Founder

Leah Mugure Dittmann is an ambitious entrepreneur in Germany with an appetite for all things food-related. She also runs a Catering company called Jambo African Dishes that caters for all events. She owns 2 foodtrucks and a small fingerfood trolley. Anyone serious about event planning knows the secret of having an Event with good food and that is exactly what we are all about.

As a founder running a one-man business, Leah admits that her journey as an entrepreneur hasn’t been easy, but it’s part of the nature of starting your own company.

I’m lucky to have parents who are foodies and expected me to eat everything on my plate growing up. From an early age, I’ve been in love with food, and I’ve always been an “idea” person.

Entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart. Jambo African Dishes has hit $0 a number of times, particularly during the recession. But if you let fear drive your decision-making, you may as well get a job working for someone else and let him or her worry. If you hit your brakes or turn the wheel to avoid a patch of ice, you’re more likely to spin out of control. Have a vision and stick to it.

I would say my biggest screw up so far is hiring and managing poorly at launch. I am now a one-man business, though that too is not ideal. And for any advice that could help out anyone, the specific mistake I made was outgrowing our capital. Cash is king.

I advise many small food ventures these days, and I tell each of them the same thing. If you don’t have $1 million, your focus should be direct to consumer and direct to wholesale.

Sometimes being an entrepreneur feels like some kind of illness. I never feel like I accomplish enough in a day. I’m never satisfied with the work I have done. Whatever work I do should generate more work because in business, if you aren’t growing, you are shrinking.