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, finds out about their experiences running a business, and asks for their advice for budding entrepreneurs. Speaking to us this week is Nadim Samy (LinkedIn), co-founder of commercial cloud kitchens, Kitchinco.

My name is Nadim Samy and I am a co-founder at Kitchinco — a cloud kitchen now based in Maadi. We first came up with the idea for Kitchinco when one of our founders, who owns and operates eatery and juice bar Lyfe, was telling us about how his restaurant was more focused on delivery than dining in, and that he was paying a very high rent that didn’t reflect in the majority of his bottom line. His physical outlet was primarily focused on preparing delivery orders. We joined forces with two other partners — one working in kitchen equipment and the other in hotels and hospitality. The four of us already had the expertise to make this work as a cloud kitchen, and we started right away.

I have always been passionate about F&B concepts. In fact, I have another brand called Meat Party Barbecue. Ever since I started my career, everything I have done has revolved around food — whether introducing new ideas to Egyptian consumers, or making it easier for new food outlets to enter the market through Kitchinco cloud kitchens.

When we saw the gap in the market, we made the decision to go headfirst into Kitchinco. We recognized Kitchinco cloud kitchen as a solution that many restaurants desperately needed. It was intended to alleviate the burden of paying for expensive rent, recruiting people and purchasing equipment off of F&B startups, so they could concentrate on making returns from their main source of income, which is delivery.

At first, attracting clients was difficult. Egypt is not a difficult country to do business, particularly in the food and beverage industry. When we first pitched our concept to established businesses, they were reluctant to give it a go, believing that they could rent any apartment and do it themselves. However, they gradually came around to the idea as they learned about our other services.

Our goals in the short term are to open two new facilities over the coming year — one in New Cairo and the other in the Zamalek / Downtown area. We also intend to launch five facilities all over Cairo the following year. Over the longer term, we want to cover all of Cairo and expand into other provinces in Egypt like Alexandria, Mansoura, and Damietta. Basically, we want to have a presence in Egypt’s burgeoning cities, where there is a huge demand but little access to the market. We are also aiming to expand into the Middle East and North Africa as part of our 10-year plan.

Starting a business from the ground up takes a lot of time, and I had to sacrifice much of my personal life for it to succeed. I also gave up the stability of working in a family business. Despite the stress, I persisted because of the belief that it would be worth it in the end.

The best part about my job is realizing the positive impact I’m having on the F&B sector, mostly through helping out startups and young entrepreneurs enter the market, and becoming a part of their success through Kitchinco.

The worst part about my job is witnessing a startup we work with fail. The F&B business is quite easy to enter with Kitchinco. We lower the entry barriers and increase accessibility to the market, which has a great amount of untapped potential. However, some startups start too soon and fail to last.

Being a founder of a startup is not a lonely journey. We are four founders who went to high school together. In fact, I believe it has brought us even closer together, as we constantly discuss decisions. We are a team; we are not doing it alone.

I believe that MaxAB is a startup that’s killing it. They’ve done a great job introducing a new concept to the market, and they are working really hard.

I am genuinely convinced that the last thing I read made me stop smoking. It’s a book called Easy Way to Stop Smoking by Allen Carr. It is truly magic. I finished reading it in a few days and never thought of smoking again. It was also the last thing I listened to as I read the first half of the book and listened to the rest. Whenever I have the weekend off, I go camping and cook. You will always find me in the desert, diving, or doing some kind of outdoor activity.

My family is my biggest inspiration — specifically my father and uncle. They have accomplished so much from nothing. They experienced ups and downs and failed a few times. They are the ones that taught me to always look forward and to persist even when things don’t go as planned, as well as to always seek improvement, help others and be a good person.

One piece of advice I would give to someone starting their own business is to not let the negative encounters bring you down and to look for the best in everything that happens. Try to take something positive away from every situation and use it to learn and grow.