Abdulaziz Al Loughani on scaling & exits and why regional VCs need to add more value

Abdulaziz Al Loughani co-founded and managed [Talabat.com](http://talabat.com) before it was acquired by Rocket Internet for $170m in 2015. He is currently the CEO of Floward, a flowers and gifts ecommerce platform and the co-founder and managing partner of Faith Capital, a Kuwait based private Venture Capital firm investing in MENA startups. Abdulaziz is a hardworking, brilliant and humble man whom I am proud to call a friend. He brings a lot of experience to the MENA startup scene and has even helped shape the Kuwaiti government-s strategy towards entrepreneurship and SMEs. In this conversation we discuss his views on the regional Venture Capital firms (VCs) and why he believes that little value is added beyond cash. We also discuss what founders need to build a company that lasts forever, opportunities for founders in MENA, exits, IPOs and more. This episode is a must listen entrepreneurs, angel investors and VCs.
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E7: VentureSouq’s Sonia Weymuller on finding your inner Sisu

I-m joined on this episode by Sonia Weymuller, founding partner at VentureSouq, a Dubai-based investment platform. Sonia-s career started out in media - technology working with companies like Turner Broadcasting, Viacom and Microsoft before going on to found VentureSouq in 2015. Last year, she launched Conscious Collective, an impact-driven investment vehicle that is an extension of VentureSouq. Sonia is a Charter Member - Board Director for TiE-s Dubai Chapter, serves as the UAE Director for the Yale Alumni Schools Committee and is a Board Member and Mentor for e7 Daughters of the Emirates. Sonia is also a Kaufman Fellow. In this chat we discuss Sonia-s decision to switch to entrepreneurship and how she recovered from the curveballs in her life to find her inner Sisu, which is also what she named her rescued cat. Thanks to Primal Alignment for their support of this episode. If getting fit and staying fit has been a challenge for you especially recently, Coach Franky - a former Green Beret and former instructor of the British Commando-s training wing - is going to change your life. Register for the online program by visiting his [website](http://primalalignment.net).
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VentureSouq’s Sonia Weymuller on finding your inner Sisu

I-m joined on this episode by Sonia Weymuller, founding partner at VentureSouq, a Dubai-based investment platform. Sonia-s career started out in media - technology working with companies like Turner Broadcasting, Viacom and Microsoft before going on to found VentureSouq in 2015. Last year, she launched Conscious Collective, an impact-driven investment vehicle that is an extension of VentureSouq. Sonia is a Charter Member - Board Director for TiE-s Dubai Chapter, serves as the UAE Director for the Yale Alumni Schools Committee and is a Board Member and Mentor for e7 Daughters of the Emirates. Sonia is also a Kaufman Fellow. In this chat we discuss Sonia-s decision to switch to entrepreneurship and how she recovered from the curveballs in her life to find her inner Sisu, which is also what she named her rescued cat. Thanks to Primal Alignment for their support of this episode. If getting fit and staying fit has been a challenge for you especially recently, Coach Franky - a former Green Beret and former instructor of the British Commando-s training wing - is going to change your life. Register for the online program by visiting his [website](http://primalalignment.net).
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E6: Chris Schroeder shares valuable advice on entrepreneurship and venture investing

Chris Schroeder is a global angel investor - advisor to tech startups with a keen interest in emerging markets. Chris is the co-founder of Next Billion Ventures, a venture capital fund focused on the next billion digital consumers across global emerging markets, he is a Network Partner for Village Global, an early venture capital fund backed by Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Diane Greene, Sara Blakely, Jeff Bezos, Reid Hoffman and many more exceptional entrepreneurs. He sits on the investment committees of Wamda Capital - Saudi Telecom Ventures and he is on the board of several private and NGO boards. And that-s just the tip of the iceberg. Chris started out in politics with the George W Bush (Senior) presidential campaign before becoming the CEO of the Washington Post/ Newsweek interactive. In 2005 he co-founded Health Central, a platform that helps people find and share real-life experiences related to their health needs. Health Central was backed by the likes of Sequoia, Polaris Ventures and the Carlyle Group to name a few and was acquired by Remedy Health in 2012. In 2013, Chris published the first book on the Middle East - North Africa-s entrepreneurship scene called: Startup Rising - The Entrepreneurial Revolution Remaking the Middle East - with a forward by renowned investor Marc Andreessen. I-ve known Chris for nearly a decade and am delighted he let me ask the questions this time as he is the one who is always curious and eager to be of service. We talked about Chris-s transition into entrepreneurship from politics and corporate life, his fascination with entrepreneurship in the Middle East and emerging markets, the sectors he-s currently considering for investment and we touch on our need to step up and take control of our lives and also our biases. For those interested in learning more about fundraising for startups and venture capital, check out these 2 books: [Venture deals](https://www.venturedeals.com) by Brad Feld and (Secrets of Sand Hill Road](Secrets of Sand Hill Road) by Scott Kupor.
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Chris Schroeder shares valuable advice on entrepreneurship and venture investing

Chris Schroeder is a global angel investor - advisor to tech startups with a keen interest in emerging markets. Chris is the co-founder of Next Billion Ventures, a venture capital fund focused on the next billion digital consumers across global emerging markets, he is a Network Partner for Village Global, an early venture capital fund backed by Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Diane Greene, Sara Blakely, Jeff Bezos, Reid Hoffman and many more exceptional entrepreneurs. He sits on the investment committees of Wamda Capital - Saudi Telecom Ventures and he is on the board of several private and NGO boards. And that-s just the tip of the iceberg. Chris started out in politics with the George W Bush (Senior) presidential campaign before becoming the CEO of the Washington Post/ Newsweek interactive. In 2005 he co-founded Health Central, a platform that helps people find and share real-life experiences related to their health needs. Health Central was backed by the likes of Sequoia, Polaris Ventures and the Carlyle Group to name a few and was acquired by Remedy Health in 2012. In 2013, Chris published the first book on the Middle East - North Africa-s entrepreneurship scene called: Startup Rising - The Entrepreneurial Revolution Remaking the Middle East - with a forward by renowned investor Marc Andreessen. I-ve known Chris for nearly a decade and am delighted he let me ask the questions this time as he is the one who is always curious and eager to be of service. We talked about Chris-s transition into entrepreneurship from politics and corporate life, his fascination with entrepreneurship in the Middle East and emerging markets, the sectors he-s currently considering for investment and we touch on our need to step up and take control of our lives and also our biases. For those interested in learning more about fundraising for startups and venture capital, check out these 2 books: [Venture deals](https://www.venturedeals.com) by Brad Feld and (Secrets of Sand Hill Road](Secrets of Sand Hill Road) by Scott Kupor.
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E5: Samer Hamadeh on building F&B brands that people love

My guest Samer Hamadeh is a serial entrepreneur in the entertainment and Food - Beverage space having built some great concepts such as Republique, Stereo Arcade, Akiba Dori and more. I met Samer way before his food and beverage days when he was at Impact BBDO, where 7 months in, he was already on his way out, founding his first business in the corporate events space. Samer is the kind of guy you want to hang out with and learn from as he openly shares his successes and failures. I catch up with Samer to talk entrepreneurship, fundraising, managing a board of directors, building brands that people love and more.
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Samer Hamadeh on building F&B brands that people love

My guest Samer Hamadeh is a serial entrepreneur in the entertainment and Food - Beverage space having built some great concepts such as Republique, Stereo Arcade, Akiba Dori and more. I met Samer way before his food and beverage days when he was at Impact BBDO, where 7 months in, he was already on his way out, founding his first business in the corporate events space. Samer is the kind of guy you want to hang out with and learn from as he openly shares his successes and failures. I catch up with Samer to talk entrepreneurship, fundraising, managing a board of directors, building brands that people love and more.
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E4: Rayan Karaky on spearheading digital media in MENA

A recording from the first LIVE session with Rayan Karaky who currently leads Partnerships, Product and Platform teams at Google - MENA. We chat about Rayan-s standup comedy and how it helps leaders show vulnerability which makes them more approachable. We also discuss his intrapreneurial journey with Starcom (part of Publicis Group) and his push towards implementing the latest digital advertising tools in MENA followed by his move to Google and his role in helping partners achieve digital maturity in order to better leverage digital advertising. We then move to a post COVID world and we discuss some of the opportunities for the MENA region particularly with 200 million people who are still not connected to the internet.
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Rayan Karaky on spearheading digital media in MENA

A recording from the first LIVE session with Rayan Karaky who currently leads Partnerships, Product and Platform teams at Google - MENA. We chat about Rayan-s standup comedy and how it helps leaders show vulnerability which makes them more approachable. We also discuss his intrapreneurial journey with Starcom (part of Publicis Group) and his push towards implementing the latest digital advertising tools in MENA followed by his move to Google and his role in helping partners achieve digital maturity in order to better leverage digital advertising. We then move to a post COVID world and we discuss some of the opportunities for the MENA region particularly with 200 million people who are still not connected to the internet.
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E3: Turning your MBA project into a startup with Magnitt's Philip Bahoshy

My guest today founded a company that set out to be the _Tinder_ for startups - investors--Magnitt--which he conceptualized in 2012. Philip Bahoshy is a Brit with Iraqi origins and after exploring a career in financial services, found himself wanting to get away from the corporate world and the Middle East. He went on to complete his MBA at INSEAD and as he learnt about the entrepreneurial world, realized a major gap in the startup space particularly in the Middle East. Recorded before the coronavirus restrictions came into effect, this episode has numerous insights from Philip and the data they are compiling at Magnitt alongwith his take on key players, opportunities - exits.
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