In 2014 I had no office, no team, and no written business plan. I had a computer, a set of skills I had taught myself, and a conviction that good design can change the way people see their own businesses.
The beginning
Rozza started as a small graphic design studio. The first projects were modest: a logo here, a business card there, a company profile for a start-up. But every project taught me something I did not know, not only about design, but about how to listen to a business owner and understand what they really need rather than what they ask for.
The butterfly effect is a simple idea: a small movement in one place can cause a big change somewhere else. Every small decision I made in those early years, learning a new tool, accepting a difficult project, training someone for free, later turned into something far bigger than I imagined.
The first lessons
- Quality builds a reputation faster than any advertising.
- Professional relationships are built on meeting deadlines before they are built on talent.
- Investing in teaching others comes back to you in ways you cannot calculate in advance.
From one person to a team
Moving from working alone to leading a team was the hardest transition I have been through. When you work alone, you are responsible only for yourself. When you have a team, you become responsible for other people’s futures.
The challenges
Working in Gaza means dealing with power cuts, weak internet, closed crossings, and conditions you cannot plan for. We learned to build resilient ways of working: files saved in more than one place, schedules with a safety margin, and clear communication with clients about what is possible and what is not.
But the biggest challenge was not technical. It was convincing young women that they have a place in this field, and that creative skill is a real profession that earns an income and deserves investment.
Palestine Butterflies
Out of that conviction, the Palestine Butterflies platform was born: a space to support Palestinian designers and connect their work with a wider audience. It was less a commercial project than an attempt to build an environment that did not yet exist.
Entrepreneurship in a difficult place is not only about profit. It is about creating possibilities that did not exist before.
The journey continues, and every new project still teaches us something.