IT’S ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE
Meeting Cozmo’s CEO and Co Founder Jamal Dashti By bazaar staff
Jamal Dashti saunters into the room exuding a good-natured confidence, making you feel comfortable while talking to him. With a firm handshake and a healthy, friendly smile, he jovially expresses how this is one of COZMO’s busiest times of the year, and how exhilarating the winter months always are in the COZMO universe. With back-to-back holidays for both private and public schools, Kuwait’s premium entertainment outlet is abuzz with energy, bringing happy faces to families and youths enjoying their time with the facilities that the nine existing planets offer. In addition to the 2018 opening of Cozmo’s tenth planet, and the suspenseful planning of an event that will surely blow the people of Kuwait away. “It’s set to take place for 38 days, starting February 1st.” Jamal says, with a twinkle in his eye expressing that we’re about to witness something like never before, courtesy of Cozmo. “You’re right about that!” he laughs, with an essence that suggests the child within is extremely tempted to spill the beans about his surprise. It truly does take a child within to do what Jamal does, as being the co-founder and CEO of Kuwait’s most well-known entertainment venue takes a lot of work. “But honestly,” he says, “I feel that we’re in the experience business – not the entertainment business.” Experience business indeed, with all of Cozmo’s impressive offerings making for a pleasurable experience for all – not just the kids. But with fifteen years and ten locations has to come an amazing story! Jamal Dashti graciously shares the journey that found him behind the amazing Universe that is Cozmo. What inspired the initial inception of the Cozmo universe before the opening of its first location? In the 90s when I was working at the bank, all the banks of Kuwait formed respective bowling leagues and we would compete against each other. It was a lot of fun and there was a lot of interest, but bowling facilities were limited back then, and the tournaments would drag on from 7am to 3am in the morning. Because I enjoyed bowling so much, I knew that there was a need in the market to speed things up – because that would only heighten the fun in bowling. My friend, founder Zeyad Al Sanousi, was already in the entertainment industry, I had the financial knowhow, so we teamed up and put a plan into action. Then in 2003, we opened our flagship location in Salmiya. 40
Did you expect Cozmo to expand into as many locations as it has today? There are so many factors that contribute to the company’s evolution since the initial opening of our first location. The management’s evolution reflects on the quality control and consistent updating we have in our facilities. Before franchising within Kuwait, there was a lot of work to be done prior to decided when, where and how to expand. You have to have the proper infrastructure before expansion, and we weren’t aggressive in it. We had a lot of dynamic ideas in those years. We had to take geopolitical and other attributes in the topic of expansion, so we really took our time weighing out the options. How do you feel that Cozmo has done its part to benefit the lifestyles of Kuwait’s youth? Since our opening, we’ve become Kuwait’s sole outlet for bowling, to the point where we’re major distributers in bowling gear for leagues, and all other bowling lanes have to go through us for lane repairs and technology. We are the first ones who made it in this market, and we’re also the most reputable one left standing. This gave us the good reputation and trust from schools to
be able to affiliate our name and sport into their curriculums and extra curricular activities. When teachers include bowling as part of their lesson plan for PE class, they use our equipment. We are also a hot-spot for field trips. Most importantly, we give the youth a fun and safe experience to enjoy during their time of leisure. Cozmo is as secure as it is fun, and offers something for everybody, so parents can always feel comfortable knowing that their kids are in good hands while they’re at any one of our planets. But one of the greatest things we have done for the youth is provide them with a bowling camp! I’ve witnessed young bowlers from our camp turn into the fine, accomplished champion bowlers they are today as men and women. In your opinion, why is Cozmo fun for the whole family? What we offer in Cozmo goes beyond providing a space for entertainment. Cozmo in and of itself is an experience, but to be able to extend that to different age groups means that providing that experience is our focal point in the grand scope rather than merely creating a place to have fun. The beauty of Cozmo is that with each visit, both