How Was Egypt?
How was Egypt?
I’ve been asked a version of this question dozens of times since I got home a little over a week ago, and every single time, I feel myself scrambling to find the right words to encapsulate the magnitude of this experience and all the big feelings that come with it.
The easy answer is that Egypt was more than I could have imagined or hoped for.
But let’s be real, if you’re asking because you really care, which most people are, that answer doesn’t really cut it. So, I’m going to attempt to answer that question in the following few paragraphs, knowing full well I could take any of the following three areas a lot deeper.
Let’s Start At The Beginning
As you likely know, the Built to Last Egypt retreat was four years in the making. But even before that, spending my early adolescent years (ages 10-14) and part of my college experience in Egypt fundamentally shaped me and infused in me a deep love for all things Egypt.
So, in 2022, when I woke up from a dream with the phrase Egyptian Women Entrepreneur Initiative on my mind, I truly wasn’t sure what it meant or what it would ultimately become, but I knew it was important. The last four years have been a time of deep exploration, relationship building, and learning that big ideas like this always take time and patience to come together.
When I opened the doors to the retreat in November 2025, I had a lot of hopes for what it would be. I was meticulous in my preparations, proactively trying to think through every detail imaginable, so that the women who were going all in with me would have the most epic experience possible. But never in all my planning did I account for the joy I would feel getting to see the awe and wonder of Egypt through the eyes of each and every one of them.
It’s hard to put into words happiness and fulfillment I felt watching their eyes shine bright and glisten with tears as they saw the pyramids for the very first time. Many of them were literally living out childhood dreams in real time, right in front of me. To say that was a privilege is a total understatement. It is truly one of the greatest honors of my life to have created the space and the opportunity for each of these women to visit Egypt on her own terms, and to experience the beauty and mystery of this country, its history, and more importantly, its people.
As I tried to put my thoughts together, the experience kept falling into a few buckets.
Tourism - The chance to stand inside the ancient spaces and take in the rich and beautiful culture of this great country.
Egyptian Women - This is about all of them, but particularly those running businesses.
Perspective - What creating time and space in a completely different place does for you and your business, especially when you do it in community with other established female founders.
TOURISM & CULTURE
Let me start with tourism because for most people, the draw to Egypt begins here. For four-plus years, as I have talked about Egypt, people have told me the same things.
Egypt has been on my bucket list since I was a child.
I have always been fascinated by ancient Egypt.
I have a deep love affair with Cleopatra, the goddess Isis, or <insert your favorite ancient Egyptian figure>.
I feel like I’ve been to Egypt before, but I know I never have.
Everyone comes to Egypt with some level of curiosity, and that curiosity is what makes standing in front of something three or four thousand years old so magical. To see the pyramids, to stand inside the majestic Karnak temple, or walk on the cobblestone paths at the Temple of Isis at Philae or the Temple of Hathor at Dendera, is nothing short of awe inspiring. Every one of these places has a unique piece of the story to tell, and witnessing each woman take it all in, for me personally, was truly a highlight.
On the culture side, a big part of what I hoped to create with this retreat was rooted in helping Western people see Egyptian people more clearly. I’m a big believer that when you stand face to face with someone, look them in the eye, and talk with them, you cannot help but build real bonds. You cannot help but recognize that at our core, we are all fundamentally the same. That’s how we break down barriers and challenge stereotypes, and I saw it happen in spades on this trip.
Over and over, we heard about Christians and Muslims coexisting, living their lives side by side. It’s not without its challenges, like any place, but at the core these two communities are integrated, living and working together with mutual respect. When you look at that through the lens we so often have here in the US, where religious differences get treated as contentious and are so often uninformed by truth, you start to imagine what could be possible. What would it look like if we chose to see people first in their humanity, before defining them by their religion, their country, their ethnicity, or their race?
I also wanted the women on the retreat to get a real taste of Egyptian life, the food, and what life looks like in the big city, as well as in the villages along the Nile. And we did. We felt the frenetic pace of Cairo and the slowness and simplicity of life along the Nile. It wasn’t always pretty or relaxing, but it was real; that’s the part that really matters. I say that not from a place of exploitation, but from a belief that when you see how people live, you gain a deeper appreciation for the challenges, the opportunities, and the creativity they are working with every single day.
EGYPTIAN WOMEN
Closely connected to that was ensuring we created space for the retreat ladies to sit down and have real conversations with Egyptian women entrepreneurs. There are so many stereotypes and assumptions about what life is like for women in this part of the world. And what we saw, time and time again, is that if you are a woman running a business, it does not matter what culture you come from, what your religion is, or what country you live in. At the core, our challenges are the same. They might present a little differently, but they’re all rooted in the same needs: funding, access to new and existing markets, the need for community, and the daily work of navigating systems that were never set up for our success.
We sat in deep conversation with both professional service-based founders and women working in cultural preservation and artisanal handicrafts and heard the same stories, issues, challenges, and dreams that we have. It was powerful.
And these conversations weren’t one-sided; we gave the Egyptian women something, too. They also saw that our problems are the same, and that none of us has it all together. We talked about how we’re all figuring out how to use AI responsibly, how to be clear in our positioning and our marketing, how to be visible in a way that feels authentic and aligned, and how to grow sustainably while managing our homes and pouring into our families. These are the same conversations everywhere, and there is real power in bringing people with completely different lived experiences together to have them.
I wanted this trip to be about more than tourism and more than rest. I wanted it to build a cultural bridge that, honestly, has not really existed in a post-9/11 world. Looking at the feedback from the women, on both sides, that was a massive win.
It also showed, in real terms, what the data (McKinsey, Project Hope, and Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative) has told us for a long time. When women are equipped and empowered with the tools, the support, and the resources they need to run their businesses well, they do not just pour into themselves. They pour into their families and their communities, and that ripple effect has a powerful possibility for creating real change in the world.
BUSINESS & LEGACY
Every woman who came to Built to Last was focused on some aspect of her business, or a passion project she had been trying to bring to life. The goal for me was to create the spaciousness they would each need to think about what was possible and what they were being called into, while also leaning into the rich perspectives and insights of our little group. Some of that happened in real time, masterminding on the boat, some happened in quiet reflection, and a lot of it will keep happening now that we are home as we continue to meet as a group and dig into what we’re taking from this experience, what it means for our businesses, and the actions we’re planning to take.
Every single woman is walking away with a new perspective, new action items, and new plans, all in the name of her impact and the legacy she is trying to create with her business.
So, how was Egypt?
In a nutshell, it was pretty freaking fantastic.
As for the rest? I’ll be unpacking it for weeks and months to come, especially as we prepare for the next retreat in 2027. I’m deep in the process of refining what I have built, so I can help every woman that participates in Built to Last Egypt go deeper, find more spaciousness, and be more intentional as she explores what’s next for her work.
If Egypt has been sitting on your own list, or something I’ve mentioned here is tugging at you, the waitlist for 2027 is open. Click here to join! The doors will be open soon, and those on the waitlist will be the first to claim the limited spaces available.
Next week, I’m going to unpack several of the experiences we had along the way, and I’m excited to bring you on the journey with me.
