Founders Live Dubai Is Back!
Our MENA regional leader, Mostafa Shahat, reports on the return of this important city in this post, cross-posted from his original on Medium. We thank Mostafa for his assistance with establishing this city along with Karim Elemam, our new city leader.
Farther down, we feature social posts from attendees, including a clip from Malak Karajah’s speech on sustainable growth, along with the full text below.
The Founders Live Dubai event marked another successful chapter in our mission to connect entrepreneurs, investors, and industry leaders. Held in one of the most dynamic business hubs in the Middle East, the event was a perfect blend of networking, innovation, and showcasing local talent.
The day kicked off with an inspiring introduction from Nick Hughes, the Founder of Founders Live, who shared his vision for global startup ecosystems. Our City Director in Dubai, Karim Elemam, then took the stage to welcome the audience and set the tone for the exciting day ahead.
Throughout the day, five amazing startups pitched their innovative ideas in just 99 seconds, followed by a 4-minute Q&A from the audience. The companies that pitched at Founders Live Dubai were:
JustCook.app: A culinary startup focused on transforming the cooking experience with technology.
Invoicemate.net: A platform revolutionizing invoicing and payments for SMEs.
Bookends.ae: An online platform bridging readers with books they love and connecting them with literary communities.
Traveln.ai: A travel-tech startup leveraging AI to provide personalized travel recommendations.
Zeventra.com: A company offering event solutions for the modern age, focusing on seamless online and offline experiences.
After intense pitching and valuable feedback from our expert panel, the audience voted, and Bookends.ae emerged as the winner, receiving a well-deserved opportunity for continued mentorship and exposure within the Founders Live global network.
As always, Founders Live Dubai provided a great space for entrepreneurs to connect with investors, mentors, and fellow founders. With its dynamic environment and diverse talent pool, Dubai continues to be an ideal location for nurturing and showcasing the future of business innovation.
Special thanks to Karim, who did an amazing job bringing this event together. We would also like to express our gratitude to our incredible speakers and a special thank you to Dubai CommerCity for hosting us at such a wonderful venue.
We look forward to our next event in Dubai and to continuing our mission of empowering entrepreneurs around the world.
Next…
Check out these awesome LinkedIn recap posts, and give some Likes and Shares. Click the “…more” link to see the full post on the long ones. (LinkedIn won’t allow embed of posts with multiple pics so we’ve added those as images linked to the original posts - click through for those.)
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Malak’s full speech:
Hi everyone,
It’s great to be here with you today. I know you’ve been listening to pitches, thinking about TAMs and CACs and LTVs and all the other acronyms that make startups feel like some sort of code-breaking challenge. So I want to take a break from the metrics and just talk to you. As someone who’s walked alongside founders, seen what breaks a startup—and what keeps it going—I want to talk about something we don’t always give enough airtime to: sustainable growth.
Let’s start with a simple truth:
Most startups are chasing growth like it’s the only thing that matters. And listen, I get it. You want to raise, you want to scale, you want that hockey stick graph that makes investors drool. But I’m here to tell you—growth at any cost is not growth. It’s self-destruction on a sugar high.
If your startup feels like a treadmill that’s speeding up but the incline keeps rising, and you’re one bad sprint away from flying off—congrats, you’ve entered the realm of rapid, unchecked growth. And unfortunately, that's where a lot of startups die.
But there’s a better way.
What is sustainable growth?
Sustainable growth is the kind of growth you can actually… sustain. Shocking, I know. It’s growth that doesn’t collapse under its own weight. It’s not always the flashiest—it’s the kind that’s earned. Step by step. Win by win. It doesn’t come from guessing. It comes from experimentation. It comes from listening to your users. It comes from discipline.
Here’s the thing: opinions don’t matter—unless they’re coming from your customers. Your idea might be brilliant in your head. Your co-founder might agree. Your mom definitely agrees. But if your users aren’t biting, it’s not a business—it's a science project.
You have to test. You have to iterate. You have to be wrong, and learn, and try again. That’s what sustainable growth looks like: a process that can survive your mistakes.
Only scale when it’s working
You don’t scale something that’s not working. That’s like pouring more water into a leaking bucket and hoping it becomes a fountain.
Find your wins. Then scale gradually. Validate those wins at scale. That’s how you build confidence—and resilience.
But too often, founders get a big chunk of investment and feel like they’ve already won. The pressure kicks in. Suddenly it’s: “Let’s go big!”
You hire too fast. You launch too many features. You throw money at problems instead of solving them.
And then reality shows up like, “Hey… you didn’t actually figure this out yet.”
So let me say this clearly:
Raising a lot of money before you know how to use it is not a flex—it’s a liability.
Fundraise with intention
When you fundraise, be intentional. Know how much you need—not how much you can raise, how much you should raise.
Know where that money is going, and what impact it’s going to have—not just on your roadmap, but on your valuation and your future fundraising.
And please, plan your next round before you start this one. Not when you’re halfway through burning it. Fundraising is not “let’s raise and then figure it out.” It’s “let’s figure it out so we know how much to raise.”
Money isn’t what builds a startup. Clarity is.
Sustainable growth is also about you
Now, I want to shift gears. Because when we talk about sustainable growth, we usually talk about the business.
But what about you?
You—the founder who hasn’t taken a day off in months.
You—the one whose best friend keeps asking “Are you still alive?”
You—the one whose calendar says “CEO,” but whose body says “help.”
Let me say this with love: you are not your startup.
You are a person. A full human being. And that matters. A lot.
If your company is growing but you’re falling apart—what’s the point?
Sustainable growth means you are growing too. It means you have time to spend with people you love. It means you take walks. You get sleep. You unplug. You show up when someone you love needs you—not just on the demo day, but on the hard days. The real days. The ones that matter more than any pitch ever will.
Because you don’t get a badge of honor for burning out. No investor says, “Wow, you haven’t seen your family in 8 weeks? Here’s a term sheet.”
And your team? They’re human too.
And as you embrace your own humanity, don’t forget your team’s.
They’re not just employees—they’re people. With lives. With families. With dreams outside of your product roadmap. So be kind. Be flexible. Create a culture where it’s okay to take a break. To say “I’m not okay today.” To live a full life.
The startups that win long-term? They’re built by people who feel safe, supported, and seen. Not burned out and replaceable.
Choose with values
And one last thing before I wrap up.
As you grow, you’re going to have to make decisions—about tools, partnerships, suppliers, customers.
Growth gives you power. Use it intentionally.
Support businesses that align with your values. Choose tools that are built ethically. Avoid partnerships that exploit workers or harm communities. Don’t just build a business. Build one that actually matters.
Because when you build with integrity, with kindness, with care—you’re not just growing a startup. You’re growing something that deserves to exist.
__________
So let me leave you with this:
Don’t chase growth at any cost.
Chase growth that lasts.
Growth that lifts you up, not burns you out.
Growth that builds a business and a life.
You don’t need to sprint. You need to last.
And the best companies—the ones that stand the test of time—are built by people who do, too.
If you were to remember me with one thing, remember me with this: not all growth is created equal - the only growth that really matters is the growth that is sustainable.
See Malak’s original Google Doc
