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 Abbas (LinkedIn), founder and CEO of DigiSay Group.

My name is Ahmed Abbas and I am the founder and CEO of Digisay Group. I have a multicultural educational background: I graduated from the German School in Cairo (DEO), earned a bachelor's degree in Egyptology, and later on received my MBA in International Management from the European School of Business. This diversity helped me connect with people from different backgrounds and build a network of friends and partners that contributed heavily to my ability to seize opportunities.

My career journey began in 1999 when I initiated the idea of creating a competition in Egyptian clubs for Snake on Nokia phones. This was a part of my first job as an event organizer. Back then, the Nokia brand was distributed by Protech, a Raya Holding company, and after this event they offered me a marketing position at Raya. I then moved on to work in advertising for a couple of years in Cairo before moving to Germany to pursue my MBA and to later work for a US tech company called Netapp.

My obsession with Google as a company and its impact on the world inspired me — especially after they bought YouTube for USD 1.65bn in 2006. My job in Germany did not help either — I wanted to have the freedom to work on the projects that I liked and in a way had a connection to my passions: Movies and technology. So when YouTube announced the possibility of having a partnership with them and using their technology to manage your videos online, I felt that this was my golden ticket — a chance to work in media and tech with the biggest technology company in the world (back then) and at that moment DigiSay was born…

…and I had no idea how I was going to do it…I am smiling when I say this because I am from the generation of naive “trial and error” entrepreneurs who had no guidance, no mentorship, and no real help to get started. The entrepreneurship ecosystem back then wasn’t as developed — we are talking pre-2010. Of course, later on, I sought help and mentorship, which made a difference. For me, it was a journey of ‘learning by doing’— from no process at all to having built, in my opinion, a very unique team of a 170+ members (and still growing) handling media and technology in the MENA region.

Continuous diversification is what, in my view, makes DigiSay Group special. It is very different because its portfolio offers services and products that include content production, management, marketing and protection across both regional and global markets. These companies include DigiSay MPN (a multiplatform network) Immersive (a production company), Rightshero (content protection company), CubitCode (a venture and transformation studio) and Mangos24 (a communications and events management agency).

We also work with a wide array of companies and media giants: Google, YouTube, META, Netflix, MBC, Shahid, VOX, El Gouna Film Festival, Cairo Film Festival, Red Sea Film Festival, Al Arabiya, Zee, Weyyak, VIU, UMS, and also talents like Bassem Youssef, Ahmed Amin, Mohamed Ramadan, Nelly Kareem, and many more. DigiSay has also played a big role in the digital distribution, protection, marketing and development of several major music, TV and cinema projects in the MENA region.

As I see it, success is a moving target. Initially, I just wanted to cover my family’s living costs. This grew to what I else I could manage to do and then how I could hire people to do things instead of doing everything myself, and how that would be more comfortable and make our work more efficient. Then I set my sights beyond the Egyptian market and worked on what we could do there. Today, I feel that success would be becoming a global name and having our group companies make a dent in the industry on a global level. Then there are the awards, of course — when RightsHero, our anti-piracy company, received the “Outstanding Tech Implementation of 2023” award category at BroadcastPro Middle East in the UAE, I realized that we were doing something right, especially that the other contenders were StarzPlay, blinx metaverse, OSN TV, SkyNews Arabia, Shahid VOD, and TOD.

I believe that DigiSay is lucky to work with companies like Google/YouTube, META, Snapchat, TikTok, and many more…because, in a way, our business is picky bagging on the data-driven strategy those companies are pursuing. I think like every other tech-based business AI will reshape the industry again for us. I also believe that in five years our business will be more global because the linguistic and geographic barriers will be a lot easier to overcome. Additionally, I see that we have huge growth in content flow due to the fact that in 2019 nearly approximately 30% of children between eight and twelve want to be YouTubers in a global survey in by Harris Poll and toymaker Lego. So for us, this only means growth and a chance to be at the heart of media, technology, and entrepreneurship.

Diversification from the get-go is key. When we were hit by economic challenges our market diversification with our revenues being mostly from the GCC and the US served us very well. Also, our wide array of services and products, and of course, our core business being entirely digital came to our aid. This allowed us to be very agile to appeal to different markets and to move our entire workforce to an efficient “work from home” model without compromising on growth.

Our industry could do with some changes, starting with the global north’s control of media. I think our industry is mainly controlled by US-based companies that don’t have the MENA region market as a priority. This needs to, and will, change especially with the Israel-Gaza assault. This coincides with the world waking up to how and where younger audiences are getting their information. Another aspect that could use a change would be participating in building a standard that rewards value in content — and not just reach and watch time. And finally, to help enhance the state of monetization for MENA-based content.

What I find rewarding is being part of a growing industry that is advancing daily alongside technology and where the young are the main users that shape how this industry is evolving. In a way, it’s also fun — as it allows me to understand my own children better and slows down the aging process, in my opinion.

The fact that the work never stops is the caveat…being part of the entertainment industry means that there is always something new happening that involves one of our teams. Whatever the season, the content we manage, or are involved in, is performing on some platform…or leaking on another.

Getting the work-life balance is tough…especially when your team is constantly growing and with the world changing day-by-day in our industry. However, I try to work from home more often than not to be able to see my family, especially when my children return home from school. Recently, I read a phrase that says “In 20 years from now, the only people who will remember that you worked late are your kids” and that really scared me — so I am trying to change my current approach and plan family time better.

I have recently finished reading two books: After Steve: How Apple Became aTrillion-Dollar Company and Lost Its Soul which focuses on the aftermath of Steve Jobs’ death by looking at Jony Ivy, a London-born innovator and the mastermind behind the design of the iPod, iPhone, and iPad, among others who eventually moved away from the company as it focused on the bottom line rather than inspiring. How the Mighty Fall mattered to me as it looked at the five stages of decline that companies experience, such as Nokia as opposed to Apple and Samsung, and how to overcome that fall.

If I were not leading DigiSay, I would probably try to land a job in a tech company or work in the aviation industry.

If I could look back I would tell my younger self: Relax —you will be fine because life will usually pleasantly surprise you — if you work hard enough. I would also advise him to take more risks at the beginning, as those are the ones that will have a better upside. Other words of wisdom would include learning to enjoy the journey, as the destination is irrelevant as long as it’s in the right direction. Of course, surrounding yourself with people who want to be with you and not just the ones you want to be with is important. And, finally, to never stop being ambitious and not to listen to the naysayers.

To new entrepreneurs, I would advise them to always write things down and make lists…the structure and pattern of your ideas and opportunities will arise only if you have made some effort. And try to be ready to get lucky because this is how success is built — if the opportunity comes and you are still not ready, it will not wait for you.