Yalla Let's Code

Hosted by Ilias Haddad

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Jun 2026

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About the show

A podcast where I interview software engineers by sharing their story and entrepreneurship journey

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34 recent

June 6, 2026Episode 31 hr 47 min

Should You Still Become a Software Engineer in 2026

If your kid or your closest friend came to you tomorrow and said, "I want to switch into software engineering as a career", what would you actually tell them? Our guests answer that question. Show Links: https://fortune.com/2026/05/26/uber-coo-ai-spending-tokens-claude-code/ https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/29/satya-nadella-says-as-much-as-30percent-of-microsoft-code-is-written-by-ai.html https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2026/03/20/our-commitment-to-windows-quality/ https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/aws/aws-service-outage-ai-bot-kiro https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/state-of-the-job-market-2026 https://www.businessinsider.com/jensen-huang-500k-engineers-250k-ai-tokens-nvidia-compute-2026-3 https://x.com/steipete/status/2055346265869721905/photo/1 https://youtu.be/FQpZdCKgc6w Follow our guests: - https://x.com/boredabdel - https://x.com/soub4i - https://x.com/el_ateifSara - https://x.com/saidbouig

June 3, 2026Episode 258 min

Interview with Tambi Jalouqa, on building, exiting, and investing from the MENA region

In this episode, we talk honestly about what it takes to build a global product from outside Silicon Valley, why he changed his mind about solo founders, the mistake almost every technical founder makes when they bring in a "business" co-founder, and how AI tools have flattened the geography of software. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 02:50 Starting on an MSX, fixing CRT monitors, and studying math before CS 05:18 Binary Interactive Studio 07:50 Jobland: video-CV app 10:35 POS Rocket 12:45 Raising from local VCs vs. the US 14:18 The secret sauce of POS Rocket 15:55 Switching from builder to investor 22:38 Why he co-founded Xpand Conference 27:30 Leaving Propeller to start Maza VC 31:30 Why pre-seed is both more impactful 33:30 The advantage of building from your home country 38:48 Did he miss coding? 42:00 Solo founders: red flag → green flag 46:25 The countries producing the best founders right now 48:18 The #1 mistake technical founders make 51:35 Mountain biking 55:50 New Section: Paul Graham, vibe code, mountain biking 56:50 Closing Show Links: - LinkedIn: https://jo.linkedin.com/in/tambijalouqa - Maza VC: https://maza.vc - Maza VC Handbook: https://handbook.maza.vc/about/introduction - Propeller VC: https://propellervc.com - Xpand Conference: https://www.xpandconf.com - Claude Code: https://claude.com/claude-code - Y Combinator: https://ycombinator.com - Paul Graham essays: https://paulgraham.co

May 27, 2026Episode 11 hr 2 min

Interview with a Moroccan YC startup founder, Amine Benjellon

In this episode, Amin Benjellon shares his inspiring journey from growing up in Morocco, navigating the challenges of startups as a foreign student in France, to successfully joining Y Combinator. He discusses the importance of mindset, jumping on waves of opportunity, and the impact of YC on his entrepreneurial trajectory. Links - Amine on X: @BenGeekly - Rolling Dice Club: https://rollindiceclub.com - MailWarm: https://mailwarm.com

September 9, 2025Episode 1356 min

How Thomas built a Shopify theme dev lab and agency

If you're a developer, indie hacker, or SaaS builder, this is a must-watch. You'll learn: - The strategy he used to niche down and find his first clients - Why he started a t-shirt business to learn Shopify - The moment he discovered a Kardashian was using his theme - His raw, unfiltered advice for anyone wanting to build their own software product Show Notes: - Bricks Space Lab:https://brickspacelab.com - Follow Thomas's journey on Twitter: https://x.com/kimurathomas

August 19, 2025Episode 121 hr 24 min

Bringing PHP to Mobile & Desktop with Native PHP with Sean Rosenthal

We're joined by Sean Rosenthal, the co-founder of Native PHP. He shares his incredible journey from a career in sales to co-creating a framework that allows developers to build native desktop and mobile apps using the PHP and Laravel skills they already have. Sean provides a candid look at the entrepreneurial grind, the technical challenges he and his partner Simon Hamp overcame, and what the future holds for PHP outside of the web. Show Notes: What You'll Learn: How personal drive and a problem-solving mindset are crucial for success in tech. The real story behind what inspired Native PHP and how the project got started. A deep dive into the technical solutions used to compile PHP for iOS and Android. Sean's experiences working on complex projects for major organizations like Pfizer. The importance of building a support infrastructure, not just a product. Links Mentioned: Native PHP Official Website Sean Rosenthal on X (Twitter) Sean's YouTube Channel - Laravel Online The New Boston (YouTube Channel)

August 3, 2025Episode 111 hr 11 min

Building Native Apps with PHP by Simon Hamp

In this episode, I interviewed with Simon Hamp, a seasoned software engineer with 25 years of experience in PHP. Simon shares his incredible journey from being a self-taught programmer in the days before YouTube and Stack Overflow to becoming the owner and maintainer of Native PHP and the founder of Laravel Dev. Show Notes: Links Simon Hamp's Website: simonhamp.me Simon Hamp on X: @SimonHamp NativePHP: nativephp.com Laravel Dev: laradevs.com

July 11, 2025Episode 101 hr 1 min

Building Global Tech Conferences (React Brussels, Paris & Africa) Ayman Ben Amor

In this episode, we're joined by Ayman Ben Amor, a software developer and the visionary founder behind the BeJS (Belgian JavaScript) community. Ayman shares his incredible journey from a movie-loving kid who wanted to be a hacker to organizing some of Europe's and Africa's most prominent developer events, including React Brussels, React Paris, and the inaugural React Africa. He pulls back the curtain on the immense effort required to run a successful tech conference, detailing the 9-12 month planning cycle, the stress of sales and marketing, and the complex logistics of securing venues and speakers. Show Notes: BeJS Community: https://bejs.io React Brussels Conference: https://react.brussels React Paris Conference: https://react.paris/ React Africa Conference: https://react-africa.com Ayman on Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/Aymen_Ben_Amor Book Recommendation: "Personality Isn't Permanent" by Benjamin Hardy

June 22, 2025Episode 958 min

The Strapi Founder's Story (Pierre Burgy): Monetization of an Open Source Project

In this episode, I had Pierre Burgy, the co-founder and CEO of Strapi, the leading open-source headless CMS. Pierre shares his incredible nine-year journey, from starting a side project as a student to building a globally recognized company. He dives deep into the early challenges of fundraising for an open-source project (including being $30k in debt), the evolution of their business model, the power of community, and his vision for the future of content management with AI. Sponsor of this episode: SASS Insights: Get the metrics that matter for your Shopify app. Try it for free at https://saasinsights.com Show Notes: Find Pierre on X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/pierreburgy Find Pierre on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pierreburgy/ Website: https://strapi.io/ GitHub Repository: https://github.com/strapi/strapi Join the Strapi AI Waitlist: https://strapi.io/ai StrapiConf: https://strapi.io/conf The GitLab Handbook: A comprehensive resource on how to run a remote-first, transparent company. https://about.gitlab.com/handbook

June 7, 2025Episode 81 hr 1 min

The impact of vibe coding (AI) on the shipped products (Special)

In this special episode, we dive deep into the phenomenon of "vibe coding" - using AI assistants to write code through natural language prompts. With our today's guest, Mohamed Aboulaid (Backend Engineer at Spotify & Community Catalyst behind GeeksBlaBla), for an honest discussion about AI-assisted development's current state and future. Show Notes: GeeksBlaBla Community: geeksblaba.com Follow Mohamed Aboulaid: https://x.com/laytoun

June 6, 2025Episode 71 hr 14 min

Building the TanStack (Formerly React Query) with Tanner Linsley

In this podcast episode, I sit down with Tanner Linsley, co-founder of Nozzle and the visionary behind TanStack (formerly React Query). With over a decade of experience in software development and open source, Tanner shares his incredible journey, from his early days as an aspiring audio engineer to becoming a leading figure in the frontend community. Join us as Tanner gives the back story of TanStack, including upcoming features and new libraries, and offers valuable advice for aspiring open source contributors. Show Notes: TanStack: https://tanstack.com Twitter: https://x.com/tannerlinsley Nozzle: https://nozzle.io (Tanner's SEO tracking company) Remix: https://remix.run (acquired by Shopify) Astro: https://astro.build Gatsby: https://gatsbyjs.com