Ashish Tulsian:

How did you get into the food business at the start?

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

Coincidence. I didn’t know anything about restaurants when I opened a restaurant. It was a bit scary in the beginning because it’s not a comment in 2016. The knowledge is different. We’re talking about almost like 10 years ago. A healthy food restaurant, it was very, very less. You can’t put them in one hand. So I said, like, let’s try.

 

Ashish Tulsian:

Where did you start your first tour?

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

It was easy. I opened it, like, easy and simple. But I realized it wasn’t easy and simple once, like, the operations start to work. I thought, like, opening a restaurant’s what I need. Dine-in, kitchen, two chef, two waiter. It’s called restaurant. And exactly that’s what I did. This area, when I took it, like, before nine years, it was almost like I would call it desert. Today, all the local brands around me. And this street, it’s very, very like traffic.

 

Ashish Tulsian:

Franchising is one of the most lucrative way to expand.

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

It’s very easy if you choose the right model that you want to franchise it. Every year, no calories or Nasser. He’s raising his knowledge with the franchise. A contract in the first franchise, it was two paper. Today, it’s 27 paper. We are at the time, the people, they require something very fast. If I tell you, like, your diet for three months, six months, and you will lose weight. No, no, no. One month, they can do it. They don’t want to wait.

 

Ashish Tulsian:

What has changed in you as a person, which you were, let’s say, nine years back versus who you are today?

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

I will not say business.

 

Ashish Tulsian:

Hi, welcome to RESTROCAST. Today, my guest is Nasser Al- Massabi, founder of Low Calories, a thriving, growing and successful health food brand out of UAE, and now expanding to eight more countries across Middle East. Nasser’s story is special because not every day you get to meet somebody who spent 18 years in UAE police and resigned to start his own business and not only did that, but succeeded at it. This is not only a story of grit and perseverance, but this is a story of a man who was continuously bubbling to do something with his life and not just settle with a career that happened to him.

A very, very inspirational story and something for every budding entrepreneur or restauranteur to learn from, that you do things, that you learn things by doing, and there is no shortcut to success. Welcome to Restrocast. 

Nasser, welcome to RESTROCAST.

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

I’m happy to be here with you and to give you like a podcast in English. So I hope it will be something new that we’re talking about like business in UAE and also about my career in this business, but I hope like it will be in a different way, in a way that I never presented.

 

Ashish Tulsian:

That is for people who watch, it’s for them to know. But Nasser, on that note, we’d love to know how did you get into the food business at the start and then we’ll get into dive into your early years.

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

Coincidence, like there’s nothing like, I don’t know anything about restaurant when I opened restaurant. It’s just a shot of luck, like it’s just like someone who want to do something. It wasn’t like specific, like I want to open restaurant. I did like a lot of things before the restaurant and it’s all been failed. Okay. But the good things that I was in government employees. Okay. So I have like a good salary. Okay. So I kept trying, trying, trying. Okay. Meanwhile, I realized that I always open a business that I’m actually not related to.

Okay. Which is like buying a land and they don’t know anything about the land. Okay. Open like a tailor. Okay. For ladies. And I don’t know anything about this. So construction. So I said like, why I don’t do something like it’s a little bit like close to me, something I love.

Okay. At the same time, I used to go to the gym and doing healthy food and blah, blah, blah. So I said, why not? Okay. It was a bit scary in the beginning because it’s not a comment in 2016. Like we don’t have much healthy food restaurants. The knowledge is different. We’re talking about almost like 10 years ago. Okay.

So the knowledge is different. The amount or the quantity of like the healthy food restaurant, it was like very, very less, like you can put them in one hand, you know? So I said like, let’s try. Why not? Like I already like lost in things that I, I don’t have any love to. So let’s try this at least like, I like this.

Okay. So I found out like, if you really like it, you, you work hard because at least, you know, something, you know, there is a passion and this passion helped me a lot. It’s helped me like to, to the level that I was going out to take order from customers as a waiter. Okay. But I’m not doing it like, because I’m doing it because I love it. I, I see the happiness of people. Plus like to all this, honestly, it wasn’t like, that’s, that’s big, but really I was doing a couple of PT, personal trainer. Okay. To some of people. Okay.

 

Ashish Tulsian:

You were doing personal training ?

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

before, before I opened the restaurants.. Yeah. There was like, let’s say 20, 20%, 30% of my income. It was from PT. Okay. So I used to train like some guys and some girls inside the gym. And honestly, I always see them complaining because, you know, it’s not easy to take a decision, like to, to be on a diet or like to eat healthy. Okay. It’s very easy decision. Like if you want to have a burger today.

Okay. But when it’s come to this, I will start next week. Okay.

Or like, I will start next month. The reason behind this, it’s the food is not that, that’s great. Okay.

So I wanted to help, I wanted like to, to break this. Okay. I said like, for example, you know, when you drink the normal Pepsi and the diet Pepsi, okay. For me, like the taste almost same. Okay. But they say like, this is zero calorie and this is high calorie. Okay. So I wanted to do something similar to this. I need the food to, to taste same, but without, with less calories. So, so far, I will not say like I’m doing this, but so far it’s, we managed like to, to do this. And I think that’s why I expand more than any other healthy restaurants. Okay. In the Middle East.

 

Ashish Tulsian:

So what was the, what was the process like? So you, you know, when you were saying that you started with this raw idea that you’re going to start a healthy restaurant or healthy food restaurant that tastes, you know, at least equal or better. And you wanted to now start, what was that starting point? What was, and I’m assuming that you were, were you, were you cooking food, your own food Yeah, I was cooking not good food inside my home, to be honest, like, but I wasn’t like a good chef.

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

Okay. But yeah, I used to cook for myself. Okay. You know, like to keep my diet on. Okay. So how I mentioned, like there was no very good option out in the market. Okay. All of them, like almost similar to what I cook at home.

 

Ashish Tulsian:

So where did you start your first tour? Like, what was the process of, you know, starting up because taking it off ground is the most difficult task. I mean, scaling is another problem, but the first one is the toughest to start.

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

Honestly, like the first one, I opened it like I, it was, it was easy. I opened it like easy and simple. Okay. But I realized it wasn’t easy and simple when it’s like the operations start to work. Okay. So I thought like opening a restaurant is what I need. Dine-in, kitchen, two chef, two waiter. It’s called restaurant. And exactly that’s what I did.

Okay. First of all, I forget like there’s a recipe, there’s a cost, there’s, and even like you will tell me like Nasser, how did you did the prices? I steal the menus from like the other healthy brands. They put it like 27 and 26, you know it’s a very old school strategy. Okay. And I forget there’s two chefs for the employees. So they was working like from morning till evening. Okay. So yeah, there’s a lot of mistakes like happen for that. It was easy to open it.

 

Ashish Tulsian:

Where did you open your first store?

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

It was, no, no, it was in Abu Dhabi. I, I rented like a place on the street and honestly, like even choosing the place. Okay. It wasn’t perfect. So I thought the location doesn’t matter. Okay. Just like any shop it’s empty, go to rent it. So honestly, like now all the restaurants, okay. The local restaurant, I mean, if someone want to open, okay. They open in my side because it’s busy. So this area, when I took it like before nine years, okay. It was almost like, I would call it dessert. Okay. Today, all the local brands around me and this street, it’s very, very like traffic there.

 

Ashish Tulsian:

And that started with you?

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

Yeah. This started, I was the only restaurant there. The only, okay.

 

Ashish Tulsian:

So how did, how did people discover you?

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

Let’s say, yeah, I did like normal marketing. Okay. But you know, the word it’s spread like at this time, okay. There’s not too much competition. If I opened the way how I opened it like today. Okay. Nobody, I will close. I’m 100% I will close. Okay.

But at this time there is no much option. Okay. You know, like when you have two burger shop, like in this country, only two burger shop, there is no way to lose. There’s like no competition. That was my luck at this time, to be honest. Okay.

I was like one of the few people. So people, they are searching some people that are searching for this. Okay. And you know, like the word spread, like everyone telling everyone, it was like the organic, like marketing, which is someone come to eat and, oh, I like the food there. Okay. They just open and he tell like a dozen of his friend and he’s doesn’t friend. They come like the next day and they become loyal customer and they tell their friends. I didn’t open an Instagram page after like four months, five months.

 

Ashish Tulsian:

Yeah. I’m sure. I mean, 2015, 16, even 16. So you’re almost there, but.

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

So it’s there, but it’s not like today. Okay. So I thought like someone come to me, like, why you don’t have an Instagram? I said, do I need it? He said, hello. Like, yeah, you need an Instagram.

How he represents like your menu to the world. So yeah. After that, we started to do an Instagram and yeah, there’s a lot of things.

 

Ashish Tulsian:

How different is your menu today from the first day?

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

Huge, very, very huge different. You know, like I told you, like we started, like, we don’t know something about ingredients or recipe or food cost. It’s just like do any menu, something good. Okay. And what it’s very important that I have to taste it and approve it. That’s it. Very simple. Okay. What’s inside. If the cost is high, low, it doesn’t matter. Okay. But no, today, like it’s, it’s a huge facilities.

Like there is a cost control. Like even if I approve it, maybe someone else like will come to tell me like, no, it’s not approved. For example, like the nutritionist doctor, she would tell me like, no, it’s very high calorie.

We cannot accept it, but I like it. No, this isn’t the best. When you used to like something and you approve it, the cost controller, he would come to me and he would say like, we cannot approve this, even if you like it. So the situation today is different. And yes, like today, the menu, it’s like much, much bigger than before, much, much professional than before. Okay.

 

Ashish Tulsian: 

So you started your first store. Then we’ll go back to your early years. You said you tried a lot of things and you know, they didn’t, they didn’t plan. 

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

Why you want to remind me about like my fail?

 

Ashish Tulsian:

Because, uh, you know, on the video, pain cells, nobody likes to see heavy people. People want to know how, how painful was it.

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

Yeah. People, they think like that’s at the moment, ah, he have like, uh, a big restaurants, like in nine countries and, uh, life is good.

 

Ashish Tulsian:

Yeah.

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

Life is very easy. Okay. You can just go out and do a couple of podcasts and talk and do like two videos, three videos in an Instagram and that’s it. Okay. No, I, I lost like, uh, because I was an employee. I used to collect money and I’m doing like, uh, an employee job with the government plus PT.

 

Ashish Tulsian:

What was your, what was your government job?

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

Uh, I was in the police.

 

Ashish Tulsian:

You were in police. 

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

Yeah. I wasn’t interested. Yeah. I, I worked in the police for 18 years.

 

Ashish Tulsian:

Wow.

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

Yeah. 18 years before And, you know,

 

Ashish Tulsian:

explain to me what was your work in police? Because were you in the field? Were you at the back office?

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

No, I was in the field. Okay. But, um, you know, like after 18 years, uh, I reached to a, to a level that my business is growing so fast. Okay. More than, more than I, I can control. Okay.

So if you did like, just like a calculation about like, now we have almost like around 65 outlet. Okay. If we calculate that like in nine years, you would say like an answer every year as you are opening like amount of like this, this.

Okay. So how you would be able like to focus 100% and like to develop your menu to develop, like do training, you’re doing like, uh, franchising, making deals, traveling, all these things. Okay. So I reached to a level. Okay. That I have to choose between my business or my work, the problem, the government work always, it’s, it’s a solid, it’s a solid income. It’s a government. Okay. It will never stop unless like if the government collapse. Yeah. Okay. So it was like, for me, like life insurance. Business, it’s always risk. Okay. Today in the moon, yesterday or tomorrow, like you’re dead. Okay.

So I knew inside me, I had to choose. Okay. Either like to, to go on like this because I was doing like the government work 50%, 50% to low calorie. Okay. But in the end I said, if I give low calorie 50%, my growth, it will be like this. If I give them 100%, I can’t go back.

 

Ashish Tulsian:

You did not have a partner.

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

Uh, I have a partner, but, um, he’s very silent, very, very silent, almost dead. Okay. Um, and comparing like to when, uh, I resigned in 2022. Okay.

 

Ashish Tulsian:

Oh, wow.

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

Yeah. So between 

 

Ashish Tulsian:

that’s recent. 

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

Yeah. Uh, so this is mean like after six years from I’m operating in this. So even if he interfere, okay. With me having six years experience, I cannot trust like anyone to do something like on this business.

 

Ashish Tulsian:

You got a partner after you quit?

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

Uh, I had him from the beginning. Okay. Okay. But, uh, he’s, he’s always silent. Okay. So I make my, I make up like my decision.

Okay. I said, it’s enough. Some people, they said like Nasser, if you reach to 25 years, you can retire it and you will have a salary forever.

 

Ashish Tulsian:

Okay. You’re going to retire after 25 years of service? 

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

As per the law as per the law. Okay. If I continue,

 

Ashish Tulsian:

You worked for 18 years? 

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

I work for 18 years, so that’s mean 

 

Ashish Tulsian:

You were short by seven

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

Seven. Okay. This is like one of the decision that’s, I believe like a lot of people they made in life. Okay. When you come like to a tough decision to choose between like two things, it’s each of them very important. Okay. This is important. Okay. And this is important. Okay. Yes. My business at this moment, bring me income more than the police money, but in the other side, okay. Least money, it’s like solid. And if you finish 25 years, you will receive a salary for your entire life. Okay.

 

Ashish Tulsian:

So generally, are you saying generally people in the government that retire after 25 years of service?

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

Yeah. Yeah. After 25, you’re able, you are able to request. 

 

Ashish Tulsian:

Okay. 

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

Okay. A retirement, they will not retire you until you request. And I think there is like a certain age that’s you. 

 

Ashish Tulsian:

And after that, you receive a part of your salary or you receive 

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

The full salary for one year, two years, something like this. After that, you receive like your retired salary, which is like 40% to 60% depends in some governments.

 

Ashish Tulsian:

Okay. 

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

So if you’re receiving like 100K, so you receive like monthly 40K. So yeah, I woke up like this one day. Okay. I’m convinced I chose low calorie.

 

Ashish Tulsian:

By that time, how many restaurants did you have?

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

This time I was in two country, Saudi and UAE only. Okay. And in UAE, I had like 17 outlet. And in Saudi, it was one in Riyadh.

 

Ashish Tulsian:

And out of these 17, how many were franchisees and how many yours?

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

Two, it’s mine. The rest, it’s franchise. Yeah. So I woke up in the morning and straight away to my work, go up to the manager. Hi, good morning. This is a resignation letter. So let’s stop here. Anyone doing these things. Okay.

There’s like, it’s not easy. And even the managers, they know it’s not easy. Okay. Unless you have behind you something huge. Okay. And for example, you have an offer, it’s double your offer, or you have like something happened with you. And he said, like, Nasser, why?

 

Ashish Tulsian:

The manager didn’t know?

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

Huh? No.

 

Ashish Tulsian:

So is it allowed for you to do a business while you’re a government employee?

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

Yeah, it’s okay. If you’re in the police or any like other position, Adnok, Emirates airline, any, any other like municipality, it’s okay. I think apart from the military, it’s not allowed like to have a business. They have a business like in different names. Okay.

 

Ashish Tulsian:

So your manager had no idea that you’re?

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

No, no, I never, I never mentioned it. So he said, like, Nasser, what are you doing? I explained to him. Okay, that’s I have a business and all this. Okay. He said, Yes, still, like, this is insurance. You’re seven years out. Okay, retire and do with your business, anything. I’m saying like, I told him, my business is really growing fast.

I will never have this chance again after seven years. Okay, it’s, it’s an opportunities that if I don’t do it today, okay, I will not be able to do it after seven years. I don’t know, like, I will be alive after seven years.

Okay. But I can see the opportunities in front of my eyes. He said, like, Okay, take a vacation for one month and come back. I said, I really I don’t need the vacation. Okay. I need just like to go to watch it. He said he tried, like, I believe like he tried his best like to he think that I was in rush or something like this, but I wasn’t in rush. I was really sure. So after that, till the date from 17 I have 42 inside UAE.

Okay, from two countries to nine countries. So I will not say like I was right, but I was believing what’s my God’s like once for our family.

 

Ashish Tulsian:

How did your family react?

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

My like, every, everyone like was praying like that I would succeed like this business, 

 

Ashish Tulsian:

But the praying that you’ll succeed or that you don’t leave the job. 

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

They told me don’t leave the job. Okay. You know, like, even if you have a son, you want the best for him. And the best things is the things that it’s 100%. Yeah. Okay. So if your son come to you and tell you like, I will leave school, I have something I want to do. What’s your reaction?

You tell him don’t leave school, because everyone will hire you with a certificate. If you don’t have a certificate, nobody will look to you. Unless he succeed like in social media or something like this, and he really did something bigger. Okay, so that’s it’s like one of the things. So my family, I believe like, they wanted the best for me. So they wanted to give me something 100%.

Sure. Okay, it will save your life. But I took this decision. And I don’t regret it. Till now, till now, I don’t know in the future. But till now, I don’t regret it.

 

Ashish Tulsian:

That is fabulous. We’ll go further back. So you were saying that you kept on trying your hands at different businesses. Give me a few examples and talk about what did you try and what didn’t work out.

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

In 2008. Okay. My brother approached me and tell me like Nasser, there’s a land in Fujairah by 400,000. Okay. Why you don’t come my partner 50-50 you pay from your side 200 I will pay from my side 200. And someone promised me, within a week, we can sell it for 500. Within a week, within a week.

 

Ashish Tulsian:

Okay, that’s how that’s how most of the real estate losses happen.

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

So anyway, I told him, Are you sure from your source? He said, Nasser. He’s like going to the mosque. He’s have a beard till here. He’s going to the mosque every day. Said honestly, like, Okay, so that’s mean. Let’s go. Okay, he’s a teacher in the school. Okay, Islamic teacher. And he’s going to, like, to the mosque every time. Okay. So now, sir, what’s your doubt about?

Okay, he’s more clean than you and me. Okay. Let’s go. I give him the 200. I said, brother, this is 200. Like it’s what I collect from the police.

So it’s, it’s my first business. He said, Don’t worry, the guy he promised me within a week. Okay, it will back to you 250 50,000 in one week, it’s, it’s a good and especially like we’re talking about 2008. Okay. So we purchased like this land. After two weeks, exactly. Okay. We got like the first price, which is like 50,000 more. We rejected it. Okay, we, we assume like this area, it’s we rejected it based like on advice from the guy. So he said, No, calm. Okay, it will bring 100. The second week, the world economic. Okay.

 

Ashish Tulsian:

Oh, 2008. Yes.

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

So we watching the news, what’s happening in America, what’s happening in the world. Okay. I swear to God, we start to call the guy. Okay, he’s not answering. He’s not picking up the phone. Okay. So my money was frozen in the land. And after like three years, I managed to sell it by 280 from 400.

 

Ashish Tulsian:

Oh, wow. Wow. After three years, you sold it for 60K loss.

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

Yeah,. So this is this is usually like my partnership with my brother. Okay. Kind of like, anything, if we share it, like it’s turned to a disaster. In 2012 13. I don’t remember. Someone came to us. Okay. From Yemen. Okay.

And he said, like, the lands there are in raise said, Okay, he said, if you purchase a land with 100,000, okay, within a three month, you will double it. I said, Okay, maybe Yemen because it’s far and the investors they are going there.

 

Ashish Tulsian:

And so didn’t you didn’t you tell him that I’ve seen this movie before?

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

No, no, I never I never like learn. Okay. So I, my brother said tell me like Nasser, what? Let’s go. Okay. So we purchased the land. And after that, it’s like the revolution in Yemen started. Okay.

 

Ashish Tulsian:

Oh, this is pre. Yeah, I was about to ask that. That must be war stricken.

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

So the war started there and the revolution start. We call the guy he said, you don’t see the TV. We kept this land for seven years. And we managed like to sell it by 70,000 dirham after 100,000 dirham in seven years.

 

Ashish Tulsian:

I said, you know, I have a request next time whenever you’re investing in land in any area.

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

Inform us. Yeah, okay. I will tell you. I will tell you guys. So, so yeah, there is like a couple of businesses that we…

 

Ashish Tulsian:

This was honestly, this was still like, you know, an investment. I understand, you know, what you’re what you’re saying. And I think there are lessons always to learn. But, but these were still not active businesses like..

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

This was no, this is something like it’s, it’s in the past. It’s like 

 

Ashish Tulsian:

you just want to do, you know, 

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

yeah, 

 

Ashish Tulsian:

invest your money to, you know, money from money, 

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

you know, you, you, as if you have the passion, like to make money, okay, you will try here and there, like even if in things like some people, like they call me and maybe they call you like, hey, you want to purchase some gold? Okay, let’s do it. Okay. Okay. You know how to do Bitcoin? Okay, we will help you. Okay, there is an Alice analysis and you can do this and you can make like $1,000 per day per two days so there is like a lot of people talking to you but it’s me it’s not like before i’m not listening to anyone i’m listening like to myself now okay what i’m convinced to do and i will do it in my way not in your way like it’s enough okay and i told my brother we will never go to a partnership again ever and it’s like never been in partnership with my brother okay because i told him like i don’t know what we will do to the world if we did another partnership okay if i go alone and you’re alone everything is fine 

 

Ashish Tulsian:

world peace

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

Let’s yes okay so i tried you twice and in both times like we ruined like something globally okay so he understand this and he said like class you have your line i have my line and the world is safe 

 

Ashish Tulsian:

very very well thanks. you well thanks you for that in the food business and you know i have a lot of questions around low calorie but i think my questions are mostly in the direction that and and i’ll give you some context i’m an investor in i mean i invest in tech companies but i’m an investor in a tech company that powers dietitians and nutritionists and you know health trainers not the gym but you know the other side of the gym so and i’ve actually seen you know a lot of food or health food growth through their eyes because as the number of you know nutritionists and dietitians you know the demand went up i could also correlate because we are also in the restaurant tech business so i could correlate that hey the health you know food restaurants are also growing and i’m not talking about one country i’m talking about almost you know 50 plus countries which we see on a on a daily basis in this in this business at low calorie what do you what do you see the correlation with nutritionists dietitians because this one you know this is one area which is absolutely great i will not call it duck because there are all kinds of online practitioners giving all kinds of advice to people what to eat what not to eat you know during covid online coaching on nutrition and i you know just went through the roof did you see a correlation between you know growing health practitioners and demand for health food.

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

Honestly like i would call it like it’s a shame okay um for me like as a restaurant like i cannot do things for my customer by myself okay i’m part of like a big game okay to reach your goal okay so everyone it’s completing the other okay yes i have the highest percentage when it’s come like to health lifestyle okay first like fix your food before you’re fixing everything nutritionist i have my own nutritionist inside like i used to use like freelance in the beginning nutritionist they’re they’re really they’re really helpful okay um some cases okay and for example like if you start by yourself without any nutritionist like any any healthy lifestyle plan okay you might lose weight without using a nutritionist so it’s not like affecting like in all the cases in some cases yes okay there’s some people who’s doing like a healthy lifestyle but unfortunately like they don’t lose weight okay they have a problems deeper okay than just food yeah so yeah activity nutritionist um and restaurant it’s like it’s it’s a circle like completing each other

 

Ashish Tulsian:

did you ever collaborate with this ecosystem that is, that is growing

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

system um honestly like with the systems okay 

 

Ashish Tulsian:

no no i mean this i’m saying this ecosystem of growing nutritionists did you ever collaborate with them is is that a part of your either marketing or long-term propagation strategy 

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

you mean with the nutritionist 

 

Ashish Tulsian:

there are a lot of online nutritionists and dietitians today right do you as low calorie collaborate with them did you see that you know this day growing in number of you know they’re growing in numbers in the market had a direct impact on discovery of low calorie 

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

honestly like i would say like it’s for me like it’s good like to to see like this things it’s growing okay which is like i would call it knowledge okay we have our own nutritionist and i’m collabing with a lot of outside pt and nutritionist okay to support us with the advertisements and all of this but the more they are growing in the market because honestly like now it’s uh it’s too much like whenever you open the reels like everyone talking about like food and healthy food and like everyone is a doctor okay at the moment but yeah i know it’s too much people talking but it’s good for me okay i i need like the people to raise the knowledge in in the country okay in the community to to eat healthy this is for my own benefits okay i would hate if someone say like um yeah you don’t have to eat uh healthy food and you have like to eat whatever you want just like don’t do exercise i would hate this guy okay so raising the knowledge like in in the community 

 

Ashish Tulsian:

but actually that’s happening right uh if you see this Mounjaro and Ozempic that is exactly what is happening, people are saying do whatever you want

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

you know like uh when manjaro is coming like i was a bit afraid okay that’s it’s uh and and i’m still like preparing myself like for the next solution okay the world they’re trying like to make an easy solution for the people okay to just like use this tablet and you don’t need to do exercise you don’t need like to do this and that okay but in any in any solution now the world provide like for the people okay okay for how long you will use Mounjaro um let’s say one year you lost like 25 kg okay what’s the next step you will stop Mounjaro and your appetizer it will it will start to come again okay you lost the weight so now you need to control it how you will control it i’m here okay so even with the with the surgery okay you did the surgery you look cute okay so after the surgery like i believe like in the first couple of months you will eat only liquids something mash but after this you lost like 50 kg okay then what you need to control it how i’m here so with any solution at the moment okay it’s coming yeah might might affect you in a short term but in a long term 

 

Ashish Tulsian:

do you do you think i mean, do you think that Mounjaro and Ozempic or any glp you know one meds will affect health food or health industry?

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

Till the moment till the moment no okay because there is all of all of all of the solution it’s a temporary solution okay to make you lose fast but not forever okay they will make you lose like within this year they will make you lose like 30 kg okay but what you will do next year when it started okay it was a trend for any the surgery when it started it was trend Mounjaro and Ozempic like when it started like it was trend but today people they realize okay what we whatever we do we need to eat healthy so there is no running away from this if we just escape okay today next year like we cannot escape we have to do it i have to do exercise okay they will make me lose some of my weight now but once it’s finished and the effect of the medicine is finished or the surgery if i if i back to eat like rice and lamb and curry and burgers and pizza i will back again okay it’s a buddy in the end so it has to be here inside you have like to decide that i want to lose weight and most of the people they i i like some of the people who’s coming like to my restaurant and they said like Nasser we will try our best before thinking about surgery and that’s what i love about people like don’t go to surgery unless you try because if you felt like to continue in healthy food there is no reason like to do surgery okay because you will back again you just like you will ruined your body and i’m happy about any news like that’s the Ozempic like it’s uh it’s affect people okay um there’s like some people go to the hospital because Ozempic or Mounjaro. okay so when i read this news okay this is good for me okay not good for people but it’s good for me 

 

Ashish Tulsian:

Ozempic is doing very well in the U.S. I can tell you that people are people are actually crazy about it they’re crazy about it for you know right reasons i mean i’ve seen some of the otherwise healthy people i’m not talking about obese i’m talking about medium built yeah you know opting for it which was really surprising for me uh if somebody was really obese i could understand that hey they’re trying to lose weight for years and you know now they have the solution they’re trying it we’re like medium build regular people uh you know who i actually actually i actually had to ask them that uh why did you even try this like why uh what was your logic to do that uh but then i realized that hey i mean everybody i think people who suffer from body image issues it has nothing to do with how you think they look it’s about how they think they look or how they think they feel and that for me you know was the biggest revelation about people around when i saw who all are you know trying Ozempic i was i was super surprised and i’m not saying there’s anything bad about it i’m just saying that you know i think i think the drug is is uh uh you know it was about diabetes it became something about let’s say morbid obesity but in reality it’s being sold for body image issues which actually you know literally anybody can suffer from it it doesn’t matter who they are.

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

we are at the time okay now in this world everything like the people they require like something very fast waiting it’s it’s one of like the things that people don’t like anymore okay you know like when you press a link even if is it for five seconds it’s still waiting or loading what’s wrong with the net it’s very slow you need now everything is fast if i tell you like your dude died for like three months six months and you will lose weight no no no one month they can do it people they prefer like the very fast thing okay they don’t want to wait let’s say like it’s it’s a world problem nobody patient as before okay and this is something all the companies or any businessman he consider it even with the delivery okay with the results with everything he have to consider it that it’s people can’t wait you know like if you put a customer in a hold for 20 seconds he will go like to write bad review in google okay disrespectful and it’s 20 seconds you know like before 10 years if you said 20 seconds 20 seconds what it’s still fast but today no 20 seconds it’s not fast people they want everything like very fast so when when the companies they try like to make a solutions they are very smart they know like if we did this we will make a fortune from it why just tell the people okay this will within one one month okay you will lose like 20 30 percent which usually you will lose in three four month so people will go for it. 

 

Ashish Tulsian:

let’s switch gears on the business side franchising is one of the most lucrative way to expand uh globally franchising as an industry is a great industry but it’s only the franchisers the brands who once start franchising they realize that how difficult franchising is and not only difficult to sign up a franchise that is still easier if not easy but managing a franchisee managing a franchisee’s relationship managing you know their expectations really making sure that it works out for them so that it works out you know for you and if a brand it’s very difficult what has been what has been your experience so far 

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

let me i will not talk about my experience now in franchise okay but let’s say it’s not difficult if i will take a ready model with whole project whole system okay so once i go for example okay let’s mention like just one name okay if i go for example for mcdonald’s okay i’m sure you’re sure 100 percent they will give you the model like this okay you stay out of it we will prepare everything we prepare the employees everything and you will receive everything from us you just like processing okay like kind of you’re a middleman but the model is ready okay i need like a bos you have it okay 

I need a manager i have you have it i need to train my employees i have it i need like the bags and like the packaging everything’s ready okay you just like sit okay, pay okay, and everything it will be ready, it’s a ready model so, it’s it’s very easy okay if you choose okay the right model that you want to franchise it there are some models like let’s say the name that we mentioned like mcdonald’s is very very professional they are very advanced let’s come to other people okay like us when we franchise it okay we’re trying really our best like to do this which is like ready model okay 

but we don’t have like the whole knowledge like that mcdonald’s has okay it’s it’s a very huge difference so when someone approached me like for example from jordan nasser i need the guideline every guideline is there okay everything is there okay but we still don’t have like the 100 experience to manage it 100 let’s say like every year low calories or nasser he’s raising his knowledge okay with the franchise you know like my contract in the first franchise it was two paper today it’s 27 paper okay that’s mean what that’s mean like you saw a lot of problems and you keep editing editing editing editing you know there’s a franchise company i put for them like some terms okay they said really face this i said yes i face this i need like something for this and this okay just to control it a franchise it’s like 

 

Ashish Tulsian:

give me give me an example anything that you can share, where you know you put that in your contract much later because you faced a problem

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

Purchasing everything from you you know so if if one of the franchisor okay um wanted to buy anything from outside which is for sure it will change like some of the quality okay um it will be a different than yours okay maybe he will be good okay to make it like 100 same okay but it’s still very risky very risky for my name so when you find out like that yeah some of them it was okay there was no mention in the contract and when i spoke to the guy like hey you have to purchase from me he said show me in the contract so shit no way okay so yeah i decided like to add it like this system everything okay have to be exactly okay what you want him to do it should be in the contract

 

Ashish Tulsian:

but you know don’t you get this from you know all these franchisee management companies franchisee consultants i would say they have already you know run this for years they have decades of experience behind them they can give you a ready template 

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

i did through like a company, but you know the problem it’s you developing okay and everything it’s it’s changing the time like for example when covid happened most of the things that it’s in the contract it’s not including covered okay i will never thought like that’s the airport it will be empty everything will be empty i cannot go out of my house okay so what what i will do with the restaurants from what time to what time they are working okay okay with this cases they should follow who okay and even like there’s there’s a terms like in in any contract it’s called crisis but crisis it’s mentioning like a couple of things okay uh earthquake like volcano yeah okay so this is something new we cannot go out we cannot like i cannot give you service i cannot like do this and um some politic things okay i had a branch in Qatar and you remember like it was yeah so it was not mentioning there okay so i had like a lot of problem with transferring money and all of this okay so it was 

you know i it’s never mentioned there if this case it’s happened now it’s mentioned okay mentioned with any country even like um uh between us and saudi, between us and egypt i have a branches in egypt so any country it’s it’s been mentioned there okay if there is something it’s happened like the name it’s still like us and you have to provide and perform like the same okay and find another way to to wire the money or transfer the money okay so each each okay um contract every i would say like i will not say every month every year you should add it like some terms okay so between one shop and one shop how many kilometer you face the problem nasser yes so put it in the terms and condition okay put it in the contract 

how many like distance between this branch and this branch even like for example i’m using like one aggregator for example exclusive with one aggregator okay someone will come tomorrow and he would put like two three aggregators okay and this is affect my percentage the original percentage with aggregator okay put it in the terms and condition okay so every day you’re learning something new you have to edit it okay just like uh because this cases it’s it’s always like new things okay 

 

Ashish Tulsian:

did you lose a franchisee because of some 

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

okay i will tell you like one story and it’s true story and this is something i put it in in the contract now okay and this is something even the franchise company they was shocked that i faced something like this so in in fujairah i had a branch the owner there was like a lot of traveling so he put like someone i will not name the nationality because i don’t want like to take this like to another lead okay so he hired someone okay and this person it’s supposed to be a managing like this place from everything okay he will do the PRO he will follow the kitchen he will follow the dine and tell about everything everything start very good he did a mistake he did a mistake and he never shared with me like he did this he give her the but he’s give he give him like the power of authority okay also

 

Ashish Tulsian:

the franchisee owner gave power of attorney to to 

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

to this guy to the manager to the manager okay

everything like it’s continual everything is okay so there was one problem between him and the manager so the manager told him like uh with her respect like you cannot fire me i’m the owner of this shop he told him like what what you’re talking about okay so he bring him like some papers which is like you have to sign for this employee okay a contract everything and between this paper it was a paper like of transferring like this shop to him okay so 

yeah he did it and he called me like this guy the manager he called me after like after the problem two days three days and he said like mr nasser now like if you have anything in future you have to deal with me i’m the franchisor i called the other guy he said like no i’m going to the police this has happened and nobody will help him and nobody helped him okay 

because the law is not like defensing the fools okay so you’re a fool okay together yeah yeah i had a like debate i told this guy like with her respect if you want to start with me with this move i’d rather like to close the branch you don’t have like any contract franchise contract between you and me okay so i will send you like a warning email that you’re putting like his name on top of your branch within a week if you don’t like remove it okay there would be like we will sue you so he thought like things it will go this direction nasser he will be okay and everything like i will move as the owner of low calorie and but no i cannot accept like this activity i cannot accept like in my team someone yeah doing this this action okay so yeah uh the shop like got closed he tried to change the name okay and we open another branch in fujairah and he start to loss okay a lot of money then he closed and he ran away to his country so so in this in the contract yeah i mentioned this in the contract you are not allowed to give power of autonomy for anyone on this shop and the guys like in the franchise company they said like it’s really happened they say yeah things it’s happened okay you will not put it in the contract unless you face something 

 

Ashish Tulsian:

what about the other side of the business which is managing the you know or helping franchisee realize the profits or the volume that initially we promised as a part of the franchise opportunity and most of the world you know in the franchising world people suffer with that where you know brand promises something and brand is promising truthfully because they have the restaurant that is working they have the right numbers but when franchisee takes that you know stores store i mean one of the two things happen one of course their city their area their low calorie their you know and second franchisees also don’t follow at times the process right process of marketing right process of training looking after their staff and all of this results in not so optimal results and it becomes it becomes a headache what do you do and and how you make sure that your franchisees earn enough to okay be with you but be your

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

i got yours okay let’s let’s be honest there’s some names it’s a huge names there’s like the chances like to lose it’s it’s very low because like once he opened there it would be a traffic okay let me to mention like Albaik for example it’s a very good brand okay whenever he open there is a queue okay and this is like one of the brand like when you when you do it okay you know like why you’re taking it like even if he asked like for a 1 million franchise fees i will give you the 1 million i know i will get it back i will give it to you blindly there is some level b okay this is like call it like level a ham and mcdonald’s and starbucks and all of those people okay 

let’s go to level b which i think like your your question it’s mostly about them okay that’s if i take like a very good brand okay which is like expanding okay so what we are doing at this moment okay for me i’m talking about me okay i’m very fair very very fair when it’s come like the franchise first of all okay i don’t promise i don’t promise i tell you come see numbers 

 

Ashish Tulsian:

that’s exactly what i said when you are when i understand that you’re not promising but your own successful store which is doing real numbers real really successful becomes the benchmark and it becomes the opportunity 

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

that’s exactly so uh for me like i would tell you something there is any business in the world in your opinion it’s 100 winning there’s nothing so anyone will come to me i tell him hey there is a 50% that’s we can’t doing really great there is 50% maybe after one year you will close you’re okay with this 

he said it’s a risk i said yeah that’s the business it’s a risk okay he said like either like this side or i’m afraid and it will take step back it’s up to you but i have to be fair with you okay i will not tell you like no if you open this and you do this you will make like this this is like not real okay i don’t know anything i’m not to know about the future okay so i’m telling him like there’s a 50 you will make a lot of money there is a 50 that you will lose you’re okay with this if he’s okay from step one okay tell him like listen to me i will give you a shop similar to your shop where you’re going to open you’re going to open this location yeah this is similar to your shop this is similar this is similar this is similar it’s the numbers is good for you okay you’re making like 10% 10% or 20% profit is it okay with you he said yes it’s okay so let’s go so 

we’re doing it okay but i promise him one thing else okay hey i cannot i cannot like promise you that you will win but i can promise you if you lose i don’t want anything any fees or any percentage from you which is like the only support that i can give you okay even if we did like a lot of marketing and doing everything but you’re still losing it’s a gut i cannot do anything okay i have a branch they’re making a lot of money okay so i don’t know like if the god he don’t like you i it’s not my problem okay so it’s your problem there is like a very good strategic plan okay marketing plan uh your employees they are trained very well okay your food it’s same the other branches your location is good you still you didn’t make it work okay um it’s not because of you okay i don’t know there’s like your relation with god it’s not that’s good i don’t know okay there’s there’s some cases like this and there’s some people they just open like a small shop and there’s a queue and his location it’s nowhere okay it’s very difficult like to reach to his location and when you reach to his location there’s a huge queue okay and you thought like you are the only one will be there okay i don’t know if has it ever happened to you that you’re searching for restaurants and like the location is very far and if i go there there is a lot of people here okay and he have one branch and it’s very small this is like we call it in our religion.

Okay, so that’s it’s a blessing from God, okay Some people like they open like a huge. Okay. Let me talk about him Nazareth He opened Riyadh and his name is Nazareth. Okay, after one year close 

 

Ashish Tulsian:

Oh, did he close it already 

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

Already, one year one year one year or two years ago?

 

Ashish Tulsian:

Oh, I didn’t know that.

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

Yeah, he closed. Okay, so Nazareth First branch in ksa with his name with everything Quality, everything is okay, and he closed But he succeed like in other places. Yeah, this is a very this is a very good example when I say it’s 50-50 Okay, even if you have like the name and Nazareth like honestly, I will not put him with a category a I will put him with b Okay, he’s a good restaurant. Okay, but can you make sure? Okay, that’s restaurant it will Last forever. 

 

Ashish Tulsian:

Yeah. Okay. It’s just it’s not like zuma. 

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

Yeah, it’s not like zuma Okay, it’s it’s a brand built by a person who will die soon. Okay after 10 years 50 years Okay, so when he dies like what it will happen, okay same like with burak Okay, when he died like what it will happen. Okay, and honestly like those things it’s a Which I hate like in any business. It’s a trend. So whenever you see the trend, okay The problem like some a lot of people when they see the trend, uh, we want franchise stop. I prefer Someone okay, very quiet and growing very slowly, but he have like established name. Okay on the market Okay, he’s going so slow. Yes. This shop is making a lot of money than him at this moment But it’s one year two year. Okay. Do you remember like the the trend of the acai? Yeah Where is the acai now?

 

Ashish Tulsian:

Exactly No, I mean I still see it in some menus. But yeah, you’re right.

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

Do you see do you see like that’s trend? Okay now like it’s matcha. Okay.

Everyone is crazy about matcha. So you will find like some people they are like Uh, they have less knowledge in business. I will open a matcha shop. Why it’s a trend Okay, even if it lasts for one year Okay, it will over okay. Don’t follow the trend Okay, follow the good brand who’s like established from long time, okay and have a vision Because this guy matcha guy. He don’t have a vision.

He have a short vision Which is like with the trend so following following the trend like it’s one of the problem But I I I know like I went a little bit far from your question Okay, which is like a lot of promises like for the people who come like to franchise like my name. Okay There is no promises i’m trying like to support them how much I can okay, I inform him before he open you might lose and you have to know this before like Thinking like oh, I will go like to franchise from him and he’s thinking that After one year, he will be in a yacht. Okay, so no, you will not have a private jet Okay, you will not have a yacht. Okay, you might lose. Do you understand this? Yes, I understand because one day I don’t want to feel like regretting that I over promise okay Oh nasser. I took your brand and I lost. This is like part of the game welcome to the game now 

 

Ashish Tulsian:

Business changes people uh, because as an entrepreneur you get hit from all directions uh You know, you’re always at the center of the storm, you know in whatever you’re doing and it doesn’t matter whether the business is doing Well or not you’re always fighting a lot of battles And You get experiences with people which as an employee of some other outfit You get much less You always deal with people but then Business just exposes you to all kinds of you know relationships all kinds of people what has changed in you as a person. Which you were let’s say nine years back Versus who you are today Behaviorally Emotionally wisdom wise. How do you how do you look at it? What changed ?

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

Honestly, um I would not say business change you Okay Uh, there’s like two side of the story. There is a business and there is a money.

I don’t know like about others Okay, but i’m talking about myself Honestly like it’s changed me a lot to good Um I look to my employees as friends brothers I sit with them. I eat with them. I go to cinema with um I feel like they I feel like they They are the reason why i’m why I succeed Okay so Even like with the other people who’s working in my kitchen.

I feel a lot of really responsibility towards them you know like When you have a child You know like that’s this child have no one in the world apart from his dad You have to buy me food. You have to buy me like diapers. You have to buy me clothes everything You have to provide me home I feel like this with my employees, okay This guy from any nationality he left his country Okay, and he came to you So he’s feeding his family And then i’m feeding him.

Okay, i’m providing him like everything I have to make sure This guy who’s with me who trusted me to be his like sponsor Okay I have like to provide him like the best that I can There’s a lot of people they come to me and they said like My mother is sick My daughter is sick. Okay. I never ever there’s a people who lie to me Okay, and there’s a people who was like really honest to me both of them They asked me like for example the operation it will cost ten thousand dirham immediately Without a blink I give it to them Okay, I tell him like we will talk about Uh, how we gonna like to settle this amount but at the moment Go to help your mom go to help your daughter.

Okay If i’m not there for them Okay Who will be they they they work to you? They help you to grow. Okay, and Honestly, like I saw I saw different cases in in some of other other businesses Okay That’s the people they don’t get salary on time, okay They don’t get any kind of support.

 

Okay with all respect like i’m sorry like to say this word, but it’s It’s look like he hired a slave okay, which really like How you want to grow like with this? With this business, okay If you if if you really your employees they hate They’re just sitting with you for money Nothing else Okay, I swear to god like there’s a lot of people with me. They got like better offer than me But Nasser, we don’t want to leave you Okay, we will stay with you.

Okay, and the hard time you was with us Okay, and even if I go there, I don’t know like if those people like they will support me Okay, when I need them, I need like someone like a brother when I feel like down he will bring me up. Okay So yeah, this is this things before the business like maybe I would not Support or do it like or something like this maybe before business. I think if I have like millions, okay um, I will be traveling around the world and like Having parties and everything like what’s the person can imagine?

Okay But in the end I didn’t travel I spending like my money like to develop my business. Okay, or to help people or something like this So yeah, there’s a lot of change. Okay, I think I think in my opinion in my opinion The god he give you the money for a reason yeah, I put the money in your hand for a reason I want to see what you will do with it Okay You will spend it like on shitty things Or you spend it like on the right things

 

Ashish Tulsian:

You were on you were in police for 18 years and I’m sure you know the the job or the work or the line of work anybody is in It shapes their personality. It shapes their thinking And when you come to the business you’re Any business if you’re the business owner then and ideally?

You have to be very, you know flexible with your thinking you need to be open-minded you need to be You don’t need to be Very strong with your opinions not in fundamentals But generally you have to you know, you have to adjust you have to see the situation and see You know, what’s the right for that situation, you know for your business for you What part of you know your personality that got shaped in police?

You had to really undo like you had to really change when you started, you know dealing with people you know instead of authority.. being in service…

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

Order, orders I was really strict with like for example if I give an order That’s like the police like Okay. Yes, sir Okay, so i’m expecting this a lot, but I didn’t find it like in my business So I had like a lot to adjust myself, okay To see like there’s some orders like it will take time. Okay. There is nothing like it will happen now Okay, do 10 push-up.

I will do 10 push-up now. Okay. Yeah, I will do 10 push-up like tomorrow So you have to be very flexible so mainly I suffer with the Giving orders as a police officer like in the past Personality like police it’s giving you like a very tough personality. Okay when it’s come like to you know, like there’s like your face it should be like Yes, sir That’s it. Okay So there is no like hey, how are you? Okay, this nothing in the police.

Okay so um This is one of the things that I have like To smile a little bit. Okay to relax my face. Okay, there’s things like it’s In a normal life in a business life, especially like you’re dealing with the clients Okay, you cannot deal with them like Yes, or no you have like to negotiate to talk as a business partnership Suppliers, so you have to be very flexible.

Okay, you have to be a snake sometimes so So yeah, um, this is like in the past like I was like yes or no. Okay. Yes, sir.

I give order done Okay, and that’s it but now it’s like yeah, there’s an order but Kind of like you have to have a the flexibility Okay with everyone to be patient to know how to negotiate. Okay If someone give you an offer and you don’t like it, okay Uh, no, I don’t like it. Thank you very much No, okay, you have like to I think your offer like it could be better.

Come on, like we’re talking about like business So you have to be very flexible with those things So I think that’s the the main difference between being like a police officer and like a businessman. 

 

Ashish Tulsian:

As a founder of your brand, What do you do to Enrich yourself like, you know to to do read do you listen to the podcasts? Do you take coaching? You have you know, what do you do to make sure that you are always learning and you are growing because Your business and your brand Is limited by your knowledge and your you know ambition 

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

Reading it’s it’s part but honestly podcast like Listening to real experience Okay talking like going to a coffee shop with some gentleman like you. Okay, you would tell me like about your previous businesses like This is something real. I believe more In real life real story, okay, I never been like a fan of like the The paper education.

Okay, and like what it’s happening. Yeah, very academic. Okay So, uh, I think like it’s a little bit boring for me, but no listening to someone’s story Okay, they stole money from him Like he found like he the police they call him like I feel like this things it’s real And it’s helped me a lot.

So there’s some some of the podcast like really The people they talk in very honest way. Okay, and I like it. So when I see like one shot of the video, okay Oh Honestly, like what he’s saying.

It’s very interesting. It touched me. Okay So I go to youtube search for like the video.

Okay, let me listen to him You know, like, you know the guy when he’s really giving you a real information a real story Some of the people like they come to podcast and they’ve are they are like very diplomatic. Okay Yes, we grow the company and like that. So, okay.

I know you grow it But tell me like what’s the challenges what everything? Okay, so he’s very basic and he feel like There’s a lot of secrets. Okay, he have to protect and there’s a lot of things like he did and it’s uh, It’s very embarrassing for him.

Okay Come on, like there’s like why you come to sit in this chair Like if you will not share with me like some of the problem, okay you want to get famous or you want to just like have uh, Uh, it’s a br like between you and the people. Okay, just a public relationship But no, come on, like there’s some New investors they want to invest like in real shop and things like that It will make them grow. Maybe your story about like resigning from the police and going to the business Maybe there’s a lot of people watching like today.

Okay, they have the same thinking like Oh, I cannot resign and when he start to hear me like, oh, okay tomorrow I will resign and he will be fucked up You know So no, I mean I mean like uh, I never study I never finished school, okay Yes, I never finished school. My dad was um trying his best like me to finish the school, but I I wasn’t like A good student. I I never like to listen to a teacher or something like this And I i’m not saying this like to influence people.

It’s something wrong. I did it. Okay But you know, like if you don’t have a certificate There is only two place will accept you in this country military or police Okay, so go to be a soldier so That’s the only option so I went to police and after that I understand like the police it’s changed my life a little bit Okay, and made me like strict Okay so They made you like a man to be honest, okay, they just like um They have a training like for almost like six seven month, okay, they literally kill you.

 

Ashish Tulsian:

My last question on this. Um, i’m curious Your brand is called low calorie Right Did you did you manage to get a trademark on that 

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

Already? Yeah, come on. I have in nine countries.

 

Ashish Tulsian:

Absolutely and I agree Yeah, but how did you get a trademark on low calorie as a name and i’m you know asking it because I mean I run businesses multiple countries and I think Low calorie are two english words You know and uh, and and they’re normal phrases. These are not the coined names Do you get a trademark?

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

Low calories. It’s I i’m facing like kind of problem with some countries. Okay, 

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

so I Put the name like locale Yeah, okay. So I have like to cut like some of the words but locale it’s give you like the same It’s low calories another way Okay, so i’m facing like some problems outside and you have to be flexible like for example mcdonald’s like you think the trademark it’s mcdonald’s Okay, they have a lot of like trademark like mcdonald’s mac chicken mac royal mac all yeah Okay, mac only okay donald only so they have all the names to protect. Okay this facility Okay, i’m not in this level.

I don’t have money much as them. Okay, but Yeah in some in some countries like you’re facing a problem and this is like in It’s a good question because like there’s a lot of people they will go outside for example to saudi and to Egypt the franchise law. It’s like not international franchise law. Okay, what you register here in uae if you go to egypt They will tell you like no we have a different law Okay, so you have like to cut off the name or to do something so anyone will create a new name Okay, he have to be very flexible, okay and he have to know in the future that’s in some countries He might give it another name, which is like for example two letter which i’m considering lw Okay, or lc.

Sorry. Okay, which is low calories. Okay, you can do advertisements for low calories, but your name brand it’s lc So that’s like one of the things that’s the people have to be flexible in the future Okay, when they are going like to expand okay or choosing like the the name the logo the trademark.

 

Ashish Tulsian:

If you have to just in In few short sentences talk about what’s your vision for low calories? What is it that? Nasser is willing to you know do in next or want to achieve in next five to ten years horizon?

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

Honestly um I become obsessed with raising knowledge by Collaborating with a lot of influencers to talk mostly like not about low calorie. Okay, it’s kind of indirect Marketing which is like showing the people why they are to be here Why why they have to be healthy by visiting hospital seeing people like fat like inside the gym and suffering Okay, all of these things so raising knowledge Okay inside our community because i’m i’m part of it if I have 42 branch here inside uae That’s mean i’m the biggest okay. No one have like the same amount.

Okay of healthy food inside uae So you have a responsibility towards this country toward these people? Okay, you’re feeding like a lot of people here inside this country over all your outlets Okay, so you have a responsibility. I don’t want them like just to eat food and that’s it.

Okay It’s not a commercial anymore. Okay, it’s a responsibility You’re building like you love this country. Okay, you need like to Uh do good for this country who did always good to me Okay, so it’s just like something small to do this this country.

It’s just to raise the knowledge Of like healthy lifestyle as our like leaders they are doing. Okay, they’re showing like that’s they are doing sports everywhere Okay, so this is kind of like the line that’s my vision. It’s with uae vision It’s like to raise the knowledge in the community. That’s the healthy lifestyle It’s it’s it’s the future.

 

Ashish Tulsian:

Nasser, this was a brilliant conversation and you know, I see a lot of promise a lot of learning and a lot of Grind that you have gone through to reach here and i’m i’m, very very hopeful, you know post this chat that There’s a there’s a long long long way to go. I wish you all the best and and It was a pleasure to have you on the pod.

 

Nasser Al  Massabi

It was my pleasure. Honestly, like I enjoyed talking to you Okay, I I don’t feel the time. I don’t know. What’s the time now? Okay, so I didn’t realize myself. It’s just like I felt I’m sitting with a couple of friends.

Okay talking about life. So thank you to have me