Ongrocery is rapidly becoming a household name in Ontario with their unique offering of delivering groceries for under a dollar. The startup – led by tech CEO Sultan Moni – grew to over 15 cities within a short span of 6 months. Today, we sat down with Malik Attah, the COO and cofounder of ongrocery. Despite his graduation from the University of Ottawa falling smack in the middle of the panic created by COVID-19, he didn’t let that stop him from achieving goals he had set himself.
“Graduation was everything I had imagined after spending four years in university; my degree was shipped to me in the mail and apparently there was an event held over a Zoom call,” says Attah.
Originally from Nigeria, he moved to Canada to pursue higher education. Living in Canada exposed him to a diverse mix of people, culture, and stories from all walks of life. Attah credits the opportunity to study and live among a diverse group of friends as having prepared him for the role of COO. “I had begun to connect with strangers on a level that I never had before. Being able to relate to their experiences, food, culture etc gave me a sense of kinship not just with the individual but with humanity as a whole,” he says.
Attah joined ongrocery at an early stage as a cofounder; the team has gone through several business models and failed projects until they landed on ongrocery. “Working with a team that can find humour in our shortcomings and keep going every single time is truly inspiring. Every single person at ongrocery – from my fellow co founders to our employees – constantly motivate me to do better,” Says Attah.
“Malik keeps the company together. Without him, there would be chaos. He brings a unique set of skills to the table and is very compassionate about people ” states Sultan Moni, CEO of ongrocery.
Attah is currently working on expanding ongrocery to include more cities and a diverse range of international products. “Our goal is to offer easy, quick, and a large variety of grocery products to everyone all across the country, without breaking the bank in the process. We want shopping with us to feel just like shopping in a store, if not better,” Attah muses.
Attah’s advice for other COVID-19 graduates is to be relentless and to never stop. “There have been times in the past where I’ve let the fear of failing stop me from even attempting something. I understand now that failure is one of the best teachers in the world, if you let it teach you and not stop you. So be relentless in pursuing what you want and when you run into a roadblock or have to start from scratch for the 80th time, don’t give up. Learn, adapt, and charge again. You only truly fail when you accept it and don’t continue,” as he shares his philosophy on success
ongrocery is available on the Android Playstore and iOS App Store. To learn more about ongrocery, visit www.ongrocery.com