Idriss Al Rifai is the founder of Flow48, one of the fastest growing fintechs in the Middle East. Previously, he built Fetchr, a logistics giant, from 0 to a $1 billion valuation before drifting south, driven by regional conflict and shaky financing market. In a previous life, Idriss was a professional basketball player and enrolled into the French Special Forces. His unique background forged his ultra-resilient mentality: "pain is just an information".Timestamps:00:00 - In this episode03:48 - Special Forces [Black Ops] and pro Basketball shaping him up08:07 - From 0 to a 7-figure acquisition in 4 months, as a student.10:29 - Getting fired and building Fetchr across 210 cities in Saudi13:37 - $250m revenue in 3 years, renting 40 aircrafts14:51 - Pure execution or a lot of luck? we all know, stop pretending 17:22 - SoftBank term-sheet + Alibaba acquisition falling apart25:47 - Depression, identity loss and Special Forces' pain-tolerance training34:36 - Bouncing back: from 'never again' to 'let's build again'40:14 - Flow48: SME financing = the region's massive opportunity45:11 - Revenue-financing workflow: data, underwriting, distribution50:53 - The most challenging part of building Flow4852:55 - Driven by revenge?... wisdom of a 3rd-time founder 57:37 - Doing things differently this time.59:19 - Calling out the BS in the industry [finally someone said it out loud]References:Flow48 - https://www.menabytes.com/flow48-series-a/Fetchr - https://www.forbesmiddleeast.com/leadership/entrepreneurship/dubai-based-logistics-startup-fetchr-raises-41-million-to-expand-in-the-middle-eastAbout Cauridor [sponsor]:Cauridor is connecting businesses to a continent of payment opportunities. They’re building the payment rails across Africa to enable companies to process money transfers and payments to, from, and within the continent through a single API integration. With market-beating exchange rates and dedicated customer support teams on the ground, Cauridor empowers its partners to deliver a seamless and competitive payment journey to customers throughout Africa. For more info, visit: www.cauridor.comAbout OmniRetail [sponsor]:OmniRetail is a unified commerce company transforming how manufacturers, distributors, and retailers across Africa connect, trade, and access finance. Through its product suite (Omni One (manufacturer OS), OmniHub (distributor OS), OmniBiz (retailer OS), and OmniPay (embedded finance)) the company digitizes the entire B2B commerce chain, enabling smarter distribution, faster payments, and inclusive growth for small businesses. Operating across Nigeria, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire, OmniRetail is building Africa’s largest connected supply network for everyday essentials. For more info, visit: www.omniretail.africaListen on all platforms:Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@TheDeluluPodSpotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/3vUDH5yEH6pvRkqM1TVaxSApple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-rally-cap-podcast/id1731710244Where to find Idriss:Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/ialrifai/X/Twitter: x.com/Idriss_alrifaiWhere to find Kyane:Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/kyanekassiriX/Twitter: x.com/kyanekassiri
