Building What's Missing - Ep 17 - Wai Yan Htun , CEO and Founder of XO Halal

Assalamu Alaykum!In this episode of the Deen & Deals Podcast, we sit down with Wai Yan Htun, founder of XO Halal.Wai Yan shares his unconventional journey — growing up in Myanmar, dropping out of university twice, building startups across Asia, and eventually moving to the U.S. for marriage and starting over from scratch.We talk about how a simple problem — finding trustworthy halal snacks — turned into a fast-growing business, why listening to customers forced him to pivot away from subscription boxes, and how he’s building a halal snack marketplace with both online and on-ground access through vending machines.This episode is a masterclass in:-early-stage entrepreneurship-market validation without hype-customer-led product decisions-and building with intention and alignmentTopics Covered:-Building startups across Asia with no corporate background-Why he shut down multiple companies to start fresh in the U.S.-How XO Halal began as a $3,000 experiment-Subscription vs marketplace models-Halal access in America vs abroad-Finding customers without ad spend-Why every founder needs an “idea shelf”-Where to Find Wai Yan & XO HalalXO Halal: https://xohalal.comInstagram / TikTok: @xohalalFollow Deen & Deals🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0TmLGVf...🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DeenAndDealsSubscribe to our weekly newsletter:https://deenndeals.com/HostsMohammed KiswaniLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mohammedkiswani/Futhallah HamedLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/futhallah-hamed/If you enjoyed this episode, please like, subscribe, and share it with someone building something of their own.#DeenAndDeals #Entrepreneurship #HalalBusiness #Startups #MuslimFounders #D2C #Marketplace #FaithAndWork #Podcast