I would have probably been a forensic psychologist. I’m obsessed and extremely fascinated with true crime and the human psyche. But I also think I would’ve loved to be a veterinarian or a pilot.