Iraq, Lebanon, Syria…these are the countries I grew up in. I saw a lot of turbulence, and it has given me my inner drive, my drive to improve things, find solutions, and make things better. That start in life has definitely impacted me.

Investing in innovation. VC can be a force for good. Investing in start-ups is like bringing up a new generation with hope, energy and creativity to imagine a better future.  

STV itself is a startup. Most of my career has been associated with startups. It started when I was 28, I founded Zawya, one of the first internet companies in MENA. A lot has changed since then, and I’ve gotten the chance to invest in dozens of regional startups and learn a lot about founders. I think about STV in the same way, we are a startup too and it's our baby. That is why we'd like to think we understand founders, we've been in their shoes.

I have learned from history. There are many leaders, from different eras, all with exceptional stories. In the modern era, I would definitely say Nelson Mandela is an inspiration. Just by the way he struggled, fought, and how he never, ever, gave up.

Our leadership. I believe the culture of an organization is set by its leader. At STV, there is a motivation to see a better future for our people, it is deeply rooted. Many of our leaders are smart and down to earth at the same time, and that has resulted in the firm being driven by ambition and humility.

Entrepreneurship training in school. I’m a father of two, and my kids are being taught to consider entrepreneurship as a career route. That’s such a huge change,  it's exciting, and it shows a real shift.

Patience is a virtue. This can be the challenging part of working with startups. Things pivot, they change, they don’t make sense from the beginning. Patience helps make life in ambiguity a lot easier. 

The Brain Trust is really unique.  At STV, we bring together the entire team for regular meetings with founders. We listen to their challenges, what’s keeping them up at night. Afterwards we huddle to bring our ideas, our support, and our expertise to try and help them.

Disrupting age-old finance is a good thing. FinTech is very promising. There’s a lot of inefficiencies in finance, finding ways to make things better and creating value for everyone is good. Telehealth and the Digital Health spaces are exciting too. These are the two things that really interest me right now.

A deep thinker. Philosophy interests me. I like to analyze things a lot. I read a lot of philosophy in my spare time. Political philosophy is a key focus, I think that goes back to my childhood, trying to find a solution to why there is still so much suffering.

I like to keep studying. For me investing in startups is more about understanding founders, their emotions and what drives them. I’ve started digging into psychology, looking at behavioral economics and emotional intelligence, it interests me and I think it gives me deeper insight.