E11: Jalil Allabadi on how COVID has created an inflection point for health tech

Jalil Allabadi started working on Altibbi.com, a health-tech startup out of Jordan in 2011. It was the first attempt to digitize an Arabic-Arabic medical dictionary published by his father, a prominent Jordanian surgeon. What started off as 15,000 terms is now 100,000 medical terms across 2 million pages. In 2016 he saw an opportunity to change his business model and decided that the real opportunity is in telehealth - the ability for patients and doctors to connect online and on demand - a feature that has witnessed mega growth at the onset of COVID with 1 million online consultations performed in 6 months! Jalil shares his journey into entrepreneurship, his challenges with finding a suitable co-founder, fundraising and his vision for Altibbi.
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Dina El-Mofty on overcoming barriers to launch an NGO in Egypt

Dina El-Mofty is the founder of Injaz, a pioneering NGO in Egypt and on a mission to empower one million Egyptian youths by 2020 by teaching them entrepreneurship, financial and work readiness skills. Injaz-s work with schools and universities led Dina to launch -My Company- in 2011, an accelerator offering grants and mentorship to entrepreneurs at a time of crisis (during and post revolution). We talk about her journey of persistence building Injaz, the importance of patience in building relations and more importantly, having a strong mindset and faith to overcome tough times. If you-re looking for inspiration and to discover the rewards of following one-s purpose then this episode is for you.
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E10: Dina El-Mofty on overcoming barriers to launch an NGO in Egypt

Dina El-Mofty is the founder of Injaz, a pioneering NGO in Egypt and on a mission to empower one million Egyptian youths by 2020 by teaching them entrepreneurship, financial and work readiness skills. Injaz-s work with schools and universities led Dina to launch -My Company- in 2011, an accelerator offering grants and mentorship to entrepreneurs at a time of crisis (during and post revolution). We talk about her journey of persistence building Injaz, the importance of patience in building relations and more importantly, having a strong mindset and faith to overcome tough times. If you-re looking for inspiration and to discover the rewards of following one-s purpose then this episode is for you.
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Finding yourself and starting over at age 40, with Binod Shankar

Binod Shankar is many things--from a former entrepreneur - now a mentor to a podcaster - speaker to a cyclist - mountaineer, and a dear friend. He was also my CFA Level I coach. After leaving the corporate life, he went on to co-found the Genesis Training Institude in 2009 which eventually got acquired by Kaplan Inc. in 2017. Today he mentors young finance enthusiasts via his podcast, The Real Finance Mentor, and is a writer, speaker and regular guest on CNBC Arabia. Binod opens up about his journey from corporate life to entrepreneurship and some key life lessons along the way, his take on executive coaching and how fitness can help shape your mindset. If you-re someone on a path to self-discovery, this episode is for you.
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E9: Finding yourself and starting over at age 40, with Binod Shankar

Binod Shankar is many things--from a former entrepreneur - now a mentor to a podcaster - speaker to a cyclist - mountaineer, and a dear friend. He was also my CFA Level I coach. After leaving the corporate life, he went on to co-found the Genesis Training Institude in 2009 which eventually got acquired by Kaplan Inc. in 2017. Today he mentors young finance enthusiasts via his podcast, The Real Finance Mentor, and is a writer, speaker and regular guest on CNBC Arabia. Binod opens up about his journey from corporate life to entrepreneurship and some key life lessons along the way, his take on executive coaching and how fitness can help shape your mindset. If you-re someone on a path to self-discovery, this episode is for you.
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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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E8: 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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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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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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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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