Venturing Forward: Emon Shakoor's Path to Success

Episode 9 of the Success Saudi podcast features Emon Shakoor. Emon is an entrepreneur, a venture capitalist, an angel investor, and an advisor. She founded Blossom Accelerator, Saudi Arabia's First Tech-Inclusion Accelerator in 2017. Emon is a venture partner at Oryx Fund Hambro Perks and serves on the investment committee of OQAL, Saudi Arabia’s largest Angel Investment Network. She is a Ted-X speaker and has been featured on the cover of Harper's Bazaar and Entrepreneur Middle East. In this episode, we talk about: 0:00 - Introduction 2:46 - Where did you grow up and what were you like as a kid? 5:51- How was your family life? 7:08- Were your parents role models for you? 12:09 - Who are you today? Personally & professionally? 13:59 - Are you able to balance your hobbies and entrepreneurship? 15:40 - Tell us about Blossom, who does it serve and how do you help them? 19:46 - How do you establish an international presence for your business? 23:23 - Tell us about the work you are doing with Oryx 24:34 - What is an angel investor? 31:15 - How do you help aspiring entrepreneurs go from idea to action and overcome the fear of failure? 36:00 Do you have any advice for anyone who is fundraising or looking for mentors? 44:30 - What are the best places to network in Riyadh? 58: 07 - Do you have any advice for parents with children with disabilities? 1:00:37 - What has helped you the most in your own entrepreneurial journey? 1:01:58 - Rapid fire questions Special thanks to the beautiful Marriott Hotel located in the heart of Riyadh’s Diplomatic Quarter for hosting us today. Thank you also to Saudi Gift Gallery, providing locally-made cultural gifts for businesses and events. You can find them on Instagram @saudigiftgallery.