Ahmed Abdelrehim graduated from the school of Pharmacy and Biotechnology in 2008 at the German University in Cairo, Egypt, and started his first business, a retail pharmacy, in 2009. He spent eight years running the pharmacy. During the last years of Ahmed’s pharmacy life, he became super bored with what he was doing. Ahmed wanted to grow as an entrepreneur, and so he started an import company and began traveling to China to create a trading business. It was a lucrative business until the Egyptian government made some significant economic decisions to combat imports from China to reduce unemployment and increase the value of the local products. Unfortunately, this caused a massive loss to Ahmed’s business, and he decided then to move to America to start a new venture which is Cairo2Go.
Cairo2Go is an Egyptian fast-food, casual concept that provides delicious food for a very reasonable price. They have been operating for almost four years now and are continuing to grow. During COVID, Ahmed’s restaurant got hit so hard that they decided to create their first “ghost kitchen” and called it Tre Pasta. It was an instant hit with thousands of dollars in sales from the first month. They then added the Angry Five Hot Fried Chicken to their restaurants. Ahmed currently has three restaurants coming out of the same location, making them one of the most unique restaurants in Morgantown, WV.
SHOW NOTES:
- 4:28 Ahmed, take a minute, fill in some gaps from that brief intro and give us a little behind the curtain look into your business.
- 6:19 How did you get started as an entrepreneur? What brought you to Morgantown?
- 10:05 What is your 30 sec. pitch for Cairo2Go?
- 10:44 Can you tell us more about Egyptian food and what your specialties are?
- 12:14 Can you tell us more about the other restaurants you’re running out of that location?
- 18:34 Is a ghost kitchen a new concept?
- 19:47 What are you most excited about for your business right now?
- 21:09 Are you the creative force behind the menu at Cairo2Go?
- 21:47 Can you tell us more about how you came up with “The Angry Five”?
- 23:27 What is the geographic area that your customers come from?
- 24:07 How many employees do you have?
- 24:40 What has been your best business moment so far?
- 26:00 What has been your worst business moment so far?
- 27:01 What got you through being away from your business for so long?
- 27:44 PWV Commercial Break
- 28:38 What is the long term vision you have for your business?
- 29:59 How do you attract new customers?
- 30:54 What is one of the biggest challenges you’re facing right now?
- 31:50 What is one piece of advice that you’d give to young people who are thinking about starting their own business?
- 33:02 What is one thing that you do every day that you think contributes to your success?
- 34:17 What is one book or podcast that you’d recommend for aspiring entrepreneurs?
- 35:53 Is there anything else you’d like our listeners to know about your company or your story?
- 36:27 How can our listeners learn more about your company and perhaps even get in contact with you?
- 37:45 Outro
Website
Cairo2Go
Book Recommendation:
The Laws of Human Nature by Robert Greene
Podcast Recommendation: