Q&A: SAMI ELAYAN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE AND CO-FOUNDER OF FINE DINER
QWho is your role model?
AThis is a very tricky question … I do not have one role model in my life. There are so many people around me who are continuously inspiring and supporting me. They could be my colleagues, previous bosses, relatives or friends. My life’s philosophy is to learn as many good things from others as you could.
If you could change one mistake in your entrepreneurial journey, what would it be?
There is no mistake or incident in my entrepreneurial journey that I want to amend.
All of them were important and played a crucial role in building my journey. Making mistakes will teach you better lessons and help you emerge as a more refined individual. I believe the true success of any entrepreneur could be measured by the number of mistakes he has made while taking brave steps during his business journey.
Are you on a hiring spree? No. Technically, we are only four people dedicated full-time to this start-up. Sometimes, my wife Amy Saraireh helps us with marketing. We are moving ahead very cautiously and making sure we are judicious in our use of money.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
As an established entrepreneur with a keen interest in emerging technology, I want to nourish Fine Diner and see it have a global presence. However, my permanent base will always be Dubai. This futuristic city has given me so many opportunities as an entrepreneur, so I cannot even think of moving away.
What type of entrepreneur are you?
I love experimenting with new ideas and taking bold steps. It could be either success or failure in the end but you will get a valuable life experience that will certainly cement your future success.
How do you envision a postCovid-19 world?
There will be unprecedented market changes and we cannot risk going back to our old style of working or previous business models. Old models will be completely outdated. In the post-Covid-19 period, my success mantra will be to keep evolving our business strategies. I am sure it will be more fun.