#EntMETalks: The Best (And Worst) Advice You’ve Received As Entrepreneurs

Shutterstock

You're reading Entrepreneur Middle East, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

In this #EntMETalks episode, we asked startup founders at the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Festival 2017 about the best and worst advice they’ve received in running their business.

“The best and worst advice is to get advice,” adds Tarig El-Sheikh, a Dubai-based serial entrepreneur and startup mentor, noting that entrepreneurs need to learn to filter through the barrage of advice they’d get on a day-to-day basis. For instance, for Abdulla Al Matar, co-founder of Meet The Locals, being told by a mentor that his idea wasn’t a profitable one ignited him to perservere in his business and follow his passion. Ghizlan Guenez, founder of The Modist, an e-commerce platform curating international brands for the modest fashion market, notes the best advice she got was that it’s always worth asking for help.

ProTenders founder and CEO Karim Helal, whoses construction platform enables businesses to grow, utilizes tools and data to streamline tendering processes and find suitable partners, says one of the best pieces of advice he’s received was to find people you can collaborate and partner with along his entrepreneurial journey. “Find a co-founder, find partners, find a support system, grow as a group.” Siddiq Farid, founder of Smart Crowd, a real estate investment platform enabling access to the UAE real estate market low minimum investment amount, adds: “Have a purpose-driven business, and believe in your gut, and go for what you believe in.”

Related: Arab Youth Center’s Arab Youth Startup Marketplace Welcomes Young Startups And Investors

In this #EntMETalks episode, we asked startup founders at the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Festival 2017 about the best and worst advice they’ve received in running their business.

“The best and worst advice is to get advice,” adds Tarig El-Sheikh, a Dubai-based serial entrepreneur and startup mentor, noting that entrepreneurs need to learn to filter through the barrage of advice they’d get on a day-to-day basis. For instance, for Abdulla Al Matar, co-founder of Meet The Locals, being told by a mentor that his idea wasn’t a profitable one ignited him to perservere in his business and follow his passion. Ghizlan Guenez, founder of The Modist, an e-commerce platform curating international brands for the modest fashion market, notes the best advice she got was that it’s always worth asking for help.

ProTenders founder and CEO Karim Helal, whoses construction platform enables businesses to grow, utilizes tools and data to streamline tendering processes and find suitable partners, says one of the best pieces of advice he’s received was to find people you can collaborate and partner with along his entrepreneurial journey. “Find a co-founder, find partners, find a support system, grow as a group.” Siddiq Farid, founder of Smart Crowd, a real estate investment platform enabling access to the UAE real estate market low minimum investment amount, adds: “Have a purpose-driven business, and believe in your gut, and go for what you believe in.”

Related: Arab Youth Center’s Arab Youth Startup Marketplace Welcomes Young Startups And Investors

Related Content

Growth Strategies

Navigating the New Normal: BlackRock’s 2026 Global Outlook

In an interview with Entrepreneur Middle East, Ben Powell, Chief Middle East and APAC Investment Strategist, BlackRock Investment Institute, breaks down the firm’s newly released Full-Year Global Outlook 2026 and what shifting economic forces mean for investors. As global markets stand at the cusp of significant structural change, the BlackRock Investment Institute’s Full-Year Global Outlook […]
Growth Strategies

Why Culture is Pharma’s Strongest Competitive Advantage

From where I sit, performance is rarely a question of capability. Most organizations are full of talented, well-intentioned people. The real question is whether those people feel safe enough to contribute fully; to question decisions, raise concerns, and admit uncertainty without fear. The pharmaceutical industry has never been short on pressure. It is highly regulated, […]
Business News

WEF 2026: UAE Doubling Down on Openness to Build a Resilient Economy, Says Badr Jafar

Held under the title The Great Rebalancing: Artificial Intelligence, Jobs, and the Future of Inclusive Growth, the session at the UAE Pavillion at the WEF Annual Meeting in Davos brought together H.E. Badr Jafar, the UAE’s Special Envoy for Business and Philanthropy, and Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), for a […]