From MENA to the World
Over the past decade, the MENA region has been silently building an ecosystem while the world wasn't watching. The mission of this show is to share those stories from those that are contributing to this change, the investors, founders, and operators. We'll be interviewing guests to talk openly about their journeys, starting with their childhood and going all the way through to the Why? How? What? of their entrepreneurial journeys. Showcasing these stories is vital for people to connect, learn and get inspired. Join our host Amir Farha, Founder of COTU Ventures, as he explores the human side to entrepreneurship in the Middle East from the narratives of people who have the courage to drive change, overcome barriers, and build lasting companies despite all the difficulties along the way.
From MENA to the World
Ben Mouflard (Chatfood) - How his first business was selling golf balls at 7 years old, why he was working on idea #20 before reaching PMF, how he met his cofounder, and why they chose to bootstrap Chatfood
In this episode, we’ll have a chat with Benjamin Mouflard, Co-Founder and CEO of the Dubai startup ChatFood. In 2018, Ben and his co-founder Vinny launched ChatFood, a technology platform designed to help restaurants drive their online orders from a centralised system. ChatFood has since empowered 6,000 local businesses across 62 countries to grow in an increasingly digital world. Their platform has helped deliver over $5 million in orders, saved $10 million in commissions, and attracted 1.2 million community-conscious customers globally.
In this episode, you will get a glimpse into how ChatFood carved their place in the saturated food delivery industry, Ben’s initial learning from running a startup and more.
Important Points
- Stick to the vision & mission and never lose touch with your customers
- Competition is everywhere, you need to find your demographic, niche and market
- Great product offering and user experience is the key to winning over your customers
- Raising money is the easy part, finding the right investor is where the challenge lies.
- Establishing the company culture in the beginning will help you find the right people
- Always go back to your first customer to resonate with why you started this in the first place
Timestamps
- 01:36 Turning a childhood interest into careers at Microsoft and Facebook
- 03:01 - Stop thinking, start doing
- 05:21 - The importance of creating a support system as an entrepreneur
- 06:52 - How a chance encounter led to a successful business partnership
- 07:45 - What Ben’s first few ventures taught him
- 10:54 - Finding a problem you’re passionate about solving
- 12:49 - Shedding the fear of being a startup
- 13:37 - Connecting with communities and building conviction around your business
- 16:05 - Cultivating a competitive edge in Dubai and going international
- 19:25 - Growing pains and scaling-up funding
- 21:52 - Leading a mission-driven company
- 24:08 - Empowering your team to take risks and the value of providing feedback
- 26:03 - Balancing process and outcome
- 28:22 - Defining your customer profile and building principles surrounding it
- 30:52 - Companies that Ben draws inspiration from
- 32:14 - Attracting long-term investors and avoiding power dynamics
- 37:20 - Finding peace in adversity and staying true to your values
- 41:56 - Improving your approach by learning from experience and consuming content
- 45:01 - Reminding yourself of your purpose
Links
- Benjamin Mouflard’s Twitter
- Benjamin Mouflard LinkedIn
- Vinny’s LinkedIn
- What is ChatFood?
- ChatFood Website
- ChatFood Instagram
- ChatFood Youtube
Noteworthy
About the Host
