Who is She?

Amanda Nasim plans to make Tutti Frutti the official frozen yogurt for the London Olympics

Amanda Nasim! A final year economics and finance student, was only 19 when she stood before more than 80 bidders at an international conference in Los Angeles in March this year to convince the owner of Tutti Frutti, the popular frozen yogurt empire, to give her the master licence to open the first Tutti Frutti outlet in Europe.

Today, at just 20 years old, she is one of four directors of Tutti Frutti United Kingdom, who proudly launched their flagship outlet in Covent Garden in central London, making it also the first in Europe.

Together with her brother, Andy Nasim, 30, and friends Hashraf Hashim, 29, and Ridzuan Nor, 31, they plan to open at least 20 outlets in England, Scotland and Ireland next year.

With the Olympics around the corner, the young and dynamic entrepreneurs plan to make Tutti Frutti the official frozen yogurt for the London Olympics.

The official opening, by Lord Powell of Bayswater on one of the coldest evenings in London, was the culmination of a year's hard work and planning since Amanda tasted her first vanilla flavoured frozen yogurt when she was back in Malaysia during her holidays.

"When I came back to England, I couldn't find Tutti Frutti and I thought, why couldn't I bring it to London," said Amanda who is a student at York University.

Her steely determination and vision saw her taking the flight alone to attend the international conference in Los Angeles last March.

"I gave a presentation on how it would do well in London, convinced them about the location and tied it in with the Olympics," said Amanda.

When she was told that she was successful in her bid, she called her brother Andy, a remisier and former investment banker, who flew to LA to be with her.

"There was no turning back after that," recalled Andy who then rounded up his old friends, Hashraf who owns two petrol stations and the Mollydookers CoffeeBar and company director and former investment banker Ridzuan to start the ball rolling.

"We all thought she was crazy," said Hashraf, an architect who turned his passion to food and beverage.

"But it's a miracle.

"It has been an amazing journey" said Ridzuan who admitted that convincing financiers to put money into a business in London was hard work.

"Andy and I spent a month walking around London, pitching ideas, looking at places, but people just pushed us away," said Hashraf.

But support and help came from close friends and families, many of whom were there at the opening last Friday.

It is understood that the initial capital was RM6 million.

Also at the opening was Jay Kim, the Korean American founder of Tutti Frutti USA who admitted being impressed by Amanda's confidence and courage.

"Although she is very young, her approach was like any other experienced entrepreneur," said Kim who tasted his first frozen yogurt in 2007 and now owns more than 500 outlets around the world.

Referring to the four young directors, Kim said: "They are the youngest, craziest and fastest master licence holders we have ever met.

"They managed to open their doors in less than three months from the signing of the UK master licence agreement."

Tutti Frutti London, strategically located in a tourist spot in Covent Garden and a short distance from the capital's theatre district, is considered the biggest frozen yogurt outlet in England in terms of size.

It is self-serve and offers 12 flavours

Read more: Her scent of success with yogurt - General - New Straits Times
http://www.nst.com.my/nation/general/her-scent-of-success-with-yogurt-1.20817#ixzz1uB68oDvE

Why i post her story here in my blog?

It is because..ada value yg boleh kita ambik dr cerita dia ni

1) be ProAktif! Outreach! (more likely like me,hihi)

2) courages! Berani mencuba sesuatu yg baharu

3) Determined!

4) Focus!

So all those values are important in bisnes! :)