
CSU Coffee With a Closer featured entrepreneur Hany ElHibir from the class of 98’
Hany ElHibir is the co-founder of 42connect, a digital marketing agency located in Downtown Cleveland, just down the street from his alma mater Cleveland State University. He is also the business development lead at the company, using his networking skills to find new clients with his team.
He was the guest on Feb. 10 at the most recent Coffee With a Closer, a series in which CSU's Monte Ahuja College of Business brings together entrepreneurs and business people with Cleveland State students.
ElHibir told his audience how he came from overseas to Cleveland to attend CSU. His father is from Sudan and his mother is from Croatia.
“Since I came to Cleveland in 94’ I have been here ever since and I have no regrets about it,” ElHibir said.
After graduating he worked at multiple marketing agencies, one of which led him to find his business partner and co-founder of 42connect, Brian Ferritto.
“I ended up meeting my business partner Brian Ferritto almost 20 years ago,” said ElHibir. “He and I had that same vision to start our own company.”
They started their business about 18 years ago in an office in Beachwood, Ohio as a fully self-funded web-development agency.
“As the years started going we realised how important marketing was, especially on the digital marketing end, so we added those services about eight years ago,” ElHibir said.
Their office is now in downtown Cleveland, in the Oswald Building where they have been for eight years.
When asked about his biggest sales, he gave some insight on what makes a sale a win in his eyes.
“It’s the one you work on for a while that has been sitting in your pipeline and has just been taking forever,” ElHibir said. “Those are my favourite because I don’t give up on them, neither does my sales team.”
He also talked about how to look at the ones that got away and what that means for his company.
“For every one that we lose or comes away from us, I think we learn from. So I think it is helpful,” ElHibir said.
When the floor was open to questions from students and attendees he gave some insight on how to be an entrepreneur and the mindset you need to have when starting a business.
“Starting a business is going to take a while, you’re gonna get a lot of 'no’s' before you get a 'yes,' you just have to keep pushing and believing in yourself,” ElHibir said.