Behind every startup success lies a story of grit, but for Georges Bandar, founder and CEO of Salata, it began with something far more personal — his wife’s Cartier watch. In a heartfelt LinkedIn post, Bandar revealed that just days before launching the salad-focused restaurant in Beirut in 2018, he and his wife, Yara Abi Jaoude, discovered a critical oversight: they had not budgeted for the food itself.
With no cash, no investors, and no safety net, the couple faced a potential collapse before their dream even began. Bandar admitted, “I had nothing to sell. Yara had one thing: her Cartier watch. She sold it for $2,500. That money bought us the first week of supplies. That watch built Salata. Without it, nothing would’ve started.”
The Watch That Was More Than Jewelry
Years later, Bandar bought his wife the same Cartier watch again. But for him, the gesture held a different meaning. “The first one wasn’t jewelry. It was sacrifice. It was survival. Success isn’t about what you own. It’s about what you’re willing to give up,” he reflected.
Yara, responding to the viral post, stood by their choice: “That was the best decision ever… look where we are.”
Salata has since evolved far beyond its modest beginnings. In a Forbes Middle East interview, Bandar described Salata not just as a restaurant but as a “lifestyle movement” around healthy eating. The brand, initially launched in Beirut, quickly gained traction for its salad-centric concept, fresh seasonal produce, and emphasis on superfoods.
Lessons From the Early Struggles
Bandar credits Salata’s resilience to his background in finance and the lessons learned from launching with little capital. Speaking to Forbes, he explained how early challenges shaped their approach: “Financing the business with low capital from personal savings was the very first challenge we faced. We had to be efficient and do everything ourselves. As we grew, we started hiring the best talent we could afford.”
He also emphasized mindset as a critical factor in overcoming setbacks. Failure, he said, was not an end but “a natural step towards growth.”
For Bandar, the story of the Cartier watch is a reminder that entrepreneurship is not always about capital or strategy, but about the willingness to risk something deeply personal.
And as the founder himself posed in his post: “What would you sacrifice to build your dream?”
With no cash, no investors, and no safety net, the couple faced a potential collapse before their dream even began. Bandar admitted, “I had nothing to sell. Yara had one thing: her Cartier watch. She sold it for $2,500. That money bought us the first week of supplies. That watch built Salata. Without it, nothing would’ve started.”
The Watch That Was More Than Jewelry
Years later, Bandar bought his wife the same Cartier watch again. But for him, the gesture held a different meaning. “The first one wasn’t jewelry. It was sacrifice. It was survival. Success isn’t about what you own. It’s about what you’re willing to give up,” he reflected.
Yara, responding to the viral post, stood by their choice: “That was the best decision ever… look where we are.”
Salata has since evolved far beyond its modest beginnings. In a Forbes Middle East interview, Bandar described Salata not just as a restaurant but as a “lifestyle movement” around healthy eating. The brand, initially launched in Beirut, quickly gained traction for its salad-centric concept, fresh seasonal produce, and emphasis on superfoods.
Lessons From the Early Struggles
Bandar credits Salata’s resilience to his background in finance and the lessons learned from launching with little capital. Speaking to Forbes, he explained how early challenges shaped their approach: “Financing the business with low capital from personal savings was the very first challenge we faced. We had to be efficient and do everything ourselves. As we grew, we started hiring the best talent we could afford.”
He also emphasized mindset as a critical factor in overcoming setbacks. Failure, he said, was not an end but “a natural step towards growth.”
For Bandar, the story of the Cartier watch is a reminder that entrepreneurship is not always about capital or strategy, but about the willingness to risk something deeply personal.
And as the founder himself posed in his post: “What would you sacrifice to build your dream?”
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