I sat down with Sky Kurtz, Co-founder and CEO of Pure Harvest Smart Farms, to explore the $300M journey of building an agri-tech giant in the Middle East. In this episode, Sky shares his hard-earned lessons on avoiding down round disasters, the pitfalls of founder self-sabotage, and why a high valuation isn’t always a good thing.
Jun 2
Two top angel investors are DOUBLING down on the GCC, but what are they investing in?
Abdullah Mutawi, Partner & Head of Corporate MENA at Taylor Wessing, and Kushal Shah, Private Markets Investor, join Loulou for a conversation (episode 103) on where opportunity really sits in the GCC today. They unpack angel investing, founder red flags, why many startups fail d ... Show More
1h 2m
May 19
The $240M startup trying to fix trade in the Strait of Hormuz
Gaurav Biswas, Founder & CEO of Trukker, joins Loulou for a timely conversation on what happens to GCC supply chains when the Strait of Hormuz is disrupted. They unpack how cargo was rerouted through alternate ports, land bridges, and trucking networks while food security, indust ... Show More
52m 51s
Jan 2025
Cutting Through the BS on Economy Shifts, Crypto Trends, Luxury Disruption, and the Future of Business
SUMMARY<p>In today’s episode of Weekly Business news, hosts Ryan Alford and Chris Hansen explore a range of topics from personal anecdotes to significant business news. Ryan shares stories from his recent vacation, setting a relaxed tone. They discuss the ongoing California wildf ... Show More
32m 12s
Jul 2025
GM85: What If the Real Risk Isn’t Recession — But Reinvention? ft. Steven Bell
Steven Bell has seen the macro machine from every angle - Treasury insider, hedge fund manager, and chief economist. In this wide-ranging conversation with Alan Dunne, he traces the quiet erosion of economic orthodoxy and why AI, not tariffs, may prove the more destabilizing forc ... Show More
1h 7m
Aug 2025
AI, Sports, and Global Impact: The Engaging.io Story
From breaking into North American professional sports to scaling complex organizations worldwide, Engaging.io has built a reputation for technical depth, honesty, and impact. In this episode, CEO Michelle O'Keeffe dives into AI adoption, why clean data beats hype, the importance ... Show More
21m 11s
Nov 2024
915. News: LATAM fintech is booming, Metrobank slapped with a hefty fine, and why Klarna chose NYC for its IPO
Join hosts Laura Watkins and Benjamin Ensor alongside some great guests as we look at the biggest financial services and fintech stories of the past week.
Topics covered include: a LATAM fintech roundup featuring news from Nubank, Ualá, and Tako; Klarna announcing plans to IPO i ... Show More
1h 7m
Sep 2025
20VC: Mercor: From $1M to $500M in 17 Months: The Fastest Growing Company in the World | How to Think About Margins and Revenue Sustainability in AI | Why Evaluation Benchmarks in AI are BS Today with Brendan Foody
Brendan Foody is the Co-Founder and CEO @ Mercor, the fastest growing company in history. The company solves talent allocation in the AI economy and they have scaled from $1M to $500M in revenue in just 17 months. With a rumoured new funding round pricing the company at a whoppin ... Show More
1h 1m