Talks with T

Hosted by Tarek Bayaa

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Jun 2024

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About the show

The Talks with T Podcast was born of a desire to drive an impact with the next generation & highlight entrepreneurship as a real possibility for anybody. We cover the highs, lows and everything in between in the life of entrepreneurs in MENA. Between 2020 and 2040, about 127 million young people will enter the labour force in MENA, potentially creating an unemployment rate of 23 per cent (amongst the highest in the world). We hope we can create the belief that anybody with the right mindset, persistence and big idea can become an entrepreneur. As a result, these entrepreneurs will create jobs and do their part at chipping away at one of highest youth unemployment rates in the world. Fasten your seatbelts & join the ride!

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34 recent

June 6, 202433 min

#34- Kamil Najjar (Founder & CEO of Kids First Group) on why innovation doesn't have to be expensive

Kamil Najjar is a trailblazing business leader with a massively successful career spanning beauty, media and education. His career culminated with him starting Kids First Group in 2011 and is today the leading early education platform across the GCC. Kamil shares the importance of innovation as a means to sustain a competitive edge. He does show by sharing interesting examples of why innovation isn’t just a buzzword, and how it can be implemented in low cost yet effective ways. We discuss the importance of attitude in team members and how it takes precedence over other qualifications, and so much more.I heard Kamil say:The basics of business are the same regardless of the industryAttitude over aptitude defines your altitudeFace the brutal facts in life and businessBreak down the customer journey starting with the “zero moment of truth” #podcast #ceotalks #pod #entrepreneurlife #entrepreneurship #middleeastentrepreneurs #mena #startupstories #menaentrepreneurs #menastartups #menastories #businesspodcast #businesspodcasts #CEOwisdom #founderwisdom #founderpodcasts #founderstories

May 7, 202439 min

#33- Amir Farha (Founder & CEO of COTU Ventures) on finding & living your values

Amir Farha has started two venture capital firms, Beco as a co-founder and COTU Ventures as CEO and Founder. He’s one of the most passionate and empathetic leaders in the VC space when it comes to dealing with people and entrepreneurs. His firm, COTU, literally stands for “Champion of the Underdogs” and Amir truly lives that value. We discuss Amir’s journey founding his latest VC firm and the journey to finding what matters to him most personally and professionally. Amir discusses how he used tough times as an inflection point to become more curious about himself, and building a framework of values that he uses today in assessing critical decisions. We also talk about courage, building confidence, having conviction and fear.I heard Amir say:Have the energy to be passionate wherever you have convictionLook at your life through the lens of your valuesDetach your identify from “what you do”Have the courage to do the hard things#podcast #ceotalks #pod #entrepreneurlife #entrepreneurship #middleeastentrepreneurs #mena #startupstories #menaentrepreneurs #menastartups #menastories #businesspodcast #businesspodcasts #CEOwisdom #founderwisdom #founderpodcasts #founderstories

April 16, 202442 min

#32- Abdulmajeed Al Sukhan (Co-Founder & CEO of Tamara) on why building companies is tougher than fighting cancer

This episode was recorded live at the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Festival (SEF). Our first live show!Abdulmajeed is a serial entrepreneur in the true sense of the word. He is co-founder of Nana (the largest grocery delivery platform in KSA) and currently co-founder and CEO of Tamara ( a leading Buy Now Pay Later startup in MENA). Abdulmajeed walks us through his journey to entrepreneurship and how his first startup failed before leading him to co-found Nana. He also discusses his lessons from fighting cancer at a young age.Abdulmajeed is a deep thinker and is well versed across various disciplines (engineering, economics, psychology). He shares his insights about discipline, the different types of pain we all face and the factors that make an entrepreneur successful. Abdulmajeed reads alot (books, investor shareholder reports and more), and this leads to a great conversation on the stage at SEF about how he runs his personal and professional life. I heard Abdulmajeed say:Work hard, work smart and get lucky (timing is everything)Believe you are lucky - you will attract and manifest itDon’t have a plan B because you will default to itAn entrepreneur must have a high threshold for painBe disciplined across all the areas of your life - it's a superpower! #podcast #ceotalks #pod #entrepreneurlife #entrepreneurship #middleeastentrepreneurs #mena #startupstories #menaentrepreneurs #menastartups #menastories #businesspodcast #businesspodcasts #CEOwisdom #founderwisdom #founderpodcasts #founderstories

April 15, 202439 min

#31- Nicki Wilson - Founder & MD of Genie Recruitment on building culture using unconventional wisdom

Nicki Wilson is the Founder & MD of Genie Recruitment, a leading specialist recruitment company covering the Consumer industries. She’s been a lifelong entrepreneur and tried her luck at various endeavors before finally starting her own recruitment firm. Her firm has become well-known for its extremely vibrant culture and unconventional approach to rewarding, engaging and retaining team members. It's the first time I’ve heard of a sales team that earns commissions but doesn’t have targets … and it works!Nicki genuinely cares about her team at an individual level, and prioritizes joy in her professional life. She constantly brings creative ideas when it comes to her business and employee engagement. Nicki has an infectiously positive outlook on life and isn’t afraid to swim against the tide as a result. We also discuss a few big bets she took that have paid off and turned her firm into a multi-million dollar business. I heard Nicki say:All you need to build a company is hustle and gritSometimes you have to go opposite conventional thought & trust your gutBe creative with incentivesNurture the kid in your team, and everybody has a kid inside of them!#podcast #ceotalks #pod #entrepreneurlife #entrepreneurship #middleeastentrepreneurs #mena #startupstories #menaentrepreneurs #menastartups #menastories #businesspodcast #businesspodcasts #CEOwisdom #founderwisdom #founderpodcasts #founderstories

March 20, 202444 min

#30- Kunal Kapoor - Founder & CEO of Luxury Closet on curiosity as a foundation to building great products

Kunal Kapoor is the Founder of Luxury Closet, the second largest luxury marketplace globally. Kunal started with the ambition of working for a large technology company early on, but decided to join his father’s shoemaking business and went on to become a shoemaker. After working for Louis Vuitton, he saw an opportunity to turn the closets of customers into a marketplace.Kunal is an extremely clear thinker who synthesizes complex ideas into easy to understand concepts. It’s clear that he has constantly focused on the highest priority challenges and has built a strong organization to continuously solve them. He has an eye for detail and is a lateral thinker that questions conventional wisdom. He is passionate about building and it's clear he is a lifelong learner. He leverages his curiosity and interest to go deep into topics to advise builders tackling challenging problems. This episode is action packed with wisdom across soundbites. I heard Kunal say:To build a business you need to understand product, have a deep understanding of your customer and technologyThink of what’s possible always, as opposed to what’s not possibleUse iterative questioning with customers to build a world class customer experienceFind people within your team who buy into your ideas to ensure they get executedThe tough periods teach you how to lead in the next wave of the company’s growth#podcast #ceotalks #pod #entrepreneurlife #entrepreneurship #middleeastentrepreneurs #mena #startupstories #menaentrepreneurs #menastartups #menastories #businesspodcast #businesspodcasts #CEOwisdom #founderwisdom #founderpodcasts #founderstories

June 7, 20231 hr 7 min

#25- Hattem Mattar (World’s 1st Arab BBQ Pitmaster) on finding your radio frequency

Hattem Mattar is the World’s first Arab BBQ Pitmaster and the king of BBQ in the UAE. He was nominated the culinary ambassador to the UAE Embassy in the United States, cooking for seventeen thousand people across 62 US cities over 100 days. Hattem shares stories of personal sacrifice building his culinary dream while juggling his high-paying corporate day job and cooking 40 hours a week. He talks about hitting rock bottom after parting with his first investors, and picking up the pieces of the puzzle to rebuild his conviction. Hattem is charismatic, funny and openly shares stories and lessons from his life that I found invaluable. I heard Hattem say:When you find your calling, step into itIts our obligation as humans to find our radio station if we want to live life fullyEverything is personal, so be personable We make a choice as to how we prioritize our mental, physical and time bandwidthTake baby steps in moments of crises Don’t be a consumer, be an observer#podcast #ceotalks #pod #entrepreneurlife #entrepreneurship #middleeastentrepreneurs #mena #startupstories #menaentrepreneurs #menastartups #menastories #businesspodcast #businesspodcasts #CEOwisdom #founderwisdom #founderpodcasts #founderstories

May 10, 20231 hr 1 min

#23- Malik Shehab (Co-Founder & CEO of Golden Scent) on patiently growing your business

Malik Shehab is the Co-founder and CEO of Golden Scent, the largest online beauty platform in MENA. Prior to starting the company, Malik worked in financial services in Germany where he had pursued his university degree. Malik talks about wanting to give up on living in Germany, without speaking the language, in the early days and how that built his resilience. We also discuss fundraising in 2014 and how that has shaped Malik’s perspective on VCs overall and how to rightsize your funding round. Malik believes it takes time to build a lasting business, and lots of money can actually hinder the progress of the company. I heard Malik say:You learn your limits once they get tested, then you can break through themBelieve in yourself blindly that you will succeed, then you will succeedBalance passion and the financial figuresAssess resources & opportunity size as a framework to prioritize#podcast #ceotalks #pod #entrepreneurlife #entrepreneurship #middleeastentrepreneurs #mena #startupstories #menaentrepreneurs #menastartups #menastories #businesspodcast #businesspodcasts #CEOwisdom #founderwisdom #founderpodcasts #founderstories

April 12, 202351 min

#21 - Jen Blandos (Founder of Female Fusion) on standing in your power

Jen Blandos has been a serial entrepreneur for over 20 years, having founded a successful multi-national PR agency before starting Female Fusion, a global community for women entrepreneurs. Jen talks about traveling the world doing various jobs before eventually ending up in Dubai. We chat about Human Design, how Jen overcame breast cancer while juggling personal and professional commitments and principles that have helped her stay true to herself throughout her journey. Jen is a passionate entrepreneur that has found purpose in helping serve others. Her story is inspiring on many levels!I heard Jen say:Learn how to use your intuition, and cultivate thatTo master something, you need consistencySlow down to speed upFocus on solving problems for your customers#podcast #ceotalks #pod #entrepreneurlife #entrepreneurship #middleeastentrepreneurs #mena #startupstories #menaentrepreneurs #menastartups #menastories #businesspodcast #businesspodcasts #CEOwisdom #founderwisdom #founderpodcasts #founderstories

March 14, 20231 hr 9 min

#19 - Rabea Ataya (Co-founder & CEO of Bayt.com) on making smart business investments

Rabea Ataya is one of the forefathers of the MENA tech space. Prior to co-founding Bayt.com in 2000, he started and sold InfoFort. He is passionate about starting companies that have a lasting impact and align with a bigger purpose.Rabea is generous with his thoughts and learnings. This episode is action packed with insights for any business leaders.I heard Rabea say:Find complimentary talentCommit to never fundraise again at a certain point in your journeyKnow your big "WHY" when you're starting a businessBe disciplined by committing upfront to the investment you're willing to put into a new ideaFocus on being focused before pursuing new opportunitiesUse the manager 360 as the leading indicator a team's sustainability or businessCEO / Founders need to find inspiration in different areas and bring that back to the business

February 27, 202347 min

#18- Philip Bahoshy (Founder of Magnitt) on using data to drive your decisions & marketing approach

Philip Bahosh is ex-consultant turned entrepreneur. He’s the Founder of Magnitt, the leading startup and investment data insights platform. Over the course of building Magnitt, Philip has had to continuously listen to customers using data to evolve and grow his product offering.Philip is a founder who has continuously operated lean with a focus on delivering customer value without fundraising aggressively. He’s cracked the world of branding as he’s led Magnitt to become the leading authority on venture and startups, without spending any marketing dollars. Data is at the core of how he makes decisions and builds his content marketing strategy. .I heard Philip say:Before you build, killData is the underlying source for making decisionsAppreciate that some tough things are just part of the processUse content to drive your brand awareness#podcast #ceotalks #pod #entrepreneurlife #entrepreneurship #middleeastentrepreneurs #mena #startupstories #menaentrepreneurs #menastartups #menastories #businesspodcast #businesspodcasts #CEOwisdom #founderwisdom #founderpodcasts #founderstories