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“Like smoking, only better!” Umer and Taz Sheikh, founders and entrepreneurs, Gamucci

TJI: What did you do before joining the e-cigarette industry? Umer and Taz Sheikh: We founded and ran two successful businesses – Revol-ution and R2 International – which are focused on IT recruitment and IT con-sultancy respectively. R2 International is still running and headed up by an ex-perienced management team thus allowing us to focus on Gamucci in view of its outstanding growth trajectory and prospects.

How and when did you become in-volved in the e-cigarette industry? We became aware of the first gener-ation of e-cigarettes in 2006 and could immediately see their potential to revol-utionise the tobacco industry. As ex-perienced entrepreneurs, we knew that it was an opportunity that had to be taken. We therefore travelled to China and worked with an engineering team to de-sign, develop and patent our own tech-nology.

What has most notably changed in the e-cigarette industry since you joined it? The market for e-cigarettes didn’t exist before we launched Gamucci and the sector now has global sales in excess of USD 2bn.Our development of IP for Elec-tronic Cigarettes utilising directly inte-grated vaporisation technology, for which we have the UK patent and US pa-tent pending, was significant in improv-ing upon existing technology and now widely adopted by the industry as the benchmark. . Many governments, includ-ing the UK Government, are now look-ing to regulate the industry. Generally speaking, we welcome this because it will provide consumers with the assur-ance of high quality products and should raise the standards for market entry.

What do you believe are some of the most interesting and exciting trends in the tobacco/e-cigarette industry today? We are really excited about the chang-ing social perceptions towards e-ciga-rettes. A couple of years ago this was a

niche market and e-cigarette users were often thrown out of public places such as bars because of a general lack of knowledge about the product. E-ciga-rettes are now becoming much more widely accepted and recommended around the world, which is a huge driver of growth.

What should the tobacco/e-cigarette in-dustry be most concerned about in your estimation? Control over quality and consistency. We understood at an early stage that this would be important as the industry be-came established and we took the view that we would invest in our own R&D and factory so we could control our supply chain throughout. Surprisingly, we are the only operator in the UK mar-ket that does not outsource its manufac-turing.

How do you think the tobacco/e-ciga-rette industry differs from others? The tobacco industry has a long and

Taz Sheikh Umer Sheikh

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complex history and has come under close scrutiny by the health lobbies and politicians. It is an industry that has to manage its business in the public eye and is subject to stringent and widespre-ad regulations everywhere it operates. It is important that our own products are understood and appreciated not only by regulators, politicians, custom-ers and consumers, but also by the gen-eral public who don’t use e-cigarettes.

Which aspects of the e-cigarette indus-try do you feel strongly about? We feel very strongly that our products and our consumers need to be better understood by politicians, so that any regulation they introduce is appropriate and well balanced, and recognises the tremendous potential benefits to health that e-cigarettes may offer. Ours are not tobacco products with all the associated risks to health: they are lifestyle pro-ducts that allow adults to enjoy the beneficial effects of nicotine without the harmful aspects of combustible to-bacco.

Where do you see your company in 10 years? The potential for our industry is huge and we are extremely well-placed as we

already have in place most of the funda-mental mechanisms that will bring suc-cess – intellectual property, R&D, manufacturing, global distribution and tobacco industry expertise through a number of additions to our senior man-agement team. It is not fanciful to sug-gest that we could be a USD 1bn+ reve-nue business within 10 years.

What aspects of this industry give you the greatest pleasures? It’s incredibly exciting to be pioneers in an emerging market; one that some people are saying could be worth around USD 3bn this year compared to USD 2bn in 2012. The stockbrokers Canaccord Genuity, have stated that e-cigarettes are “the most significant development in the his-tory of the organised tobacco industry”.

What do you enjoy most about your job? The constant challenge of staying ahead of the game by, for instance, patenting our cartomiser technology in the UK. Also the sense of the unknown because we really are pioneering a whole new consumer goods marketplace.

Which achievement in your career are you particularly proud of? Being pioneers of the fast growing elec-tronic cigarette industry; securing our patent in the UK; setting up our own manufacturing plant from scratch which now employs over 400 workers.

Does your work leave time for hobbies or passions? We’re both passionate about good food and cooking. We’re lucky in that we get to sample many different cuisines on our travels, although, according to Umer, he still makes the best green curry ever! Taz is also an avid Chelsea supporter.

Have you had a role model or mentor that you can tell us about? Umer: Steve Jobs was a great influence when I was growing up or reinventing Apple and identifying new niches that have now become part of the consumer landscape by marrying design with

functionality and ultimately creating some of the best consumer products available. Taz: Muhammad Ali. He was an inspir-ation to many having mastered both his mind and body to become one of the best, if the not the best, boxer in history. He broke the mould and challenged convention as well as coming up with some the greatest one liners of all time.

You have visitors coming to London for the first time: what are the most import-ant experiences or places they need to visit to appreciate/enjoy your home city? London is one of the most historical cities in the world offering any visitor a huge range of experiences and place to enjoy. There are the museums, Bucking-ham Palace, the many parks, The Lon-don Eye, but no visit would be complete without a visit to the sacred Stamford Bridge, home of the Blues (Chelsea FC).

Please finish the sentence: If I was not doing the job I am doing today, I would be… We would both be building another fast growing business which is ahead of the curve. Business is our passion and we like to be involved in technology that is both innovative and that has mass ap-peal.

Interview: William McEwen

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Five short facts about Gamucci

� The first electronic cigarette brand to

enter the European market

� The only electronic cigarette manu-

facturer to own a UK patent for its carto-

miser technology

� The only electronic cigarette company

to manufacture its own products within

its wholly owned facility in Shenzen,

China

� Set to double turnover and staff this

year to over GBP 10m and 450

� Operates in 20 markets worldwide

Five short facts about Taz and Umer

� Grew up in Surrey, the sons of parents

who ran a retail clothing business six

days a week.

� Umer studied Maths and Economics at

University of Sussex, Taz Information

Systems and Business Management at

University of Essex.

� They have two other successful busi-

nesses in IT recruitment and IT consult-

ancy

� Taz is a self-proclaimed gym addict

� Prior to founding Gamucci, Umer had

a 20 a day cigarette smoking habit. He

only smokes electronic cigarettes now.