GrubTech co-founder and CEO Mohamed Al Fayed has walked a fascinating journey. He describes himself as a "late bloomer" who took a while to figure out his passions and what makes him tick. He started restoring cars and selling ambulances before finding a niche in merchandise planning at Macy's and the Al Tayer Group. 

These roles cultivated a skill for pattern recognition that helped him spot the opportunity for digital transformation within Al Tayer. He spearheaded the Omnichannel Division, crafting a digital presence for many of their luxury brands and orchestrating the region's first 2-hour delivery last mile for Ounass. In the summer of 2019, his adeptness for recognising patterns led him to start GrubTech, a plug and play end-to-end operating system for restaurants and cloud kitchens. GrubTech is currently in 16 countries and shows no signs of slowing down. 

Mohamed joins us on The Change Officer Podcast to share his key learnings from his story as a proven intrapreneur and successful entrepreneur. He spoke about how failing fast and keeping on running has served him well in his career, fostering intrapreneurship within corporates and where great new opportunities are likely to arrive in the tech sector. 

Tune in for the conversation to learn about: 
- How reframing failure as a learning process can open us up to remarkable growth 
- Why intrapreneurship is essential for the survival of any company 
-The crucial skillsets needed to support every stage of a tech startup's life cycle

Host: Vuk Zlatarov

Find GrubTech online: http://www.grubtech.com

🎬 This episode is produced by Poddster, an end-to-end video podcast production company that helps businesses conceptualize, produce, manage, and grow podcasts for their brand.

Click this link to book a free consultation with Poddster's team or rent a studio: poddster.com/book-free-consultation/

📹 Check out Poddster studio based in Dubai Media City: poddster.com/podcast-studio-dubai/

✨ They say the change is the only constant. If this is true, we want to know what is the change ahead. To get the answers, our hosts Ivan Zeljkovic and Vuk Zlatarov are talking to the change-makers themselves. We invite you to join us on the journey of getting the answer ✨

FOLLOW THE CHANGE OFFICER: www.thechangeofficer.com
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EP110 "Batting For Crazy" | GrubTech CEO Mohamed Al Fayed On Failure, Intrapreneurship & Opportunity

Stepping up to the mic for Vuk's second-to-last episode from our Step 2022 series of The Change Officer Podcast is Mirna Sleiman, founder and CEO of Fintech Galaxy. Fintech Galaxy is an open finance platform that fuels innovation and seamless integration in financial services, drives ecosystem collaboration and facilitates API integration between financial institutions like banks and fintech companies. 

Mirna has more than 15 years of experience in innovation programmes, investor relations and journalism. She is passionate about advising governments and financial institutions on digital transformation programmes. She and Vuk spoke about banking as a service and the need for financial institutions to keep up with the rapidly changing landscape in the era of fintech. 

Join the conversation to find out: 
- All about the benefits of open finance and what needs to take place for this to realise  
- The need for collaboration between financial institutions and fintechs and how Fintech Galaxy makes this happen 
- The questions executives at traditional need to be asking to keep up with the coming changes in the sector

Host: Vuk Zlatarov 

Discover Fintech Galaxy online: https://www.fintech-galaxy.com

🎬 This episode is produced by Poddster, an end-to-end video podcast production company that helps businesses conceptualize, produce, manage, and grow podcasts for their brand.

Click this link to book a free consultation with Poddster's team or rent a studio: poddster.com/book-free-consultation/

📹 Check out Poddster studio based in Dubai Media City: poddster.com/podcast-studio-dubai/

✨ They say the change is the only constant. If this is true, we want to know what is the change ahead. To get the answers, our hosts Ivan Zeljkovic and Vuk Zlatarov are talking to the change-makers themselves. We invite you to join us on the journey of getting the answer ✨

FOLLOW THE CHANGE OFFICER: www.thechangeofficer.com
Instagram - www.instagram.com/thechangeofficer
LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/company/the-chan…-officer-podcast
Twitter - twitter.com/changeofficer_
TikTok - www.tiktok.com/@thechangeofficer

STEP 2022: Mirna Sleiman, Founder & CEO of Fintech Galaxy

In the latest episode of The Change Officer: Media & Comms, we are joined by full-stack marketer, educator, influencer and Masterbox founder Istok Pavlovic. 

Istok is at the forefront of the latest developments in digital marketing and online learning. In 2018, he founded Masterbox, an on-demand online learning platform that is now the largest digital marketing education platform in South-East Europe. He stepped up to the mic to tell our host Ivan Zeljkovic about how to make videos that create attention and unpack the mega-trend of decentralised online micro-learning. 

Istok shared his insights into: 
- Why creativity and video production are going to be the future of digital marketing rather than analytics or targetting 
- How platforms like TikTok are redefining what the terms "professional" and "good" mean when it comes to videos, images and campaigns 
- Why now is the perfect time for educational institutions, individuals and companies to create online courses

Host: Ivan Zeljkovic

Find Master Box online: https://masterbox.rs/upis2021/

🎬 This episode is produced by Poddster, an end-to-end video podcast production company that helps businesses conceptualize, produce, manage, and grow podcasts for their brand.

Click this link to book a free consultation with Poddster's team or rent a studio: poddster.com/book-free-consultation/

📹 Check out Poddster studio based in Dubai Media City: poddster.com/podcast-studio-dubai/

✨ They say the change is the only constant. If this is true, we want to know what is the change ahead. To get the answers, our hosts Ivan Zeljkovic and Vuk Zlatarov are talking to the change-makers themselves. We invite you to join us on the journey of getting the answer ✨

FOLLOW THE CHANGE OFFICER: www.thechangeofficer.com
Instagram - www.instagram.com/thechangeofficer
LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/company/the-chan…-officer-podcast
Twitter - twitter.com/changeofficer_
TikTok - www.tiktok.com/@thechangeofficer

EP111 "Creativity Is The Future" | Masterbox Founder Istok Pavlovic On Digital Marketing & Education

In the latest episode of The Change Officer Podcast, we spoke to Suneel Gokhale, one of the founding partners of VentureSouq, a MENA-based investment firm focused on high growth early-stage technology companies. VentureSouq began as a side hustle when Suneel, his wife and two of their friends started angel investing together on an informal basis and has since evolved into a forward-thinking and strategically focused VC firm. 

This episode is jam-packed with helpful insights for VCs and founders alike. Suneel and Vuk spoke about Suneel's journey into venture capital, focusing on his takeaways and the lessons he has learnt over the last decade of operating in this space. Suneel shared how VentureSouq evaluates founders pitching for investment, the commonalities he sees in companies that don't make it, and the importance of structuring cap tables wisely. 

Tune in to learn more about: 
- Why lawyers are vital in the early stages of a startup's lifecycle 
- VentureSouq's framework for spotting the next opportunity in early-stage startups and getting ready to jump onboard
- Where founders and startups usually go wrong with spending the investment they receive

Host: Vuk Zlatarov 

Discover VentureSouq online: https://www.venturesouq.com

🎬 This episode is produced by Poddster, an end-to-end video podcast production company that helps businesses conceptualize, produce, manage, and grow podcasts for their brand.

Click this link to book a free consultation with Poddster's team or rent a studio: poddster.com/book-free-consultation/

📹 Check out Poddster studio based in Dubai Media City: poddster.com/podcast-studio-dubai/

✨ They say the change is the only constant. If this is true, we want to know what is the change ahead. To get the answers, our hosts Ivan Zeljkovic and Vuk Zlatarov are talking to the change-makers themselves. We invite you to join us on the journey of getting the answer ✨

FOLLOW THE CHANGE OFFICER: www.thechangeofficer.com
Instagram - www.instagram.com/thechangeofficer
LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/company/the-chan…-officer-podcast
Twitter - twitter.com/changeofficer_
TikTok - www.tiktok.com/@thechangeofficer

EP112 "MENA's Time Is Now" | Venture Capitalist Suneel Gokhale On Investing In Early-Stage Startups

The Change Officer is a weekly show where we introduce you to the brilliant leaders who are shaping the Middle East's business landscape.

With the promise to bring every listener to at least one a-ha! moment per episode, we engage our guests in the raw conversations to share their hard-earned insights and advice.

New episode every Monday!