ihdeeny is the Middle East’s first online gift registry service of its kind that was established in 2012. It is a platform that allows you to create and access a wide range of gift items to choose from, making gift-giving a much simpler, easier and stress-free experience.
ihdeeny gives you the chance to buy and receive gifts from the wide range of carefully selected items to suit your needs. It allows you to create your personal registry for all types of gift-giving and receiving occasions, be it your wedding, birthday, anniversary, graduation, house warming, baby shower, bridal shower and any other celebration.
My Startup World spoke to Zeid Malas, the Founder and Managing Partner of ihdeeny, to find out more about his venture.
Can you tell something about yourself? Your school life, your college life, your interests, your family?
I came to Jordan five years ago. I was previously working in USA and in Bahrain before that. I grew up in Abu Dhabi and went to Northeastern University in Boston for my under-graduation. I studied International Business and worked in real estate and the family business for a while before I started ihdeeny.
How did you arrive on the idea behind Ihdeeny?
Well it wasn’t until I got engaged that my fiancee (Tala Sukhun who is also a founder at ihdeeny) and I realised how there was a gap in the market for online registries. My relatives in USA couldn’t make it to the wedding and they wanted to send us a gift. So they were shocked to learn that there wasn’t an online registry.
And then it hit me! This is exactly what Jordan and the Middle East needs, an online wedding registry service. It was later when we met our third partner and founder, Tamara Haj Hassan that we decided ihdeeny would be a portal for all gift-giving, be it birthdays, weddings or even baby showers.
How and when was the company started?
Setting up the business and the site began in October 2011 but it wasn’t until April 2012 that the website was launched.
Give us details on how you collected the funds for the company, the people you contacted and so on.
So far only the partners have put up the funding for ihdeeny and we want to keep it this way for the time being. However, we will be approaching strategic investors once the site expands and enters new markets.
Tell us about how you went about registering the company, the initial number of employees, the managing partners of the company and so on.
Initially it was just myself, Tala, Tamara and two other employees. We subcontracted all other work to keep our running costs low.
How do you think will Ihdeeny’s services change the way people look at gift giving?
It will definitely make them realise how easy gift giving is. It will also open up their eyes to a whole new array of gifts – not just the conventional bouquet of flowers, chocolates, fragrance combos and so on. We have a diverse list of products that will give our consumers new ideas about gift giving.
What is the USP of Ihdeeny’s services?
Our cash back option for wedding registries and the ease of use and time saving.
What is the primary source of revenue for Ihdeeny?
We don’t charge the customer any additional fees except for delivery charges, so our primary source is the commission we get from vendors.
Did you encounter any hurdles while setting up the company?
Yes a lot! Jordan is still new to the e-commerce concept and so many customers and vendors were hesitant about using or being part of ihdeeny at first. That was a huge hurdle, in addition to expenses and taxes in Jordan.
How do you market your services?
So far we’ve done Facebook ads and radio shots. Though we take part at wedding conventions, we still haven’t been aggressive with marketing.
Apart from being involved in Ihdeeny, are you also involved in other business / initiatives / companies / startups?
No. Right now, ihdeeny is my main focus. Once ihdeeny expands and takes flight I’ll start thinking of my next step.
What is your advice to other entrepreneurs in the process of setting up shop in the Middle East?
Be prepared to face challenges and never give up. If you fail, dust yourself off and try again. Failure is the best teacher. Whether or not you actually like the business – don’t do something just because you think it will make you money. Start something you believe in, something you love. You should also exaggerate when calculating costs, don’t be conservative, be prepared to spend more than what you initially planned because 9 out of 10 times you will probably have to spend more.
