After more than a decade as a corporate account manager for a Scandinavian bank, Elli Kasbi and her family decided to move to Dubai nine years ago.
Mother to two young daughters, she switched to a media role for flexibility before identifying a regional gap for sustainably-produced, premium baby products.
Ms Kasbi, born in Iran and raised in Sweden, launched Elli Junior in 2017.
Although lacking retail, e-commerce or import/export experience, she drew inspiration from the drive and passion of SME customers in her old job.
Elli Junior began as a distributor before adding an online marketplace, its own organic product range, a nursery interior design service, a pop-up store at Palm Jumeirah’s Nakheel Mall and a flagship Dubai Mall outlet.
Ms Kasbi, 41, lives in Jumeirah Beach Residence with her husband, who works for a medical healthcare company, and their daughters, now aged nine and 13.
Were you exposed to money growing up?
I grew up in a normal-sized house in a business-orientated family. My mum is an architect and my dad was running his own business.
I had a good childhood but was never spoiled, and never got anything easy. I had to wait to get my first Levi’s jeans.
I started working parallel to my studies over summers from the age of 15. I believe this is healthy … it makes you truly understand the value of money.
I knew I didn’t want to be involved in the family business like my brothers, so went my own way and studied finance in Stockholm.
I lived in my parents’ house until university and they always supported me if I needed anything. I never feared not being able to pay my bills.
What were your first earnings?
I worked in a restaurant and earned around Dh100 a day.
My first professional job was at Swedbank, one of Sweden’s biggest, directly after I graduated. As a corporate account manager for SME customers, I witnessed small businesses grow, and fail.
It made me more careful in my investments, and I knew cash flow was the most critical thing in being able to run a successful business.
Why move to the UAE?
I loved my job and life in Sweden, but my husband wanted to try something new. His best friend had moved to Dubai and was loving it, so while I was on maternity leave, we gave it a go, to give the family a better future, nicer weather and more opportunities.
This was the first time in my life that I felt financial stress … we had two small kids, no income and risked all our savings.
For three years, we lived in a one-bedroom apartment, plus the kid’s nursery, and we don’t regret it.
Of course, some things like financial stability and the safety net were better back home, but the quality of living and safety is much better here.
How did your business emerge?
We decided to stay. I didn’t want to go to the corporate world (but) it was difficult finding a job that would give flexibility to juggle motherhood and work.
It’s super important to stay grounded, to not forget why you are here and not leave empty-handed
Being a mum and noticing a lack in the market for premium designer baby products, I reached out to Swedish brands and took exclusivity rights for the Middle East market. Elli Junior was born.
I did market research to understand the business potential and started off very small (with) my savings, bringing over one brand that’s huge in Europe.
Fast forward to the present, Elli Junior has over 300 brands on the platform.
Any bumps in the road?
We faced difficulties due to limited resources and a small budget in a highly competitive market, but we have always been close to our customers, asked for advice and what they want.
Understanding customer needs has been key to our success, to have the correct product assortment. We have grown with minimal marketing spend and through word of mouth.
I haven’t so far — knock on wood — experienced any fluctuation, but we are a premium platform and when times are bad, consumers cut down on premium items.
On the other hand, parents don’t hold back on products for their children.
Are you sensible with money?
To save in Dubai is hard … Dubai is an amusement park for adults and it’s so easy to spend.
It’s also a country of possibilities. It’s easy to want a bigger house, a better car … so it’s super important to stay grounded, to not forget why you are here and not leave empty-handed.
I don’t overspend, I’m very aware of money and how hard I work for it. I don’t own credit cards, I don’t like long payment terms; I want to buy with money I have.
It’s important to have savings in place for education, an emergency buffer so you can manage a minimum six months without income in case of a lost job or business being down. I’m still working on this.
Also, I’m very traditional, I always believed in gold and real estate. I don’t have stocks, Bitcoin or NFTs, maybe I should learn and develop.
What are your financial landmarks?
I bought my first apartment in central Stockholm when I was 24. That was a huge milestone.
And I started my business as simply as possible, a trade license, no office cost, warehouse, staff, it was all managed by me from home.
My initial investment was around $60,000. Today I pay salaries for 10 people and we are still growing. We built a brand from scratch. This is my retirement plan.
How do you feel about money?
Money makes life easier, but the more you make, the more stress you gain as well.
The more you grow (in business), the more staff you need, the more problems you get, more responsibility, and more pressure to keep going.
I’m happy if I have enough so I can have a good living, can take care of my kids’ education, travel and be able to not stress over monthly expenses.
It’s important to appreciate what we have and be happy for the small achievements, to take a moment in the middle of the daily stress to be grateful.
What do you enjoy spending on?
Holidays, to see and explore the world and to travel home and spend time with family … to catch up is important.
I always try to travel for important occasions like my nieces’ graduations or 18th birthdays or when my brother turned 40. These are moments I don’t want to miss and I’m happy to spend on that.
Did the pandemic influence your work life?
I was one of the lucky ones (during) Covid and actually grew a lot.
In 2019, I started my online business to not be dependent on retailers and to open up for more brands.
Many lost jobs during the pandemic and opened small businesses; they didn’t have our strength in terms of operation, platform, finance, marketing, so we opened up our platform for them. Many of our best-selling brands are now some of the home-grown brands.
What is your future direction?
My plan is to grow my business and exit, and to help other entrepreneurs, and invest in other start-ups. And I would love to retire in Thailand.