16
MY HUSTLE
How I built My Winning Business Idea An inner drive to do things differently drove me out of employment into entrepreneurship. My company-Simply Mammoth Solutions won best expo solutions provider of the year -2019 at the Africa MICE Awards.
I
am Catherine Mumbi, the co-founder and CEO of Simply Mammoth Solutions−a marketing and creative agency that helps businesses accomplish their objectives through creative concepts, design and build in the following five areas: Exhibition Stands, Interior Design, Workspace Branding and Events Management. Born and raised in Kisumu, I always imagined how the city was like. I had big dreams…I still do…I would always push the boundaries in my imagination. Growing up I wanted to become a nurse, just like my mum. I liked caring for people and I would be consumed by compassion. Not one to stay idle, I went door to door in Kisumu town looking for a job and by evening I was an employee of a gift shop. In a month I moved on to a phone shop where I made loads of money selling phones and phones accessories before university came calling. I was admitted to Kenyatta University to study Family and Consumer studies amidst protests. Although I hadn’t wished for the course, after a short while I started liking its consumer aspect.
Catherine Mumbi, CEO SIMPLY MAMMOTH SOLUTIONS
Startupmagazine.co.ke October 2019
In 2003, while still a student, I participated in Miss Kenya western Kenya. The Emcee was impressed by my personality and offered me a job on condition that I complete my undergraduate studies. After graduating in 2004, he let me run a company he had registered but was not operational. This was the first time I experienced entrepreneurship. Client and staff accusation, talent management, Cashflow management, PR, Income generation, Negotiation ability are some of the skills I quickly needed