Check out our interview with entrepreneur twins Samir and Samer Akel aka “The Habibi Twins” who can be seen on Amazon Prime’s latest reality TV competition series, ‘Twin Love’, hosted by Bre and Nikki Bella.
Twin Love is a social dating experiment that explores the love lives of identical twins. Ten sets of twins will be split up and placed into two houses of “identical” casts, where they’ll begin a unique and compelling search for love. With double the fun and drama, the series will discover if their inherent similarities extend to their romantic desires. When separated from their twin brothers and sisters—some for the first time ever—will they pursue the same identical partners? Or will their choices be dramatically different?
Born and raised in Syria, the twins oversaw several enterprises such as restaurants, clubs, and rental properties, but due to the war, they relocated to Los Angeles, California, where they now own a total of 5 restaurants, 3 of which are well-known, Crave Cafe.
Follow Samir and Samer @thehabibitwins
Hi Samir and Samer, describe yourself in four words.
Sweet hearts, hard working, humble, loyal.
Who has made the biggest impact on your life so far, and why?
Our dad. He started from nothing—no money and no education. He is the most successful businessman.
How and when did you guys get into the entrepreneurial world?
We’ve been in the industry since we were 15 or 16 years old. Growing up, we would look up to our dad, who was in the industry, and we learned a lot from him.
What is fun and rewarding about being your own boss? And what is not?
We can call out sick whenever. lol jk
It’s a blessing to be your own boss, but at the same time, it’s so hard because the business and the staff are all your responsibility. But when one is just an employee, all you have to do is worry about your own work. But when you are the boss, you are worried about your business and staff 24 hours a day.
Can you name what projects or businesses you guys have or have been part of?
Many restaurants and businesses are back home in Syria, such as Al Bal restaurant and Blue Stone restaurant. Here in the States, we own and run Crave Cafe and our own clothing brand Diffrnt being.
What did you learn from your biggest failure?
Never give up and nothing is impossible.
What’s your advice for young entrepreneurs?
Go to college and get a degree. Then do what you love and admire and be good at and never give up because it’s not easy but not impossible as well.
What mindset helped make you so successful?
Keep going and believe in yourself.
Tell us about the success of Amazon Prime’s latest reality TV competition series, “Twin Love?”
It’s one of the most intelligent and unique ideas. Nothing like Twin Love exists. To tell and show people how twins live their life is amazing.
What is the show about, and what can people expect from it?
The show is about finding your love and seeing how far away you are from your other half and how alike you are.
How was the vibe during the reality show, and how was working with super popular twins Bre and Nikki Bella?
It was good, but stressful at the same time. Remember, we are all just normal people with normal lives. We are not used to being filmed 24/7. Bre and Nikki are amazing, super nice, and overall so good to us.
Which project is still on your bucket list?
That we continue to grow our clothing brand, Diffrnt.
What’s next for Samir and Samer Akel in 2024?
Hopefully, more opportunities – especially in films, tv, modeling, acting, etc. Also, more successful businesses, maybe restaurants, and other things.
Where can we follow you?
You can follow us on all our socials:
Samir: Instagram / TikTok / Facebook / Twitter / Snapchat
