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FWDstart

Jamie Lane
Saudi Arabia
Investment
Real Estate
Venture Capital
Artificial Intelligence
Dubai
Fractional Ownership
Tokenization
Careem
BRKZ
Entrepreneurship
Productivity
Arabic AI
MENA Edtech
AI Tutors
Arabic Literacy Crisis
Impact Investing
Educational Technology
Transhumanism
Tarjama

The FWDstart Podcast is a weekly show at the intersection of venture capital, startups, and strategic industries shaping the MENA region. Each episode features candid conversations with founders, investors, and operators behind the region’s most ambitious companies, from frontier AI and fintech infrastructure to climate tech, construction, energy, and space.

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes14Founded4 months ago
Number of ListenersCategories
InvestingEntrepreneurshipBusiness

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Artwork for FWDstart

Latest Episodes

In this episode, we sit down with Mahdi Yahya, the founder of Ori, which has just been acquired by Brookfield Asset Management and merged into Radiant, a vertically integrated AI infrastructure company combining power, capital, compute, and software ... more

In this episode, we sit down with Alex Epure, co-founder and CEO of Qureos, an AI-powered hiring platform that's just raised a $5M seed round led by Prosus. Alex spent nine years at Cisco, moved to Dubai, and then went from managing global enterprise... more

In this episode, we sit down with Glenn Harwood, co-founder of AlgoDriven, who has just completed an all-cash exit to Emergence Software, a San Francisco-based hold-forever software company. Glenn started selling cars at Mercedes-Benz in Australia at... more

In this episode, we sit down with Hassan Fayed, founder of Aydi, the company behind Orth, an AI agronomist now live in almost 200 countries just a few months after launch. Hasan grew up working his family's farm in Egypt, moved to Dubai, and then pac... more

In this episode, we sit down with Fouad Jeryes, co-founder and Chief Business Officer at Maqsam, MENA's AI-powered cloud communications platform. Fouad has been building in the region for over a decade, from co-founding CashBasha (one of Jordan's mos... more

Today's guest is Talal Hasan, a lawyer turned venture capitalist turned climate tech founder who has spent the better part of a decade chasing a rather ambitious goal: turning carbon dioxide into rock. His journey started in the Omani investment worl... more

Today's guest is Djamel Mohand, a Rocket Internet alumnus who landed in Saudi Arabia over a decade ago, back when relocating to the Kingdom for tech was rather less fashionable than it is today. What was supposed to be a six-month stint turned into t... more

Alina Truhina is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Utopia Capital Management, a platform spanning VC funds and a venture studio investing across emerging markets. The firm operates Atypical Ventures, a Middle East-plus fund covering Turkey and Pak... more

Key Facts

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Podcast Host
Number of Listeners
Find out how many people listen to this podcast per episode and each month.

Recent Guests

Alina Truhina
Managing partner at Atypical Ventures, a VC firm focused on emerging markets
Atypical Ventures
Episode: Alina Truhina (Utopia) on Why Copy-Pasting Western VC Fails, The Myth of 2-and-20 Fees in Emerging Markets, & Establishing a Fund in Qatar
Nafez Dakkak
Managing partner of Anara Capital and former leader of Edraak, an Arabic online learning platform.
Anara Capital
Episode: Nafez Dakkak (Anara Capital) on Why AI Tutors Will Fail, Is MENA EdTech's "Sleeping Giant" & Solving the Arabic Literacy Crisis
Arya Bolurfrushan
Founder and CEO of Applied AI, which is the company behind Opus.
Applied AI
Episode: Arya Bolurfrushan (AppliedAI) on Raising $42M for AI Before ChatGPT, The Future of Work & Why AI Needs Human Supervisors
Ibrahim Manna
Founder and CEO of BRKZ, previously a core architect of Careem's expansion.
BRKZ
Episode: Ibrahim Manna (BRKZ) on Lessons from Careem, Founder Grit & Disrupting Saudi Construction

Host

Jamie
Host with expertise in venture capital and startups focusing on the MENA region.

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Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Alina Truhina (Utopia) on Why Copy-Pasting Western VC Fails, The Myth of 2-and-20 Fees in Emerging Markets, & Establishing a Fund in Qatar
Q: What makes a good investor?
A good investor has on-the-ground experience, humility, and a recognition of the responsibility to support entrepreneurs.
Alina Truhina (Utopia) on Why Copy-Pasting Western VC Fails, The Myth of 2-and-20 Fees in Emerging Markets, & Establishing a Fund in Qatar
Q: What makes a good founder?
A good founder exhibits grit, resilience, humbleness, and curiosity.
Nafez Dakkak (Anara Capital) on Why AI Tutors Will Fail, Is MENA EdTech's "Sleeping Giant" & Solving the Arabic Literacy Crisis
Q: Can you talk to me about the Game Boy principle? Would you mind expanding on this?
Nafez explains that the concept behind the Game Boy principle is to use existing technology creatively rather than just adopting the newest trends blindly.
Nafez Dakkak (Anara Capital) on Why AI Tutors Will Fail, Is MENA EdTech's "Sleeping Giant" & Solving the Arabic Literacy Crisis
Q: Is there always going to be a place for human supervision?
Yes, human relationships in education are undervalued and critical for motivating and engaging students effectively.
Nafez Dakkak (Anara Capital) on Why AI Tutors Will Fail, Is MENA EdTech's "Sleeping Giant" & Solving the Arabic Literacy Crisis
Q: What do you think the impediment to progress has been?
It's been a global trend, but there's also been a backlash against online learning post-pandemic, which has affected the EdTech growth expected in the years following 2021.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

Listeners per Episode
Gender Skew
Location
Interests
Professions
Age Range
Household Income
Social Media Reach

Frequently Asked Questions About FWDstart

What is FWDstart about and what kind of topics does it cover?

The content focuses on venture capital, startups, and industries that are significantly impacting the MENA region. Each episode features in-depth discussions with founders, investors, and industry professionals who share their insights and experiences in fields including AI, fintech, climate tech, construction, and energy. The show's structure allows listeners to gain a unique perspective on the entrepreneurial ecosystem, addressing the distinct challenges and opportunities present in emerging markets. Notable aspects include a hands-on approach to understanding local markets and the importance of cultural context, making it an appealing listen for those interested in the dynamics of innovation and investment in the MENA region.

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How many listeners does FWDstart get?

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How many subscribers and views does FWDstart have?

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How many episodes of FWDstart are there?

FWDstart launched 4 months ago and published 14 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

How do I contact FWDstart?

Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.

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What guests have appeared on FWDstart?

Recent guests on FWDstart include:

1. Alina Truhina
2. Nafez Dakkak
3. Arya Bolurfrushan
4. Ibrahim Manna

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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