Interview with Tambi Jalouqa, on building, exiting, and investing from the MENA region

In this episode, we talk honestly about what it takes to build a global product from outside Silicon Valley, why he changed his mind about solo founders, the mistake almost every technical founder makes when they bring in a "business" co-founder, and how AI tools have flattened the geography of software.Chapters: 00:00 Introduction02:50 Starting on an MSX, fixing CRT monitors, and studying math before CS05:18 Binary Interactive Studio 07:50 Jobland: video-CV app10:35 POS Rocket12:45 Raising from local VCs vs. the US14:18 The secret sauce of POS Rocket15:55 Switching from builder to investor 22:38 Why he co-founded Xpand Conference 27:30 Leaving Propeller to start Maza VC31:30 Why pre-seed is both more impactful33:30 The advantage of building from your home country38:48 Did he miss coding? 42:00 Solo founders: red flag → green flag46:25 The countries producing the best founders right now48:18 The #1 mistake technical founders make51:35 Mountain biking55:50 New Section: Paul Graham, vibe code, mountain biking56:50 ClosingShow Links: - LinkedIn: https://jo.linkedin.com/in/tambijalouqa- Maza VC: https://maza.vc- Maza VC Handbook: https://handbook.maza.vc/about/introduction- Propeller VC: https://propellervc.com- Xpand Conference: https://www.xpandconf.com- Claude Code: https://claude.com/claude-code- Y Combinator: https://ycombinator.com- Paul Graham essays: https://paulgraham.co