Alumni Stories – Dalia Hayat

 

Who are you and where are you from?
My name is Dalia Hayat and I live in Kuwait.

What project/job/event/research are you currently working on? Please tell us a little about the impetus, content, expected impact of this work.
Working on two different projects; one which is a short-term project for Artecasa, have the pleasure of working with a colleague from Parsons. Another project I’m working on is a take on the project I’m working on with Parsons. It’s in the beauty industry. I’m opening an online store of beauty and personal care items in the gulf region, in the middle east. The beauty industry in our region lacks an online website for selling beauty/cosmetics in the region specifically. There are brick and mortar stores, but there is a lot of restriction for new products. This is a logistics play because once we have every product registered in the ministries of all countries (which is the biggest hurdle because you need to know people; registering one product will take me a month). In the beauty sector, the trend is going into more niche brands and there aren’t as many of the up and coming brands in our region. It’s not just selling online, but curating the brands we want to sell on our website that reflect our brands. Our website will also generate beauty content because in general there is not a lot of great arabic content online.

In what ways did the work/research you did at parsons prepare you for that transition and the work you’re doing now?
One of the best classes that we took were the studio classes and the innovation and leadership classes. The way they taught us to think about building your team in a company and the way you tackle a venture really put things into perspective for me. It organized my thoughts in a way where now I know what to do first and how to create something from nothing. And the right way to approach it and what to do next after having an idea. It’s the execution that counts. It’s more important than the idea itself. The program gave me the tools to define, execute and act beyond the idea. Also, working virtually, it helped me build the skill-set of getting organized online.

If you were to give one piece of advice to current students, what would it be?
Really work hard on the projects that you’re given in class. Tackle the project like it’s your passion in life. The projects are what help you develop the skills – you learn it by doing. When you do real ground work, that’s the important part. Theories, concepts, it’s not what’s important.

What book are you reading right now?
China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan is my fun book. But I did just order from amazon “Delivering Happiness” the Zappos book, so that’s a little more serious. I ordered that book because in the early stages of my company I want to do things right.