I always felt things were a bit tight in the education sector. New ideas and frameworks were not being implemented as fast as we wanted. I always felt there was more in the world that I could do. By this point I was raising my daughter and my new stepdaughter after being married. I took the two girls and moved to Dubai. My other options in terms of international markets were either the US or UK, but this was the closest venue in proximity that I could go to with a bit of space to think as an educator. I went to do my master’s degree. At first I thought of doing my new degree in education as I had always been in education. I had a school selected. However, by almost chance I entered another university on a corner of Dubai Media City. I told them I was looking for a master's program and the person in question suggested finance and a Master of Business Administration. At first, I was reluctant. There was a new program titled a Master of Strategic Marketing, and I spoke with the head of the department. He asked me about my experiences and what I was most proud of. We talked about the parallels between education and influencing consumer behavior. We talked about marketing and strategy. Instead of 15 minutes we sat for three hours talking about life, purpose and design. We talked about changing markets, countries and entire generations through positive marketing. After the meeting I used every resource to study marketing. Finally, I signed up and took a minor in finance and accounting, which was the best decision I have ever made. I always tell young people that we draw our own path in life. When life brings bends and dents and opens doors, it is important to take a peek, see what happens and put in your best.

I was blessed at this time to have people in my life that changed how I think. I used to be a very settled person; I thought raising my girls was what life was all about. I would not describe myself as a rebel, but I was a rebel in wanting things to be better. When I was still in Dubai, I met people who wanted to work with me given my background. I considered my time in Dubai as a time of trials. I pushed myself beyond my limits. Being on my own and away from my close network and comfort zone allowed me to go all the way. I learned that I could enter into any meeting, start conversations, sell and perform research. I realized I was fully capable of handling operations with the least number of resources. In around 2012, I began to read a lot about the power of changing mindsets. One of the most important things we can learn is to unlearn. Unlearning means learning without being halted by what we have learned before. Unlearning allows us to add new knowledge and adapt quickly. It requires being open to change. One needs to control their own psychology and mindset and remove biases and judgments. At the time, I felt that I needed to pass this on to others and thought of returning to Saudi Arabia.

I returned to Saudi Arabia and went to work for King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). At the time, the word entrepreneurship was not a large concept in my life. However, I realized that everything I had come to learn was in fact entrepreneurship. Everything we did to discover customers, design products and services and problem solve all had a name and was something akin to both a science and an art. When I heard there was an entrepreneurship program and a seed funding department for deep tech companies at KAUST, I applied. I was told that I was overqualified at first, but I insisted. At the beginning I only handled events to showcase the company. I first needed to prove I could handle simple operations. I built relationships with entrepreneurs, students and all involved stakeholders. The event management position became a tool to access investors, bring them to the campus and begin learning. I learned that mentorship is one of the largest forces that one can ever have. Entrepreneurs can do magic with the right mentor. A job opened in the entrepreneurship department and I went for it.

A few months later, I became the manager in charge of developing programs. At the time it began quite small. We saw the power of those with PhDs and bright minds, scouted them across the globe and brought them into Saudi Arabia to do research and development. We began to develop strategies for how this would be implemented in the country. At the time, there was a small amount of sponsored research with Saudi Aramco and other large players. There were not a lot of venture capitalists in this era. We created a program that was sponsored by one of the banks. They gave $25,000 to use as a brand, which was amazing at the time. Our ultimate goal was to pass on entrepreneurial skills and develop an ecosystem in the country. We began with small sessions and talked about various topics before establishing an acceleration program. The new program involved having entrepreneurs input ideas and seeing where we could assist. It was a very informal process. This was in the early days of entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia, around 2009. At the time, corporates were the dominant players, not small and medium-sized companies. Individuals that did start companies on their own usually obtained capital through families or friends. Despite the environment, KAUST was able to attract talent to Saudi Arabia to live, bring their families, study and be given the tools and labs necessary to research and innovate. We worked on world-changing technologies such as biotech and clean tech. Everything was done in house. We used to go to other Saudi universities and talk about entrepreneurship. There were many reactions, including fear. We were teaching people to be doctors and engineers. We were teaching them to take risks and translate risks into value. It was a challenge. We needed narratives and the support of the government to make it accessible.

At the time MIT Enterprise Forum was active in the region in the form of a competition platform for startups. They introduced themselves and told us that they required mentors in different countries such as Egypt, the UAE and Morocco. The work included working weekends, providing five-day boot camps, running a series of workshops and many other roles. Our team worked hard and would go on until the morning hours. We would forget to eat food and drink while listening to entrepreneurs talk about their ideas. It was amazing. I am blessed to have had the opportunity to go to these countries and be exposed to hundreds and thousands of entrepreneurs through this network.

Mentorship is a way of thinking; it is not about telling people what to do. Mentorship is listening and understanding why one is doing what they are doing and what drives them. It is about breaking things down and helping people put them back together again. It is also important to impart experiences. Storytelling is one of a mentor’s greatest tools. Entrepreneurs require someone they can talk to more than having someone with all the answers. Mentors need to concentrate on helping entrepreneurs make better decisions and become better leaders. One of the most important things for new business owners is to never be confused about failure. If one does not grow up in an ecosystem that accepts failure, we tend to have drastic emotions and feel like we are in the wrong place, which is not the case.

Saudi Arabia is experiencing a socioeconomic transformation like never before. The current landscape is vibrant. We have both local and foreign talent. Many young people and even people with young children are now considering entrepreneurship as a career path. There has been a definite shift from traditional norms in business towards entrepreneurship as a life choice. In today’s context there is more pressure in being an employee, which is interesting. Many people in the government have started known companies and are open about it. These narratives are important. Saudi Arabia now has a giant number of opportunities for entrepreneurs, both foreign and local. Startup companies in Egypt and UAE want to expand into the Saudi market. Corporates are starting to give more leeway to startup companies and giving them contracts. Many of these companies work with both the public and private sectors. Banks today are investing in startup companies. Traditionally, the health, education and financial sectors were the hardest to penetrate for small players. However, these sectors are now utilizing new technologies and relying on startups.

Regulatory and legislative reforms started early in Saudi Arabia. When I worked at KAUST we worked with a small authority looking to bring in experts to create a faster platform to register companies. This work speeding up public sector frameworks began a decade ago and has ramped up in terms of speed exponentially. Today the government is incredibly fast. The public sector is now involved in areas where the private sector needs to catch up, which is an interesting dynamic that one does not normally see. That said, there remain challenges. Startups need to stay updated with the fast pace of regulatory changes so that they are not in trouble. Saudi Arabia is going through a steep growth phase. Things are moving rapidly, and we cannot slow down. However, systems will soon begin to stabilize once the entire infrastructure is in place. We want to do things quickly but also resiliently. The government’s momentum has been one of the largest factors in driving the growth of startups and entrepreneurs.

There is currently so much to do, so much hype and so much energy in Saudi Arabia. There is a feeling that one is missing out on new opportunities. There has been a huge change in our fabric of life and the speed of transformation. This energy has extended down from the Vision 2030 initiative. By 2030 I will be in my 50s and I will be proud of what we have achieved together. I feel like I have contributed towards building a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem in the country. I have had people call me the grandma of entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia as one of the first women that ever spoke publicly about it in the early days. I am honored to have left a legacy of inspiration, which has been inwardly inspiring. One does not want to be less than what one wants to overcome. These days when young people compete – whether in sports or science competitions – they talk publicly about it and are proud. The Crown Prince is one of our biggest inspirations. We can relate and associate with our leaders. The biggest impact of the 2030 blueprint has been changing people's minds and hearts to take risks, whether in Saudi Arabia or around the globe. It has encouraged people to become learners as one cannot induce change without being educated and well informed. The role of mentorship is huge in the country. Around 20 years ago, we would not know what a mentor is. However, today everyone has a mentor. It was for this reason that I joined Kauffman Fellows, a global program for venture capitalists. It is important we share and continue to discover things for ourselves to define our purpose. We need to question how we can become our truest selves, and what that can bring to our jobs.

Entrepreneurship and talent follow opportunity, and the level of opportunity in Saudi Arabia is high. Catching these two base elements early is the best strategy for any investor. If you wait, you are too late to get into it. At the end of the day, investment is also a bet. When you make your first investment you are engaged to it. While you cannot change the minds of people with simply a word, you can make a big difference with one small investment. Many large companies receive foreign investment, but rarely in the early stages. Large companies can make large leaps. However, I invite investors to come to the region to understand the size and scope of local opportunities. An entrepreneur is an investor’s biggest testimony. A good way to start is to find a good investor that you trust and that has made international investments to co-invest in a company’s early stages.

Growing up there were many women I admired both in my life and in society. However, I always wanted to see more of what was not typical. I did not see those willing to become an astronaut or an engineer, for example. There were no engineering schools. The choices for women – at least in terms of what is still largely visible – is to either be a teacher, a nurse or a doctor. Traditionally, ladies that venture into starting their own companies live with their families. Today, there are many women in different positions, but they are not largely visible. While I worked a lot with investors of all kinds, I always wanted to speak with a female investor. During my time at KAUST, there were none. Until 2020 I worked solely in building the entrepreneurial ecosystem and providing training for angel investors. I worked with the government’s division realization office and ministry of health but never touched investing on my own. There was an invisible barrier because nobody was doing it. During the COVID-19 pandemic I took online courses in startup law at Berkeley. I took whatever course I could to validate what I wanted to do.

A friend asked me how many women attend our sessions. While there were some, very few asked questions. We decided to establish a network for angel investors aimed at female entrepreneurs called Women Spark. We began with virtual sessions with only women attending and only women speaking. We dug into angel investors and these women began sharing their different perspectives on how they invest, their fears and having impostor syndrome. They opened up about overcoming challenges in terms of family and culture. It was mind-blowing. We realized the need for a more in-depth look at women and female mentorship. When you put women into the title of a group, women feel more comfortable approaching and sharing. It has become my own personal mission. In 2020 I was approached by 500 Global who were looking for someone to hire. While I had never invested myself, I accepted the interview and was offered an advisory job to help them set up in Saudi Arabia. In February 2021, I was announced as partner. It was amazing. I received many calls from many women excited that there was finally a woman in new investment. While there are female Saudi general partners outside of the country, this was the first general partner position fulfilled by a woman in the country. From then onwards, many other women have been put into the same position as the barrier has been broken. One of Vision 2030’s targets is to have 30% of the workforce being women, and I believe we are at 47% today. The sense of pride in what we have achieved is contagious. Many people are moving here to be part of the excitement.

I have always maintained good relations with all venture capitalists in the local ecosystem even before coming into my position as partner. I was invited to events and mentored many investors. These male investors are my colleagues and friends. They are people that I respect and have given me respect. My community never made me feel that I could not achieve my goals. As women we often build limitations. It is important that we step outside our limitations and take what we can instead of waiting for it to be offered. It helps to find someone who is in a position that you want and talk with them to see what possibilities exist. One does not need to wait for 10 years to be a good investor or to be a great investor. I believe all investors are great investors from day one. If you sit with anyone, be it men and women, they will all tell you about mistakes. The more mistakes you make, the more conscious you become of what you need to look for and skills you need to build. There was never a real barrier of entry for my job. There was nothing that said women cannot be investors. Additionally, since most investments are done in closed setups that are male dominated, there is a question of how we as women can compete and get deals. If there is an event, I implore my female counterparts to take two or three ladies and go. In my experience, it is fine. There are also other avenues such as meeting people individually. While we often question how women can navigate within male society, it is important to remember that male-dominated society is often very slow. There are barriers on both sides.

When I was named general partner at 500 Global, I received tons of calls from both men and women congratulating me. Many said they did not realize I wanted to be an investor and would have offered me positions if they had known. I never signaled that it was something I wanted to do; I never spoke about it. My advice for young people is to network and be honest about what you want. The idea of networking ideas is something that is not practiced enough. It is important that you talk about your interests so that people see your intentions as opportunities. I spend hours a day talking to women about limitations, empowerment and going into business. I have also worked on a platform to boost financial literacy for women. It is a platform for only women taught by only women. I talked about angel investing, and we did about six or seven episodes. It is like a course and people need to finish it. Afterwards, you can set up a meeting to receive advice from the mentors who did the course. It is brilliant. I have seen many participants start investing and applying for financial firms. It made me realize that it is possible to positively influence people beyond one-on-one sessions. I have learned that my personal experience is having an impact, and that I need to share it.

At 500 Global we do not have a written agreement and it is not something we publicize, but we do seek diversification within teams applying to the accelerator. We want to see women. We ask teams about women, encourage them to attend calls and check how much equity these women have in the company. While it is not true of all companies, we generally want at least 30% of our cohorts to have female founders. This has forced me to move beyond applications to seek out female-founded companies and assess their potential. For example, I met with the founder of a company called Nocturne that was working in the non-fungible tokens space when it was hot and has since pivoted towards blockchain. She is founder material, has the profile and is intriguing, so I reached out. We talked for days. While she was at first reluctant, we signed a terms sheet. It has been two years since she started the company, and she has been successful with many clients and a large team. It is important to utilize our positions to positively influence others.