1. 69JUNE / JULY 201468 JUNE / JULY 2014
Founder Risked Everything To Make It
What made you leave
your high-­profile job
to start Enteract?
After graduating from Australia,
I started my career in one of
the leading advertising firms
in Bahrain. Working in the
agency for two years gave
me a strong foundation on
advertising in Bahrain. I wanted
to do something for myself,
however. At this point, I think I
can say that I started focusing
on entrepreneurship. I took
a very big risk. I wanted to do
something revolving around a
gap that I found in the market.
I think what really drove me
to entrepreneurship was my
passion for the industry. I also
did not want to be limited and
I wanted to do something for
myself, not another company
or firm. I wasn’t limited in my
previous jobs, but I just wanted
to do something for me.
Tell us about your
startup journey.
The first month consisted of
trying to approach clients. I
was the only one in the office.
Hiring the team was very
crucial as I didnt want to grow
too quickly and increase the
liability of collapsing quickly.
I aimed at steady growth and
wanted to hire people who
bought into the concept of the
business, rather than just be
a regular employee. Sharing
passion is essential to deliver
the best quality of work. We
now we have a full team that
can delivery quality of work in a
very efficient way.
What does enteract
specialize in?
Enteract was created
based on the core concept
of the business which is
interacting with the target
audience through brand
activation and experiential
marketing which creates
memorable moments. The
traditional “print media” like
newspapers and magazines
are essential, however we
are here to add a flavor to the
advertising campaigns by
adding new elements that are
unconventional and creates the
marketing buzz. For example,
one of our first campaigns was
to create inflatable cars for the
client. This is an example of
ambient marketing, where
you create a channel that
doesn’t exist. Another example
is for one of clients - a gym.
What we did for them is apple
branding. It was simple.
Instead of giving out a flier, we
gave out apples that are related
to health and are much more
attractive and memorable.
What is your main
priority when
developing a
marketing project?
I don’t think marketing is only
about great ideas. It’s also
about the ability to implement
these ideas. A lot of things can
be painted and pitched as an
artwork, but can someone
actually do it?
Because I come from
a marketing background,
actual return of investment
and positive return is very
important for me. There are
some things that are not
efficient but cost more. We do
a lot of research before coming
up with a marketing strategy.
Some company’s may have an
idea of what they want to do,
but it may not be the best way
to go about their marketing
strategy. I try to do something
that actually works and brings
back sales and results.
I also think that because I
shifted to an entrepreneur’s
mindset, we’ve been working
with a lot of entrepreneurs.
I try to help them, not only
in marketing, but also in
structuring their business in
terms of marketing planning. A
lot of entrepreneurs, because
they do not have a background
in marketing, end up misusing
the funds they have for
marketing. So they may
take the funds allocated for
marketing and use it on a type
of advertisement that doesn’t
give them any return.
Enteract is closing in
on its first year since
establishment. How
has this year been?
I’m happy to say we’ve been
doing well. When I left my
job initially to start Enteract,
I planned to triple my yearly
income, and we have been
successful in doing that. We
made a plan and we achieved
these goals. We’ve worked with
big organizations over such a
short period, and I think we are
lucky to have that. We are
coming up on just one year
since establishment and I am
happy to have the trust of
large corporations.
What were the biggest
challenges you faced
during this year?
Getting the C.R. was not that
easy in Bahrain. There was a
lot of running around to find
out what to do. It’s very tricky,
you’re given a paper and you
don’t know what to do with
that paper.
I think the biggest challenge
is that some clients don’t
understand the value of the
concept. In marketing there is
normally a concept charge. In
Bahrain many clients may ask
to drop the concept charge
because it’s abstract and don’t
see a value in it. People pay lots
of money for ideas. Ideas are a
valuable thing.
During startup, it was
difficult to land projects
because I had no projects to
show for. I could pitch ideas
of unconventional marketing
and unique methods but it was
nothing but talk to the client.
They could not see examples
of these unconventional
marketing techniques. That
changed as we worked on
more projects and expanded
our portfolio.
What are your plans
for the future?
My plan is to implement more
creative projects, maintain
clients and help our database
grow. One big step towards
enteract’s success is to grow
regionally. We have plans to
dedicate resources to focus on
Saudi, Qatar and UAE market.
What advice would
you give aspiring
entrepreneurs?
My advice is to dream big and
plan to reach the dream. The
most important thing about
this part of the world is taking
the risk. The bigger the risk,
the bigger the results, as they
say. The business also needs
to be started out of passion.
Passion is the only reason why
the business keeps improving
and makes the hardwork and
struggle worthwhile.
F
atima Asadi’s
shift to an
entrepreneur’s
mindset led to
massive changes
in her life. Feeling
the need to create
something for
herself, she left her
high-profile job as
Head of Marketing
for a prestigious
bank to create her
own marketing firm.
We have a chat
with Fatima to hear
her experiences.
ENTREPRENEUR
BANKER
TURNED ENTREPRENEUR