Delusional Podcast

Idriss Al Rifai is the founder of Flow48, one of the fastest growing fintechs in the Middle East. Previously, he built Fetchr, a logistics giant, from 0 to a $1 billion valuation before drifting south, driven by regional conflict and shaky financing market. In a previous life, Idriss was a professional basketball player and enrolled into the French Special Forces. His unique background forged his ultra-resilient mentality: "pain is just an information".Timestamps:00:00 - In this episode03:48 - Special Forces [Black Ops] and pro Basketball shaping him up08:07 - From 0 to a 7-figure acquisition in 4 months, as a student.10:29 - Getting fired and building Fetchr across 210 cities in Saudi13:37 - $250m revenue in 3 years, renting 40 aircrafts14:51 - Pure execution or a lot of luck? we all know, stop pretending 17:22 - SoftBank term-sheet + Alibaba acquisition falling apart25:47 - Depression, identity loss and Special Forces' pain-tolerance training34:36 - Bouncing back: from 'never again' to 'let's build again'40:14 - Flow48: SME financing = the region's massive opportunity45:11 - Revenue-financing workflow: data, underwriting, distribution50:53 - The most challenging part of building Flow4852:55 - Driven by revenge?... wisdom of a 3rd-time founder 57:37 - Doing things differently this time.59:19 - Calling out the BS in the industry [finally someone said it out loud]References:Flow48 - https://www.menabytes.com/flow48-series-a/Fetchr - https://www.forbesmiddleeast.com/leadership/entrepreneurship/dubai-based-logistics-startup-fetchr-raises-41-million-to-expand-in-the-middle-eastAbout Cauridor [sponsor]:Cauridor is connecting businesses to a continent of payment opportunities. They’re building the payment rails across Africa to enable companies to process money transfers and payments to, from, and within the continent through a single API integration. With market-beating exchange rates and dedicated customer support teams on the ground, Cauridor empowers its partners to deliver a seamless and competitive payment journey to customers throughout Africa. For more info, visit: www.cauridor.comAbout OmniRetail [sponsor]:OmniRetail is a unified commerce company transforming how manufacturers, distributors, and retailers across Africa connect, trade, and access finance. Through its product suite (Omni One (manufacturer OS), OmniHub (distributor OS), OmniBiz (retailer OS), and OmniPay (embedded finance)) the company digitizes the entire B2B commerce chain, enabling smarter distribution, faster payments, and inclusive growth for small businesses. Operating across Nigeria, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire, OmniRetail is building Africa’s largest connected supply network for everyday essentials. For more info, visit: www.omniretail.africaListen on all platforms:Youtube - ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@TheDeluluPodSpotify - ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/3vUDH5yEH6pvRkqM1TVaxS⁠Apple Podcasts - ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-rally-cap-podcast/id1731710244⁠Where to find Idriss:Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/ialrifai/X/Twitter: x.com/Idriss_alrifaiWhere to find Kyane:Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/kyanekassiriX/Twitter: x.com/kyanekassiri

Sheel Mohnot is the co-founder of Better Tomorrow Ventures, one of Silicon Valley's favorite fintech investors. Previously, he built FeeFighters [acquired by Groupon], Innovative Auctions, and Thistle while having angel invested in companies such as Ramp, Flexport, and Mercury.

Timestamps:

00:00 - In this episode

01:29 - Introduction

03:33 - First liquidity event $$$: selling Fee Fighters to Groupon

08:37 - Building a cash-cow business leveraging ICANN auctions

12:13 - Does Sheel 'add value' for his portfolio founders?

15:58 - VCs = master manipulators?

18:29 - Great investments he wouldn't have made if he knew better

20:14 - The nature of the game rewards unbalanced founders

21:51 - Teaming up with a polar-opposite business partner

23:52 - Difficult fundraise despite the past successes - what LPs wanted to see

25:58 - The reason BTV will become less active in emerging markets

28:48 - Investing in IndiaGold in India, and BRKZ in Saudi

31:51 - Winning competitive deals against giant firms dropping term sheets

33:43 - Businesses Sheel isn't excited about + my contrarian opinion

35:09 - Are your 'work friends' real friends? founders, co-investors, etc

36:22 - Sheel's aspiration post-retirement [take a guess]

References:

IndiaGold - https://techcrunch.com/2021/08/26/indiagold-raises-12-million-for-its-gold-focused-digital-alternative-credit-platform

BTV raises Fund 3 - https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/01/better-tomorrow-ventures-closes-140m-remains-bullish-on-fintech

Sheel Mohnot - https://mercury.com/blog/sheel-mohnot

About Cauridor [sponsor]:Cauridor is connecting businesses to a continent of payment opportunities. They’re building the payment rails across Africa to enable companies to process money transfers and payments to, from, and within the continent through a single API integration. With market-beating exchange rates and dedicated customer support teams on the ground, Cauridor empowers its partners to deliver a seamless and competitive payment journey to customers throughout Africa. For more info, visit: www.cauridor.com

About OmniRetail [sponsor]:OmniRetail is a unified commerce company transforming how manufacturers, distributors, and retailers across Africa connect, trade, and access finance. Through its product suite (Omni One (manufacturer OS), OmniHub (distributor OS), OmniBiz (retailer OS), and OmniPay (embedded finance)) the company digitizes the entire B2B commerce chain, enabling smarter distribution, faster payments, and inclusive growth for small businesses. Operating across Nigeria, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire, OmniRetail is building Africa’s largest connected supply network for everyday essentials. For more info, visit: www.omniretail.africa

Listen on all platforms:

Youtube - ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@TheDeluluPodSpotify - ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/3vUDH5yEH6pvRkqM1TVaxS⁠Apple Podcasts - ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-rally-cap-podcast/id1731710244

⁠Where to find Sheel:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/smohnot

X/Twitter: x.com/pitdesi

Where to find Kyane:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyanekassiri

X/Twitter: x.com/kyanekassiri

Jake Gibson is a co-founder and GP at Better Tomorrow Ventures, Silicon Valley's coolest early stage fintech VC firm. Previously, he co-founded NerdWallet, a $1b publicly listed company.Timestamps:00:00 - In this episode01:00 - Introduction03:04 - Inception of Nerdwallet, not taking VC money, building a marketing machine07:36 - Ringing the NASDAQ IPO bell and being a small part of something meaningfully big09:20 - Leaving a lot of money on the table to be a present parent to his twins11:52 - Using angel investing as a forcing function to figure out what to do next in life 14:57 - Teaming up with Sheel as a co-GP, complementary profiles, perfect match?19:09 - Low egos and how to manage friction between GPs20:58 - Raising Fund1, harder than expected. Fund2? Super easy. Fund3, hard again. 24:17 - Investing in the best founders, regardless of geography: Brazil, Saudi, Nigeria26:08 - Why is Jake bullish on Brazil?28:29 - The brain switch required to invest in emerging markets vs. in the US30:20 - How to keep a fresh mind when you've 'seen it all'?34:10 - Is fintech really only 1% built? or are we close to saturation?36:34 - How to blindly invest in the AI era when nobody knows what the world will look like?References:Nerdwallet - https://www.reuters.com/article/technology/startup-nerdwallet-raises-64-million-in-first-round-of-funding-idUSKBN0NW25G/Jake's partner Sheel - https://mercury.com/blog/sheel-mohnotAbout Cauridor [sponsor]:Cauridor is connecting businesses to a continent of payment opportunities. They’re building the payment rails across Africa to enable companies to process money transfers and payments to, from, and within the continent through a single API integration. With market-beating exchange rates and dedicated customer support teams on the ground, Cauridor empowers its partners to deliver a seamless and competitive payment journey to customers throughout Africa. For more info, visit: www.cauridor.comAbout OmniRetail [sponsor]:OmniRetail is a unified commerce company transforming how manufacturers, distributors, and retailers across Africa connect, trade, and access finance. Through its product suite (Omni One (manufacturer OS), OmniHub (distributor OS), OmniBiz (retailer OS), and OmniPay (embedded finance)) the company digitizes the entire B2B commerce chain, enabling smarter distribution, faster payments, and inclusive growth for small businesses. Operating across Nigeria, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire, OmniRetail is building Africa’s largest connected supply network for everyday essentials. For more info, visit: www.omniretail.africaListen on all platforms:Youtube - ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@TheDeluluPodSpotify - ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/3vUDH5yEH6pvRkqM1TVaxS⁠Apple Podcasts - ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-rally-cap-podcast/id1731710244⁠Where to find Jake:Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobgibson/X/Twitter: https://x.com/iamjakestreamWhere to find Kyane:Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyanekassiriX/Twitter: https://twitter.com/kyanekassiri

Karim Beguir is the co-founder and CEO of InstaDeep, a Tunisia/Africa-born company that grew into a global deep-tech AI powerhouse and got acquired by german biotech giant BioNTech for $700m.Timestamps:00:00 - In this episode00:53 - Introduction01:42 - Modeling protein folding with AI08:26 - Solving combinatorial optimization with AI12:58 - Identifying upcoming COVID variants with AI17:06 - Curing cancer with mRNA and AI?20:19 - Consulting model vs VC-backed startup?22:11 - From academic curiosity to commercialization24:30 - Overcoming the disadvantage of building from Africa27:09 - The upside of building from Africa29:01 - The reasoning behind partnering with BioNTech31:30 - Raising a Series C or getting acquired?35:01 - Preserving InstaDeep's DNA post-acquisition36:19 - Staying grounded despite fame, money, success37:43 - Making a lot of money messes with your brain?40:21 - What does Karim wanna do now?42:08 - Africa's role in the AI race45:59 - Karim's mistake46:55 - Karim's hardest decision47:21 - Karim's favorite (non-famous) founder47:42 - How to allocate a $100m investment in African tech?50:07 - Advice to African founders building in deep techReferences:Karim's book: 'LEAPFROG' - https://www.amazon.com/LEAPFROG-Building-Africas-Future-Era-ebook/dp/B0F2JBYB8DInstaDeep's research portal - https://instadeep.com/research/Nature Machine Intelligence's feature - https://www.nature.com/natmachintell/volumes/7/issues/6Listen on all platforms:Youtube - ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@TheRallyCapPodcastSpotify - ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/3vUDH5yEH6pvRkqM1TVaxS⁠Apple Podcasts - ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-rally-cap-podcast/id1731710244⁠Where to find Karim:Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karim-beguir-2350161/X/Twitter: https://x.com/kbeguirWhere to find Kyane:Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyanekassiriX/Twitter: https://twitter.com/kyanekassiriLearn more about Rally Cap: https://techcrunch.com/2022/05/05/rali_cap-gets-backing-from-global-vcs-and-launches-30m-fintech-fund-for-emerging-markets/

Hisham Halbouny is a managing partner at P1 Ventures, a $50m Africa-focused fund who's often referred to as contrarian. Hisham was previously a partner at Man Capital, the family office of Egyptian Billionaire Mohamed Mansour where he invested in Uber, Airbnb, Spotify, Bolt, and more.Timestamps:00:00 - In this episode00:36 - Introduction01:13 - Investing in Uber/Airbnb/Spotify03:16 - Going all-in on Africa06:20 - Global VCs have pulled back, yet the timing is right07:43 - DFIs as the default LPs for African VC?08:54 - Tailoring the VC model for Africa?13:03 - P1's investment thesis16:33 - Personal evolution as an investorReferences:P1 Ventures - https://techcrunch.com/2023/09/26/pan-african-contrarian-investor-p1-ventures-reaches-25m-first-close-for-its-second-fund/Man Capital - https://www.man-capital.com/DFIs coming to the rescue - https://techcabal.com/2023/06/05/role-of-dfis-in-africa-ecosystem/Listen on all platforms:Youtube - ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@TheRallyCapPodcastSpotify - ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/3vUDH5yEH6pvRkqM1TVaxS⁠Apple Podcasts - ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-rally-cap-podcast/id1731710244⁠Where to find Hisham:Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hisham-halbouny-7a5ba23/Where to find Kyane:Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyanekassiriX/Twitter: https://twitter.com/kyanekassiriLearn more about Rally Cap: https://techcrunch.com/2022/05/05/rali_cap-gets-backing-from-global-vcs-and-launches-30m-fintech-fund-for-emerging-markets/

Karim Jouini is the founder of Expensya, an expense management platform sold to Medius Group for $100m. Karim is now building his second company called ThunderCode: an AI testing agent for software teams.Timestamps:00:00 - In this episode01:58 - Introduction02:59 - Missing PMF, SMB sucks, pivot to mid-market06:03 - Brex, Ramp, & copycats in Africa/LatAm/Asia10:31 - Karim's new AI company16:55 - Expensya: industry evolution, black swan event25:42 - Selling to corporates, build vs. buy, competition 31:01 - North star metrics, improvising, burn-outs, failed PoC38:45 - What takes you to $3m ARR won't take you to $10m ARR43:49 - Decision to sell, acquisition process, price discovery, etc49:37 - Secrets behind "Build locally, sell globally" [Tunisian playbook]54:32 - Personal: Making a lot of money... & building again References:Expensya's acquisition - https://www.medius.com/news/cid-B5994B54FD438614/media-alert-medius-completes-acquisition-of-expense-management-firm-expensya/Brex exists SMB space - https://techcrunch.com/2022/06/17/as-brex-exits-the-smb-space-its-ceo-says-that-doesnt-include-startups-at-least-the-funded-ones/What would Google Do? https://aszapla.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/what-would-google-do.pdfListen on all platforms:Youtube - ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@TheRallyCapPodcastSpotify - ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/3vUDH5yEH6pvRkqM1TVaxS⁠Apple Podcasts - ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-rally-cap-podcast/id1731710244⁠Where to find Karim:Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karimjouini/X/Twitter: https://x.com/karim_jouiniWhere to find Kyane:Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyanekassiriX/Twitter: https://twitter.com/kyanekassiriLearn more about Rally Cap: https://techcrunch.com/2022/05/05/rali_cap-gets-backing-from-global-vcs-and-launches-30m-fintech-fund-for-emerging-markets/

Melvyn Lubega is a Partner at Breega, one of Europe's fastest-growing VC firms ($700m) which recently launched its first Africa-dedicated fund.

This episode was recorded in October 2023.

Timestamps:

00:00 - In this episode

00:50 - Introduction

01:53 - From founder, to angel, then VC

04:37 - Growing Go1 to a $3b edtech giant

07:15 - Breega's DNA and its expansion into Africa

09:47 - Global funds' common mistake in Africa

12:48 - (some funny part)

14:38 - Uganda and the curse of tiny markets

16:51 - This model was doomed to fail1

9:13 - Here's where I see the next opportunity

References:

Go1 - https://techcrunch.com/2022/06/06/go1-nabs-100m-at-a-2b-valuation-to-upgrade-its-curated-enterprise-learning-platform/

Numida - https://techcrunch.com/2022/09/28/yc-backed-fintech-numida-raises-12-3m-led-by-serena-ventures-to-extend-loans-to-msmes-beyond-uganda/

B2B e-com struggling in Africa - https://restofworld.org/2023/africa-b2b-ecommerce-shutdowns-layoffs/

Listen on all platforms:

Youtube - ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@TheRallyCapPodcast

Spotify - ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/3vUDH5yEH6pvRkqM1TVaxS⁠

Apple Podcasts - ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-rally-cap-podcast/id1731710244

⁠Where to find Melvyn:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mlbg/X/Twitter: https://x.com/MelvynLubega

Where to find Kyane:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyanekassiriX/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kyanekassiri

Learn more about Rally Cap: https://techcrunch.com/2022/05/05/rali_cap-gets-backing-from-global-vcs-and-launches-30m-fintech-fund-for-emerging-markets/

Wael Nafee is a General Partner at Raed Ventures, the leading Saudi early-stage VC firm with $450m in AUM.This episode was recorded in October 2023.

Timestamps:00:00 - In this episode00:49 - Introduction01:51 - Careem and Deeptech background06:00 - Identifying exceptional founders08:33 -  Portfolio risk-reward modeling tool for VCs09:48 - Better returns or more management fees?12:42 - Egyptian tech exodus15:31 - We were wrong about this model18:52 - Does MENA have any role to play in AI?20:23 - LPs in 2023/2024 are different22:01 - Next milestone: unlocking IPOsReferences:Raed’s open-sourced VC modeling tool - https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/modeling-vc-investment-strategies-wael-nafee/Careem's acquisition - https://www.forbes.com/sites/michelleevans1/2019/03/26/meet-careem-ubers-3-1-billion-new-acquisition-in-the-middle-east/Tunisian Startup Act - https://www.abramundi.org/post/the-tunisian-startup-act-an-entrepreneurial-revolutionListen on all platforms:Youtube - ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@TheRallyCapPodcastSpotify - ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/3vUDH5yEH6pvRkqM1TVaxS⁠Apple Podcasts - ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-rally-cap-podcast/id1731710244⁠Where to find Wael:Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wael-nafee-2b78abbX/Twitter: https://x.com/wnafeeWhere to find Kyane:Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyanekassiriX/Twitter: https://twitter.com/kyanekassiriLearn more about Rally Cap: https://techcrunch.com/2022/05/05/rali_cap-gets-backing-from-global-vcs-and-launches-30m-fintech-fund-for-emerging-markets/

Jacques Marco is the founder and CEO of Axis Pay. The company raised a $8m seed round and is now one of Egypt's fastest-growing fintechs.

Amir Farha is a prominent figure in MENA VC. Having previously co-founded the first and largest early-stage VC firm in the region [BECO Capital, $500m AUM].

Timestamps:(1:49) Building a second VC firm(3:02) What does 'strong founder' even mean?(4:29) Investing in underdogs(6:15) Aren't we all improvising?(7:05) The evolution of Amir 1.0, Amir 2.0, Amir 3.0(11:18) Aren't VCs just monetizing access?(13:26) Raising $50m as a solo-GP(15:16) KSA/UAE/Egypt, too many startups, beyond the VC model(17:57) Unconventional founder moves in nascent markets

(20:34) Unhealthy obsession: psychological cost of succeeding in VC?

References:

COTU Ventures - https://techcrunch.com/2024/02/26/cotu-ventures-launches-54m-fund-for-pre-seed-and-seed-startups-in-mena/

Beco Capital - https://alphapartners.com/news/2017/01/beco-capital-supporting-technology-revolution-middle-east/
Huspy - https://www.entrepreneur.com/en-ae/entrepreneurs/uae-based-proptech-startup-huspy-raises-us37-million-in/431307

Kitopi - https://www.kitopi.com/post/kitopi-announces-415-million-series-c-funding-round

Listen on all platforms:

Youtube - ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@TheRallyCapPodcast

Spotify - ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/3vUDH5yEH6pvRkqM1TVaxS⁠

Apple Podcasts - ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-rally-cap-podcast/id1731710244⁠

Where to find Amir:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amirfarha/

Where to find Kyane:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyanekassiri/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/kyanekassiri

Learn more about Rally Cap: https://techcrunch.com/2022/05/05/rali_cap-gets-backing-from-global-vcs-and-launches-30m-fintech-fund-for-emerging-markets/ 

Check out our Climate Newsletter:  https://rallycapclimate.medium.com/