Telling the story of an entrepreneur is not the same as telling a story on a grand movie screen, where there is a clear beginning, middle, and end. More often than not, the entrepreneur’s story unfolds in a more intimate way — through a one-on-one conversation, where one person listens closely, absorbed by the surprising number of twists and turns that can happen, not just over the course of a year, but even in a single day.
Much like two friends gathering over a cup of coffee to exchange stories and reflect on their experiences, an entrepreneur’s journey is deeply personal. It is not merely a story to be listened to, but one meant to resonate with and inspire others, leaving a lasting impact on their hearts.
Listening to the story of Yaya Shakes, founded by Egyptian entrepreneur Yahia Zaky, feels like having a heart-to-heart with a friend. It is a reminder that entrepreneurial success does not always have to be about chasing big ideas. Sometimes, it is born from a simple passion—for food, bringing joy to others, and supporting your roots and homeland.
In a fast-paced digital world where trends are fleeting, there is more to learn from his story than just entrepreneurship. His journey teaches about the ever-evolving market. He has learned that connecting with customers is transcendsselling a product; it is also about creating moments of joy and meaningful experiences. It is about making people feel good.
With a single milkshake, Zaky aimed to do just that. Simple, yet powerful.
A Londoner with Egyptian Roots
From the very beginning, Zaky’s story reflected the experience of many immigrants — constantly learning, unlearning, and grappling with his sense of identity while being far from home.
It all begins at home.
Born in Saudi Arabia and raised in London, Zaky’s journey took shape far from Egypt. Still, his Egyptian roots were ever-present in the small, everyday moments—the family gatherings, the untranslatable uniqueness of Arabic expressions like “inshallah” and “yallah,” and the cherished summer trips to Egypt that held a magic unmatched anywhere else.
“My whole family lived in Egypt, so every summer, we’d return there for holidays,” Zaky recalls. “We’d speak Arabic at home, watch Egyptian TV shows, and immerse ourselves in Egyptian culture — even in London. It was something that always grounded me and kept me connected.”
Leaving was always the hardest part. As a child, the airport was where he would feel a strong pull to stay in Egypt, even though he could not fully explain why.
“I loved it so much, I didn’t want to leave,” he says. “I’d cry at the airport when it was time to go back.”
It is a feeling that resonates with many immigrants. Life unfolds in one place, with its own sights and sounds, but the heart is connected to another. For Zaky, like for so many others, home is not just one spot on the map: it is two places, even if they’re separated by miles.
Typically, belonging to a place involves a checklist: the environment, the job, the family, and so on. But for Zaky, his connection to Egypt was was an emotional pull, a feeling that made him promise himself he wouldd return one day, even without a concrete plan.
From Humble Beginnings to Success
If there is one thing that is undeniable about the entrepreneurial journey, it is that it is built on a foundation of trial and error, with constant adaptation to the market and a drive to spot the next opportunity for growth.
In other words, for many entrepreneurs, the pursuit of opportunity is second nature — they do not wait for opportunities to knock; they go out and find them.
Zaky’s knack for business kicked in early, one could also say that it was earlier than most of us. At just 11, he was already figuring out ways to make money and become more self-sufficient — sometimes by bending the rules.
“I told people I was 13 so I could get a newspaper delivery job,” he shares, laughing at the memory.
Whether it was dodging dogs while delivering papers or selling chocolates to classmates, Zaky’s drive to hustle was non-stop.
By the time he was 13, he had shifted his focus online. While playing Habbo Hotel, a virtual world online game, Zaky found he had a talent for trading virtual goods. Before long, he was writing and selling an ebook on how to succeed in the game, pulling in GBP100 (EGP 6,187.81) to GBP150 (EGP 9,397.04) a week — an impressive sum of cash for only a teenager whose friends were probably still getting pocket change. This early taste of entrepreneurship fueled a passion for business that would only grow stronger over time.
“What was it that drove me? Honestly, I think it was the thrill of the game,” Zaky reflects. “Maybe it was my parents splitting up, or maybe I just loved the buy-and-sell process. Being the oldest boy in the house made me feel like I had to step up.”
His entrepreneurial path was, without a doubt, full of twists and turns. It was never a smooth ride. He faced countless challenges along the way, but those tough times paved the path to his biggest success yet: Yaya Milkshakes. It is hard not to wonder, though: how did a simple love for milkshakes turn into a business?
At the heart of every successful business is the ability to tune into the needs and desires of the people, to feel the pulse of the times —and Zaky embodied this. He understood that the most valuable marketing tool is the authentic experience a customer has with a brand. While any company can create a dazzling marketing campaign, it is the genuine impact of a product or service that truly resonates with people and gets them talking.
For years, Zaky observed various restaurants, dissecting every detail from menu offerings to customer service. Yet, none of these experiences ignited his passion quite like the idea of creating something that brought joy to people’s lives. His goal, ultimately, was to create experiences that would leave people smiling.
While at university, he developed a habit of scanning dessert menus — particularly the milkshake section.
“I always thought, why are there only a handful of flavors? What if we could shake things up a bit?” he tells Egyptian Streets.
That one curious question, born from a keen eye for detail and a desire to improve the customer experience, planted the seed for what would eventually grow into Yaya Milkshakes.
When a prime shop location in London became available, Yahia saw a golden chance and did not hesitate — he dove straight in. With a mix of his savings and a small loan from his mother, he was fully committed.
“I remember telling my mom, ‘Even if this doesn’t work, I’ll pay you back. I’ll get a job if I have to,” he explains.
Like many Egyptian parents, the idea of pursuing entrepreneurship felt too risky, as education is typically seen as the safer path. Yet, over time, Zaky managed to balance both, eventually opening his own business.
If one were to compare what Yaya Shakes was in 2011 to what it has become over ten years later, it would feel like two entirely different worlds.
Yaya Shakes was born in the summer of 2011. Zaky, balancing his studies in international politics at King’s College London with the demands of running a fledgling business, was in constant overdrive. He would snatch sleep in the stockroom, surrounded by chocolates and ingredients, pulling all-nighters on assignments, only to serve milkshakes to customers the next day.
“It was exhausting, but I was living my dream. I knew this was it,” he explains.
Understanding, deep in our gut, that something is “the one” is not the same as achieving success — a lesson Zaky learned early on. For the first few years, Zaky confesses, he had no clear direction.
“All my friends were landing jobs, advancing in their careers, while I was barely making enough to keep the shop running,” he adds.
What is truly admirable about Zaky’s journey is that he never let failure or sluggish sales shake his resolve. Instead, he patiently waited, riding out the lows until the right moment arrived — when the cultural tide finally shifted in favor of his milkshakes. The demand was there, and he was ready to seize it.
The real turning point came during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. While the world was shutting down and businesses were struggling, Zaky saw an opportunity to double down on his mission: spreading happiness.
“Everyone was scared, locked in their homes, but I told my team, ‘We have a job to do. We’re here to spread happiness, and we’ll keep doing that,’” he explains.
And it worked. Word of mouth spread like wildfire. People drove for hours just to get a taste of Zaky’s milkshakes, and soon, the street outside his shop was lined with cars from all over the country.
“We didn’t do any advertising. People just loved what we were doing, and they told others,” he tells Egyptian Streets.
With this experience behind him, Zaky did not stop there. He knew deep down that his childhood dream was still alive—to return to his homeland, and Yaya Milkshakes felt like the perfect reason to make it happen. It was his chance to pursue the “Egyptian Dream” and recreate the success he had already built in London.
The Egyptian Dream
There is no shortage of articles about the American Dream, and how this narrative continues to attract people from all over the world to the United States. But for Zaky, his vision was different—he was drawn to his own version of the Egyptian Dream, one that stands apart from the typical stories of people seeking new lives abroad. In the Egyptian market, Zaky saw a gap for startups, and he seized the opportunity to fill it.
Entering the Egyptian market, however, requires two key understandings: grasping the cultural landscape and understanding the Egyptian consumer. The Egyptian consumer is unique, placing great importance on feeling a personal and experiential connection with a business — something Zaky came to realize over time.
In 2022, Zaky made the decision to return to Egypt, bringing Yaya Milkshakes along with him. For him, this move was about more than just growing his business — it was a chance to fulfill a long-held dream of giving back to his own country.
“I felt the same pull I had back in 2011, during the Arab Spring,” he says. “I wanted to be part of something bigger, to create something meaningful in Egypt.”
For Zaky, the logic was clear. With Egypt’s growing youth population and warm climate, his business concept — a milkshake shop that had thrived in the rainy streets of London — seemed perfectly suited to the Egyptian market.
“If I could sell milkshakes in cold, dreary London, why not in Egypt?” he reflects. “The population is young, the weather is perfect, and there’s a real hunger for new ideas.”
However, beyond the opportunity, there was a message that he also felt strongly about delivering to young Egyptians, many of whom believe they must leave the country to find success.
“I wanted to show people that Egypt is full of potential. You don’t need to leave. We have everything here to grow, and we, as Egyptians, are capable of so much,” Zaky says. “If we took pride in our culture, our history, and our heritage, we could build something incredible right here.”
In Egypt, there’s so much more to learn — cultural nuances, business practices, and navigating a system that does not always function in the most predictable way. Zaky quickly realized that Egyptian business required a different approach.
“You can’t just wait for things to happen here,” he explains, likening the experience to driving in Egypt.
“In London, driving is structured, everyone follows the rules. But here, it’s chaotic, and if you wait your turn, you’ll never move forward. You have to be assertive, and that’s exactly how business works,” he adds.
One of the key strategies that helped him to navigate was staying true to his product. When he first opened the milkshake shop, many doubted whether milkshakes alone could succeed.
“People would ask, ‘Milkshakes? That won’t work here.’ But I stuck to my vision because I believed in it,” he says. “We made our own ice cream, the milkshakes were thick, and customers loved that they could see the entire process.”
He also infused the business with an interactive and creative element, a quality highly valued by Egyptian consumers who still prioritize in-person shopping experiences.
“We offered customers the chance to customize their milkshakes with over 100 different sweets and chocolates. It transformed the product into an experience,” he explains. “People felt involved in the process, which kept them coming back for more.”
It is not just about selling a product—it is about creating an experience. That is the philosophy behind this growing business, and Zaky wanted to make sure that you can feel it the moment you walk in.
“We’re not just here to sell something; we’re trying to build a community,” he says.
The store itself is designed with that in mind, offering a relaxed, open environment where people can come together.
“We’ve got really nice seating, and it’s spread over three floors. On the top floor, it’s super chill — you can just sit and study, and you don’t even have to buy anything. We want to be a space where creativity is fostered, where we can empower young people.”
Among Zaky’s many creations, one milkshake stands out as his current favorite: the “We’ve Got Chemistry.”
It is a balanced blend of creamy vanilla with just a hint of Lotus biscuit. “You get the smoothness of the vanilla milkshake, but then the texture of the biscuit comes through,” Zaky explains. “It’s topped with caramel sauce and Lotus crumbs, giving it that perfect mix of creaminess and crunch.”
Powered by heart
Zaky’s success is fueled by more than just brains — it is also powered by heart. With every hiring decision, he is committed to making a real difference in the lives of young people, opening doors for them to gain valuable experience and build their careers.
All of his employees are young, and for most, it is their first job.
“I actually received a lot of criticism for hiring them,” he admits. “People said I should have hired those who were more experienced or spoke English better. But I tell them that I hire people who want to change their lives, people who are willing to learn. Yes, we make mistakes sometimes, but we should be patient. It’s about giving people a chance to grow.”
Over the years, Zaky has realized that his success is not solely defined by individual accomplishments. Rather, it is about the impact he’s made on people, both professionally and personally.
“So many kids come in and tell me they want to start their own businesses because they look up to what we’re doing,” he shares.
“After appearing on Shark Tank, I had people telling me that I spoke more Arabic than any of the other entrepreneurs on the show and how that impacted them — and that meant a lot.”
Zaky is set to expand his Egyptian Dream by opening new Yaya Milkshakes stores in Sheikh Zayed and New Cairo, continuing to serve as a hub of innovation and creativity for young people.
At the end of hearing his story, there is a moment when you pause and reflect on this question: what kind of impact can I really have on the people around me? And how can I give back to the community? The answer does not always need to be grand or world-changing—sometimes, it is as simple as a milkshake.
