E83: MENA venture capital crisis management and postmortems with Abdullah Mutawi

I sat down with Abdullah Mutawi, Partner and Head of Corporate at law firm Taylor Wessing and prolific angel investor as the Co-founder and Chairman of Dubai Angel Investors and Saudi Angel Investors and we unpack some of the challenges that startups founders and venture capital investors are facing as they learn how to deal with a major downturn echoing the global venture capital downturn post 2020/2021 bubble. As a prominent lawyer, Abdullah is often called upon to mitigate distress situations, those that evoke strong emotions between the parties. Abdullah shares his learnings from various situations he has managed including one of the successful restructuring deals he worked on with Fetchr, the logistics startups that was saved,-only to shut down again in 2021 in a twist of fate. If you are in the startup ecosystem or a stakeholder of the ecosystem, then you will certainly enjoy this discussion.-


Support for the show comes from-capital.com, a global investment platform with offices in Dubai.

E82: Charlie Wright: hard work, failure, mindset & the serendipity behind Humantra’s Huda Beauty investment

I sat down with Charlie Wright, Founder - CEO of Humantra, the fastest-growing electrolytes brand in the UAE, now eyeing global expansion after a successful UK launch. Charlie-s journey to Dubai began straight out of college, where a sales job quickly showed him that he craved more than the corporate grind. After two failed ventures, he learned valuable lessons that paved the way for something bigger. A chance encounter with the Huda Beauty investment team led him to join their incubator, ultimately giving birth to Humantra. In this episode, we explore the world of electrolytes, navigating obstacles, scaling a business, and forming international collaborations, all while unpacking the key insights Charlie picked up along the way.

Support for this episode comes from-Capital.com, a global investment platform with newly launched offices in Dubai. To learn more about-Capital.com-click here.-

Support for this show comes from Dubai Harbour Residences, a newly launched beachfront project. Book your apartment by-clicking here.

E81:The families that shaped MENA and what lies ahead for them?

I sat down with Farida El Agamy, an entrepreneur, a lawyer and expert on the MENA family business landscape, to get a peak into the rise and challenges of the families that shaped our region from the Almajdouie and Zamil families in Saudi Arabia, to W.J.-Towell-in Oman, the Sawiris in Egypt and Juma Al Majid in the UAE and many more. Those family businesses grew to become multifaceted conglomerates employing thousands and creating a considerable economic and social impact across the region.-

Farida shared insights from her extensive research work at Tharawat Family Business Forum, highlighting the critical importance of succession planning, governance, and the role of women in family businesses. We explored the rise of single-family offices, how investment strategies are evolving across generations, and the increasing importance of sustainability. Throughout our discussion, we kept circling back to one question: how will the 3rd or 4th generation of family business owners navigate the complexities of a rapidly changing world?-

To learn more about family businesses in MENA visit:-www.tharawat.org-and-www.familybusinesshistories.org-or connect with Farida on LinkedIn:-https://www.linkedin.com/in/faridafelagamy/
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Summer Special - Part 3 of 3: What trends are shaping MENA startups today?

Welcome back to work everyone. In this last part of the -3 part bite sized summer special-, I revisit my conversations with my guests in the first half of 2024 and distill 3 trends that are shaping MENA startups. If you-re an entrepreneur you-re probably head down and ready for an eventful second half of the year! If you-re fundraising, you-re probably wondering if the VC winter will come to an end now that the US Federal Reserve Chief is signaling rate cuts? Will you be able to -blitzscale- again? If you-re raising a big round of funding today, where is the money going to come from? Lastly, how big is the influence of China on our startup ecosystem? I hope you enjoy this episode and always happy to hear your input. We go back to our original programing next week!
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Summer Special - Part 2 of 3: What makes a great entrepreneur?

As you gear up for back to school season, I hope you enjoy part 2 of our 3 part - bite sized - summer special. In this episode, I share with you my personal views on what makes a great entrepreneur. Having been an entrepreneur myself over the past decade, having sat with unicorn founders, and hundreds of entrepreneurs that I-ve met over the past 5 years of venture capital investing, I offer you the 5 characteristics that make a great entrepreneur. Keen to know your thoughts!
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Summer Special - Part 1 of 3: Why should I care about startups in MENA?

I hope you-re all enjoying the summer! In this 3 part episode, I will be sharing with you a bit of my raison d--tre for doing the podcast. As an entrepreneur and investor living in Dubai, I am heavily invested in our regional startup ecosystem and my wish is to get as many of you to actively participate, whether as entrepreneurs, investors, advisors or enablers. In this episode I build on insights shared by some of my guests so far in 2024 and I put forward the case of why you, our listener, should care about startups. I hope you agree!

Support for the show comes from capital.com, a global investment platform.
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E80:Mazen Kanaan on Unilever ouster, House of Pops success, and a Shark Tank deal that went south!

I sat down with Mazen Kanaan, Co-founder and CEO of House of Pops to discuss his incredible journey leading the ice cream business at Unilever in the region, to his abrupt ouster and the subsequent launch of House of Pops with his girlfriend (now wife) Marcela Sancho. Mazen recounts the challenges of starting from scratch, going all in and being self-funded, the importance of brand building and customer journeys, and the strategic decisions that led to scaling the business and regional expansion. He also recounts his Shark Tank Dubai experience and the subsequent negotiations. Mazen-s story is a testament to resilience and innovation in entrepreneurship and a playbook in how to build a regional champion.

Support for the show comes from-Capital.com-a global investment platform.-
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E79:The art of deal making with private equity veteran Imad Ghandour

Imad Ghandour shares his extensive experience in the private equity sector, covering essential topics such as buying, improving, and selling companies in MENA. He delves into the philosophy behind his firm, Cedar Bridge, highlighting their unique approach to operational involvement, and focus on positive management. We delve into Cedar Bridge-s latest successful exit -The Grooming Company Holding- and how Imad and his partners were able to successfully invest in the beauty sector, grow the business internationally and grow it-s bottom line. Imad offers tips on management, deal making, achieving operational excellence and managing through crisis.-

Support for the show comes from-Capital.com-a global investment platform.
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78:Vadim Fedotov on leading Groupon, founding Bioniq, health & wellness, mental toughness and the right diet

Vadim shares insights from his journey as a professional athlete, how he learned all about mental toughness and breaking your opponent. We shares his journey beyond sports into management consulting in Germany and then becoming the youngest CEO in Groupon as he led Eastern Europe and was part of Groupon-s NASDAQ IPO. He then goes back to his roots in -health and sports- to launch-Bioniq-in 2018, a personalized supplements company that currently sells is products globally while he lives in Dubai. Vadim talks about the multi-billion dollar supplements industry and why most supplements don-t work. He offers tips on health and wellness, shares insights from Bioniq-s large data pool and wraps up with some tips for healthy eating habits. A very insightful conversation that tackles not only Vadim-s entrepreneurial journey but also, the very important subject of health.-
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E77:Courtney Powell on scaling 500 global, investing in MENA, motherhood and entrepreneurship

I sit down with Courtney Powell, Managing Partner and Chief Operating Officer of 500 Global to discuss her journey from entrepreneur to global venture capital leader. Courtney shares insights on expanding 500 Global into emerging markets like MENA, balancing motherhood with her career, and the evolving landscape of education and female representation in tech. She also shares practical tips for pitching and fundraising, weaving personal stories and professional insights throughout the conversation.

Support for the show comes from Capital.com a global investment platform.
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