Maya Almezal is an architect, traveller, graduate entrepreneur, and founder of innovative mobile app Agendaat.
Almezal was still at university when she started her entrepreneurial journey. Spotting a gap in the market, she developed the idea for a mobile application designed to be an ‘on the go’ business tool for makeup artists.
The number of existing women working in digital product and innovation is limited, so we were excited to catch up with Almezal and find out about her journey thus far.
Tell us about yourself and your business.
My name is Maya Almezal and I am an architect, traveller and a graduate entrepreneur.
My company is called Agenda For Public Relations Ltd and I developed an app under the name Agendaat whilst undertaking my Master’s Degree in quantity surveying and commercial management in Liverpool.
Agendaat is a mobile application designed to be an ‘on the go’ business tool for makeup artists, enabling them to arrange their bookings and run their businesses wherever they are. It has tailored profiles for makeup artists and the design used is customised to showcase their business activity efficiently, enabling them to respond to whatever business needs arise.
The business name is in Arabic and it means ‘agenda.’ The logo was inspired by oriental calligraphy influenced by oriental arts and culture.
When did you start your business and what did you do prior to setting up your own business?
The concept was developed whilst I was studying at Liverpool John Moores University in 2019, during which time I started attending business workshops.
Being in Liverpool has provided much-needed support in the business, particularly as the makeup industry is widely booming, with talented artists being widespread throughout the region.
During the design and development period, I was in contact with makeup artists nationally and internationally, offering them my services manually and supporting their businesses, especially throughout the pandemic.
What made you decide to set up in business? What made you choose the type of business you run?
It was my passion and love of makeup. As a traveller, I loved engaging with local makeup artists and exploring the different makeup trends in different cultures.
Through my intensive interactions with makeup artists, I was able to identify the challenges they were having and wanted to use my professional engineering background to create a sector-specific application to assist them in their careers and help them to raise their profile.
Where is your business based and what impact does this have on your business?
My business is registered and based in Liverpool and I am very grateful for this opportunity as Liverpool girls are very much into their fashion and beauty.
I also registered my address as a Virtual Tenant at 54 St James Street, in Liverpool, which is the home of The Women’s Organisation.
You can find out more about Virtual Tenancy packages here.
Once you had decided that you wanted to set up a business, what steps did you take to get the ball rolling and how did you feel?
As a university student at Liverpool John Moores University at that time, I participated in a number of start-up workshops arranged by the university and I then gradually started expanding my business network locally and internationally.
Did you face any barriers to growing your business, or did you find any aspects of is particularly daunting?
Being a female graduate entrepreneur was very challenging, especially in the digital product and innovation projects. The number of existing women in the field is still very limited.
What is the best thing about running your own business?
The flexibility of time allows me to prioritise my work and personal life as required. Most importantly, the passion that I have for the business, the clients and development, satisfies my desire for growth and innovation.
If a friend of yours was looking to set up their own business what advice would you give them?
I would say, ‘be brave, patient and positive on all occasions.’ The entrepreneurial journey may be longer than planned and unforeseen risks and challenges might pop up at any moment, but the key to success is to be aware of these potential challenges and to keep going.
What lessons have you learned or interesting highlights have there been in your journey?
The powerful mindset of the entrepreneur can reflect greatly on business growth. As a start-up, it was a challenge for me to face the unforeseen risks to growth until I realised that the power is actually in focusing on dealing with these challenges. If I had had this entrepreneurial mindset from the start, I would have launched my app at least one year earlier.
Is there anything else you would like to add about yourself, your journey, your business and your future plans?
There is no such thing as a perfect time and location to start. The perfect timing and location are actually where you are and when you begin. I encouraged myself to start regardless my conditions and limitations and I believed once I start, there will always be a forward.
Maybe I desired bigger and quicker outcomes, but going forward will always bring you one step closer to your dreams.
You can find out more about Agendaat via the website at www.agendaat.co.uk, or catch up with the company on the following social media platforms:
Instagram: @agendaat
Facebook: @agendaat
Twitter: @agendaat
The Agendaat App is currently available in the Apple Store.
