Project E Podcast

Farrah Matalka is a Jordanian Social Entrepreneur, a PwC consultant, and a social activist that works to make dreams come true for people in Jordan and the world. 

Farrah describes her journey starting the moment she was in school and decided to go on a school trip to Ghana, to help the kids fulfill their education needs and how that trip changed her life. She saw the joy she was able to bring to the kids in Ghana and decided that her dream is to continue the mission to bring joy to the people. Enter Giving Joy, the initiative under which Farrah is supporting her community in Jordan, and beyond. To instill Joy into the daily lives of the community, Farah designed a daily journal called the Joy Planner which is a top-selling guided-journal. 

She is a successful example and role model, who continues to give a hand to others and attends to the needs of the less fortunate.

فرح مطالقة رياديّة أردنيّة ، وناشط اجتماعي تعمل على تحقيق الأحلام للفئة الأقل حظا في الأردن والعالم.

Follow Farrah Matalka on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/farrahmatalka/

Follow Giving Joy on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/giving.joyy/

Follow Mahmoud on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mahmoudrpm/

This episode is sponsored by Level Up DXB, a startup aimed at creating personal development opportunities for members of the youth. Connect with Level Up on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/level_up_dxb/ or directly with the Founder Haneen Asfour on https://www.instagram.com/haneen_asfour/

In this episode I speak to both Nicola El Sayegh and Zaid Hamzeh, two people who have full-time jobs and started their side hustle 3 years ago, Trekaline. Trekaline is an outdoor community of people who enjoy trekking and hiking the local trails of the UAE. After traveling to Nepal and exploring the Himalayan trails, Nick and Zaid both decided that the local community in the UAE should be able to experience trekking and hiking trips and explore the other side of town. 

The focus on supporting the growing community is very evident with all of Trekaline's experiences. Since inception, Trekaline continues to grow and has organized numerous trips across all UAE trails and routes with plans to organize international trips in the near future.

Follow Trekaline on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trekaline/

Contact Trekaline via the email: [email protected]

This episode is sponsored by Level Up DXB, a startup aimed at creating personal development opportunities for members of the youth. Connect with Level Up on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/level_up_dxb/

Khalid W. Abou Kassem is the Founder of Guruvise, a tutoring network company that connects eager students with vetted tutors qualified to teach specific courses. Guruvise is based in Lebanon with plans to expand into new cities in the coming months. In this episode, we learn how Guruvise is promoting a knowledge-sharing economy, in Lebanon. Khalid also describes his business model, explains his value-based pricing model approach, and tells us what are some of the solutions he is providing the tutors, and what plans he has for the future for Guruvise. 

Learn more about Guruvise on the website: http://guruvise.com/

Connect directly with Khalid on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/khalidwak/

Books that Khalid recommends:

Lean Startup

https://www.amazon.com/Lean-Startup-Entrepreneurs-Continuous-Innovation/dp/0670921602/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=lean+startup&qid=1590078347&sr=8-1

Zero to One

https://www.amazon.com/Zero-to-One-audiobook/dp/B00M284NY2/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=zero+to+one&qid=1590078332&sr=8-1

This episode is sponsored by Level Up DXB, a startup aimed at creating personal development opportunities for members of the youth. Connect with Level Up on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/level_up_dxb/

Ali is the co-founder and the COO of EnvaTechs, a tech-environmental startup. Ali is also a founding member of the first American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) in Jordan. He has worked with international organizations such as FIFA, AFC, and FIA. Along with distinguished bilingual public speaking skills demonstrated in various workshops and seminars, Ali is a regular and active volunteer at community service level; mostly in the personal and community development fields, and is a mentor in several mentorship programs in Jordan.

In this episode, we discuss his journey from graduating from university to securing his first internship, and then a full-time job. We briefly discuss in Arabic some thoughts on what needs to happen to improve the overall startup ecosystem and to support the entrepreneurs more effectively. The conversation then leads back to English at the 8-minute mark. We learn more about Envatechs and the vision behind the startup. 

To learn more about EnvaTechs visit the website: https://envatechs.com/

To connect directly with Ali on LinkedIn visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ali9said/

This episode is sponsored by Level Up DXB, a startup aimed at creating personal development opportunities for members of the youth. Connect with Level Up on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/level_up_dxb/

Tariq Abu Samra is the Founder and Managing Partner of BloomingBox, one of the leading e-commerce gifting sites in the UAE. A very popular site in the community, Blooming Box offers a variety of premium products like flowers, cakes, roses, plants, chocolate boxes, home items, and delivery within 90 minutes. 

Tariq shares his journey of starting 3 previous startups and failing for different reasons at each endeavor only to go back to the drawing board and try again. In this episode, we learn about what it takes to build a successful business, the importance of trying over and over again, and the value of having the right partner on board. 

Check out the website and order your gifts today at https://www.bloomingbox.com/ 

Connect with Tariq on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/tariqabusamra/

Connect with Tariq on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tariqabusamra/

Follow Blooming Box on Instagram to stay up to date: https://www.instagram.com/bloomingboxme/

This episode is brought to you by 530 Run Club in Dubai, organizer of the 1st ever Marathon at Home edition - IG: https://www.instagram.com/530_run/

Celine El Hajjar is the founder of Nafsi, a brand new sustainable fashion brand in Dubai. Nafsi is a brand sustainably sourced & ethically made. With an Arabic twist that puts you first, NAFSI provides an opportunity, comfort, breathability, & self-expression. 

Celine shares her story of how she came to Dubai, how she got into the fashion industry, what the inspiration behind Nafsi is, and sheds light on the importance of being mindful when it comes to what we choose to wear, and who we choose to support. 

Follow NAFSI on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/nafsi.online/, and on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/shop.nafsi , and on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/nafsi-online/. Shop online on https://nafsi.online/

Connect directly with Celine on LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/celine-hajjar-132074121/

This episode is brought to you by @530_run, the top social running club for the 1st timer https://www.instagram.com/530_run/

In this episode, I sit down with Marc Cirera, the founder of Companies for Good social enterprise based here in the UAE. Companies for good are organizing several initiatives supporting the healthcare workers affected by COVID-19, and involving the community in staying healthy while doing so. Marc shares with us the story of a chance encounter with a woman while on a backpacking trip, that would soon change the course of his life.

You can check out the website https://companiesforgood.ae/ to know more and participate.

Check out the latest initiative here: https://companiesforgood.ae/techfortrees/

Follow the Instagram account to stay up to date: https://www.instagram.com/companiesforgood/

Connect with Marc Cirera directly on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/cirera/

Star of his own documentary "Fight for Every Breath" available on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKoIgP3rFko, Marcus Smith aka "The Marathon Man" is an entrepreneur, motivational speaker, extreme athlete, and coach. Driven by a vision of making people's lives better through health, culture, and environment, Marcus developed and founded two successful businesses, including international performance company and CrossFit Gym InnerFight, and online Paleo-food startup Smith St Paleo.

Marcus previously played professional rugby and participated in the 2009 IRB Rugby Sevens World Cup. He retired from the game in 2010 and moved to CrossFit and endurance challenges. Some of these challenges include 30 marathons in 30 days in 2018, 250km self-supported across the Sahara desert in 2015, 230km self-supported through Kenya in 2019, crossing the island of Corsica on foot with 13,000m of elevation in 2018. His latest achievement is back in October when he successfully ran for 24 hours crossing a total distance of 206.9km, to inaugurate the new athletics track at Sports Village, Dubai Sports City.

Marcus walks us through his daily habits that frame the body and mind for ultimate performance, shares the nutrition secret that will keep you fit and healthy forever, and walks us through his experiences and the extreme challenges he has conquered. We also learn how Innerfight went from a website loaded with free workouts to where it is today. 

Watch Marcus's documentary "Fight for Every Breath" on YT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKoIgP3rFko 

Check out the website for more info: https://www.innerfight.com/ and blog http://www.mjdsmith.com/#home

Connect with Marcus on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/mjd_smith/ and on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcusjdsmith/ and follow the Innerfight page to stat up to date with the latest https://www.instagram.com/innerfight/.

Blue light blocking lenses glasses from https://wildwoodme.com/collections/wild-wood-blue

Books:

Deep Work: https://www.amazon.ae/Deep-Work-Focused-Success-Distracted/dp/1455586692/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=deep+work&qid=1587207766&sr=8-1

Gut Feelings: The Intelligence of the Unconscious https://www.amazon.ae/Gut-Feelings-Director-Gerd-Gigerenzer/dp/0143113763/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1587216007&refinements=p_27%3ADirector+Gerd+Gigerenzer&s=books&sr=1-2

Excellence Wins: A No-Nonsense Guide to Becoming the Best in a World of Compromise https://www.amazon.com/Excellence-Wins-No-Nonsense-Becoming-Compromise/dp/0310352096

50/50: Secrets I Learned Running 50 Marathons in 50 Days -- and How You Too Can Achieve Super Endurance! https://www.amazon.com/50-Secrets-Learned-Marathons-Endurance/dp/0446581844

This episode is brought to you by 530 Run Club in Dubai, recently successfully organized the 1st ever Marathon at Home edition - IG: https://www.instagram.com/530_run/

Protecting our world for us, our families and our children has never been more important. The latest developments with the global pandemic we're facing proved Earth has finally taken a break from all the pollution. The Center for International Climate Research in Oslo estimates that there will be a 1.2% decline in carbon emissions in 2020. Taking active steps and measures to reduce our carbon footprint is now more important than ever. In this week's episode, we explore more ways to do this with Sian Rowlands, Founder of Retold the leading secondhand retailer in Dubai. Sian shares her story of how she left a thriving job in a growing industry to start Retold, tell us a lot of how badly the environment is being affected by the fast fashion industry, and what we as consumers can do to help reduce the carbon footprint. 

Check out Retold here: https://www.instagram.com/shopretold/ , Facebook https://www.facebook.com/shopRETOLD and Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/shopRETOLD/ You can also find the store's location here: https://www.google.com/maps/place/RETOLD/@25.1081815,55.2208462,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x3e5f6bfcfdc454b5:0xd29aee2bd7e103e3!8m2!3d25.1081767!4d55.2230402?shorturl=1 . Hours of opening may differ due to COVID-19. 

You can also connect with me directly here: https://www.instagram.com/mahmoudrpm/