From Corporate Veteran to Entrepreneur - Amira Rashad

A working mum, Amira felt like there were not enough hours in the day - and grocery shopping was the last thing she wanted to do in her precious time. So she built an online platform to order groceries in bulk.

Prior to starting BulkWhiz, Amira had 25 years' experience in leadership, strategy, operations and marketing across a variety of sectors - having worked at Yahoo, Pepsico and Booz Allen. Most recently she was the Head of Brand for Facebook Middle East & North Africa. Amira is a Harvard Business School Graduate and sits on the board of Tech Wadi in Silicon Valley.

We discussed Amira's diverse experiences in the corporate world and how they prepared her for entrepreneurship. She busted a myth about the average age of entrepreneurs! We talked about why Amira decided to leave a cool, stable corporate job to create BulkWhiz and the hurdles she faced in doing it. We got her advice for aspiring entrepreneurs, and an explanation of "the moment of truth" for your product. We discussed various challenges women face in the workplace and the expectations placed on all of us. Finally, we touched on Amira's creative writing and what makes her happy.

My favourite quote was when Amira shared a famous saying in the advertising world. "Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half". The quote is attributed to John Wanamaker, considered by many to be the father of modern advertising.

Amira's book recommendation was The History of Love by Nicole Krauss, something for me to add to my fiction to-read list.

You can find Amira on her Instagram page and find BulkWhiz here. For those of you interested in learning more about the entrepreneurial journey, this is the Harvard Business School Case Study on BulkWhiz.

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