(7/12) “Rahim and I finished our college degrees, but things...

(7/12) “Rahim and I finished our college degrees, but things didn’t get any easier. We were still driving cabs and working in restaurants. We were filling out hundreds of applications, writing personal letters, showing up at companies. But we couldn’t even get an interview. It felt like we’d done everything right. But nothing was happening. Then in 2012 our father passed away. He’d been battling cancer for years, but the end came very suddenly. I could only afford one plane ticket, so I flew Rahim to his bedside. It was the first time they’d seen each other in ten years. They had 24 hours together. We’d been dreaming of helping our father for our entire lives, but now he was gone too. Rahim and I knew we couldn’t afford to wait anymore. We had to create our own opportunities. One morning we sat down at a coffee shop, and began making a list of business ideas. Most of our first ideas involved technology. But the barriers were too high. We had to think of something simpler. I think it was Rahim who first thought of the ginger drink. This drink had been a huge part of our childhood back in Guinea. It was served at every holiday, and it was always the first thing to go. Every family has its own recipe, with different ingredients—but there’s always ginger. In our language it’s called ‘Niamakou Leiidi,’ which means ‘pepper of the earth.’ It’s the first thing you taste, and the last thing you taste. Rahim and I agreed that it was the thing we missed most about home. We’d searched everywhere in New York, but it wasn’t on any shelves. So we thought: ‘This is it. This is our entry point.’ Our mother was shocked when we called to ask for her recipe. She said: ‘You finally finished your education. And you’re making Ginger drinks?’ But we told her: ‘No, Mom. It’s not like that. We’re going to make a lot of it. We’re going to sell millions of bottles.’ We spent all our free time making juice. We official launched at a festival in Harlem. We rented a booth, and after five hours we’d completely sold out. Everyone loved it. We thought: ‘This is it.’ We named our company Ginjan. And we were convinced that in five years we’d have the most recognizable African brand in the US.”