We Buy for the Client, Not Sell to Them
A conversation with Mr. Islam Qurish, Executive Director of Misr Aqaria, on leadership, numbers, and the culture that makes a company last
In Egypt’s real estate world, some companies grow fast and disappear just as fast. Others take their time — but once they’ve grown, they stay standing for years. Misr Aqaria, the company that started with a small team in New Cairo’s Tagamoa back in 2014, belongs to the second kind. In an open conversation with Proplix, Islam Qurish, the company’s Executive Director, talked us through that journey — from a small office working with a single developer, to a full company serving all of them, and the leadership philosophy that built the company one stage at a time.
From a Single Developer to a Full Company
“In terms of company philosophy, we started with a small team back in 2014, roughly,” the Executive Director recalls, looking back on the company’s earliest days. “Back then our company size and workload were smaller than now, of course. First, we were working for one developer in Tagamoa.”
The turning point came when they decided to widen their scope: “After that, we started becoming a full company — working with all the developers out there under the same concept.” As the business grew, they opened a second branch in Tagamoa and entered a partnership with Red Alliance — a natural next step for a company that scaled up without losing its original identity.
That arc — from single-developer office to full company, to broader partnerships — isn’t an unusual story in Egypt’s real estate market. Most of today’s established firms followed a similar path: specialize first, in one developer or one area, then expand gradually as the company’s scale and market trust grow.
The Hard Balance Between Numbers and Culture
Anyone in sales knows this question well: how do you protect your numbers without burning out your team? The Executive Director’s answer came from experience, not from a management textbook:
“We always set targets for people, and we always try to have recognition, and always try to have incentives for people, so that everyone on the team stays passionate about hitting these numbers, so they stay motivated.”
The system is built around quarterly recognition, but the goal isn’t just competition for its own sake: “Whoever gets recognized every quarter — we try to create a kind of healthy competitive drive among employees, so the person always wants to hit their numbers because they want to grow themselves, not just because of pressure.” In other words, for him, the numbers are the natural result of a healthy culture — not the other way around.
The Value He Won’t Compromise On
When we asked about the single most important value the company insists on, even if it costs a deal entirely, he answered without hesitation:
“That they’re honest, even if that might cost us a deal. And of course, the most important thing is that people work with integrity. We always try to make sure we’re buying for the client, not selling to them.”
That line — “we buy for the client; we don’t sell to them” — isn’t just a slogan on a wall. It genuinely reshapes how a broker operates: instead of focusing on “how do I close this,” the focus shifts to “what genuinely fits this person,” even if that means a smaller deal, or losing it altogether. The result, he says, is client relationships as old as the company itself: “Like I told you, we’ve been in the market since 2014. There are clients still with us to this day — some of them come straight back to us, and some are simply living in what we sold them.”
When Success in Numbers Becomes a Problem
Not every success story is simple. We asked him: how do you handle a team leader who’s successful in the numbers, but whose behaviour is hurting the rest of the company? His answer was more grounded than idealistic:
“We try to strike a balance, as much as we can — balancing between their attitude and their commitment, and gradually, your role is to help them understand the company’s system and the rules that let us keep operating without problems. But to get that 100% right takes time, of course.”
There’s no magic fix in leadership, and that’s exactly what this answer shows: management is an ongoing process of understanding and coaching, not a single snap decision.
The Hardest Decision in a Leadership Career
That brought us to the hardest question of the conversation: what’s the toughest decision he’s had to make about someone close to him at the company? He answered with rare Candor:
“Nothing specific comes to mind right now, honestly. But we generally know that in our line of work, in our field, turnover is very high. So, you spend a lot of time trying, as much as you can, to keep your people — staying aware of the market and of everyone competing with you in it.”
But no matter how hard you try, there comes a moment when the hard call has to be made: “There comes a time, of course, when you’re forced to let someone go regardless, if their attitude just isn’t willing to change, and that starts negatively affecting the team. But that’s something that can make you let go of anyone, even if your relationship with them is good.” High turnover isn’t unique to Misr Aqaria — it’s a known challenge across the real estate sector, which is exactly why retaining talent is a core part of any leader’s job in this field.
Success Isn’t a Moment, It’s Continuity
The final question of the conversation was about measuring success beyond the sales number, and here’s what he said:
“Sales are a huge part of how you measure your company’s success, of course. But the idea that you’re on top of the market, and that you’re able to motivate the team, and that your people stay with you for a long time because you’re genuinely giving them the tools to keep going — giving them the information, giving them the right training — that keeps them always ahead of the market. That’s a big part of success too: the idea of consistency and continuing to achieve.”
It’s a fitting summary of Misr Aqaria’s philosophy: success isn’t one big deal or a number at the end of the month — it’s a trained team that sticks around, clients who come back, and a market you understand better than your competitors do, year after year.
