Episode 5: Wild Fruit and the Super App Dream with Arbër Kadia, Co-founder of Patoko

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What do selling wild fruit in Albania and building a global tech company have in common?

In this episode of Founders Fridge, host Heidi Knoblauch sits down with Arbër Kadia, Co-founder of Patoko, to talk about growing up in a resourceful family, learning entrepreneurship through necessity, and turning that same creativity into a company building a “super app” for everyday life.

Arbër grew up in communist Albania, where his grandfather taught him how to work with what you have—and his grandmother taught him how to make it taste good. From selling fruit at an open market as a kid to cooking for ten roommates in college just to skip paying for food, Arbër’s story is about hustle.

Arbër talks about the invention behind survival cooking, the patience behind good eggplant casserole, and the dream of making life simpler through tech built in Tirana and designed for the world.

Listen to hear:

• How Arbër learned business by selling wild fruit as a child
• The story behind Patoko and its vision for a connected daily life
• What Albanian food taught him about care and craft
• Why greasy burgers are his comfort food on tough days
• What’s actually in his fridge (feta, salami, and too many avocados)

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