It can’t be easy to set up and run a business with your friends or partner, and a plethora of challenges and highlights will doubtlessly follow. Here, Jo Caruana meets the people who have made it work.
Mark Camilleri, Alex Mattei, Sebastian Degiorgio and Nick Camilleri-Preziosi recently set up catering company Fifth Flavour. Here Mark tells their tale of success so far.
When business is done, pleasure starts; we just cut off and call it a day
“It all started very randomly when Sebastian, Alex and I were chatting about food. A few days later, we all met again with Nick, Alex’s previous business partner, and came up with the idea of going into business together. We all knew each other quite well by then – Sebastian and I were at school together, while I had met Alex and Nick while working for a local food magazine.
“The idea was to provide innovative, tasty and good food to an ever-growing foodie market. People want something different to the normal party food. I had recently graduated from Le Cordon Bleu and the University of Adelaide with a Master’s in Gastronomy and was eager to take the right step, so we all put our heads together.
“We sat down at a bar in Naxxar over a ftira and a cup of tea and spoke about our views towards food, what areas of business we wanted to enter and what we thought made the difference between a normal event and an extraordinary one.
“I would say food is what brought us together because we all consider it a central part of our lives, so integrating it into our business was easy. The rest was straightforward, a few more meetings, some papers to sign and Fifth Flavour was born.
“Our roles developed as we went along, with Sebastian handling much of the logistics and administration, and the rest of us in the kitchen. One thing is for sure, though: we are all flexible and help out when necessary to get the job done. We discuss and plan our days accordingly and just allocate between us who is doing what.
“The highlight is the fact that we don’t have to beat about the bush with each other; we know each other well enough for formalities to not matter. On the flip side, you never want to let friends down, which can add pressure.
“We’re better pals than ever though, and still spend loads of time together. When business is done, pleasure starts; we just cut off and call it a day. I’d definitely say that doing business with friends is fun, as long as you all want the same thing and pull the same rope.”
Fifth Flavour’s top tip for friends in business: “Speak freely, say what’s on your mind and take criticism with open arms. It’s hard to do, but if you manage, it makes dealing with people and problems so much easier.”
Frankie and Krista Spiteri have been together for nine years, within which time they set up and built Hospitality Web Systems – a dynamic company that offers specialised web systems and utilises both of their areas of expertise to a tee.
Frankie: “Having been in the hospitality and technology industry for a long time, I knew there was a niche market in supplying websites and other related technologies to hospitality operators.
“I had concluded an MBA specific to e-Business and knew I had the skills to tackle such a specialised service, so Krista and I decided to go for it. We worked on everything together, though she officially joined the company six months later, even though she was planning our wedding at the time.
“Krista immediately brought so much to the team, and I really needed her incredible organisational skills at that crucial stage. It also meant we could spend more time together. We tied the knot three weeks later, all while moving home and setting up our office. We even had to postpone our honeymoon as we were completely inundated with projects at the time.”
Krista: “As characters Frankie and I are as opposite as can be. I’m hyper, super organised and factual, while Frankie is relaxed, a visionary and thinks logically. Our roles are clearly defined by our strengths and areas of expertise, which is imperative to establish from the start when working with your spouse to effectively grow the business.
“Occasionally these opposing characters do clash slightly during work but more often than not they complement each other, which has contributed to our success.
“One of our biggest challenges comes from striking a balance between work and pleasure, as business often takes priority. In fact, our clients rarely realise that we are husband and wife, and think of us purely as business partners. We have found ourselves in some pretty amusing situations when they eventually find out; I guess it just proves that, with us, business is business!”
Frankie and Krista’s top tip for couples in business: “Remember why you got together in the first place – probably because you wanted to be a couple, not just business partners. Working together gives you the opportunity to be together even more. Now you just have to be sure to have fun while growing your business at the same time.”
With a mutual background in tourism, Edward Gauci and Steve Sciberras decided to go into business together to open urban boutique Hotel Argento in St Julian’s. Here, Edward tells their story.
Steve Sciberras (left) and Edward Gauci.“It all started with a suggestion, following on from some run-of-the-mill, work-type grumbling between Steve and I. Then, every time we met, the topic of starting a business would resurface, and Steve was the real driving force behind it all. His persistence made it happen.
“We’ve known each other for well over 18 years, and worked together at the same agency. Even though we weren’t in the same company for much of that, we stayed in touch, and had some great nights out occasionally too.
“We knew we wanted to use our expertise in the tourism industry and opening a hotel seemed to be the next logical step. It all began over coffee two years ago and we kept meeting up after that to problem-solve along the way.
“It took us around two years, on and off, to hone our plan and find our ideal hotel model. Considering we were pretty strict when it came to our target area, property size and concept, our choices were quite limited. Luckily, a phone call late last November made it all possible.
“We set out a great plan as to who would do what; it’s open to change but as a rule we stick to it. It is based on our agreements as to what we felt were our individual plus points, and we also gathered help from relatives and friends on how to best set out the collaboration.
“There are challenges of course, and business can test a friendship. The ‘what would happen if’ worry is a test in itself, as is holding back in an argument for the sake of the relationship.
“Having said that, I don’t really think it is that different to working with strangers. The pluses, of course, come from liaising with someone who probably understands you better than anyone else. Meanwhile, ‘meeting a friend’ is far more fun that ‘going to work’ in my book!
“At the moment business has overtaken pleasure, but we’re working on it. I believe in having a happy medium between the two in order for a business to flourish, which is also true for life.
“You must always stick to your goal and not be petty. Finally, never lose sight of the trust that comes with friendship, because it will make all the difference in business.”
Edward and Steve’s top tip for friends in business: “Before taking a big step it is normal to have sleepless nights and to feel scared, but if you follow your instincts, you will usually find yourself on the right path.”