Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu Quotes

My driving passions as an entrepreneur are always about sharing Ethiopian cultures with the world and finding exciting ways to keep these cultures vibrant and fully relevant.

This gave me a good knowledge of the industry, which was extremely useful in terms of setting up the company and making it grow,

I like to visualise my goals in my own private space. I try and make it as real as possible so it is almost tangible to me. That gives these goals an immediacy and realness both for me and for my team that allows people to really chase that idea or goal in a visceral way.

there is no blueprint when it comes to being an entrepreneur.

That's why we have always said that this company is about maximizing local talent and local resources to create good paying jobs, that in turn would create extraordinary footwear,

For me, I never thought because I'm a woman I'm not going to do something, I'm not going to try it this or that. The way I see myself is… I'm a person. I am capable of doing whatever I want and I'm going to succeed because I'm going to be working really hard to be there each and every day. So, for African girls and women to say 'I'm not going to be able to do this, I'm not capable of doing this,' you're killing yourself. If we are brave enough to go out to sell ideas to people, I think we can succeed.

To me, very successful entrepreneurs have the ability not simply to come up with an idea,

If you have a crazy idea, go for it! Don't be afraid to make mistakes.

but to exquisitely execute that idea over and over and make it into a living, breathing reality. The best entrepreneurs literally seem to live their companies.

If we want to have truly equitable societies, then we need to embrace equity on all levels. And that means women’s economic empowerment and the key to that is women entrepreneurs.

are sharing Ethiopian cultures with the world and finding exciting ways to keep these cultures vibrant and fully relevant.

I have developed a fine sense of my weaknesses, and I address those by building my team with people who have that strength I may lack. So I flip any weakness I may have and make it a strength … Weakness recognition, and a full embrace of that, is a powerful tool.

Don't just make things, make things better. "Innovation is...improving the state of what was before."

I always reflect and think about the same thing: business is about solving problems. Trying to identify the singular most difficult situation would be doing a disservice to this simple fact: if you are not continuously encountering tough situations as an entrepreneur, and solving them, then you are not really in business. Encountering obstacles and overcoming them is my day-to-day existence.

“I am always engaging with people on my team, finding out what they need to make them better at what they do, and what makes them happier. This lets us have an incredible level of overall team happiness and leads to long-term team members…