#372 Revolutionizing F&B Discovery in Dubai: Insights from Places’ CTO Walid Abou Ali

In this episode of The CTO Show with Mehmet, we sit down with Walid Abou Ali, the CTO and Co-Founder of Places, a groundbreaking F&B discovery platform based in Dubai. Walid shares his unique journey from a 3D artist to a tech innovator in the MENA region, where he has channeled his passion for food and technology into creating a highly advanced search engine for the F&B industry. We dive deep into the challenges and triumphs of building a tech startup in Dubai, the importance of accurate data, and how Places is revolutionizing the way people discover dining experiences across the city. Walid also discusses the technical complexities of developing a robust search engine tailored to Dubai’s diverse culinary landscape and his approach to balancing innovation with practical business needs. He shares valuable insights on the future of F&B tech in the MENA region, offering advice for fellow CTOs on avoiding technical debt and scaling smartly. More about Walid: https://www.linkedin.com/in/walid-abou-ali-45680a43/ https://placesuae.com/ 01:11 Walid's Journey from 3D Artist to Software Engineer 03:24 Founding and Vision of Places 03:43 The Spark Behind Places 04:19 Building the Places App 05:22 Meeting Co-Founder Matthew Davidson 07:00 Challenges in Dubai's F&B Scene 08:05 Advanced Search Engine for Foodies 09:20 Data Accuracy and Engineering 13:44 Revenue Model and Business Strategy 19:43 Technical Challenges and Solutions 24:19 Combining AI and Traditional Search 24:56 Transparency in Episode Recording 25:13 The Gold Rush of AI 26:23 The Role of LLM in Software Engineering 28:54 Choosing the Right Technology 35:18 Scaling and Technical Debt 36:41 The Importance of DevOps 41:24 The Evolution of Startups in MENA 48:06 Future Expansion Plans 49:01 Conclusion and Final Thoughts