Abdullah Interviews Dana Al-Otaibi

One of the main reasons why I love doing what I do is the fact that I get exposed to people from all walks of life.

The graceful and highly talented Ms.Dana Al-Otaibi is a breath of fresh air. Sits on the throne of PINK COFFEE marketing and PR company as a partner and operational manager, only 23 years young.

I met her twice, I remember one day when I went to their head office she held the iPad (back when it first came out) and was so proud of it, she and Shamlan gave me a semi-walk through on the intricate and different levels of sophistication the iPad had. I remember how nice and kind she was to me. She even gave me the iPad to try which pissed Shamlan off, HAH! I love them both, dearly.

Honestly though, for DANA to be involved in programs like The Proteges, Mtubtub and everything else PINK COFFEE does is a form of beauty. Why do I say that ? Because I sincerely believe that camps that raise awareness, entrepreneurship, health, well being and a BIG chunk of value back to the country do not succeed unless people running it are Philanthropists. To me, thats the highest form of beauty ever in existence. Then again you’ll explore her different talents as you read on. Not to mention she owns sole copyrights to a smile that heals all.

I hope her presence here will help nagging men and women who doubt our youth, stating through sharp, cutting edge facts, that those who can help, inspire, be there and uplift us with their energy, physically EXIST. Miss Knowles was never wrong with her latest effort “Girls Who Run The World” Women and young ladies like Dana are definitely a main inspiration.

I love the direction of Pink Coffee and will always be one of the main supporters if they allow me. One look at that mashed up piece of art you have up there says everything.

Dana is part of this creation.

Get to know her more …

Dana, Speak !

My name is Dana M. Al Otaibi, am 23 years young. I graduated from KU College of petroleum and engineering majored in industrial and management system engineering. Currently I’m a partner and the operation manager in Pink Coffee Marketing and PR.

Earlier years, any flash backs that come to mind?

I consider my early years normal and as typical as it could be, living a normal life like any other Kuwaiti girl having fights with my sister on daily basis on silly stuff but also I remember the good times when I started horse riding.

I’ve gained a lot of patience and calmness from horse riding and it was my escapism from all surrounding life issues. Another highlight of my childhood is being forced to have piano and French lessons, it was a painful experience, I used to cry after each lesson all because I haven’t felt passionate about doing it. But one day I decided to force myself into learning and exploring it to prove to myself that I can do it and that all the difficulties are only in my head. Till alhemdela I mastered it. Today I can play anything I hear.

What inspired you to tap into who you are now?

The way I’ve been taught in my early days was to be independent and as the eldest child in my family I’ve always been the person my mother and father depend on. Lately I’ve been inspired by Mr. Shamlan Al Bahar. Who encouraged me to start a company immediately after graduation which was a very difficult decision at the time but as they say our life is all about the journey we take not the destination we reach, and I’ve decided to take a different path in life after graduation.

What differs PINK COFFEE from the rest of the competition out there?

Pink Coffee is considered one of the most growing PR & Marketing companies in Kuwait for many reasons. I would like to share a couple of them with you.

First, the main asset in Pink Coffee which is” People” . We tend to create the closest to perfect environment where employee and employer relation diluted to represent one soul one spirit one team that can best achieve our goal which is our slogan also “ Create the nonexistent”.

Another important aspect of Pink Coffee is Client Relation. We don’t work with them at a corporate level however we go deeper than this, we share the best interest of their products along with them. We tend to give advises even if it will negatively impact us on the short term, however a trustworthy long term relation is what we seek.

We have received a lot of valuable testimonials from clients of ours telling us about how our ideas have significantly pushed them closer to their objectives. Thats what we’re proud of.

A key difference that set Pink Coffee apart from other companies is that we have 2 divisions under our umbrella 1- Pink Coffee PR and Marketing 2- Pink Coffee initiatives

In PinkCoffee PR & Marketing we are working hand in hand with our clients to help them reach their goals. While in PinkCoffee initiatives we are creating new concepts and ideas. That goes from scratch to physical creation and operation. That gives pink coffee a sophisticated edge.

You can know more about PinkCoffee through our WEBSITE.

What were the difficulties you faced and how did you overcome them ?

Difficulties are there every day specially when we first started. It was a new market to me, I wasn’t  even majored in marketing, I had no basic knowledge on how the business is running but working hard along the side with Mr. Shamlan Al bahar whos an expert in the field, made it worth the try.

We were the only two employees in the company, worked for more than 12 hours a day. Part of the time spent operating the business, meeting client, planning, and also educating ourselves in all marketing aspect to give ourselves an edge on marketing and branding.

Coming from an engineering background I’ve never thought I would do accounting entries. And I did! Everything seemed to be impossible at beginning but once you actually start doing it, It’s really simple and get easier by time.

Please talk about your latest project?

We’re currently preparing for the Proteges second generation which will start in june. for more info www.theproteges.org p0ach I know you are a great supporter of the program so thank you for that !

If you don’t mind, Share with us shocking or controversial moments of your career?

Every day we come across so many incidents, an outsider may think it’ll kill us. They may be right, but only if we were weak. We had the courage to keep looking at our big pictures, never divert from our path. We are only human and it’s a right to make mistakes and have our shares of other people’s mistakes also.

I remember one incident when we’v been backed by only one sponsor for our project and one week before launching this product they called us saying “sorry guys we can not sponsor you due to budget issues” . We had two choices then. It’s either we breakdown, live in misery, close down the project Or we work harder finding ways of making it happen.

Life is full of obstacles, there’s no formula or a definitive road to success but facing obstacles and getting through each issue one by one.I guess you know which path we took.

The path that made protégés exist and become a huge success today.

How was your support system like ?

At the beginning, being different, having a different start than the majority of your friends is not something that will let them clap for you. If it would, they would have joined you instead. For that many ,of my friends and colleagues seemed worried about my future because I didn’t had a clear career path. My decision involved a lot of risk and up ‘n’ down moments. But thankfully many of them now are appreciating my decision and admitting they didn’t believe in me then. Now its different, completely different.

I am very thankful for having my family, very understanding, I think its because my parents too started their careers from scratch. Which motivated me the most.

Where do you see yourself 5 years from now ?

In 5 years time. I want to see PinkCoffee a well-known player in the world of marketing and branding sector.

Throw something for p0ach readers !

Trying to do something from scratch is hard, really hard. But when you see the result it will make you the happiest person in the world. Being an entrepreneur, working for your own will make you wake up every morning with a big smile in your face. Failure, stress and pressure are hard but when you know your doing something you love, its is the best feeling ever.