Reve Insiders is an exclusive network of global leaders, businesses, brands, professionals and creatives that we have had the pleasure of working with or have stumbled across in some shape and form. We take an inside look into the lives of some of them. 

What makes them tick and what are they adding to the world to make a difference in the lives of others or in their own lives. This week we interviewed entrepreneur Elias Abdi, CEO of Sedow stores, digital marketing expert and trader. 

REVE INSIDERS: Elias, where are you originally from and how did you end up settling in the United Kingdom? 

Elias Abdi: I am half Somali and half Yemeni, born and raised in Kenya. I came to the UK the year 2018 for studies; a degree in Business Administration and graduated this year (2021). I decided to stay here a couple more years for business purposes.

REVE INSIDERS: What does “A day in the life of Elias” look like?

Elias Abdi:  The first thing I do before I leave my house is pray and have a cup of black coffee. I don’t open any emails or messages until I get to my office. I do a check-up call with my managers, development team and the sales and marketing team; to see how much work is done, if there is any problems and the possible solutions. I start to serve customers from 10:00 am GMT (money transfer and money exchange services). I try to spend 1-2 hours reading books/novels; I enjoy self-development and business-related books. I spend at least an hour going through social media and watching my friends’ statuses and replying to their messages. That is how a day in my life looks like, same routine except weekends; that is a story for another time.

REVE INSIDERS: What are some of your biggest achievements thus far? 

Elias Abdi: Establishing ‘Sedow Stores Limited’ is my biggest achievement for sure. Graduating with upper second-class honors during a very tough time (the pandemic) is also a big achievement for me. There are some other achievements here and there but most of them are quite personal and family matters.

REVE INSIDERS: When did you decide to start your first company?

Elias Abdi: I made the decision to start my first company last year (2020) during the early stages of the pandemic when almost everyone was turning to the online world. At the time I did not have the right capital and resources required to establish and run a huge e-commerce business in East Africa. Therefore, I had to keep saving while doing my research and after almost a year, Sedow Stores was established (Feb 2021).

REVE INSIDERS: What are you most passionate about?

Elias Abdi: Well, this may sound strange to many, but I am very passionate about helping people in need. I believe my entrepreneurship journey revolves around that aspect. This means identifying a problem within people and providing a potential solution. My intention is always people first and many times it ends up being a win-win situation.

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REVE INSIDERS: What’s the coolest thing you’ve done or place you’ve visited and why? 

Elias Abdi: I once visited an audio-visual art exhibition in London (The Strand). It is the coolest place I have visited so far because my lighting and audio sensitivity was tested to the limits. I learned that I could withstand brighter lights, louder sounds than the normal ones that used to bother me a lot.

REVE INSIDERS: What quote or saying has stuck with you or resonates with you the most. “Your motto for life”

Elias Abdi: My Motto for life is “TENDA WEMA NENDA ZAKO” If you translate it into English, it might not make a lot of sense, but it means “do good and keep walking”. For example, helping people when you can and not thinking about them doing you a similar favour or any form of payback is a simplified version of that motto/saying.

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REVE INSIDERS: What does wellness mean to you? 

Elias Abdi: To me, it means looking after myself. It could be about my mental health, physical or even my faith. So, I understand it as taking care of general wellbeing of oneself.

REVE INSIDERS: What is an important piece of advice you would share with any upcoming, or young entrepreneur? 

Elias Abdi: In Business and life in general, everything is not like planting a seed today and expecting to harvest the fruits the following day, no that is not how it works. You need to give it time to germinate, sprout and become a plant first, you got to look after that seed. You need a lot of patience and resilience alongside your hard work and dedication.

REVE INSIDERS: What are some upcoming projects you can share with us that we can look out for? 

Elias Abdi: We are launching a clothing brand “Captain Sedow” Feb 2022. We are finishing up the legal frameworks and the trademark registration process. We are starting off with formal wear / official clothes, shoes and accessories, for both men and women.

Thank you Reve Team for inviting me to your special 10 Questions. I hope you will have some takeaways from my responses.

You’ve reached the end…

A big thank you to Elias for sharing parts of his journey with us. The more questions we ask, the more we want to know! Thank you to all who participated in this series and we hope to do it again next year!

Always remember…

Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.

Voltaire