A Constant Journey. Ethiopia, November 2012

Omri and I just got back from a great 8 days in Ethiopia.  It really is an amazing country.  My second time there exposed me to even more aspects of the culture, the country's products, and the amazing investment opportunities.
We stayed at

...

...where we had a wonderful stay with Bubi (who owns the hotel with her husband) and her staff.  The guards, who were learning English, taught me how to count to five in Amharic (thanks, Bayou!) we talked politics with the evening staff of the restaurant, and enjoyed many conversations with the receptionists (hi, Mahlet!)

Our weekdays were filled with meetings with different people from the sesame scene; and let me tell you, the scene was hopping.  Harvest season just ended, sales just started, and there was a sesame conference going on for two days at the Sheraton.  We spent several afternoons in the Sheraton lobby, drinking coffee, holding meetings, and doing work.  The Sheraton and the Hilton are the business spots, and although we couldn't afford to stay (or attend the conference), we could afford the coffee (despite it being three times more than everywhere else).  

Starting-up: exposure on a budget.

I took this time to learn as much as I could about sesame, the market, and the business culture in Ethiopia.  Never stop learning.

We were lucky to meet and make a new friend while walking around when we first arrived.  (No, not this monkey you see to your right...) A young guy our age, Isaac, who approached Omri immediately knowing he was Israeli.  We became fast friends; he took us to get dinner and beers at cool hangouts a couple nights during the week, and we traveled with him to Shashemane.  We spent the weekend learning about Rastafarianism, listening to Reggae and Ethiopian pop music (Teddy Afro!), and took a day trip to Awassah.  There we spent the afternoon at a park feigning off monkeys with blue balls who were trying to (read: succeeded to) steal our peanuts; and we took an awesome boat ride to see hippos!

Yes, Ethiopia is a business endeavor for us, but each time we go we get the opportunity to see the country on a more beautiful and intimate level.  As I've written about before, I'm all for mixing business with pleasure.  I want my professional future to be based on a product I love, from a country I have begun to love, working with people I love.

Soom Foods will always pride ourselves on being completely honest.  So I'll be the first to say, starting a business is not easy.  If you're interested in a more personal account of the stresses of entrepreneurship, feel free to check out my most recent blog post on 2f4ced.

Soom Foods is a journey.  It's a journey of entrepreneurship, of building a business.  It's a journey of getting the sesame seed from the Humera region of Ethiopia into your lives.  But it doesn't stop there.  We have goals to not only invest in sesame, but in Ethiopia.  We have dreams of being a part of this historic time in a developing country; dreams to be more connected with the farmers, to create jobs, to help their children go to school.

There's a lot going on!  I'll keep you in-the-know as much as I can.

Most important of all of our current endeavors, we will be getting you Soom Foods Tehina as soon as possible.

I can't wait!