Ever planned of opening a new business in Bahrain but the rumors of how bureaucratic and incredibly challenging it is to do that crawled up into your head and chased that awesome-life-changing idea away? Well, that’s why it’s our job as Startup MGZN to bring you some influential and inspirational people who have made it to the top amidst the struggles and rejections they have faced along their bumpy path before reaching the peak of success.
Startup MGZN introduces to you AbdulAziz Al-Jouf, the successful entrepreneur and CEO of the FinTech-startup PayTabs. But how did Al-Jouf manage to reach success? As every entrepreneur knows, it’s a no-brainer that the road to starting up a new business ANYWHERE is not entirely smoothed and paved. That’s why Al-Jouf confided with us, his secrets to being an entrepreneur: Patience and Passion. “If you got those two you can really do Magic,” he claims.
But what exactly is Al-Jouf’s PayTabs project?
PayTabs is a payment processing service for online and offline companies. Through PayTabs, Al-Jouf provides a payment solution for merchants and their customers. Customers who shop online now won’t have to go through the frustration of facing errors in their transactions.
Okay, wait, so after developing the idea, how did he manage to fund it and get investors? Was it even possible?
Getting investors to believe in PayTabs and to fund it wasn’t an easy process. Like any other startup up, Al-Jouf had to strive and fight through the endless pessimistic investors who turned him down, until finally Aramco, decided to support his project. Soon enough PayTabs had around 4 banks supporting them in its first year, and currently, their services have reached across the globe and has merchants using the service in Philippines, India and the MENA. By the end of the year, Al-Jouf is expecting to reach 20-25 countries! Amazing right?!
But how did he convince those investors, when all they think about is profit and not the service itself?
“You need to provide as much information as you can to investors,” Al-Jouf explains. After his relentless attempts of trying to attract investors, Al-Jouf soon found out that one of the keys of overcoming this inescapable struggle is to provide clear and concise information that the investor can understand and envision the outcome.
Also fun fact: Al-Jouf crossed the causeway with only BHD10,000 in his bank account hoping that’s going to be enough to develop PayTabs. He spent this money on living expenses, and soon enough went broke. However, that did not stop him from achieving his dream of establishing a FinTech startup. He continued to meet up with banks and investors until one of them decided to adopt it. If he’s got what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur, then what’s stopping you?