We talk to Basel Anabtawi, podcaster and co-founder of Rising Giants Network, a UAE born podcast network producing hit shows like Al Rasoul, Al Tikriti and Beirut Blast. Basel takes us through his journey of trial and error, why it's important to ask for what you want and to drop your ego. We also discuss the ups and downs of startup life, educating brands on the value of podcasts, monetization and creating hit shows. For more information visit: www.conversationswithloulou.com or reach out to me on [email protected]

We talk to Sara Chemmaa, the Founder and CEO of Citron.ae about stumbling into entrepreneurship after realizing that she needed to find a solution to her toddler's unusual mealtime needs. Little did she know that her toddler would become the source of inspiration for Citron, a company that produces over 200 products and sells in over 20 countries. We discuss entrepreneurship, manufacturing, fundraising for a non-tech startup and more. For more information visit: www.conversationswithloulou.com or reach out to me on [email protected]

Kamal Dimachkie and Eddie Maalouf are veteran marketing and communications experts from the MENA region. They have recently launched Tough Love Advisors, a new age consultancy practice. We discuss the challenges of new beginnings, the pillars of brand building, the role of marketing and the impact of social media, influencers, technology and more on how we succeed or fail at brand building.

We talk to Feras Jalbout about making the jump from professional investor to entrepreneur and building Baraka, an investment platform for the MENA region. Baraka not only enables the young generation to invest, its goal is to educate everyone about the markets locally and globally using simple and easy to understand language. We wrap up with Feras' experience and learnings from having joined YCombinator, one of the top global accelerators and his views on the volatility and the changing expectations of investors funding startup companies in the current environment. For more information visit: www.conversationswithloulou.com or reach out to me on [email protected]

We talk to Lebanese entrepreneur Ralph R.Debbas about pioneering the automotive industry in the Middle East. A 15 year journey that saw him create some of the world's most exquisite high performance luxury cars. Today, Dubai born W Motors is building and shipping hypercars like the Lykan - the star of the Fast & Furious 7 movie - the Fenyr and more recently Ghiath, a series of police patrol and military cars. Ralph is also venturing into electric vehicles, the metaverse and more! This is the story of W Motors. For more information visit: www.conversationswithloulou.com or reach out to me on [email protected]

We talk to Dr. Louise Lambert, a Registered Psychologist, Researcher and Professor about Positive Psychology. We cover strategies to use to improve our overall wellbeing as well as the endless pursuit of happiness and meaning in life and at the workplace. We wrap up with some insights from Dr. Lambert's research (a podcast scoop!) on the impact of school systems on our children's wellbeing, a must listen if you're a parent! For more information visit: www.conversationswithloulou.com or reach out to me on [email protected]

We talk to Rashid Al Ghurair, the Founder & CEO of Cafu, the first on-demand fuel delivery company in the Middle East that is expanding to become the one-stop-shop for all vehicle needs. Rashid recalls how growing up in one of the UAE's most successful business families has taught him that "business has no borders" and that he needed to branch out of the family business and leave his own legacy. We discuss bootstrapping Cafu, the future of fuel and mobility, sustainability as well as standing up to what you believe in despite being told "no" several times. For more information visit: www.conversationswithloulou.com or reach out to me on [email protected]

We talk to Omran Sharaf, Project Director of the Emirates Mars Mission about his experience in leading one of the most significant projects the UAE has undertaken. Omran and his team were in charge of developing, building and launching the "Hope Probe", an unmanned spacecraft sent to study the Martian atmosphere. Omran recalls the events of the night of November 20th 2013, as he juggled between the launch of DubaiSat 2, an earth observation satellite, and a call from the UAE government that would ultimately change his life. We discuss what it takes to deliver such a project, why we should study Mars and the impact that this mission will have on the UAE, the region and the world for generations to come. For more information visit www.conversationswithloulou.com or reach out to me on [email protected]

We talk to Jonathan Labin about his move from a high powered career at Viacom and Facebook to taking a 1 year sabbatical and then shifting gears to startups. In 2020, Jonathan joined Unifonic, a Saudi born startup co-founded by brothers Ahmed and Hassan Hamdan. In his role, Jonathan was responsible of taking the company to the next level, and in 2021, Unifonic raised a whopping US$125 Million to scale. We discuss startups versus scale-ups, cultural, technical and organizational debt and we wrap up with Jonathan's 2022 tech trends including the metaverse!

Talal Tabbaa is the Co-Founder & Chairman of CoinMENA, a crypto business that was founded by Talal and his Co-Founders Dina Sam'an and Yazan Barghuthi - and regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain - that aims to provide crypto based financial services such as borrowing, lending, investing and more. He joins us to discuss the business of crypto exchanges and why we need them particularly in the Middle East and North Africa region. A thought provoking and energy filled conversation about ICOs, technology infrastructure inversion, the utility of money, the emergence of private currencies, Bitcoin at $600,000 and more. You can find Talal on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/talaltabbaa/ For more on this show visit: www.conversationswithloulou.com

Shant Oknayan is the Head of Global Business Solutions at ByteDance (TikTok) across Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa. He joins us to discuss his role in building the regional footprint of one of the fastest growing startups globally. In this episode we zoom in on challenges of leading in a pandemic and we focus on culture. We discuss the evolution of our digital lives and we close with a deeply personal story from Shant and we learn about its impact on his leadership style. You can find Shant on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shant-oknayan/ For more on the show visit: www.conversationswithloulou.com

Mohamad Ballout, a serial entrepreneur and the Co-Founder and CEO of Kitopi, a cloud kitchen startup, has recently joined the exclusive and extremely coveted "unicorn club", with Kitopi's valuation topping US$ 1 Billion. He joins Loulou to discuss building a global business out of the UAE, the challenges he faces as he scales Kitopi beyond the UAE, the complexity of running a "food platform" and shares his views on fundraising and managing the Board of Directors effectively. You can watch this episode on YouTube and you can reach out by visiting the show's website: www.conversationswithloulou.com

Nadine Mezher, Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer at Sarwa, and her 2 partners Mark Chahwan and Jad Sayegh want to bring smart investing, trading and saving to the Middle East. In 2017 they launched Sarwa.co, a venture backed fintech startup with US$25M in funding to date. Sarwa is democratizing investing for the young professionals and as a result has witnessed tremendous growth. We talk to Nadine about investing, her own entrepreneurial journey and advice for budding entrepreneurs about having co-founders and fundraising. For more on Nadine and Sarwa visit: www.Conversationswithloulou.com

Our guest is Dr. Saliha Afridi, Clinical Psychologist and Founder of The LightHouse Arabia, a premier mental health and wellness center in the UAE. We check in on mental health in our "new normal" and we discuss unlocking our potential as individuals and business leaders, listening to our spirit, taking back our power, unleashing creativity and healing both our body and mind. If you're looking for inspiration, this episode is for you! Find out more about The LightHouse Arabia by visiting their website: www.lighthousearabia.com Thank you to our sponsor Astrolabs. To avail exclusive discounts visit: www.astrolabs.com/loulou To reach out to us, visit: www.conversationswithloulou.com

Emaan Abbas is an American Egyptian entrepreneur who has recently moved to the UAE to follow her dream of working with her idol Huda Kattan, the famous Co-Founder of the Billion Dollar Huda Beauty brand. Working under the stewardship of the Kattan sisters, Emaan quickly learned everything about product development and gave herself the permission to dream about creating her own, one day. We talk to Emaan about grasping opportunities as they arise, pitching her dream business to her boss and mentor Huda Kattan and then kicking off her journey with Ketish, the Middle East and North Africa's first luxury feminine and sexual wellness brand.

We talk to Cedric Betis, an athlete and wellness expert who works with Ministers from the Dubai government and CEOs from the private sector to help them achieve their health and wellness vision for themselves, their companies and their city. We discuss how COVID has changed the dynamics in terms of wellness on a corporate level and why it is no longer a "nice to have" a wellness program and why the role of "Chief Wellness Officer" would become ubiquitous. Cedric offers tips to companies, individuals and parents who are looking to achieve their health & wellness goals and how to make these goals sustainable. PS: please excuse the glitch in the sound in the last 10 minutes as my microphone was accidentally disconnected!

We talk to Noor Sweid, the General Partner at Global Ventures about building a top tier Venture Capital firm in the Middle East & North Africa region. We cover her recent startup exits with e-commerce startup Mumzworld that has undergone an M&A transaction and Kitopi, a cloud kitchen startup that has recently raised $415M via Softbank’s Vision Fund. We discuss fund return expectations in MENA and we wrap up by touching on Noor’s own journey as an entrepreneur and investor.

Ramez Shehadi is the Managing Director of Facebook for the MENA region. In 2020, Ramez was ranked among the top 20 of the 'Top 50 Regional Executives Heading International Companies' by Forbes. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Aramex, the Board of Trustees of BeMA (Beirut Museum of Art), the Board of Directors of MMA (Mobile Marketing Association) and is a Fellow of the Aspen Institute's Middle East Leadership Initiative and the Aspen Global Leadership Network to name a few. What is striking about Ramez though is not his accolades, it is his humility. In this episode Ramez speaks openly about the differences between his lifelong consulting career and his leadership role at Facebook. He shares some of the hard lessons he had to learn along the way. Ramez talks about a stronger and more prosperous MENA region and why he has faith in the region and its capabilities. We talk about Ramez's own experience as an entrepreneur and the outcome of the startup he co-founded. He continues to love and give back to the startup space by mentoring and personally investing in startups via R&R Ventures, a boutique VC he co-founded. We chat about the skills of the future and what advice he is currently giving his daughters who are transitioning from high school to university. We conclude with a recommendation for governments that are currently launching funds to invest in local startups and SMEs. This conversation is a peak into Ramez's mind and would certainly leave you more optimistic about the future. For more on Ramez and his work, please check out his biography. If you're enjoying this podcast, please subscribe, share and leave us a review!

As the topic "cryptocurrency" reaches its highest level on google trends globally, we decide to dig into this world in order to understand what it all means to us as individuals and potential investors. We've all seen the news and watched Elon Musk drive cryptocurrencies and particularly Bitcoin to its highest peak and then sent it back crashing. But is it all Elon? What else is at play? Are cryptocurrencies and their underlying technology the blockchain here to stay? Will they indeed fundamentally change the way we own assets and transact? We tackle these points and bring a MENA perspective as we chat with Daniel Ahmed, the co-founder of Fasset, a newly launched (but a couple of years in the making) emerging markets "Digital Asset Gateway" which offers a cryptocurrency exchange service and tokenization services for corporates/ governments with an emphasis on sustainability. We discuss cryptocurrencies, MENA trends, regulation, crypto cycles and his advise for first time crypto investors. To learn more about Fasset visit their website: https://www.fasset.com If you like this content, please subscribe to Conversations with Loulou on Youtube, it helps increase the reach and visibility and helps me as a content creator. For sponsorships, guest recommendations, feedback and other requests, you can connect with me here: https://conversationswithloulou.com/contact/

This inaugural episode for season 2 delves into the world of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and gives you a high-level overview of their use cases. We talk to Kristel Bechara, the award-winning Lebanese artist residing in Dubai about her experience being the first artist from the MENA region to mint and sell NFTs. Why do you need to know about NFTs? Because the underlying technology of NFTs could become ubiquitous sooner than you think and ultimately everything that we own could be made into and traded as an NFT.

Brahms Chouity known by his Instagram handle @DaddyFoody is the winner of the Best Comfort Food Blogger at the World Bloggers Award for 2019. In this episode we discuss Brahm's passion for conceptualising and identifying business opportunities with the goal to exit in a few years and how he managed to launch close to 30 startups in 2 decades. Whilst he was hard at work churning one business after the other and just before he turns 40, life throws Brahms a curveball that would change his perspective forever. Out of that experience, Daddy Foody was born. Tune in to listen to Brahms' story and find out about his plans for the future!

Tara Rogers-Ellis, co-founded Mojo along with Louise Mezzina. Over the course of a decade, the duo have built Mojo into a successful PR and Communications agency, with top clients like Johnson & Johnson, the European Union, RAKBank, Montblanc and more. Tara grew up in South Africa during apartheid and an opportunity to move to the UAE meant that she could have a fresh start, it was at that point when she discovered her natural inclination towards PR and her love for building teams. During the episode, Tara shares useful tips for companies looking to fully leverage public relations, and what to avoid.

I’m excited to have Mishaal Al Gergawi on the show this week, one of the UAE’s top thinkers and intellectuals. Mishaal’s journey is quite fascinating as he started his career in finance yet quickly became renowned for his writing, a passion that fueled the launch of The Delma Institute, a think tank that he ran between 2012 and 2018. His work was centered around providing analysis and insights on West Asia and North Africa to governments and corporates. At that point, his curiosity to learn about the world peaked and he decided to undertake his first deep dive and learn about the world’s modern history, a gigantic task that took him 3 years to complete. He wrote a summary about his learnings on [medium](https://medium.com/thingsilearn/history-1453-2001-a1bbc16f455e)]. He is currently on his second deep dive and tackling both the world of sci-fi and crypto currencies. Mishaal wants to be an eternal student, the most well rounded person he can possibly be. His curiosity about the world and his wish to make an impact led him to launch [AXIS](http://axis.xyz), a startup with an audacious goal to build the world’s best graph for companies to understand the MACRO forces impacting their business and help them make informed decisions. I’d love to hear what you’re reading—you can tag me on [Instagram](https://instagram.com/louloukhazen) and leave me a review in Apple Podcasts and IMDb. For sponsorship opportunities, collaborations or guest recommendations, you can [email me](mailto:[email protected]) for details.

Ali Matar, LinkedIn's Head of EMEA Emerging Markets, Middle East & Africa talks about the disruption that COVID has had on the MENA region and how people are coping with the new work dynamics, job losses and the need to re-think their careers, particularly women. We build on Ali’s experience as the first employee tasked to build the LinkedIn presence in MENA and how a misconception he had ended up being one of his biggest career learning opportunity. A great discussion if you’re currently managing people and looking for practical tips on building a thriving workplace.

I’m joined by my friend Khaled Kteily, the Founder and CEO of [Legacy](http://givelegacy.com), - a startup he founded at the Harvard Innovation Lab - that provides from-home fertility services for men with the aim to change the outdated view that fertility is a women's issue. The UAE is part of Legacy’s first phase of international expansion and Khaled is hoping to kick off at the earliest given the region’s struggle with infertility in general. Khaled and I talk about the similarities in our journies--we both left home at 17, we both started business from scratch as first-time entrepreneurs at 29, we both won startup competitions & believe in creating momentum to make things happen. We also talk about his own identity and the start of his career at Oliver Wyman followed by the World Economic Forum. A quick disclaimer: I’m a super proud investor in Legacy and fully believe in their mission to become the Fatherhood company helping over 100M men on the journey of becoming a father.

Nadine Hachach-Haram is Lebanese reconstructive plastic surgeon based in London and the founder of Proximie, an augmented reality platform allowing surgeons to remotely guide local clinicians through complex procedures in real-time. She joins me on the show this week to talk about growing up in post-war Beirut in the early 90s, her first exposure to the world of surgery to her mission with Proximie to provide top-class healthcare across the world. We also discuss the importance of multitasking and finding a balance as a surgeon, entrepreneur, wife and mother of 3!

In an increasingly digital world, you have to appreciate people who work with their hands—artists, tailors, buildings, designers, cooks. I’m joined on this episode by Sky Kurtz, co-founder & CEO of Pure Harvest, a new breed of tech startups that has raised $50 million to build high-tech greenhouses. We talk about how he got started with entrepreneurship after graduating from Stanford, moving to the UAE and eventually setting up Pure Harvest with a “demo” farm based on which he raised his first $5.8 million from 31 investors. I believe Sky is on a path to build a unicorn in the region (a business valued at over $1 billion). Listen in to hear why he believes education was his ticket to get somewhere in life and how he’s looking to send the elevator back down and give back.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.