A week in the life of.. Dr Ihab Fikry, co-founder and CEO, almentor.net

Sunday

I start the week by heading to my office in Dubai Silicon Oasis, stopping by the gas station to buy breakfast for both of us – my car and myself. I reach the office and work on my week plan, starting with a conference call with the team in Cairo to discuss the launch of our marketing plans. The plan is to deliver this message to 100 million Arabs before the end of 2018, so the whole day is spent strategising the journey of almentor.net. Sharing our message with our external audiences is key, and the day always ends on a good note as the picture becomes clearer on our direction for the platform.

Monday

I can’t sleep after Fajr prayer, which gives me a much-needed opportunity to prepare and share a hearty early morning breakfast with my family. I don’t have the chance to see my colleagues in the office as I go to meet potential mentors with a view to signing them up to host their work. At this stage I insist on meeting most of our mentors to discuss their courses and talks ahead of filming, as I believe strongly that this helps all of the team and I to manage the produced talks and courses in a better way.

Tuesday

I have four meetings in the office and then review some talks and promos for our courses that need to be on our platform by the end of the day. I end the day with a dip in the pool of Jumeirah Island Club for my 20 laps, while thinking of the next day’s plans. The best part of the day comes next, returning home to see my beautiful wife and amazing children. This is definitely the most cherished part of any day in my life.

Wednesday

Today I enjoy an all-day meeting with one of the best education organisations in Germany, where they agree to sign us as their e-learning arm for the entire Middle East region. This accomplishment should be celebrated, but my partner Ibrahim Kamel does what he’s really good at and advises me that there is no time for celebration and that we’re not leaving the office until we review the accounting month close report in detail. Each and every day he has a valid reason for keeping us in the office.

Thursday

Thursday is a very happy day indeed, as an esteemed venture capitalist approaches us to discuss potential investment. So we prepare the NDA and all other arrangements for our travels and potential meetings. Our partner Husni Khuffash joins us after a long call with a multinational and has some more good news – that we have closed our first sponsorship deal for women empowerment talks. We have dreamed of this moment for quite some time. During the whole 15 months of building almentor.net we’ve been working to reach to several milestones, and this is definitely one of them. The good news doesn’t stop there, as we successfully secure our first business to consumer sales transaction. By the end of the day we have got 48 transactions. A happy day indeed.

Friday

I work for a couple of hours in my home office, and then enjoy a filling breakfast with the family before going to Jummah prayer. The Imam talks about the family and how important it is to share your thoughts and values with your kids and not only be a source of cash. It’s a good one and I am really touched. I then keep a promise I made to my wife, by taking us all to Kempinski Palm Resort, where we stay all day between the sea and the pool until sunset. We end the day with a light dinner on the beach with couple of close friends and their families – my fellow founders and partners, Hesham and Ibrahim.

Saturday

Today the fifth founder and partner of the platform, Abdelrhman Fahmy, comes up with an excellent idea that – as usual – requires my attention for the whole day. So, for the third Saturday in a row, I fail to keep my promise to go and watch a movie with the family. I end the weekend hoping that next Saturday will be different.