The Next Big Thing
Founders. Visionaries. Builders of what’s next.
This isn’t just a podcast. It’s a search for the boldest ideas and the people bringing them to life — starting from the Gulf, reaching across the world.
Each episode features raw, in-depth conversations with entrepreneurs, innovators, and investors who are reshaping industries, rewriting narratives, and building the future from the ground up.
From deep tech to consumer brands, Dhahran to Dubai — The Next Big Thing uncovers the real stories behind breakthrough startups, untold struggles, and moments that changed everything.
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The Next Big Thing
The Team Culture Behind a $3M Startup Raise | The Next Big Thing - Riyadh
Everyone talks about raising. No one talks about building the right team.
In the first episode of The Next Big Thing – Riyadh Chapter, Mohamed Milyani, founder of Nqoodlet, shares the raw truth behind building in The Kingdom. From bootstrapping his first startups to now closing a $3M round for Nqoodlet - a Saudi Fintech platform helping SMEs manage and automate their financial operations.
But the episode isn’t about money.
It’s about what happens behind the scenes:
⏵ How to choose the right cofounder — and survive hard moments
⏵ The argument that brought the team even closer together
⏵ Building a startup based on a personal pain
⏵ What it’s like leading a 75% female and Gen Z team
⏵ How it's the Golden Age of startups now in Saudi Arabia
This episode is hosted by Hasan Jabarti, serial entrepreneur and key player in Saudi’s growing startup scene.
For anyone building in the GCC — or trying to understand what real leadership looks like in a shifting ecosystem — this episode delivers.
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► Mohamed Milyani – CEO of Nqoodlet
https://www.linkedin.com/in/milyani/
► Hasan Jabarti – Host & Ecosystem Builder in Saudi Arabia
https://www.linkedin.com/in/hasanjabarti/
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Chapter:
00:00 – Introduction
01:40 – Childhood & early entrepreneurial spirit at age 7
02:34 – Discovering computers and falling in love with the internet
03:10 – Launching his first website business in the early 2000s
05:10 – Becoming an Apple instructor
05:52 – Writing his first book on Apple products
06:52 – Starting Lucidiya, his first AI company
08:22 – Why Saudi Arabia wasn’t ready for a venture builder
09:50 – Entering fintech and spotting real problems
10:32 – Being an entrepreneur and a hustler
12:57 – Wanting to build legacy
13:54 – Cofounder rules: transparency, full trust, shared decisions
16:10 – When challenges reveal true cofounder compatibility
17:35 – Yara joins as cofounder during the hardest phase
21:05 – Working with a young team and female Saudi cofounder
22:55 – Why 75% of the team is women
23:17 – Building culture intentionally, inspired by Apple
25:10 – Why now is the golden era for Saudi startups
26:45 – The rise of enablers: VCs, accelerators, and Vision 2030
29:02 – Post-bubble: How the investment landscape shifted
31:02 – Closing a $3M round for Nqoodlet
32:15 – What’s next: A product roadmap for solving SME finance
34:30 – Advice to the next generation of Saudi founders
36:15 – “The most important thing is the culture”
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