Conversations with Loulou

Chris Eid, founder of NoBueno and DuckLife, played a key role in Careem's growth, which culminated in its $3.1Bn sale to Uber. He shares insights about the secret sauce behind Careem's success and discusses his innovative approach to recruitment at NoBueno, tackling biases in traditional hiring processes. Chris emphasizes a beginner's mindset in revolutionizing recruitment, prioritizing skills over resumes to enhance fairness and inclusivity. He also reflects on the importance of nurturing talent and balancing work and family life in Dubai.

I speak to Meta's Regional Director for MENA, Fares Akkad about Meta's $10Bn push into the metaverse and what it would mean for us to have both physical and virtual lives. What is the metaverse exactly and how can we experience it? We also discuss the creator economy from a MENA perspective and the opportunities for creators and for businesses. A very insightful discussion that provides a glimpse of what's coming!For more information visit: www.conversationswithloulou.com or reach out to me on hello@conversationswithloulou.com

We talk to Basel Anabtawi, podcaster and co-founder of Rising Giants Network, a UAE born podcast network producing hit shows like Al Rasoul, Al Tikriti and Beirut Blast. Basel takes us through his journey of trial and error, why it's important to ask for what you want and to drop your ego. We also discuss the ups and downs of startup life, educating brands on the value of podcasts, monetization and creating hit shows.For more information visit: www.conversationswithloulou.com or reach out to me on hello@conversationswithloulou.com

We talk to Sara Chemmaa, the Founder and CEO of Citron.ae about stumbling into entrepreneurship after realizing that she needed to find a solution to her toddler's unusual mealtime needs. Little did she know that her toddler would become the source of inspiration for Citron, a company that produces over 200 products and sells in over 20 countries. We discuss entrepreneurship, manufacturing, fundraising for a non-tech startup and more.For more information visit: www.conversationswithloulou.com or reach out to me on hello@conversationswithloulou.com

Kamal Dimachkie and Eddie Maalouf are veteran marketing and communications experts from the MENA region. They have recently launched Tough Love Advisors, a new age consultancy practice. We discuss the challenges of new beginnings, the pillars of brand building, the role of marketing and the impact of social media, influencers, technology and more on how we succeed or fail at brand building.

We talk to Feras Jalbout about making the jump from professional investor to entrepreneur and building Baraka, an investment platform for the MENA region. Baraka not only enables the young generation to invest, its goal is to educate everyone about the markets locally and globally using simple and easy to understand language. We wrap up with Feras' experience and learnings from having joined YCombinator, one of the top global accelerators and his views on the volatility and the changing expectations of investors funding startup companies in the current environment.For more information visit: www.conversationswithloulou.com or reach out to me on hello@conversationswithloulou.com

We talk to Lebanese entrepreneur Ralph R.Debbas about pioneering the automotive industry in the Middle East. A 15 year journey that saw him create some of the world's most exquisite high performance luxury cars. Today, Dubai born W Motors is building and shipping hypercars like the Lykan - the star of the Fast & Furious 7 movie - the Fenyr and more recently Ghiath, a series of police patrol and military cars. Ralph is also venturing into electric vehicles, the metaverse and more! This is the story of W Motors.For more information visit: www.conversationswithloulou.com or reach out to me on hello@conversationswithloulou.com

We talk to Dr. Louise Lambert, a Registered Psychologist, Researcher and Professor about Positive Psychology. We cover strategies to use to improve our overall wellbeing as well as the endless pursuit of happiness and meaning in life and at the workplace. We wrap up with some insights from Dr. Lambert's research (a podcast scoop!) on the impact of school systems on our children's wellbeing, a must listen if you're a parent!For more information visit: www.conversationswithloulou.com or reach out to me on hello@conversationswithloulou.com

We talk to Rashid Al Ghurair, the Founder & CEO of Cafu, the first on-demand fuel delivery company in the Middle East that is expanding to become the one-stop-shop for all vehicle needs. Rashid recalls how growing up in one of the UAE's most successful business families has taught him that "business has no borders" and that he needed to branch out of the family business and leave his own legacy. We discuss bootstrapping Cafu, the future of fuel and mobility, sustainability as well as standing up to what you believe in despite being told "no" several times.For more information visit: www.conversationswithloulou.com or reach out to me on hello@conversationswithloulou.com

We talk to Omran Sharaf, Project Director of the Emirates Mars Mission about his experience in leading one of the most significant projects the UAE has undertaken. Omran and his team were in charge of developing, building and launching the "Hope Probe", an unmanned spacecraft sent to study the Martian atmosphere. Omran recalls the events of the night of November 20th 2013, as he juggled between the launch of DubaiSat 2, an earth observation satellite, and a call from the UAE government that would ultimately change his life. We discuss what it takes to deliver such a project, why we should study Mars and the impact that this mission will have on the UAE, the region and the world for generations to come.For more information visit www.conversationswithloulou.com or reach out to me on hello@conversationswithloulou.com