CONNECTOR chats to Mona Ataya, who is not only the Chief Executive and Founder of mumzworld.com, but also a co-founder of Bayt.com.
What brought you to Dubai?
My family lived in Kuwait pre the invasion and sadly had to leave with nothing more than a suitcase, so they decided to settle in Dubai and start again. I am one of five children and we were all educated overseas but have gradually returned to the Middle East and Dubai. I moved here full time in 2000 to start Bayt.com with my brother and others after a career with Proctor&Gamble and Johnson and Johnson.
Describe a typical day
Like any mother I am up early to get my boys (I have three) to school. They leave at 7am and then I start on my emails over breakfast which can take some time. I am normally in the office between 9 and 10am and will stay until 4pm when the boys finish school. My office day is taken up with meeting partners and the team and lunch is taken at my desk. From 4 to 7pm my other job takes over i.e. my mum role and I become rugby/swim mum and helper with homework. At 7pm we have a family dinner with my husband and once the boys have gone to bed, my husband and I get to spend some time together.
How did you get into this profession?
In 2000 my brother approached me regarding moving to Dubai and helping with the start-up of Bayt.com. We felt there was a huge gap in the market whereby graduates who were leaving the Middle East could be persuaded to stay if they could connect with future employers; internet penetration was tiny at only 2%, but we could see the potential. Bayt.com allowed me the flexibility to spend time with my twin boys which was very important to me.
By the time I had my third son I had become increasingly frustrated at the lack of choice in the market place for all and any baby/children products. What was available was very expensive in comparison to other markets and the time spent driving around Dubai looking for suitable products was time spent away from my children. So I put together a business plan for an E-business which would provide choice of intelligent products at a reasonable price. I wanted to provide a service which gave the purchaser informed choices and allowed them to purchase products that were educational and of a good quality.
I discussed this with my Bayt partners and they suggested I go ahead and they would invest the rest, as they say, is history!
What is the best thing about your job?
The best thing is the empowerment of women by offering them choice at a reasonable rate. In the past, big companies have tied themselves to a local agent who is forced to sell within certain boundaries which means prices are firmly fixed. We always sell at the lowest point and work with many companies who do not work with sole agents which then allow mumznet greater flexibility in pricing.
And the worst?
The biggest frustration is the components which are outside of our control i.e. the reliance on shipping/delivery companies to deliver when they say they will and suppliers who do not understand the sheer scale of E-commerce and run out of stock. Both are improving as time goes on and they realise the scale of what we are doing, but it can be frustrating.
What was a standout moment in your career?
I have two standout moments; the first was starting work at Proctor&Gamble as an undergrad and realising I was surrounded by people who held MBA’s and that I was more than capable of working alongside them. My second would be leaving the security of a great career to step into the unknown and start up Bayt, but I believed in the team and the proposition and it was a great feeling.
What advice would you have for any young person wanting to get into your field?
Go in with your eyes open, your due diligence completed and don’t take shortcuts. A start-up is all consuming. Do it when you have no other responsibilities, nothing to lose but everything to gain from your experiences.
What is your motto?
“You get back what you put in”. Try your hardest and even if you fail the first time you will have gained in experience and integrity.