Zero to N

Loubna Imenchal built a global leadership career by learning to treat “no” as a challenge, not a verdict.

She joins Rachid Labrik on Zero To N to unpack career reinvention, multicultural leadership, women in tech, intuition vs data, AI and critical thinking,  while revealing the personal cost of always living in the future.

Now, her focus is increasingly turning towards impact: from Connect to Elevate to serving as a judge at Final Pitch Dubai and encouraging women entrepreneurs, Loubna is using the lessons and network she has built to help more women create opportunities of their own.

“I never asked for a promotion. I never asked for a salary increase.”

For more than 25 years, Badr Zemmama has built his career from junior positions to executive leadership, without following one of the most repeated pieces of career advice: if you don't ask, you don't get.

He doesn't believe it.

His philosophy is different:

Prove the value first.

In this episode of Zero to N, Badr and Rachid Labrik explore what it really takes to build a career that lasts and why patience, curiosity, trust and execution may matter far more than constantly chasing the next title.

Badr shares the early failure that almost changed the direction of his life, the words from his father that restored his belief in himself, and why he later chose a corporate salary worth a fraction of what he had been earning because he believed the long-term opportunity was more valuable than the short-term money.

They challenge the obsession with fast success, discuss what social media may be teaching the next generation about ambition, and ask a harder question:

Have we become so focused on getting ahead that we've forgotten to become good enough to stay there?

Badr also breaks down his approach to leadership, hiring, underperformance and negotiation,  including why he hires for curiosity, why leaders should build teams that no longer need them, and why trust starts by giving before you ask for something back.

His rule for business is simple:

Win the heart.
Then the mind.
Then the wallet.

And his code of transformation?

The right people. The right preparation. Relentless execution.

Because the idea is only the beginning.

The real work is going from Zero to N.

Emma Burdett built WILD from a $300 event into one of the region’s best-known communities for women in leadership  before realising that the business, and she herself, needed to evolve.

Emma joins Rachid Labrik to talk about being fired three times, building from zero in Dubai, the mistakes she made while scaling, using LinkedIn to create opportunity, trusting intuition in commercial decisions and why sometimes success requires the courage to reinvent what already works.

A conversation about entrepreneurship, identity, visibility, freedom and knowing when it is time to build the next version.

AI, digital transformation, future of work and Morocco's technology ambitions with Mohamed Saad, Deputy CEO of the Casablanca Stock Exchange and President of AUSIM.

Mohamed joins Rachid Labrik to explore why transformation fails, what happens to junior careers as AI advances, why critical thinking matters more than ever, and what Morocco needs to move from technology consumer to global creator.

From “adapt before you adopt” to the Infinite Game, they ask what really takes people, organisations and countries from Zero to N.

Mohamed Loughzail planned to become a doctor. Failing the entrance exam sent him unexpectedly into computer science and ultimately into a career spanning Morocco, Canada, P&G, Saudi Arabia and China.

He joins Rachid Labrik to discuss comfort zones, leadership, education, people, retirement and why the legacy you leave behind matters more than the title you held.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Meet Mohamed Loughzail
01:59 The Failure That Changed His Career
09:31 How Canada Opened Up His World
15:26 Why Your Environment Shapes Your Ambition
17:53 Fight the Comfort Zone
18:56 Starting at P&G as Morocco’s First IT Manager
21:19 Build the Foundation Before You Climb
23:10 People Make the Difference
25:25 When the Comfort Zone Wins
27:06 Saudi Arabia, China and Choosing Family
28:56 “Retirement Is Pure Fiction”
30:24 Building a Business School Around Inclusion
34:32 Education vs the Future of Work
44:31 From Corporate Executive to Board Adviser
50:57 Morocco: Hardware vs Software
53:41 Mohamed’s Code of Transformation
55:26 Why Success Becomes Collective
58:35 The Power of Being a People Person

At 10, Mouna Abbassy suddenly lost the ability to walk and spent months rebuilding her body from the beginning. Years later, that same belief in possibility would shape Izil Beauty—a brand built to take Moroccan beauty rituals, heritage and ingredients to the world.

Mouna joins Rachid Labrik to discuss resilience, identity, entrepreneurship, letting go as a founder and why building something meaningful requires the founder to transform alongside the company.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Meet Mouna Abbassy
01:20 The Experience That Changed Her at 10
03:18 Paralysis, ICU and Learning to Walk Again
05:14 Why Surviving Changed Her Mindset
09:18 Returning to School in a Wheelchair
13:09 From Morocco to Dubai
18:16 When Moroccan Heritage Became the Opportunity
19:56 Putting Morocco on the Global Beauty Map
23:13 Why Izil Is About More Than Beauty
29:16 The Moment She Finally Started
31:31 The First Kiosk—and Leaving Corporate Life
33:08 The Cash-Flow Years That Tested Her
36:56 Zero to One Is Not One to Ten
39:24 Learning to Let Go as a Founder
41:26 The Emotional Reality of Entrepreneurship
42:13 What Success Means to Her Now
47:16 What She Would Tell Her 10-Year-Old Self
49:24 The Global Vision for Izil

One conversation with a struggling student changed how Hamid Ben Elafdil measured success forever. From entrepreneurship and public leadership to investing, Jadara and launching another start-up at 60, he joins Rachid Labrik to explore social mobility, failure, reinvention and why real success is ultimately measured by the lives you impact.

This episode is in French, with some Darija.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Meet Hamid Ben Elafdil
01:20 The Conversation That Changed Everything
04:08 Redefining Success Around Impact
06:32 Social Mobility Shouldn’t Depend on Luck
08:01 From Entrepreneur to Public Service
17:32 Firefighter or Architect?
20:36 Taking Impact to a National Scale
29:03 “There Is No Small Entrepreneur”
31:49 Why He Looks at a Founder’s Failures
34:50 “You Don’t Have Control”
38:13 The Accident That Changed His Direction
40:20 Staying Grounded When Success Grows
43:57 Why He Chose to Return to Morocco
49:24 Jadara and the Responsibility to Give Back
53:38 Closing the Social and Cultural Capital Gap
56:25 Going Back to School—and Starting Again at 60
01:00:41 When Your Business Becomes Your Identity
01:02:16 Zero to One vs One to N
01:03:32 When Your Ambition Is Bigger Than You

At 22, Mahmoud Bartawi lost his father and was asked to help rescue a family business carrying AED 100 million in debt. He joins Rachid Labrik to unpack the decisions that followed—from restructuring the business and returning to banking to building Under 500 across six countries, selling to Kitopi and discovering why hard times often create the best entrepreneurs.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Meet Mahmoud Bartawi
01:43 Losing His Father at 22
03:21 The Knock on the Door That Changed Everything
03:50 Why the Family Chose Him
05:03 Discovering AED 100M in Business Debt
06:12 Cutting 500 Employees to 60
08:53 Why He Felt Responsible for the Debt
12:35 The 10-Year Plan—and Stepping Away
14:40 “It Was Anything But a Gift”
17:04 What Losing His Father Changed in Him
18:53 “You Have to Earn It”
29:16 Building Under 500 From Scratch
32:39 Learning the Restaurant Business the Hard Way
36:03 When the Side Business Replaced the Salary
38:47 The Relationship That Led to Kitopi
44:49 “You Need to Suffer”
46:37 Why He Started Business with Bartawi
48:16 Why You Can’t Copy-Paste Success
54:50 “We’re Not Ruled by Fear”

What does it take for a CEO to rise from a small village to global success?In this episode, we sit down with Rachid, CEO of Slimstock , to unpack a powerful journey that moves from humble beginnings to building and leading at a global level. This is not just a story of success, it’s a deep dive into the mindset, decisions, and sacrifices required to transform vision into reality.Rachid shares the defining moments that shaped his path: overcoming early limitations, navigating setbacks, and building the discipline and leadership required to operate on a global stage. We explore how he thinks as a CEO today, what he had to unlearn, and the principles that continue to drive his growth.Whether you're an entrepreneur, aspiring founder, or someone building their career, this conversation offers real insights into what it actually takes to scale beyond your environment and constraints.

Ghita Mezzour went from scientist and entrepreneur to helping shape Morocco’s digital future at government level. She joins Rachid Labrik to reveal what happened the night she received the call to become a minister, how she approached transformation at national scale and why the ability to learn, adapt and create impact has guided every chapter of her career.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Meet Ghita Mezzour
01:24 The Call to Become a Minister
02:48 The Night She Couldn’t Sleep
03:55 “Don’t Refuse Because You Think You’re Not Ready”
06:30 From Research to Real-World Impact
09:29 Why the First 100 Days Matter
11:53 Building Digital Morocco 2030
14:30 Why Transformation Has to Be Built With People
17:01 Learning to Work at National Scale
19:07 From 20 Million to 2 Billion Dirhams
22:29 What Government Changed in Her
25:22 The Work Habit She Had to Unlearn
28:21 The Project She Is Most Proud Of
40:08 Carnegie Mellon and Learning to Dream Bigger
44:00 Why Being Different Can Be Useful
44:54 “How Can I Make It Better?”
52:44 Returning to Entrepreneurship and AI
54:01 “AI Is a Survival Thing”
01:05:49 Learn, Relearn and Unlearn
01:08:05 Make Sure People Know About Your Work
01:09:10 What Success Means to Her