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79 episodes
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Conversations with Loulou Loulou Khazen
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- Business
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4.9 • 19 Ratings
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Loulou Khazen is a founder turned venture capital investor breaking down everything you need to know about startups, investing, tech and innovation in the Middle East. Every two weeks, Loulou carefully curates her guests, asks thought provoking questions, shares practical examples and inspiring stories with the goal to draw attention and facilitate access to her world. To learn more, visit the show's website: www.conversationswithloulou.com and you can follow Loulou on LinkedIn and Instagram @louloukhazen
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E79: The art of deal making with private equity veteran Imad Ghandour
Imad Ghandour shares his extensive experience in the private equity sector, covering essential topics such as buying, improving, and selling companies in MENA. He delves into the philosophy behind his firm, CedarBridge Capital Partners, highlighting their unique approach to operational involvement, and focus on positive management. We delve into CedarBridge’s latest successful exit ‘The Grooming Company Holding’ and how Imad and his partners were able to successfully invest in the beauty sector, grow the business internationally and grow its bottom line. Imad offers tips on management, deal making, achieving operational excellence and managing through crisis.
Support for the show comes from Capital.com a global investment platform.
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78:Vadim Fedotov on leading Groupon, founding Bioniq, health & wellness, mental toughness and the right diet
Vadim shares insights from his journey as a professional athlete, how he learned all about mental toughness and breaking your opponent. He shares his journey beyond sports into management consulting in Germany and then becoming the youngest CEO in Groupon as he led Eastern Europe and was part of Groupon’s NASDAQ IPO. He then goes back to his roots in ‘health and sports’ to launch Bioniq in 2018, a personalized supplements company that currently sells is products globally while he lives in Dubai. Vadim talks about the multi-billion dollar supplements industry and why most supplements don’t work. He offers tips on health and wellness, shares insights from Bioniq’s large data pool and wraps up with some tips for healthy eating habits. A very insightful conversation that tackles not only Vadim’s entrepreneurial journey but also, the very important subject of health.
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E77:Courtney Powell on scaling 500 global, investing in MENA, motherhood and entrepreneurship
I sit down with Courtney Powell, Managing Partner and Chief Operating Officer of 500 Global to discuss her journey from entrepreneur to global venture capital leader. Courtney shares insights on expanding 500 Global into emerging markets like MENA, balancing motherhood with her career, and the evolving landscape of education and female representation in tech. She also shares practical tips for pitching and fundraising, weaving personal stories and professional insights throughout the conversation.
Support for the show comes from Capital.com a global investment platform.
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E76: The incredible journey of MENA’s e-commerce pioneer, Ronaldo Mouchawar
I had the incredible opportunity to sit down with Ronaldo Mouchawar, the trailblazing Co-founder and CEO of Souq.com, which was acquired by Amazon in 2017 for $580 million in cash + $200m in Amazon shares. Ronaldo, a true pioneer of e-commerce in the MENA region, founded Souq in 2005 as a spin-off from Maktoob, another regional success story that was sold to Yahoo for ~$170 million in 2009.
In our conversation, Ronaldo shares captivating industry insights, recounts his personal journey, and reveals his passion for music. Now heading Amazon's operations in MENA and Turkey, Ronaldo remains fervently optimistic about the future of e-commerce in the region. Don't miss this fascinating and inspiring episode!
Support for the show comes from capital.com a global investment platform. Visit their website to start investing today.
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E75: The business of building startups from Rocket Internet to Antler with Jonathan Doerr
I sat down with Jonathan Doerr, the Co-founding Partner at Antler MENAP to learn about his experience in building, scaling and exciting companies. Jonathan brings a ton of learning from his time with Rocket Internet, where he was the Co-founder and Managing Director at Jumia Nigeria, Africa’s leading e-commerce site which IPOed on the NYSE in 2019 and the Co-CEO at Daraz, the South Asian e-commerce player which was acquired by Alibaba in 2018.
We discuss challenges of building e-commerce companies in emerging markets and the differences between an IPO and an acquisition. Today, Jonathan is leveraging his experience to enable the next generation of founders via Antler where he plays matchmaker and investor to 100s of founders that join Antler’s programs in Dubai, Riyadh and more to come.
Support for the show comes from Capital.com, a global investment platform.
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E74:From corporate America to corporate lunch. The story of MUNCH:ON
Dana Baki is the co-founder and COO at MUNCH:ON, a UAE born startup that was solving the corporate lunch problem. MUNCH:ON which started as LUNCH:ON was utilizing kitchen’s off-peak to deliver affordable meals to corporate executives. The business was experiencing high growth until Covid which posed an existential threat. MUNCH:ON was then born to cater for meals throughout the day. Careem acquired MUNCH:ON in 2022 and Dana took time off to recalibrate and figure out what she wanted to do and landed in the space exploration industry. This is a fantastic conversation about entrepreneurship, work ethic, motherhood and so much more.
Support for the show comes from Capital.com, a global investment platform. Visit their website and start investing today!
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Customer Reviews
Trials and triumphs
a crash course on the trials and tribulations and eventual successes of top tier entrepreneurs, hosted by an inquisitive mind, and set in a cosy atmosphere.
A must-listen podcast
Gives the audience the opportunity to get to know the entrepreneurs behind the successful stories, lessons learned and who’s who in the VC space
Conversation with Chris
Great session. I enjoyed listening to the vast experience and diverse perspectives.