EP39: What Do Founders Really Carry Beyond Scale? | Fouad Jeryes (Maqsam)

Entrepreneur and writer Fouad Jeryes—behind CashBasha, Amman Tech Tuesdays, and now Maqsam, an Arabic-first AI cloud contact center—joins Dana Alhanbali to talk about the side of startups you don’t see in headlines: self-doubt, burnout, heartbreak, and the clarity that sometimes follows unraveling.We cover: tying identity to performance, coming of age in adulthood, small wins vs. “scale,” building Arabic AI for real contact-center work, and why vulnerability is a leadership advantage—especially in MENA cultures that expect men to carry silently.Fouad also shares how his team at Maqsam funds anonymous mental-health care for employees across Jordan, KSA, Egypt, and the UAE.If you’re building in MENA tech, curious about Arabic LLMs, or renegotiating your metrics for a good life, this episode gives language, tools, and maybe permission to change.We hope you will find something to consider.Connect with the Guest:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fouadjeryesX: X.com/fouadjeryes Company Website: www.maqsam.comMedium: https://medium.com/@fouadjeryesFind us at (Instagram podcast page) https://www.instagram.com/somethingtoconsider.podcast/Listen to us (all available platforms)Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/something-to-consider/id1674861838Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/618zDVAJO0teMngLOzyKz4?si=8bfddd1364d34fc7Connect with the Host:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dalhanbali/LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/danaalhanbaliX: https://x.com/DanaAlhanbaliTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@danaalhanbaliYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/@danaalhanbali5621/about