Exclusive Interview Archives

Nathan Hunt, A Dynamic, Hands-On Leader Empowering Business To Grow At Gateway Group Of Companies

An Award-winning Business Leader and Company Formation Specialist, Nathan Hunt Joined Gateway to help companies get licensed to do business in Abu Dhabi & Dubai. Presently, he is successfully spearheading Gateway as the CEO to expand its services to provide more business setup solutions, including free zones setups and Tajer Abu Dhabi licenses for entrepreneurs. Additionally, he launched and heads up the Food & Beverage consultancy and management services under the Gateway Group brand, working with both existing businesses and startups to develop solutions and focus on business growth for success.

Nathan is a trained chef with experience in Europe and the West Indies before settling in the UAE in 2004 where he continued in the food and beverage industry until he reached the top of his profession as a Regional Group Executive Chef.

Further, Nathan apprised, “Working as a chef is a highly pressured job and the management skills, I had gained over the years were easily transferable and complemented Gateway’s business, such as managing teams, stakeholders, and suppliers; striving for excellence; cost control; implementing standard operating procedures, keeping on top of trends and anticipating the next, etc.”

More about the Firm

The Gateway Group Of Companies helps organisations to mitigate the risks of getting licensed to do business in the UAE. They help organisations to choose the right license for their business & long-term goals, ensuring the protection of their assets and profits. Their on-the-ground knowledge and experience ensure license procedures are carried out efficiently and their nominee corporate sponsor service provides our clients with the control and protection of their business. They also organise residence visas to help their client’s employees and their families to live and work in the UAE legally.

Clientele & Corporate Ethos

Gateway was originally established to help organisations overcome the difficulties of getting licensed to do business in the UAE. Gateway identified recurring issues companies were experiencing, such as wrong licenses, empty promises, being stuck in exclusivity contracts, no exit strategies, uncooperative local sponsors, lost profits, and more, and created no-nonsense, transparent, and well-communicated services to address them. Establishing a presence in the UAE doesn’t need to be difficult, providing you engage the right expertise at the outset. So Gateway’s approach has always been client-focused and doing what is in their best interests. Their corporate strapline is Reassuringly Honest.

Here, the clientele includes SMEs to large international organizations. Once clients have had a bad experience and they switch to their services, they are usually surprised and impressed at the quality and smoothness of our operations, which means they can spend more time focusing on their own businesses.

Overcoming Entrepreneurial Hindrances & the Inspiring Team

Nathan and his colleagues go through the same challenges as any other business, namely employing the right people at the right time and constantly innovating their service offering to remain relevant to the clients.

There is a fantastic team and we work together as a family. Their values match those of the organisation, which is Honesty. Trust. Integrity. And, the management gives their employees the freedom to develop. They each genuinely contribute to the development of Gateway. “We are extremely proud to say that we have never lost a staff member”, said Nathan.

The team is working on the front line and they are the ones who experience regulatory changes or client challenges first and are often the ones to therefore suggest changes to the services when they are needed.

Nathan’s Views on Creating a Balanced and Equal Industry

According to Nathan, companies should give more value to their employees. Employees are the cogs of a business and without them, there is no business. By hiring the right person for each role, remunerating them fairly, motivating them appropriately and genuinely making them feel a part of the team, and showing them the value they contribute to the business will make for happier employees and will also benefit the business in terms of productivity enormously. Too many organisations consider their employees a cost rather than an asset to invest in.

A Day in Nathan Hunt’s Life

“I get up early, let the dogs out and head straight into our home office, usually, around 4:30 am. Getting up and getting on with your day is essential for business success. I can get a good couple of hours of work done before the team gets to the office. I can clear emails that arrived overnight and also have virtual meetings with both the Far East and the US. It means I can take advantage of the time zones. During office hours, no two days are the same, but they will generally be made up of virtual meetings and calls if I’m working from home or face-to-face meetings if I’m working in Dubai or Abu Dhabi. When I have the opportunity, I get in a round of golf. This is a great way to combine business and my hobby. I’m also currently Vice-Captain of the Al Ain Golf Club. Evenings can be spent at home having a meal with my wife, attending networking events, or playing golf, so days end at varying times”, shared Nathan when asked about his daily routine.

Favourite Book

Millionnaire Underdog by JT FOXX. JT is one of Nathan’s business coaches. His book consolidates practical ideas and strategies for scaling your businesses. Each time you read it, you pull out ideas to implement that are particularly relevant to you at that particular time or get reminded about things you used to do for your business and need to start doing again. It’s an easy read, full of energy to make you take action and based upon proven results!

What’s Next on the Cards?

The future looks very exciting for Gateway. The company is about to expand its services into Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) meaning that they can specifically help their clients wishing to set up SPV’s to hold assets such as shares of private companies, shares in publicly listed companies, real estate, intellectual property rights (‘IP rights’) (e.g. trademarks), etc.

Accreditation on the Way

Gateway has received numerous accolades over the years. This year it was awarded with the ‘Best Onshore Business Sponsorship Services UAE’ by MEA Markets and their founding partner is in FORBES’ Top 100 Most Influential Women In The Middle East. These certainly reinforce their credibility in the market.

A Piece of Advice for Female Entrepreneurs

It’s very easy as an entrepreneur to get caught up in the operations of a business, rather than leading it, especially in the early days, so having the foresight to step out of your business and take a look at it will help with future planning and decision making. Be prepared to be uncomfortable – if you are living in your comfort zone, you aren’t leading and making changes and growing. Learn from others – you can avoid the common business mistakes entrepreneurs make if you take time to study other business leaders and their strategies – they have already made the mistakes and this means you can avoid them. Get a business coach to keep you accountable and focused. Surround yourself with people who know more than you.

Favourite Quote

“Don’t do your best, do whatever it takes,” JT Foxx.

An Industry Veteran Is Walking the Unique Path to Success leading PJP Investments Group, Tapan Vaidya

Tapan Vaidya, a passionate, innovative, and veteran in the industry and on Caterer Middle East Power 50 List 2020, is currently spearheading the growth of PJP Investments Group in the role of CEO with his own investment. PJP is the owner-operator of Papa John’s in the UAE & Saudi Arabia.

In his 35-year long work journey, across the Middle East & India, Tapan has been associated with the development of hundreds of restaurants across these markets with brands including Papa John’s, Chili’s, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Outback Steakhouse… it is a long list. Tapan also founded Talli Turmeric® – a hugely popular polished casual dining brand serving authentic Indian food from across Indian regional cuisines, celebrating Turmeric’s position in the Indian culinary landscape, in South Mumbai, India. This October, Talli Turmeric® will soon launch in Dubai in a virtual format through a partnership with cloud kitchen unicorn Kitopi. Currently focused on developing and expanding Papa John’s in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, Tapan is keen to give back to the industry from his deep knowledge and hands-on experience. With the current crisis that the industry has now faced for over a year, Tapan has dug deep to bring new insights and creative solutions in handling his business, and he is a successful versatile leader. In academics, Tapan has done BSc in Mathematics from St. Xavier’s College & a Business Diploma from NMIMS, Mumbai, India.

A Glimpse of PJP Investments Group

PJP Investments Group owns and operates 62 Papa John’s restaurants in the United Arab Emirates, with strong expansion plans to build 110 restaurants by 2026. PJP has recently signed on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and opened its first restaurant in Riyadh last month. The development plan includes 100 restaurant openings in 10 years.

While talking about his consumer base, Mr Vaidya said, “Consumers of all ages and nationalities are our customers – that is the power pizza enjoys as comfort food. Quality of ingredients and operational execution in our restaurants are two key elements that contribute to our success. These are not easily achieved, there are processes in place to systematically achieve these two on a daily basis, every day.”

The Inspiration behind the Initiation

Tapan Vaidya waited at tables in a local restaurant during his university days and that experience made him fall in love with the restaurant industry, the trigger was the instant appreciation of a great effort. You serve great food and provide excellent service to a dining guest; you receive an instant reward in the form of a Tip. Simple start of falling in love, but has taken him on a roller-coaster-like exhilarating ride in his career.

Hurdles on the Way

The PJP Investments Group grew from one restaurant in 2005 to 62 restaurants today. This did not happen without teething problems, in fact, the problems grew exponentially large each year as the company struggled to ensure various elements were aligned with the objectives, including recruitment, training, supply chain, striking the right balance between menu price and cost of goods sold – this list is long. However, the team stayed focused on getting the quality of ingredients right and ensuring flawless restaurant operations. This helped them make customers happy and they kept coming back.

A Day in Tapan’s Life

“I wake up early at 5 am every workday and head off for my main physical as well as a mental exercise – half a round of Golf at Emirates Golf Club. I avoid the Golf Cart and walk the course. After a shower at the Club, I drive straight to my office for a day full of excitement. Once a week I would usually have a session with new joiners. I insist on spending a half-hour with them to talk about our Vision, Mission and Values. Then there are the weekly Trade Meetings where the entire management team comes together to discuss last week’s performance”, asserted Tapan when asked about his daily routine.

“Every day, I personally spend time with our operations team from across all emirates, to discuss each feedback received from our customers, negative and positive. A customer who sent in negative feedback is informed and won back while customers who sent in positive feedback are thanked well”, he further added.

The Support System

Consistent focus on the quality of ingredients used and the passion to make every customer return is what has helped Tapan and his venture grow consistently. Papa John’s has a great brand promise of Better Ingredients Better Pizza and they stay true to it at all times, never compromise on quality. And this does not escape customers’ notice.

The visionary insists that the teams in restaurants focus on ROC and not ROI! ROC is Return of Customer – that each team member must focus on taking great care of each transaction, each customer in such a way that the customer only thinks about coming back to Papa John’s!

“If we take care of ROC, then ROI will take care of itself”, said Tapan Vaidya.

Growing through the Pandemic

“At the height of the pandemic at the end of March 2020, when we were facing the closure of half our restaurants in the United Arab Emirates, I took the decision of not letting a single team member go. I knew the restaurants will reopen once the pandemic subsides, but where will we get trained personnel from? Who will make our customers return, if not our trained teams? I am happy and proud to confirm that we not only lived up to not letting any job go to COVID, but we started recruiting even more employees to fuel our expansion, with over a dozen restaurant openings since then”, Mr Vaidya proudly shared.

Favourite Book

My Experiments with Truth by Mahatma Gandhi

Future Roadmap

The future is very exciting! PJP Investments Group has 62 restaurants in the United Arab Emirates, with over 10 locations in the pipeline. The company is expanding fast, it will exceed the target of 110 restaurants by 2026. Recently, they have just opened their first restaurant in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia very successfully – all set to exceed their target of 100 restaurants by 2030.

Features in the Crown

International Franchisee of the Year in the global Papa John’s system for 2014.
Tapan Vaidya was named in the Power 50 in F&B in the Middle East by the prestigious Caterer Middle East Magazine for 2020.
He was appointed to the Advisory Board of Dubai Restaurants Group (DRG), patronised by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce. DRG is the voice of the restaurant industry in Dubai.
He was awarded RetailME Icons Award 2021 by Images RetailME.
Featured by The CEO Magazine in their June 2021 EMEA edition.

A Piece of Advice for Aspiring Female Entrepreneurs

Use your instincts to make a decision especially when in doubt, your instincts have been more accurate since time immemorial, and second is a simpler truth easier said than done, ensure your revenues exceed your costs – you can do that if you make your customers return.

Favourite Quote

Have No Men in your team rather than have Yes Men in your team!

A Combination Of Inspiration, Innovation, And Expertise: Meet The Accomplished Legal Practitioner, Henzie Healley

Responding to the pressing need for a platform where lawyers can join and serve their clients, without taking the stress of running a sole business, an accomplished and skilled lawyer, Henzie Healley has launched Mezzle in the Middle East with her esteemed business partners Mel Kang and Raj Sumal, who also launched Mezzle in the UK. Henzie is a common law qualified lawyer living in Dubai but servicing clients from all around the world.

She studied Business Management in Canada, before going on to study law in New Zealand. She qualified with an LLB with Honors in New Zealand and was admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand in 2014. She then moved to Dubai in 2014 after being offered a permanent role at an international law firm she interned for during her school vacations.

In 2019 Henzie founded her own legal consultancy and simultaneously, started an organic paint company both of which have been hugely successful and have grown very quickly. In 2021 she merged the Abu Dhabi legal consultancy with a UK firm, rebranded, and is now a partner in, and Managing Director of, Mezzle Middle East.

Mezzle, all set to Disrupt the Provision of Legal Services

Mezzle Middle East is a legal consultancy that is seeking to disrupt the provision of legal services and the way that lawyers conduct their business. Providing a platform through which lawyers can join and continue to service their clients, without having to worry about the endless non-billable hours taken up by admin and running a business solo.

Mezzle allows lawyers to join a global brand, have the support that they need to provide the highest level of service efficiently and effectively to their clients while having the freedom to enjoy life and be their own boss.

Clients & Corporate Ethos

Mezzle Middle East services clients from all over the world, having started predominantly with a focus on start-ups and high-growth companies, it has since grown to include many SMEs, large international companies, and family offices in the UAE.

Mezzle is a technology-focused law firm that provides clients with the best possible service. Here is a team of legal experts who strive hard to ensure each project gets done right, fast, and efficiently. The team is always looking for new ways to improve their services, whether it be through technological advancements or process improvements.

The Driving Force

God played a huge role in getting Henzie Healley to where she is today. From the beginning, when she started the company, they never had any problems getting clients. Big names wanted to work with them, and they would receive calls out of the blue from people they had never heard of, that wanted to help them grow their brand, promote them and use their services.

Further the leading lady apprised, “We have many people to thank for our success including Yann Mrazek and the team at MH/Q, Greg Shippee/David Linklater and the team at Re/Think, Pratik and the team at Sanctuary, Tasawar Ul Haq, Preston McIntyre (one-man army), Sherif El Hennawy and the team at Plug & Play, Zille Rehman and the team at Astrolabs, Rosheen Ngorima (founder of Neeps Consulting), Maxime Casinelli (owner of MCG), Leo Garcia (Women’s Investment Empowerment Forum), and a mystery Mr X (who would like to remain anonymous, but knows who he is) and all of our clients that have supported us along the way.”

The Phenomenal Team

When asked about her team Henzie shared, “One is also only as strong as one’s team and we have been blessed with a phenomenal team at Mezzle. Everyone that is a part of the Mezzle team, is genuinely committed, pitches in, and works hard as a team. A special shout out to Shameeg who has helped me significantly along the way, my family, who invested in me and all pitched in when things got really busy (my mom, my dad, and my stepmom – literally, I would not have been able to do this without you), my friends who were always happy for me and stayed friends with me even though I was too busy to see them (and still helped me with all kinds of things which needed to be in the media when I could – Kohl & Rouge), and Khader who pushed me to start the business and supported me all the way.”

Creating a more Balanced & Equal Industry

The legal system is changing. COVID has shown people that so much more can be done remotely, and money is no longer the most important thing to work for. Traditional law firms are becoming a thing of the past. There’s never been a better time to join the movement and help create something new: one that works for you, not against you.

Henzie stated, “Everyone loves money, don’t get me wrong, but a lot of people are seeing that freedom from a desk is way more valuable. In my opinion, companies need to be more flexible, understanding what is important to people and realising that not everyone’s the same. They should embrace technology and be open-minded to new ways of doing things”.

Favourite Book

The Efficientpreneur by AK.

Future Roadmap

Henzie Healley is most excited about the possibilities that Mezzle provides and how it can change people’s lives. It gives lawyers freedom, freedom to work for themselves, earn a good living, but also make more time for the important things in life and loved ones. Mezzle is the way of the future. It’s what every lawyer should strive for. Life is short and time is precious. Time spent is time that one will never get back… it should be rationed and used wisely. Mezzle is for people who are tired of the old ways.

A Piece of Advice for Female Entrepreneurs

“You can do it! We live in a society that tells people they can do anything and achieve anything. Some think that’s wrong and breads entitlement or too much emotional sensitivity, but I truly believe the sky is the limit. If you put your mind to it and have God supporting it, you can do anything”, advised Henzie.

“While many women have found it challenging to enter the workplace and have encountered various obstacles, I don’t want to offend anyone, but I have never felt that my gender has been a hindrance to my success in the workplace or in the legal sector. Quite the opposite actually. I believe both men and women in this industry can achieve equal success”, she further added.

Favourite Quote

“One day you will wake up and there won’t be any more days to do the things you wanted. Do it now”.

Farah Emara, Young Inspiring Entrepreneur Focused Towards Disrupting the Agri-value Chain with FreshSource

“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failure.” – Colin Powell

Quote that describes the mindset of the inspiring young entrepreneur Farah Emara, CEO, FreshSource, a great initiative to streamline the fresh food value chain through the use of data and technology. The 30-year old leading lady, Farah is passionate about entrepreneurship, value chains, and getting rid of unnecessary inefficiencies. With her co-founder, Omar Emara, they are the brains behind FreshSource Global, they launched the firm in January 2019.

The inception that happened just three years ago, grew into a strong innovative platform. FreshSource is currently disrupting the Egyptian agriculture industry by streamlining the value chain through technology. It is the region’s first platform for fresh produce, transforming the lives of producers, businesses, and consumers. As of now, the firm is working with many established businesses in the country with a belief that the level of service it provides is what makes them loyal to FreshSource. Because of their outstanding contributions and innovative solutions, Farah and her venture were honoured with the Digital Agriculture Award of the year by the World Bank and the IFC. They were also awarded the Mashrou3 Amal award by MBC.

Further, the leading lady apprised, “An idea, no matter how unique or great it is, is just an idea. Determination, perseverance, and transforming your setbacks into comebacks is what will build a truly successful enterprise. We work hard to prepare our team and our company for exponential growth and always make data-driven decisions for our strategies. We are building a strong team with a solid foundation and processes in place that will enable us to transform the Egyptian agriculture industry.”

The Inspiration behind the Initiative

Omar and Farah grew up in the agriculture industry and it was always a passion for them. At the time she was working in P&G and Omar was in London. Farah had a background in FMCG and Omar in Finance and Technology in Goldman Sachs London. They always knew that they wanted to start something that will have an impact on their country. They started researching the industry and uncovered immense inefficiencies that exist in the value chain. Through their research, they found that an average of 45% of crops are lost before hitting store shelves due to poor harvesting, transportation, and storage. With an exponentially growing population, greater stress is being placed on food security. Producers are not getting their fair cut due to middlemen and businesses are overpaying for their crops making prices extremely high for the end-consumer.. So, they launched FreshSource to revolutionize agriculture in Egypt and transform it through technology.

Major Hiccups & Support on the Way

The agriculture industry is always very risky and dynamic, so challenges are how to withstand some of the changes that were caused by the global pandemic and how to build a foundation that can strive.

While talking about her support system, Farah happily said, “My co-founder, Omar, is the number one reason I am where I am today. He provides unparalleled support and a great direction for FreshSource that has made it possible for us to achieve what we have.”

“To create a More Balanced and Equal Industry, Always focus on the female representation in the workforce, if you are not tracking it then odds are you have an extremely low number of females in your team. Without this diversity, companies are missing out on so much, from Sales to Operations”, she further added.

A Day in Farah’s Life

She wakes up at 7 every day as the fruit and vegetable industry is one that is most active in the mornings. She begins her day by checking the communication channels with the team. After that, she gets up and walks her two beautiful dogs, Mocha and Yogi. Then she goes to the gym at Gezira Club to get some morning endorphins and grabs a coffee. After that, she either goes to the office, meets with investors, farms, or cold storage facilities depending on the situation.

Favourite Source of Inspiration & Education

A podcast- Startup Theory.

“I love Startup Theory and I recommend all entrepreneurs listen to it. Being an entrepreneur can sometimes be a lonely journey. I am lucky enough to have my brother with me, but other sole founders don’t. They need to get the message that obstacles will always arise and sometimes doubting yourself can be more detrimental than the actual issue you are facing. We usually only see the tip of the iceberg on media platforms of startups raising millions and it usually looks so easy. However, each startup is going through its own pains, and keeping your headset in the right direction is what will make you sink or swim”, Farah apprised.

The Future

The young woman believes that blockchain will have an immense impact on the value chain of food. This has already started happening and will only continue to transform the industry. Agriculture accounts for 40% of the global workforce and represents 6.4% of the entire world’s economic production. Getting food from farm to table is an extremely complicated process with a lot of intermediaries. People are oblivious to what has been sprayed on the food they are eating or how it has been handled. Using blockchain to promote the traceability of food will have a transformative impact.

Advice for Female Entrepreneurs

You must be aggressive, while it may be uncomfortable for some people to be assertive and it might not come naturally, unfortunately, it is seen as a sign of weakness by investors and other stakeholders. So, if you want to get far, you must be determined and assertive.

Jeremy Denisty: Nurturing The Business Growth With Comprehensive Consulting Solutions at Scopernia

Founded in 2011, Scopernia has been connecting with big and small enterprises, offering them a sneak peek of what’s next and help them flourish in an evolving world under the guidance of Jeremy Denisty. Scopernia is the brainchild of two visionaries, Dado van Peteghem and Jo Caudron. They founded this company 11 years ago and Jeremy took the helm in 2020 as the Managing Director.

Personifying an amazing, hardworking, organized, inspiring, optimistic, and self-motivated individual who diligently transverses the path to achieving, Jeremy holds great expertise and extensive knowledge because of his continuous dedication.

The 30-year-old business leader was born and raised in Belgium, and he grew up walking on the path of artistic life. Jeremy started acting lessons when he was 4, was a child actor as main characters in French feature films from 2005 up until 2019, worked as a radio host, and in some TV programs.

Besides his involvement in the media, Jeremy continued his studies and ended up getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Sciences and 2 MSc in International Management and Management Sciences. His first business professional experience was at Procter & Gamble in France, working on Pampers.

At the end of his studies, Jeremy decided to put his artistic life aside and had the opportunity to join Henkel, P&G, or Unilever. He chose Unilever and spent 5 amazing years at Unilever as a Sales & Marketing Manager in France, Belgium, and The Netherlands.

Jeremy and his wife always wanted to move abroad, so when she had the opportunity to transfer to Dubai at the end of 2019, he quit his beloved Unilever job and they moved to Dubai. The day Mr Denisty landed in Dubai he met Scopernia’s Founding Partner, Dado Van Peteghem. One week later he started working as an Engagement Manager. 5 months later, in the heart of the COVID crisis, Jeremy took the lead of the office with a clear strategic plan in mind for the Firm’s future. And, the plan was successful, they tripled their revenues in one year.

Scopernia, Making Organizations Future-fit and a Force for Good

At the core, Scopernia helps people transform and grow faster & better in a complex and fast-changing world. Concretely, they help public and private organisations solve complex problems to:

Optimize their core business to accelerate growth
Transform their business ideas into a reality
Find new revenue streams
(Re)Define their Organization of the Future
Target Gen Z through Gaming with Scopernia Gaming

A lot of consulting companies claim they do all of that What really sets Scopernia apart is how they do it:

By focusing on: involving employees, stakeholders, customers in the process
Through innovative methodologies
By co-creating the solution with the client
By making it fun and engaging for all involved, creating faster buy-in and ownership
By focusing on the implemented impact

“Our vision is to change the way strategy & management consulting is being done, and help clients across industries grow, whether they are not sure how, don’t have the people, or don’t have the time”, said Mr Denisty.

What Inspired Jeremy to be an Author?

Communication and playing with words have always been something Jeremy enjoyed and felt comfortable with, from his early days in his acting career.” When he understood the force for good it could be in business, it pushed him into writing.

Clients & Unbreakable Faith

Scopernia serves every organization with more than 100 employees. By design in the region, since the company got here through a massive transformation project with the Chalhoub Group, they tend to have more clients in Luxury, Retail, and Consumer Goods.

List of 10 current and past clients:

Chalhoub Group, the organization itself as well as many of their portfolio brands individually: Faces, Lacoste, Tumi, Level Shoes, etc.
Trafalgar Luxury Group (distributors of Patek Philippe, Tag Heuer, Chopard, and many other luxury brands in the Middle East)
Mapyr (leading distributors of baby gear brands in the Middle East)
Sprecher Berrier Group of Companies (distributor of perfume brands)
Unilever Middle East
GlaxoSmithKline
HSBC MENA
BNP Paribas
Engie Mescat
Aliaxis (global leader in water and energy solutions)
Cartamundi Group (worldwide leader in card and board games)

While discussing how he assures the faith of the clients, Jeremy apprised, “We have 0 compromises on delivery quality and our clients know it. We are 100% reliable, strive to deliver above expectations, always, and consider ourselves as advisors rather than contractors. That mindset is a standard in our organization. On top of that, we don’t price based on hours spent but fixed on the value created.”

Hurdles on the Way

When asked about his initial challenges, Jeremy Denisty said, “The primary challenge was to re-think who we were going to serve, helping them solve which problems. We re-focused our organization on business growth and transformation (what it was initially founded on) and managed the pivot with success.”

The Driving Force

Here are the 10 things that so far worked out for Jeremy Denisty and led him to where he is today.

Having focus: single-minded focus will put you closer to your goal(s)
Be curious: be open-minded and learn new things every day
See the world through others’ eyes: search for new perspectives, whether it is to innovate or to empathize
Strive for perfection: never settle for average, details matter and will make a difference
Be loyal and operate with integrity: great leaders will want you at their side, trust unlocks everything
Hard work is easy: be disciplined, commit to yourself and what you can accomplish.
Live multiple lives: be open to new opportunities, pivot, change, add, and subtract
Don’t let failures take you down: they are part of the process, they exist to make us better, smarter, and more mature.
Leverage every skill you have: what do you do better than 99% of the people you know?Figure it out, leverage it.
Love, and be loved: nurture relationships, listen more than you talk, be truthful, thankful, and genuinely happy for the success of others

“On top of that, I’ve had the chance to be trusted by amazing mentors. Dado Van Peteghem in particular, our Founding Partner, has put his trust in me to lead this office, and I am very thankful for that”, shared Mr Denisty.

Favorite Book

Made to Stick by Chip & Dan Heath

Future Roadmap

Jeremy Denisty is focused on building a niche boutique consulting firm with exceptional people, delivering unparalleled quality of work. He believes in changing the way consulting has been done for the last 50 years.

Besides, in the coming 3 years, he would also like to open a pro-bono vertical with a dedicated team, helping social and purposeful entrepreneurs & businesses to grow in the region.

Awards & Milestones

Jeremy proudly shared, The first book, Written and published by our Founding Partners, “Digital Transformation: A model to master digital disruption” (2012) is an international bestseller sold in more than 55 countries.

And, Scopernia’s Founding Partner, Jo Caudron’s last book “The World is Round: An optimistic master plan for the transformation of business and society” (2020) has won a Management Book of the Year award.

It was published the day the lockdown started, and it appeared most transformations that he had thought of for the next 10 years happened in 10 days because of COVID.

A Piece of Advice for Female Entrepreneurs

Reach out and get in touch with female entrepreneurs that are a bit further in the journey. Don’t go at it alone, there are many brilliant entrepreneurs out there, reach out, get support, share your ideas, listen to others that have done it, don’t be afraid to ask for help.

Favourite Quote

“A plan without execution is the slowest route to victory. Execution without a plan is the noise before defeat.”– Sun Tzu

Trust Capital TC – Enriching lives, creating Reliability!

Businesses come and go, what stays is the presence, the impact, and the name of the enterprise. Business is more about creating a relationship between the company and the customers than selling something to someone.

A company is always on the search and hunt for the next big innovation, which could carve their name in the hall of fame, but, what about the existing products/services they offer?

There are a lot of companies offering similar products/services but only a few prevail and take the top spot. What makes the customers follow these names only, and overlook any other, despite discounts, extra benefits, etc.?

The answer is Trust and Reliability.

Farah Hawilo is one of the leading and eccentric businesswomen of 2021. She is not only an effervescent leader but also a great persona, inspiring budding entrepreneurs and exiting businessmen/businesswomen.

Farah is the Executive Director of Trust Capital TC. Trust Capital TC provides a secure, reliable, and transparent environment to trade CFDs on Forex, Metals, Commodities, Indices, and Cryptocurrencies.

Offering direct access to the financial markets with the benefits of competitive pricing, tight spreads, low commission, and negative balance protection.

Since Brokers do not share a good image in the market, Farah and her company aim to eradicate that by providing services that are unmatched, top-notch, and completely transparent. Trust Capital TC revolutionizes the traditional image and perception of Brokers.

Farah, and her will to create something extraordinary and change the face of trading and the air around it, makes her one of the most dynamic businesswomen to watch in 2021

“To achieve something that you’ve never achieved, you have to do something that you’ve never done”

The Company, the Journey

Trust Capital TC started a revolution in the securities market. Licensed in 2018, with a mission to provide an environment where traders have transparency and reliability. Their base of operations is set up in Cyprus, with the representative office in Dubai UAE.

They offer a trading platform for clients to invest, whether they are retail or professional clients. They offer a lot of instrument support, such as Forex, Metals, indices, energies, Commodities, and now cryptocurrencies.

To cater to clients of all kinds and offer different account types suited for all kinds of investors, professional or starting out, Trust Capital TC offers a one-stop solution.

Being a broker, a company faces many claims, which are on the negative side. But Trust Capital TC rises as the knight in shining armor for all those cheated, mistreated, or conned by traditional brokers. The defining characteristic feature of Trust Capital TC is the education they offer, and that too free of cost! They conduct webinars, seminars, and provide online education. They also have a program called the Forex Mentor, providing one-on-one training.

Trust Capital TC and its team know trading into Indices, Forex, etc. is a risky job. They offer education so people and their clients can learn. They impart education, not to get accounts, but to establish trust and eradicate improper knowledge which stains the occupation of trading as a whole. They are the change, by being the change!

They also offer practice accounts, so people can practice trading with virtual money. This does not stop here as Trust Capital TC monitors the account with them, and tries to give them some tips, etc. on how to trade and how to get better, and much more.

One of the most challenging tasks for Trust Capital TC and its team was to get their license. As they moved and chose Cyprus as the base of operation, CySEC (Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission) had introduced regulatory changes, implied stringent rules, and regulations. As the leverages were reduced to 1:30 from 1:100, making it less risky for traders, brought in a lot of compliance work, etc. to get a license.

Moreover, to get the license they had to plan and regulate policies, in adherence to the regulations, keeping it completely transparent at all times. With dedication, hard work, and luck on their side, they were one of the last companies to get a CySEC license!

After the license, next was the task of setting up the company, but that was something they were already prepared for, making it easy for them to establish their firm.

What pushes Trust Capital TC to grow and succeed?

A lot happened during the pandemic, and for Trust Capital TC it was a make-or-break situation. There were many changes going on in the markets and people’s mindsets too. The shuffle in employment opportunities pushed people to become more aware of what trading can offer, especially as a second income source.

To tap this space, Trust Capital TC conducted online webinars, a lot of them. Projected towards educating and creating awareness about trading online, what it means to invest online, and it is not as difficult as it seems. This not only led to more clients, but traders who are educated, aware, and understand trading, which Trust Capital TC strives to achieve.

People of different fields also became more interested in trading, because Trust Capital TC broke many myths along its journey for its clients and students.

‘You can only trade if you know finance’.
“This is not true; you can learn anything that you’re interested in. All it takes is time, effort, and education. This is why we are here to help”. – Farah Hawilo, Executive Director, Trust Capital TC

Trust Capital’s roots for its long-standing success

What makes Trust Capital TC successful and the first choice of traders is its reputation with its clients. As there are hundreds of brokers, spread across different instruments, regulated, and not regulated, etc. The unregulated ones, unfortunately, have made a bad reputation. There are many cases where clients face difficulty receiving their profits, customer service was bad after they opened an account, and so on.

Trust Capital’s ethics is to have great customer service and to make sure client is aware of every stage of their account. Even after they closed the account, they make sure they’re doing okay. They keep a check and make sure their clients receive anything they need, along with the surety of debiting/crediting funds on time. They do frequent follow-ups, making sure the client has received profits, is up to date, etc.

Another factor making Trust Capital TC sought-after and acclaimed is the transparency with cost. Their pricing is everywhere, on the website, and on terms and conditions, etc. They make sure the client doesn’t miss anything because it is the money that they’re investing. So, they make sure to take care of that very much and be transparent with the client!

Services offered by Trust Capital TC, and what sets them apart

Trust Capital TC offers a variety of instruments to trade in, right from Forex, Metals, Gold, Silver, Commodities, Indices, and now offering Cryptocurrency. They offer CFDs (Contract for Differences) on these instruments. CFDs are more based on speculation, thus allowing one to trade without purchasing an instrument. This means one can trade with a higher quantity, with a lower amount. CFDs on crypto are being offered by very few, but with reliability and trust on Trust Capital TC, there is no better option out there!

As mentioned earlier they provide education too. They have created a mobile app that helps the client track their trades, making their trading simple and easy, thus, saving their on-screen time. Clients also get pop-up notifications showing trade information, etc. They also receive other benefits right from the calendar of news to calculators that they might need, and much more.

They also offer affiliated partnerships. If someone wants to refer clients, they have a program for them. Also, liquidity offering is also provided. If it’s a corporate account and they want to open an account, get liquidity, etc. Trust Capital TC also provides that.

There are a lot of factors that set Trust Capital TC and its services apart. They make sure that pricing is competitive. They offer different account types with different pricing and different commission. So, clients can choose accounts, pricing, etc. to their needs.

They also provide as many payment methods as possible. They have PayPal, Neteller, Skrill, credit card debit card, and bank transfer, so no one feels restricted with one payment method.

Also, the free education is a huge plus, because almost all the Brokers have great offerings but only a few offer education, and that too on a condition if you’re a funded client with them.

Trust Capital TC also offers immersive and proactive customer service. It’s 24 hours, 24×7, all days a week, even when the markets are closed, making sure clients receive regular updates about everything, are always in the light!

New additions to Trust Capital’s service arsenal

They are in the works of offering equities, which would make Trust Capital TC a one-stop-shop for the client. Clients will be able to open a trading account with them and trade Apple, Amazon, and other equities. The best part being, one account with Trust Capital TC enables you to trade a variety of instruments, right from crypto to gold, crude oil, currency, and much more!

What makes it interesting as now equity CFDs will be available to trade along with education, making Trust Capital TC a complete solution for traders and investors.

How Trust Capital TC goes ahead with changing times and trends

Trust Capital TC offers various instruments to trade and invest. They are integrating new instruments, such as cryptocurrency, which is being offered by very few in the market. Also, the regular additions and updates to the mobile app, making the whole experience seamless. Moreover, the team is always looking for changing trends, new technology, etc. which can be integrated to make sure their services are unrivaled and always the best the industry has to offer!

The Leading Lady, Farah Hawilo

Farah started her education in finance, got her bachelor’s degree in banking and Finance in Lebanon. Right off the bat she started working and initiated her journey to get some experience in the Forex industry.

She started from customer support, to learn all the ins and outs of the Forex world, right from client account opening, back office, etc. She also pursued and accumulated few certificates including risk and investment compliance by Reuters, Bloomberg terminal, etc. that fetched her more knowledge, skills, helping her get up the ladder.

All this prepared her and provided her the knowledge she needed to start her company. Followed the start of Trust Capital TC, where she was handling different roles and departments, such as operations, HR department, Compliance department, dealing with sales, etc.

Farah feels the highlight of her professional journey is getting the CySEC license, owing to stringent norms, compliance, regulations, etc., and nurturing her company to become a successful and respectable name in the market.

From there to open up a new office in Dubai, dedicating herself to bring more awareness and education amongst traders, eradicating the bad image around Brokers, and expanding the business is one of the major highlights of her career!

What Farah thinks are the responsibilities of an entrepreneur

Number one is to be true to what you are doing. If you’re working on something and comparing yourself all the time to similar businesses, you won’t ever be ahead of the competition. Your work should keep you more into a tunnel vision, towards the goal, in the end, to have other people look at you, copy you, and not the other way around!

Be true to yourself, true to what you are doing, and at the same time don’t only look at it as a profit-making making business. It will get there as long as you have your ethics and the company. You have to make sure about the way you treat your employees, make sure to relay the message that the employees are not working for you, they’re working with you. To build a culture where works towards the same goal.

Always keep learning. No One Ever Knows enough. Keep trying to develop yourself, make sure you’re up to date with whatever new is going on in the markets and technology because times are changing very fast.

“They say you have to do what you love but to be honest to get to that goal you want; you have to go through phases, where you are not enjoying the process so much. I was doing compliance work, working in different departments that were not my initial passion. But in the end, this is what led me to the goal. You’re going through phases that you don’t love and you don’t enjoy at that point. You have to get through them. And you will reach your end goal!” Farah adds.

Team of Trust Capital TC

Every member of Trust Capital TC goes to work with the goal of personal development, which is something that they love in the company.

They don’t go for a nine-to-five shift, they focus on their personal development in the company, and how to best provide their clients. Trust Capital TC and its environment promotes learning and pushes its team to pursue certifications, seminars, and education.

So, this approach helps the team grow and motivates them to apply their knowledge and skills, bringing out the best of Trust Capital TC!

This culture inspires the team to branch out, and do even more than their job description. Inspiring a feeling of oneness towards the company, providing clients with 110% dedication and focus, and innovating along the way, make the team of Trust Capital TC exceptional and one of the best there is!

Farah’s views on constant vigilance- as a need or strategy

You cannot be naïve about what you’re doing, the company, etc. thus. You have to be aware, and keep up with the changes. So, definitely, it’s a need and a strategy!

You need to see what’s going on around you, need to see what market is offering, so you can offer better.

“Whether it comes to marketing your products, you always have to be listening”

You have to be doing your research, see the trends, etc. Then comes the part of keeping up with the trends around practices, this is where your strategy kicks in!

Farah’s take on the competition in the market, and how she deals with it

On a personal level, one has to get some balance in the personal life. As the work doesn’t stop after 5 or 6 p.m. and keeps going. So, you have to have that balance, for your mental health, for your well-being, etc. you need to balance.

Also, spending time with oneself is important. Give your thoughts space and time, moreover, give yourself the time you deserve!

On a professional level, always read the news. Stay in tune with what’s happening, so you can keep up. “If you get drowned in your work only and you’re not aware of what’s going on the outside, you won’t be able to reach the daily tasks that you want to reach.” – Farah adds.

Bagus Nur Buwono, A Proficient Legal Practitioner, Offering Excellent Corporate & Commercial Advisory Solutions

One of Indonesia’s leading corporate and commercial law firm, located in Jakarta Selatan, Bagus Enrico & Partners’ foundation was laid in 2009 under the able leadership of Bagus Nur Buwono, Founder & Managing Partner. Bagus steers the strategy of the organisation with his 25 years of advisory excellence, spanning multinationals and domestic transactions. He specializes in mergers and acquisitions, banking and finance, construction, strategic investment, and general corporate or commercial matters, including corporate restructuring, insolvency, and employment, across various sectors of industries throughout Indonesia.

Bagus is highly admired for his business knowledge and legal expertise in recognition of his years of continued excellent work and expertise. He has won the trust, respect and many accolades for his significant contributions. The Guide to Asia’s Commercial Law Firm has acknowledged him as a recommended lawyer in the practice areas of corporate, M&A, employment, and restructuring and insolvency; AsiaLaw – Euromoney Asia recognised him as a leading lawyer in the areas of banking and finance, and corporate, M&A and as the expert in commercial law; and Asia Business Law Journal has been awarding him as one of Indonesia’s 100 Top Lawyers since 2018-2021.

In academics, Bagus graduated from the Faculty of Law at Gadjah Mada University in Indonesia in 1996. Subsequently, he received the Chevening Scholarship to undertake the International Business Law (LLM) from the University of Manchester, the UK in 2005. He also attended a Mini – MBA programme held by Mizuho Corporate Bank in cooperation with Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo, in 2009.

BE Partners, “Boutique Practice Focusing on Client Service”

Bagus Enrico & Partners is a boutique law firm that caters to domestic and international clients alike. They are made up of a collection of prominent individuals duly recognized for their expertise and professional experiences in handling various notable transactions in Indonesia. Their practice covers areas including corporate and commercial law, banking and finance, technology media and telecommunications, insurance, energy, and natural resources, construction, and litigation among others.

BE Partners’ clientele mostly consists of corporate clients, both local and multinational. They always strive to go beyond just the legality of things and consult their clients in a variety of aspects; they help their clients develop and grow their business long term, catering the services to what is relevant and tailoring it to their needs.

The Inspiration & The Journey

Bagus was inspired by this film he saw back in the day about a wrongfully convicted inmate who went on to study law remotely from prison and ended up defending himself until he was rightfully exonerated.

He believes that everyone should have access to proper legal representation, and in turn, make informed decisions on how to proceed with whatever issue they may face. He initially wanted to become a litigator and to defend the weak and marginalized, but considering the political and social climate at the time and how uncertain the justice system was, it was impossible to go very far in terms of practicing within that area of law in an imperfect democracy. So, he decided to switch gear and do corporate law instead but still with the aim of fighting for his clients and providing the best possible solution for them, just from a different perspective. It is to ensure that these corporations will provide more job opportunities for Indonesians.

Bagus worked as an in-house counsel and intended to keep doing so, but at one point in his career, he sat down and had a think about whether he wanted to stay in this corporate system where everything was set and they all did their own tasks or if he wanted to go out and start his own firm – the latter option struck a nerve and that was what sparked the beginning of BE Partners.

He wanted to start a firm with the right idealism and purpose, to create a working environment that puts clients first, and be a safe space for young talent to develop. Teaching is a very pivotal aspect for him as a lawyer so apart from mentoring the lawyers at the firm, Bagus also lectures at universities and teaches company law so as to share knowledge on current issues along with the legal theories behind it for a more practical approach in applying their knowledge as lawyers.

“It was never my intention to become an influential figure, I’m not actively involved in any sort of association or group. I do, however, focus on growing the firm and delivering the best advice and service we can offer. It is very humbling to know that it has resulted in recognition and appreciation within the legal community”, said Bagus talking his journey of becoming an influential leader in law.

An Edge Over the Peers & The Exciting Part about Legal Industry

Bagus always approaches his clients’ problems from a business perspective. He puts himself in their shoes and tries to solve their problems in a way that mitigates risk and promotes efficiency. The leader believes that lawyers should pave the way for their clients to move forward, not hinder their path to growth and expansion. He and his team walk hand in hand with their clients and go beyond just legal services.

“I solve problems for a living, which can seem to be quite a mundane job for some people. For me, it’s the excitement in taking charge and finding creative and out-of-the-box solutions for my client’s legal issues. Having to think of all the angles and challenging the way we think is very stimulating and fulfilling”, apprised Bagus.

From the Founder’s Desk

Back when I first started working as a lawyer, because a lot of information was only privy to a select few, it became a valuable commodity that people were looking for. However, now it is very easy to get any and all information with the help of the internet nowadays; all the rules, regulations, and even cases and legal forums are inline and accessible to anyone. The challenge is to improve the critical and analytical skills to get only the most relevant information and to underline the upcoming and potential legal and business risks.

So, the skill highlighted in this new age of lawyers is how to think critically and analyse the relevant information. Connecting the dots from the legal issue at hand, what the law says, how we want to move forward, the implications of said action, and how we present it to the client is what sets us apart.

New and more diverse specialties are also on the rise given the number of emerging industries that have started popping up on a global scale such as e-commerce, blockchains, and cryptocurrencies which did not exist when I first started my career.

Bagus’s Advice to Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Just go for it, give it all you’ve got and let it fall into place. Regardless of how much control you think you have; things will always take their course. Prepare as best you can, plan as best you can, but don’t be so stuck in your ways that you’re not able to redirect and take the necessary steps to move forward.

Closing Quote

All big dreams require steps; it’s a process that requires time and effort. Rome was but once a dream, built brick by brick over a long period of time. Consistency and determination are the foundation. Make sure to start, everyone has big dreams but only some follow through and actually do it. Failure is never a reason to quit, there is always a lesson in it that we take and keep in mind moving forward.

A Combination Of Innovation, Passion, And Expertise: Meet The Influential Leader, Meti Ketner

Incepted in 2008, an Excellent Legal Consulting Firm offering a comprehensive and strategic approach to the Intellectual Property Challenges of modern times, both for corporations as well as individuals is KETNER, the brainchild of dynamic leader, a businesswoman, Founder and CEO of KETNER® Ltd, Meti Ketner.

Meti, is a well-known name in the legal field due to her work on key issues. The firm has established a reputation for delivery of quality legal advisory services in different fields with a special focus on industrial property protection (patents, trademarks, industrial designs, etc.) It is constantly progressing and expanding and following the key trends of Intellectual Property Protection to which clients can rely on. Strategic and progressive advocacy is the hallmark of KETNER!

Law is a profession like any other profession, but it is used to be a male-dominated turf. That was past tense. In the last few years, there has been a shift as more female power have made the choice to lead rather than to follow. A lot of strong-willed women have come blazing through and have made their mark in the legal landscape. And Meti Ketner is the perfect reflection of the influence of female leadership in the legal sector.

The passionate and innovative lawyer, Meti Ketner is creating her unique mark with her talent and inspiring countless young women. She possesses over 21 years of rich professional work experience as a legal practitioner. With her venture, Meti tackles everyday tasks ambitiously. Her goal is to raise awareness of the importance of intellectual property and its protection and encourage the development of copyright, industrial property rights, and other rights arising from human creative activity.

KETNER– CUTTING OUT LEGAL NOISE WITH EXPERIENCE AND VISION

With foundation stones of knowledge, faith, integrity, and trust, KETNER® has grown from advising its first client on industrial property to becoming with a notable service portfolio with a comprehensive approach to the Intellectual Property Challenges of modern times. Meti Ketner is aware that the Intellectual Property Protection sector is constantly evolving. Ideas of the future are already changing the present moment. She is very proud to show the world the intellectual capacity of Slovenia – the rising star of this world.

KETNER®’s professional field extends from the personal touch of in-depth analysis of the idea itself focused on problem-solving inventions and related patent technical documentation, supported by legal advice, expert reports, IP searches, and monitoring, evaluating, to the other specialist support in the field of industrial property rights and beyond.

To maintain a strong market position KETNER® company represents their clients in Intellectual Property Proceedings at the national, European, and international levels. Operating with vision and optimism, KETNER® ‘s protected Intellectual Property is manifested through brilliant industrial property rights reflecting the originality of its owners. The KETNER®’s coverage ranges from representation in the process of acquisition, registration, maintenance, to enforcement of industrial property rights in Slovenia and worldwide.

WHAT MAKES KETNER STANDS OUT?

KETNER is a Slovenian law office specializing in the field of intellectual property with an emphasis on industrial property ( trademarks, models, patents …).

The firm focuses on providing commercially sound and pragmatic legal advice while cutting while ensuring regulatory and statutory compliance. The endeavour focuses on providing the most effective and efficient delivery of quality legal services for all sectors.

Backed with all-rounded experience covering the entire spectrum of matters in the corporate commercial arena and expansive career experience, Meti propels KETNER to fulfill the legal advisory role as a legal partner in the industrial property protection strategy being at the heart of achieving pragmatic legal solutions.

The team of experienced professionals is ingrained to have a client-centric approach and in-depth understanding of practical legal issues faced by the clients focusing on efficient and effective service delivery.

They offer legal advice and expert opinions, perform inquiries, perform tracking and provide other professional support regarding industrial property rights and other areas with the most effective solutions.

They represent clients in the procedures of acquiring, registering, maintaining, and enforcing industrial property rights (patents, trademarks, models …). We are an official patent attorney entered in the Register of Patent Attorneys at the Office of the Republic of Slovenia for Intellectual Property (No. 258) and at the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (EU) (No. 46191).

BEING A LEGAL LEADER

Meti Ketner has had an exciting journey since the inception of her career as she held various leadership roles in her career. What motivates her? Well, the strong leader believes, her work is her passion and whether working for the larger Slovenian professional legal offices or as for institutions of public importance and in the frame of international projects of great importance for Slovenia, she continues to deliver the best. Meti Ketner strives for success working together with a team of highly qualified experts by doing the best for their clients.

Here is the timeline of Ketner’s emergence in the legal industry prior to practicing law in her own company:

2006-2009: AGENCIJA VEBO, družba za invencije, pravno svetovanje in nove medije, d.o.o. – Director
2005-2006: HIGHER COURT IN MARIBOR – Judicial intern
2004-2005: INSTITUTE OF SHAREHOLDERSHIP – Legal consultant and project manager
2003: MIRO SENICA – ODVETNIK – Attorney, lawyer intern
2001-2002: SCHOENHERR, d.o.o. – Head of Legal Department
2000-2001: STATISTICAL OFFICE OF THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA – Lawyer intern

In academics, Meti has done her Law from University of Ljubljana and different other training course from reputed institutions. During her studies, she worked as an Assistant in the framework of two international PHARE projects; “Further Alignment of Slovene Statistical Methodology with EC Requirements and Reinforcement of the Institutional Capacity of Slovene Statistical Office in View of Accession to the EU” (SORS) and “Approximation of Legislation and Enforcement Programme” (Government Office of the Republic of Slovenia for legislation).

Farrah Smith: A Renowned Fundraising Professional Dedicated to Ocean Conservation & Animal welfare

Creative, Compassionate, Result-driven, and Risk-taker executive fundraising professional with entrepreneurial Passion, Drive, and Vision, Farrah Smith, Director of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, has navigated through 20 years of journey in generating revenue and increasing support bases for nonprofit and for-profit organizations.

She joined SSCS in 2011 and has spent a decade working here. She is also a proud member of Former Vice President Al Gore’s Climate Reality Leadership Corps. Farrah is a regular contributor to Arianna Huffington’s Thrive Global and she is one of her Thrive Stars (Wellness Ambassador). As part of her commitment to empowering teens and young adults in leading happier, more intentional, productive, and purposeful lives she founded Farrah Smith Coaching.

An alumna of Brendon Burchard’s world-renowned High-Performance Coaching Academy is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and a Bruin Professionals (BP) member. Because of her outstanding work, the inspiring woman was named one of the Top 10 Life Coaches Who Will Elevate Your Life in 2021 by Yahoo Finance. She is also a proud TEDx speaker and TED member.

More about the Initiative

Established in 1977, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is an international non-profit marine wildlife conservation organization. Our mission is to end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world’s oceans in order to conserve and protect ecosystems and species. Sea Shepherd received the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) from the Liberian Ministry of Defense. The order is the highest military award given by the ministry.

The New Beginning

In 2008, Farrah was working as the Director of VIP Sales at City Center Residential, the biggest real estate project in North America, when she read this quote by Winston Churchill- “To each, there comes in their lifetime a special moment when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique to them and fitted to their talents. What a tragedy if that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for what could have been their finest hour.”

She was disappointed because she thought she was not “preparing for her moment” to make a difference in the world. Her passion had always been kids and animals, and she had lost sight of that while successfully climbing the corporate ladder. She knew it was time to put service over stature.

She determined the best way to do that was to transition to the nonprofit sector. At first, she was focused on helping land animals, but then she saw the show Whale Wars on Animal Planet. She loved how Captain Watson and the brave Sea Shepherd crew put their lives on the line to save whales. She thought, now these were people living a life of purpose and passion.

Having a background in sales and VIP relations made her the perfect candidate for the position they had open. Her years working with wealthy and high-profile clientele and hosting events for the entertainment industry were all preparing Farrah to be the right person, with the right skillset and the right connections to make a difference at her favorite charity. All the relationships she had made over the previous ten years in Los Angeles and Las Vegas came to be invaluable in her new role.

Here, she is responsible for major donors and she manages VIP Relations, which includes the Advisory Board members, celebrities, and their entertainment industry contacts for Sea Shepherd Productions.. She also organizes all the US-based high-profile fundraising events.

“Last month marked my 10th anniversary at Sea Shepherd. Over the past decade, I have had the incredible opportunity to raise millions of dollars to help protect the ocean and save marine wildlife. I feel honored to be a Sea Shepherd and surrounded by such devoted and passionate individuals all of whom I consider heroes. I am grateful to finally be living a life of purpose, making an impact on two of the causes that matter to me most, ocean conservation and animal welfare”, Farrah Smith proudly shared.

‘As our founder says, “If the oceans die, we die” so I have devoted my life to protecting all beings, human and animal’, she further added.

Hurdles on the Way

When asked about the primary challenges on the way, Farrah said, “Sea Shepherd has grown and evolved quite a bit over the last few years. For a long time, people thought of Sea Shepherd as an anti-whaling organization due to the popularity of Whale Wars, but we have always been an anti-poaching organization. It has taken people a little time to see that stopping illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing is where we can have the greatest impact on protecting all marine wildlife, including the whales people love so much. Millions of sharks and over 300,000 whales, dolphins, and porpoises die each year from entanglement in fishing gear. I think people finally understand we are saving a lot more lives with our new approach of partnering with governments to stop IUU fishing.”

Daily Routine & Favourite Books

Farrah Smith begins her days at 5:30 am during the week. Then, she does meditation before shifting to her workday around 7:30 am or 8:00 am. Before she finishes, Farrah always takes time to reflect on the current day’s progress and determine where there is room for improvement. Often, she reads or takes courses in the evening. During weekends, the leading lady spends a majority of her time working as a life coach for teens and motivational speaker.

She loves reading How to Win Friends and Influence People, but her recent favorites include High-Performance Habits and Atomic Habits.

From the Director’s Desk

It can be seen that the model of cooperating with government bodies worldwide is showing increasingly good results. For example, just in Africa alone, Sea Shepherd’s work with eight coastal states has resulted in the arrest of over 70 vessels for illegal fishing and other fisheries crimes.

Cooperation, awareness, and education are the way forward to tackle the most critical issues we face today, whether it be climate change, overfishing, plastic pollution, or social justice.

A Piece of Advice for Female Entrepreneurs

There should be no “male-dominated industry” in the 21st century. We must all do our part in changing that for the younger generation of female leaders.

Favourite Quote

“Your goals should scare you a little and excite you a lot!” – Joe Vitale

Robert Gauvreau: An Award-Winning Cpa, Supporting Entrepreneurs Advance Their Business With Innovative Financial Solutions

A pioneer of accounting, advisory, and taxation services, Gauvreau Accounting Tax Law Advisory is empowering business owners to improve their financial performance and ultimately grow their business under the leadership of Robert Gauvreau. At its core, Gauvreau was established in 2008 as an entrepreneurial CPA firm that offers innovative solutions to help advance entrepreneurs towards realizing financial freedom.

Robert Gauvreau is the founding partner and strategic leader acting as a business catalyst, an entrepreneur, a coach, a trusted advisor, an author, and an Out-of-the-box thinker. His 13+ years of entrepreneurial journey encompasses expertise in exceeding the financial expectations of entrepreneurs with innovative and proactive solutions.

Before establishing Gauvreau, Robert discovered his entrepreneurial spirt through his experiences working with different companies of different profiles including his first job in the sports retail marking field. He was able to experience for the first time that when he was informed enough to offer a solution that made clients happy and was a win for his company, not only did he receive recognition, but he also became a contributing force to the success of the business.

Later when Robert Gauvreau started University for Business Administration, he realized he would be graduating with 2,000 other people who had the same experience and education as his. Wanting to differentiate himself while staying true to the entrepreneurial mission in the back of his mind, he decided that his strengths in accounting and finance, his natural ability in helping others, and his energy for entrepreneurship created a unique opportunity to enter, energize and make a difference in the accounting industry.

Further, Robert apprised, “When I started working at a global CPA firm, I experienced first-hand how traditional the accounting industry was, which reinvigorated my desire to create something innovative, contribute more to the success of others and go for extraordinary things. It’s proven to be a successful journey so far. In 2008 when I started my own practice, I couldn’t have imagined the impact we would have, or that we would grow to be an industry leader in North America. There have certainly been some great moments and some challenging moments throughout my journey, but to now be here with a team of more than 35 professionals is an incredible accomplishment. The fact that these 35 incredible people are helping so many entrepreneurs fulfill their journey and maximize their impact is proof that we are accomplishing what we’ve wanted so far, with so much more to come.”

A GLANCE INSIDE THE FIRM AND ITS SERVICES

Gauvreau is a renowned CPA firm built to help entrepreneurs advance their business through proactive financial services. It offers accounting, bookkeeping, tax, and other compliance services. Recently they expanded their suite of business professional services (specialized tax, wealth management, and business financing) to offer legal services such as corporate restructuring, real estate acquisition, wills and estates, and more.

Another one of their latest creations is their online coaching program, The Ascent Peak Performance Program, to scale their ability to instill business owners with the knowledge and confidence they need to achieve success. Entrepreneurs can engage this program through independent, on-demand, self-paced courses, or through their Virtual CFO program which consists of group coaching, training, and a personalized business adviser helping map out an entrepreneur’s journey to financial success.

Recently, Gauvreau has been honoured with the 2021 Canadian SME Magazine’s National Award for Best Professional Services for its excellent support and service.

WHAT INFLUENCED YOUR DECISION TO BE AN AUTHOR?

Robert’s main motivation for authoring The Wealth Entrepreneur, was because his financial advisory services were delivering extraordinary results creating a demand that couldn’t be met through one-on-one consultations alone.

While the one-on-one time with the clients was rewarding, it limited his ability to share his guidance and create more impact in the entrepreneurial community. Creating the book was an economical way to share his financial expertise globally.

“Sharing our Vision to Results Framework in an accessible way not only added massive value to our existing clients but generated awareness of our expertise with the masses”, said Robert Gauvreau.

CLIENTELE & HICCUPS ON THE WAY

Gauvreau’s clientele includes entrepreneurs and business owners located across North America. The way they establish an unbreaking faith with their clients is through ensuring the delivery of quality, value, and trusted services. They cultivate and celebrate a culture in their company that reinforces this founded on their three core values. People. Passion. Integrity.

By continuing to find clients, team members, and partners that align with those values, the Gauvreau team works collectively and collaboratively towards the same objectives and with the same expectations of delivery in mind.

The main challenge Robert faced in his early phases of growth was attracting and recruiting the right people. As a small business establishing itself, Robert and his team were limited by resources to expand the way they wanted to. Additionally, operating in a conservative industry there was the added challenge of finding the right professionals who were willing to leave a secure position at a larger firm to join a small business. As they gained more momentum it became easier to attract and retain the best candidates and scale their capabilities.

FROM THE ROBERT GAUVREAU’S DESK

“The reason we were able to achieve all that we have is because of our willingness to take a chance investing in our team and innovation. Without these calculated risks we wouldn’t have achieved the growth and momentum that we have today. These investments have enabled us to create high-impact, innovative services that distinguish us in the marketplace and allowed us to scale at an accelerated rate.”

“I have made significant investments to work with the best of the best business coaches and communities to learn from their success in areas outside my expertise and industry. Their guidance has been invaluable and the experience inspiring”, said Robert when asked about his support system.

A DAY IN ROBERT GAUVREAU’S LIFE

Robert Gauvreau kicks off every day with a group call together with the entire team to discuss what everyone is working on, any roadblocks, and how the leadership team can support them. His day also includes collaborating with community partners, creating new strategic relationships, helping support the leadership team, completing quality control on ongoing work in the firm, reviewing client acquisition, developing new resources/training, facilitating 1-on-1 or group coaching calls or any number of public relations commitments including speaking at events, podcasts, within online communities or contributing articles to business publications.

FAVOURITE BOOK

Good to Great by Jim Collins

PLANS AHEAD

The future of our business is limitless. Robert’s highest priority is helping the entrepreneurial community be as successful as possible in impacting change in the world. The future growth trajectory continues to evolve and as the firm continues to strive to be the #1 financial expert that entrepreneurs turn to; countless opportunities exist to expand into other disciplines to provide the greatest value possible to the clients.

Robert shared, “My personal goal as a leader is to continue to create a team of the best professionals who share my passion and build a business that I can provide direction to but ultimately operates day-to-day without me. The recent developments that I am most excited about are our expansion into legal services and offering a new collaborative approach between legal and accounting that will add even greater value to business owners. Looking forward to 2022, I am also excited to be hosting our annual Ascent Summit in January that focuses on providing entrepreneurs with insights on unlocking the full financial potential of their businesses.”

FAVOURITE QUOTES

“If opportunity knocks, build a door.” – Milton Berle

“Go the extra mile, there is no one on it.” – Grant Cardone