Student turns raw idea into reality
BY MARAM SHALABY
After establishing Prime magazine, Omar El Alfi, a business administration student at AUC, became one of the university’s most successful student entrepreneurs.
Prime, a licensed Egyptian magazine, covers topics about news, fitness, events, fashion and designs and many more. The magazine also presents young Egyptian startups with new business ideas, giving them the opportunity to reach out to their audience in a series called “Egyptians do it better.”
“Prime is an interactive magazine that aims to take you from where you are to where you would want to be. Unique for its diverse content and high-end brand advisements; Prime prides itself on its dual online and print productions,” El Alfi told the Caravan.
High-end brands that advertise in Prime include hotels such as Dusit Thani and restaurants such as Boulevard.
El Alfi started the magazine because he always had a passion for the advertising and marketing business. He got introduced in his freshman year to Ahmed Kassem, his business partner, and since then, they both put their raw ideas together and took risks.
“That’s the basic formula of our success,” he said, referring to risk-taking.
Prime isn’t the only business Omar El Alfi started. His first real encounter with the business world was Destination Pad, which provided the AUC Student Union with sponsored notebooks as part of their Spring 2012 welcome pack.
He started his undergraduate studies at AUC as an architecture student but changed his major soon after launching Prime. El Alfy believed that studying Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing would help his academic and professional life go hand in hand.
El Alfi’s workmates describe him as active, energetic and easygoing.
“He adds spirit, charm, and creative energy to the team. Working with him can drive me crazy sometimes but, like all roller-coaster rides, is nothing short of a thrill at the peak,” said Lama Abdel Barr, Prime’s managing editor.
Along with his 15-member team, El Alfi spends 15 hours a week working for Prime but a lot more than that during the final stages of working on getting out an issue. This is equivalent to two days of full-time work which affects his studies.
“It only gets worse when I don’t manage my time properly. Generally, I find a good balance in applying what I study in university to my work,” he said.
He added that he is working on providing AUCians with job opportunities in Prime through Career Web.
El Alfi’s family has been a great support to his work and studies. They understand the kind of sacrifices he has to do sometimes and believe in what he does.
“They always provide moral support, but as much as I can, I try to avoid relying on them in financial matters. But that’s not to say that they haven’t saved us on occasions,” El Alfi told the Caravan.
When it comes to his friends, they took a little while to recognize the amount of passion and dedication the young entrepeneur has for Prime. But by time, “all the annoying ‘you never show up’ comments changed to support,” he said.
Farah Lokma, El Alfi’s friend, explained that as soon as he started working on Prime, which was launched in August 2011, his friends started seeing him less because his work was very time consuming. She added that over time, it got better.
“Lately though, I feel like he’s around almost all the time. I think he’s done a great job of balancing between work, his family, his friends and his studies,” said Lokma, adding, “he has such a cheerful and sociable personality, and he always knows exactly what to do to lighten the mood.”
Adham Sami, another friend of El Alfi’s, said, “Having this business didn’t change how El Alfi is with our group but has definitely changed him for the better, and if even slightly it has allowed him to see more of himself through his experience.”
Prime taught El Alfi that it really takes teamwork to make any dream come true.
“It first and foremost taught me that dreams do come true; Prime and many other projects started from very tiny, raw ideas that were later on formulated into the most brilliant ones,” said El Alfi, “the essential elements for the success of any business it to have a dedicated, passionate and diverse team.”
