By Tamer Abdel, CEO and Founder of Storicam
1. What background, education or experiences did you have that you think, looking back, were most helpful in preparing you to launch your own company?
It was a combination of experiences. Looking back I was fortunate to be surrounded by family and friends that were entrepreneurs at a young age.
My father who is a long time business owner of a Aerospace manufacturing company in Santa Clarita, allowed me to work with him.
I witnessed the inner-workings of a growing business, the struggles and the perseverance required to win. Even though my father was hoping I would fall in his mechanical engineering footsteps, it was then when I discovered my love for computers and technology.
Launching a business requires one to wear multiple hats, having good mentors that can share experiences and their expertise is the most important educational asset for anyone looking to launch their own company.
2. What’s the most challenging part of creating your own vision for a company as CEO, and what is the most rewarding?
A vision for a company is something that doesn’t transpire overnight. One must totally believe in themselves because few will in the early stages. Believe in the problem you are fixing, believe in the plan of execution and attack. It’s most rewarding when you’ve communicated clearly to employees and customers the vision and it transpiring. It’s no longer talk when it becomes reality.
3. How would you define your management style, and what were some significant influences you had/have?
I think it’s natural for a small business CEO to have a “Authoritative” management style towards employees early in the journey because the CEO wore each hat and expects things to be done in a certain way.
I have definitely matured to include a “Democratic and Collaborative” management style. Each employee has a voice at Stori, but at the end the CEO must make take responsibility for the final decision.
4. What’s the one piece of advice you would give to someone looking to start their own business, and why?
Once you’ve identified that business opportunity you want to make into a reality, make sure you have professional mentors and a company yourself around positive people. They will reduce the number of wrong decisions and failures you will make and will lift you back up on those down and very lonely days each entrepreneur faces.
