Admiring people who are not destined to succeed yet do so against all odds, Joy Ajlouny, the Co-founder & CMO of Fetchr has been an underdog’s enthusiast. One such personality that Joy drew inspiration from was Oprah Winfrey. Back in the day, numerous people criticized Oprah for being too black, too fat and rather an unconventional choice of a news anchor and yet defying against all odds, she succeeded due to an unyielding determination and belief in herself.
Saga of Struggles & Achievements behind Founding Fetchr
It is a widely accepted fact that half of the world has no physical address. The way people get packages is with a series of annoying phone calls asking for directions through landmarks, causing havoc in their personal as well as professional lives. Every time receivers get a package, they need to give directions since most of the time the courier services are unable to locate them, resulting in aggravation and delays for receiving the packages.
Blessed with a defiant nature and courage to take risks, the Co-founder & CMO wanted to find a unique, technologically inclined solution for the gruelling problems related to shipping. Today, through Fetchr, Joy and her team visualizes themselves as disrupting a very traditional old-school business like shipping.
Sharing her relentless quest about leading a start-up company, Joy implies, “Being an entrepreneur is a constant struggle. I think raising money when you don’t make money is not an easy task. You are raising money on an idea, not profits and hoping that you can sell that idea to investors who believe in not just the idea but you as well. It is a struggle, not just initially but throughout. You need money to grow your business and so require frequent acquainting and pitching business concept to the investors. At the same time, you need to work on growing the business as start-ups are not everyone’s piece of cake.”
Fetchr: Making Shipping a Delightful Experience for Individuals and Businesses
Based in Dubai, Fetchr is an innovative technology driven courier service company, transforming the traditional way of sending and receiving packages. Since its inception, Fetchr has been disrupting the traditional courier companies by eliminating the need for a physical address which did not exist in the emerging markets. It actually solves the unpredictability of package delivery because of the absence of a formal street address system. This works by using an easy-to-use patented proprietary shipping and logistics solution: the Fetchr app.
The delightful delivery service is available for UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Oman and Egypt. Fetchr also helps local merchants and global brands to build, launch and grow their profitable e-commerce and online businesses. Currently, Fetchr has over 5000 employees and is rapidly growing. One of the best features of using the Fetchr app is that it provides updated delivery information, accurate visibility and options for changing the location in real time. In short, it is the ultimate shipping and delivery solution for users.
Impressive Features of Fetchr App
Following features make sending and receiving packages super easy with the Fetchr app.
- Easy & Flexible Integration: Users can connect Fetchr dashboard to their CRM to automate the delivery orders, or upload their orders as .csv file.
- Real Time Tracking: Individuals are able to track their shipments live.
- Great Customer Experience: Fetchr offers fast deliveries & employees’ friendly professional staff for fulfilling the customers’ expectations.
- Cost Effective: With Fetchr, the costs of hiring staff, buying vehicles, and purchasing software & systems for managing deliveries is not required.
Bringing Silicon Valley to the Dessert
Being a serial entrepreneur right from the heart of the global centre of technological innovation, Joy completely brought the Silicon Valley culture to the Middle East. According to her, no one had previously thought of bringing a cooler version of work environment until Fetchr. In Dubai, everything is made up of gold, marble and platinum, therefore along with her team; Joy built rather un-Dubai like culture.
Fetchr’s drivers drive motorcycles, they wear backpacks that say Fetchr, rolled up jeans, orange copper sneakers, orange T-shirts and baseball hats. People walk around the office barefoot in short and t-shirts completely mimicking the Silicon Valley work environment. And this is what makes them stand out from rest of the crowd. Today, everybody wants to work for Fetchr, because they are cool and progressive.
Joy’s opinion on existence of gender bias
“I get asked this question all the time. However, I can honestly say that I have not faced such bias so far. I conduct myself as a serious business person and so far, I have been treated in the same way.”
