I’m joined by my friend Khaled Kteily, the Founder and CEO of [Legacy](http://givelegacy.com), - a startup he founded at the Harvard Innovation Lab - that provides from-home fertility services for men with the aim to change the outdated view that fertility is a women's issue. The UAE is part of Legacy’s first phase of international expansion and Khaled is hoping to kick off at the earliest given the region’s struggle with infertility in general. Khaled and I talk about the similarities in our journies--we both left home at 17, we both started business from scratch as first-time entrepreneurs at 29, we both won startup competitions & believe in creating momentum to make things happen. We also talk about his own identity and the start of his career at Oliver Wyman followed by the World Economic Forum. A quick disclaimer: I’m a super proud investor in Legacy and fully believe in their mission to become the Fatherhood company helping over 100M men on the journey of becoming a father.

Nadine Hachach-Haram is Lebanese reconstructive plastic surgeon based in London and the founder of Proximie, an augmented reality platform allowing surgeons to remotely guide local clinicians through complex procedures in real-time. She joins me on the show this week to talk about growing up in post-war Beirut in the early 90s, her first exposure to the world of surgery to her mission with Proximie to provide top-class healthcare across the world. We also discuss the importance of multitasking and finding a balance as a surgeon, entrepreneur, wife and mother of 3!

In an increasingly digital world, you have to appreciate people who work with their hands—artists, tailors, buildings, designers, cooks. I’m joined on this episode by Sky Kurtz, co-founder & CEO of Pure Harvest, a new breed of tech startups that has raised $50 million to build high-tech greenhouses.We talk about how he got started with entrepreneurship after graduating from Stanford, moving to the UAE and eventually setting up Pure Harvest with a “demo” farm based on which he raised his first $5.8 million from 31 investors. I believe Sky is on a path to build a unicorn in the region (a business valued at over $1 billion). Listen in to hear why he believes education was his ticket to get somewhere in life and how he’s looking to send the elevator back down and give back.

Jalil Allabadi started working on Altibbi.com, a health-tech startup out of Jordan in 2011. It was the first attempt to digitize an Arabic-Arabic medical dictionary published by his father, a prominent Jordanian surgeon. What started off as 15,000 terms is now 100,000 medical terms across 2 million pages. In 2016 he saw an opportunity to change his business model and decided that the real opportunity is in telehealth - the ability for patients and doctors to connect online and on demand - a feature that has witnessed mega growth at the onset of COVID with 1 million online consultations performed in 6 months! Jalil shares his journey into entrepreneurship, his challenges with finding a suitable co-founder, fundraising and his vision for Altibbi.

Dina El-Mofty is the founder of Injaz, a pioneering NGO in Egypt and on a mission to empower one million Egyptian youths by 2020 by teaching them entrepreneurship, financial and work readiness skills. Injaz's work with schools and universities led Dina to launch "My Company" in 2011, an accelerator offering grants and mentorship to entrepreneurs at a time of crisis (during and post revolution). We talk about her journey of persistence building Injaz, the importance of patience in building relations and more importantly, having a strong mindset and faith to overcome tough times. If you’re looking for inspiration and to discover the rewards of following one’s purpose then this episode is for you.

Binod Shankar is many things--from a former entrepreneur & now a mentor to a podcaster & speaker to a cyclist & mountaineer, and a dear friend. He was also my CFA Level I coach. After leaving the corporate life, he went on to co-found the Genesis Training Institude in 2009 which eventually got acquired by Kaplan Inc. in 2017. Today he mentors young finance enthusiasts via his podcast, The Real Finance Mentor, and is a writer, speaker and regular guest on CNBC Arabia. Binod opens up about his journey from corporate life to entrepreneurship and some key life lessons along the way, his take on executive coaching and how fitness can help shape your mindset. If you're someone on a path to self-discovery, this episode is for you.

Abdulaziz Al Loughani co-founded and managed [Talabat.com](http://talabat.com) before it was acquired by Rocket Internet for $170m in 2015. He is currently the CEO of Floward, a flowers and gifts ecommerce platform and the co-founder and managing partner of Faith Capital, a Kuwait based private Venture Capital firm investing in MENA startups.Abdulaziz is a hardworking, brilliant and humble man whom I am proud to call a friend. He brings a lot of experience to the MENA startup scene and has even helped shape the Kuwaiti government’s strategy towards entrepreneurship and SMEs. In this conversation we discuss his views on the regional Venture Capital firms (VCs) and why he believes that little value is added beyond cash. We also discuss what founders need to build a company that lasts forever, opportunities for founders in MENA, exits, IPOs and more. This episode is a must listen entrepreneurs, angel investors and VCs.