What do selling wild fruit in Albania and building a global super app have in common?
In this episode of Founders Fridge, host Heidi Knoblauch sits down with Arbër Kadia, Co-founder of Patoko, to talk about how early lessons in creativity, resourcefulness, and family connection shaped his approach to entrepreneurship.
Arbër grew up in communist Albania, where his grandfather taught him to earn what he wanted and his grandmother taught him the patience behind good food. His first business? Selling wild fruit at the local market. His latest? Patoko — a startup built in Tirana that’s redefining how we manage everyday life through one connected app.
Arbër talks about growing up with scarcity and finding abundance, learning to cook for ten housemates just to skip paying for food, and why greasy burgers are still his comfort food when startup life gets hard.
In this episode:
How selling wild fruit became Arbër’s first business lesson
The story behind Patoko and its “super app for everyday life”
Why Albanian dishes like imam bajalldi still anchor his sense of home
What happens when startup stress meets food nostalgia
What’s actually in his fridge (feta, salami, avocados, and cheese)
Listen now on Founders Fridge — conversations with founders about what they eat while they build.
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