Unplugged with iSolution: From Hobby to Success: Saber and Mumzworld Journey in AI and E-Commerce Innovation

Ever wondered how a simple hobby could evolve into a thriving business? Join us for a captivating conversation with Saber, a distinguished engineering and marketing enthusiast, who shares his incredible journey from crafting websites to spearheading a successful web hosting company back in 2005. As the Director of Engineering at Mumsworld, Saber provides unique insights into the transformative power of AI in the e-commerce landscape, especially for new moms. Discover how Mumsworld carves out its niche in the MENA region by leveraging cutting-edge technology to offer a personalized shopping experience that resonates with its audience.

This episode takes you through the dynamic world of e-commerce, where Saber articulates the crucial role of innovation and forward-thinking in staying ahead. We delve into the exciting potential of AI tools like iSolutions and Google Cloud's Vertex AI to redefine shopping experiences. Saber also shares his perspectives on leadership and career growth, emphasizing the need for hard work and ambition in engineering. Get ready for an engaging exploration of technology's promising future in shaping tomorrow's retail experiences, enriched by Saber's stories and insights.

Transcript

Introduction - Mumz world

Speaker 1 0:00

I think I should have sold it for more money . I think I sold it for £2,000 at the time I heard rumours . I wanted to always hack around with things . I wanted to get things done . You've obviously crushed it in the engineering world and then kind of realising oh , there's actually a business in the internet you can actually make money .

Speaker 2 0:14

That could actually shake up the e-com industry , If you don't like something you want to change it .

Speaker 1 0:19

Actually go ahead and try to change it .

Speaker 2 0:30

Sounds good , ahead and try to change it . That's good . Do you want to shake hands on that ? Yeah , we've all been there Sometimes to get connected . You got to unplug and try again . This is where we connect you to the brightest minds in the MENA region . This is Unplugged with iSolution . Welcome , saber , with us in Unplugged , thank you , thanks for having me . We're here at Jitex . This is a special series , as you know , and we can't wait to launch this promising conversation . But before we do that , I'm going to ask our audience to follow us on LinkedIn and subscribe to our YouTube channel . Tell me how's Jitex treating you now ?

Speaker 1 1:05

Yeah , it's quite fun , very busy . It's very big . They keep expanding it . Every year I come here it's getting bigger and bigger that's good .

Speaker 2 1:11

So I've as you know , I'm in marketing . I've done engineering for two and a half years and then I pulled out . I didn't enjoy it . I didn't know what got you

How Sabeur Got into engineering

Speaker 2 1:23

into engineering . Honestly .

Speaker 1 1:25

Honestly , I would say I wanted to always hack around with things . I wanted to get things done . I wanted to make websites , and I think that's what got me into engineering . I wanted to make a website . I wanted to make my own personal website . I had to learn how to do that and it took me down a rabbit hole of kind of figuring out what is uh , what is html , what is css and uh here I am uh .

Speaker 2 1:51

What was that uh moment like the sparkle aha moment that moved you a bit to cloud and this type of technology .

Speaker 1 1:58

Yeah , this is actually 2005 , 2005 . Okay , you'll find this funny . Actually , it kind of funny how the world kind of connects around . In 2005 , and this is when I started to make my own websites I discovered web hosting and I wanted to see how I can actually host my website in the cloud on the internet . So I started my own little web hosting business . So I was kind of created a business where people can actually buy space on my server to host . So for me that was the start and I kind of realized oh , there's actually a business in the internet . You can actually make money . But at the same time I actually kind of learned more things PHP , javascript and it kind of just kind of opened up a whole world of technology that I didn't even know existed , to be honest with you .

Speaker 2 2:47

So so you're one of these people that buy the domains and then sell them back later on , while you grew up , exactly .

Speaker 1 2:54

Exactly , I should actually made money over that one domain I had . I actually I just managed to tell it I think I should have sold it with for more money . I think I sold it for two thousand pounds at the time oh nice , and I bought it for more money . I think I sold it for £2,000 at the time oh nice , and I bought it for like maybe £10 . So that was my first kind of ROI , that's a good ROI it was .

Speaker 2 3:13

People would die for that kind of ROI .

Speaker 1 3:15

But now I think back , I think I could have sold it for more money and I was like I regret that .

What is Mumzworld?

Speaker 2 3:21

No , remorse , no remorse . Exactly , so that no , no , no remorse , no remorse exactly .

Speaker 1 3:27

So you're director of engineering at mom's world . Yes , tell us a bit about mom's world . Yeah , mom's world is one of the biggest moms and babies , uh e-commerce players in the region and it's kind of unique in itself and probably , I would say probably the world and kind of it's kind of a vertical . That's an e-commerce that focuses on specifically moms and babies and caters towards that , that kind of segment of the market .

Speaker 2 3:44

Yeah , I'm getting with me two full suitcases of diapers for a friend of my wife . We can help you out .

Speaker 1 3:53

Mumsworld is here . This is from Mumsworld .

Speaker 2 3:54

Oh , really Okay , perfect .

Speaker 1 3:56

Because sometimes you meet people that are actually not on the shore . Unless they have kids , they don't know Mumsworld . So when you meet somebody that knows Mumsworld , it's actually quite a delight

How is Mumzworld coping with the new tech scene?

Speaker 1 4:04

.

Speaker 2 4:04

How is Mumsworld gearing up for the new AI era , as we say it , yeah , how are you prepping for that ? What's the new initiatives that you're going to take to be aligned with what's coming in the next 10 ?

Speaker 1 4:18

years . Honestly , this is the question I get from my manager . We get a question from his manager around what are we going to be doing around AI ? And we already started kind of the planning for the next couple of years around what we want to do things . For us , search search is very important , so we want to add search bots and kind of improve the experience for moms around . You know , if they want to buy for the new moms , they want to buy a few few items . They can just say , hey , I'm a new mom , I want what are the items I should be looking for and provide them a list of items they should be buying . But we're also looking at recommendations . We're looking at kind of personalizations as well and it's kind of like where iSolutions is actually looking to help us out with this with Google Cloud . So we're looking at different parts of the AI spectrum , I guess . But it's not just a buzzword , we're trying to actually use it for something , I get it .

Speaker 2 5:06

So you're prepping everything you can to actually cater for the market . So AI is something that customizes things . Let's say that gives you a unique experience . If you had to give a unique experience for fathers and create something called dad's world , what would you actually put ?

Speaker 1 5:25

in there . Honestly , we get that question a lot . It's like oh , there's mom's world , what about dad's world ? And actually we thought about this . We're always thinking about what would dad's world look like , but we actually haven't decided . But I think if we were ever to do dad's world , I think we'll kind of provide an experience that kind of complements mom's world , kind of special products towards dads , maybe shaving creams , maybe , uh , facial products or something like that . I think there's there's a lot of things we can do around private products and stuff like that yeah , I , I totally agree .

Speaker 2 5:55

So let's say

Dadzworld? Reality or Dream?

Speaker 2 5:56

, you want to build an application . Uh , that could actually shake up the e-com industry . Don't give us , don't give us the full application because we're not , we're not gonna , we're not gonna take it . Keep it confidential . Yeah , let's give us the full application , because we're not going to take it . Keep it confidential . Yeah , give us another idea . What would you actually build ?

Speaker 1 6:16

Something that could change the industry . Oh , okay , that's a very tough question . Yeah , I think one thing that's kind of in , you know , especially looking at it from Mung's world or looking at it from an e-commerce I worked for other e-commerce companies I think personalized shopping is something that I think where you can actually leverage ai , leverage a lot of customer data and kind of bring that into an experience . I think no company or at least from what I've seen , especially maybe in this region , where actually it brought personalized shopping to an online experience , to an ai experience , to using data , and a lot of companies have the data and often we have a lot of data on our customers , their purchasing habits and so on . So definitely personalized shopping or personal shopping , where you have either an AI or a real human providing you the shopping experience .

Speaker 2 7:01

Yeah , exactly . So this is something iSolution and Google Cloud do implement . It's not yet fully developed , you know , because it's based on AI . It's something called Vertex AI , where it gives you special recommendations . It changes the landing pages as per your habits , per what you like , per your taste of shopping . So I think what you're saying is very much important from a business marketing perspective . We look forward to customize things for our audience because it gives them a unique experience and it engages people and it builds trust , you know exactly . So it shows that we actually care for , for our clients . So you've obviously crushed it in the engineering world , like you can say that . Um , any words of wisdom , any advice ,

Advice forward

Speaker 2 7:49

any leadership notes you would like to give to people that are , let's say , going to pursue a career in engineering ?

Speaker 1 7:56

Yeah , I think you know , as a leader in technology , I always kind of evaluate what got me here and what's going to get me to the next level or get me to the next part of my career , and I always kind of make mental notes and what maybe my kind of managers say about me or kind of other people . It's always about like hard work and actually putting yourself in the place for you to be able to actually make a change and make an impact and actually kind of applying yourself . And for me , the most important thing I would say is and as cliche as it sounds is actually actually hard work and actually have be ambitious and actually be the change that you want to be right . So I I say this a lot to my team and the people that I manage if you don't like something , you want to change it , actually go ahead and try to change it , like no one's stopping you . No one's , at least in the , the organization I work in , no one's trying to stop change .

Speaker 2 8:45

That's good , so , uh . So empowering people is a is a good thing , and taking taking actual action is a . It's a very good thing as well . That was good . So empowering people is a good thing , and taking actual action is a very good thing as well . Sounds good . Do you want to shake hands on that ? Yeah , perfect , thank you . Thank you , samuel , for being with us . No , thank you . That was an amazing conversation . I hope you enjoyed that as well .

Speaker 2 8:59

No , no , definitely looking forward to more of these conversations exactly follow us on LinkedIn , subscribe on YouTube and stay tuned for the next episode .