Flat6Labs - How to Integrate AI Within your Startup: The Role of AI in Startup Growth

How to Integrate AI Within your Startup: The Role of AI in Startup Growth

Posted on 08 May 202423 Jun 2025 by Omar

In the ever-evolving landscape of entrepreneurship, one question resonates loudly: Where does Artificial Intelligence (AI) belong within the heartbeat of a startup? Integrating AI within a startup’s framework holds immense potential for founders, offering opportunities to automate tasks, gain valuable insights through data analysis, and enhance engagement with customers and employees.

With labor shortages, high costs, and a fast-paced ecosystem, startups are encouraged to integrate AI to remain competitive and agile in today’s dynamic business environment.

Where could founders apply AI technologies within their startups?

Broadly speaking, AI can support three important business needs: automating business processes, generating new creations, and gaining insight through data analysis.

Automation of tasks

Every role has at least a few repetitive and manual tasks, such as checking emails, inputting data, and generating reports, that take away time from more impactful work. A McKinsey survey found that automation reduced costs by 10-15% and cut order processing time from 2-3 days to 1-2 hours.

In addition to that, a survey of 7,700 sales professionals from Salesforce found that sales representatives spend an average of less than 30% of their week on actual selling. Rather, much of their time is spent on manual tasks such as data entry and sharing updates on their deals in the pipeline. AI tools can help automate time-consuming tasks so sales representatives, as well as other employees, can free up time for more productive work while reducing the risk of human error.

“Our near-future plans in Flat6Labs include automating 80% of the filtration process for applications to our programs as our programs’ team receives thousands of applications,” says Shady Atef, Product & Tech Director at Flat6Labs. “It would be more efficient to focus most of their efforts on reviewing applications of higher quality and interviewing more serious applicants, rather than the process itself so that promising startups get the opportunity they deserve. This, however, still requires human supervision and upper hand in all cases, yet it would save a lot of time and effort for both our team and the startups who applied.”

Generating Content

At the heart of Generative AI lie massive databases of texts, images, code, and other data types. This data is fed into generational models that could use this data to create images, videos, 3D models, music, or text.

There are 2 types of Generative AI tools that benefit startups’ growth:

Ready-to-launch tools:

Platforms like ChatGPT, Synthesia.io, and Google Gemini come pre-trained on vast datasets, allowing users to tap into their generative capabilities without building and training models from scratch. Startups can fine-tune these models with specific data, nudging them towards outputs tailored to particular business needs. However, these public options offer limited control, less customization of model behavior and outputs, and the potential for bias inherited from the pre-trained models.

Custom-trained models:

Most organizations can’t produce or support AI without a strong partnership. Innovators who want custom AI can pick a “foundation model” like OpenAI’s GPT-3 or BERT and feed it their data. This personalized training sculpts the model into bespoke generative AI perfectly aligned with their business goals.

One of our portfolio companies in Egypt, Katteb, provides generative AI services in multiple languages where SMEs and copywriters can get instant articles and social media content that is fact-checked and ready to go live.

Analysis and Insights and Predictions

Ibrahim Ashqar, founder of Lumi AI, our portfolio company in UAE, mentions how AI tools provide insights and predictions to decision-makers in a way that has never been available before.

“Lumi AI democratizes the access to insights to people who aren’t technical,” says Ibrahim. “When an employee in any department doesn’t know how to code or manipulate data, they could use Lumi AI to ask the question in plain language and get insightful answers to help them in product designing, marketing, or any other field.”

This has been shown clearly with one of Lumi AI’s clients, a huge textile manufacturer who produces jeans and denim, and used to buy a lot of raw materials from a lot of different suppliers. When Lumi AI was connected to their database, within seconds the executive team found out that there are suppliers who are charging more for the same raw material compared to other suppliers. They were able to save around $600,000 based on these rapid and precise analytics.

Similarly, founders find MilkStraw extremely helpful. MilkStraw AI, our portfolio company in UAE, uses an AI model that integrates with a company’s infrastructure and comes up with recommendations to save them up to 75% on Cloud bills.

In addition, Digital First AI, our portfolio company in UAE, uses AI models to recommend the best marketing tactics for companies and SMEs based on their answers to a few questions about their business. It also provides access to a library of tactics where founders are able to view the strategies of popular brands and experienced marketers that the AI models were trained on.

How to find AI-skilled talents for your startup

As a startup founder, integrating AI into the company’s daily operations means hiring the right talent in each role. The right talent will use AI tools in their department to have the work done rapidly and efficiently. So, how could you know that your hire would utilize AI to the startup’s benefit?

“The most needed skills to look for in any hire are adaptability and resilience,” says Nour Mohieddine, our Talent Acquisition Manager at Flat6Labs. “In 2024, founders shouldn’t necessarily find employees with experience in utilizing AI tools, but rather look for ones who are willing to learn new ways to work and are flexible with new technologies. This way you guarantee that even the new technologies that are yet to emerge in the future will be embraced with open minds.”

Founders should use behavioral assessments to assess skills related to learning AI. These skills include:

Resilience and adaptability
Seeking lifelong learning
Having a growth mindset, not a fixed one.
The ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment
Problem-solving
Having a positive attitude ( to embrace the change)

Providing AI training within your startup

A recent study by the World Economic Forum shows that the cost of hiring a new worker can be as much as seven times that of upskilling an existing employee.

Founders who invest in AI training for themselves and their employees will have the opportunity to pioneer in their industry. An international survey by Boston Consulting Group found that while 86% of workers believed they would need training in AI, only 14% of front-line employees reported receiving any upskilling training. This gap presents an opportunity for startups looking to upscale.

If you are looking for intensive training, check the courses provided by eFlow, our portfolio company in Jordan. eFlow is a great learning platform for employees for different reasons:

eFlow courses include Artificial Intelligence, Web 3.0, NFTs, digital literacy, and more.
eFlow is an AI-powered platform, therefore, its expertise in AI is hands-on.
eFlow offers 10-15 minute micro-courses in English, Arabic, French, and Spanish.
Employees and learners could reach the educational content through Whatsapp, Telegram, Microsoft Teams, or Slack.

While going through the learning and development process for AI in your startup, consider the following topic to tackle:

Integrating AI into existing processes
Troubleshooting common AI issues/bugs
Understanding of the concept of machine learning
Familiarity and confidence with AI tools
Crafting an effective ChatGPT prompt
How to find guidance on AI
Ethical considerations relating to AI
The link between data, algorithms, and modeling
Critical analysis of AI-generated responses
Understanding the limitations of AI
Selecting the right AI tool

Is your startup developing AI solutions?

AI is not a replacement for human talent. It only takes away the mundane tasks so humans could focus more on their growth.

As Shady Atef, our Product & Tech Director, mentioned; “Before the invention of washing machines, humans used to carry out laborious tasks just to get their clothes washed. The challenge of not having clean clothes was the main focus. Now that we have washing machines, humans could focus, not on the cleanliness of clothes, but on making them smell like roses and having them instantly steamed and ironed.”

If the founders and employees of a startup have more time to focus on new ways for the startup’s growth rather than on keeping it functional with the automatic and less creative tasks, one could only imagine which skies they would reach.

If your startup is developing tech solutions to modern challenges, check the open applications to Flat6Labs Programs in the MENA region, aiming to accelerate the growth and scalability of the startups that join. We curate our programs to suit the needs of the ever-evolving and innovative entrepreneurs who need our support to get what they need.

Note: Parts of this article were written with the help of AI tools to enhance efficiency and reflect the advancements in technology’s role in content creation.

Is the Global Femtech Industry Empowered Enough?

Posted on 11 Sep 202211 Sep 2022 by Omar

Women’s healthcare looks uncertain in the future. But, the femtech industry is still developing and you’ll find out why.

The lack of research into the health of women led to the need for femtech. Despite the fact that women spend $500 billion on medical costs each year, just 4% of research and development funding was allocated to problems that directly affect women. Cultural taboos that create barriers for women to get treatable illnesses may be directly responsible for this lack of investment in women’s health.

By the end of 2022, the Global Femtech Market is anticipated to be worth USD 28.77 billion. “You know a topic is hot when VC’s money goes into it once they see opportunities in a field,” mentioned Hana Besbes, the Investment Manager at Heal Capital in Germany.

The largest funders of health tech businesses that concentrate on issues affecting women’s health have been early-stage investors. Since 2015, VC funding for the Femtech industry has increased threefold, rising from just over $600 million to about $1.9 billion in 2017, according to CNBC.

In this post, we will be tackling the opportunities, challenges, and recommendations that were mentioned in our panel talk “The Current State of FemTech Worldwide” in partnership with Organon, which took place on August 10, 2022.

Opportunities that could lead to growth in the Femtech industry:

Turning startups from offline to online has its upside due to better visibility, constant accessibility, and brand development. “The next wave of femtech is what Sophie is trying to do here with Nabta Health, in how we can radically change the standard of care of those women,” emphasized Hana.

Companies specializing in gynecology, fertility, and pregnancy have received the most funding. Infertility was identified by the WHO as a disease and a public health issue, and its rate is steadily rising according to CNBC. With the amount of data and studies done on that, it’s been spoken about and therefore investors have an interest in helping startups tackle this issue through funding.

Challenges that professionals face in the Femtech industry:

Speaking of data and studies, there isn’t enough R&D that could help with clinical support. Women are underrepresented in clinical trials, and their concerns have been disregarded in medical device development according to MedCity News. “Deep tech innovation”, as Hanna calls it, is needed. She is looking for a startup that aims to create the biggest bio-market platform for women’s reproductive health. There are many things that could be done once this is achieved.

“We need more data… from their genetic data to their medication, reactions, compliances, and clinical pathways in order to comprehensively improve women’s health outcomes” shared Sophie Smith, CEO and Founder of Nabta Health.

Another challenge is that male investors lack adequate knowledge related to the femtech industry and its impact. With more awareness of the impact of Femtech products, investors, researchers, and business owners have a real opportunity to support this rising innovation trend and usher in a new era in women’s health.

“We need a lot more support from people who understand the need and value proposition of femtech companies at the early stages” shared Sophie.

If you want to close the gap in the Femtech industry, awareness is a crucial first step, but the problem goes far more profound. The industry needs further development in terms of investment in the R&D sector to access more resourceful data which is critical for any startup’s innovative tech product and service. Farah Kabir, Co-Founder of HANX, expressed that founders should discuss their ideas with as many people as possible as early on as they can so they can tweak and produce more wonderful products

If you’re a startup founder, find out what insights our panelists had to share based on their own entrepreneurial journeys:

Nour Emam, the founder and CEO of Mother Being shares this advice since she went through this hiccup of perfecting her service to avoid failing again. So, she decided to lift her business up by expanding and spreading more awareness about what her business is about with partnerships and workshops.

“Move fast even if you fail quickly so you can try again.” shared Nour.

Echoing what Nour said, Eric Dy, the Co-Founder and CEO of BloomLife, adds that a lot of founders choose to start by focusing on the product, which is obviously crucial, but don’t lose sight of your commercial plan. He emphasized this point so founders can remember to understand their market and any potential stakeholders who may need to support their efforts throughout their growth journey.

“You may have an amazing product that a patient might love and support, but without doctors on board or a way for people to pay for it as they normally would, then you’re going to have a hard time. Understand the full pictures and not get super obsessed with just the product ” mentions Eric.

Don’t miss our upcoming Femtech Accelerator Demo Day, a part of our Femtech Accelerator Program in partnership with Organon. It’s the first of its kind in the MENA region where you can have the opportunity to learn more about the industry and the 9 global startups that will pitch their innovative products in various sectors.

You can tune in to the Demo Day which will be live streamed on September 12, 2022 here.

Connect with us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn for more information.

Written by: Dana El Melki

Here Are Four Tips On How to Get Your Startup Its First Customers

Posted on 10 Sep 202012 Jan 2021 by Omar

Launching a new solution is never easy, but getting your early adopters amped up when it comes to your innovation isn’t a piece of cake; it also isn’t a far-fetched dream. Your early adopters will most likely be risk takers, people who trust you personally, and people who actually see potential in your innovation and great benefit to their lifestyle or business. The question that often lurks around many founders and startup teams is, how do we get those early adopters? Is it through marketing, social media, referrals, testimonials, personal relationships, what exactly is it that works across the board and makes up for a solid list of customers/clients with a high possibility of retention. Also, how can we do it? The answer is simple. Leverage your existing network and continue growing it The network you have developed over the years with people in different industries, should be your first place to look for potential clients/customers. These are the people you’ve known personally, and people who will add value to what you are offering by giving you all kinds of honest feedback that you will need to work on your solution. While this network can be used for “beta” testing, it can also be used for referrals, which brings us to the second point. Utilize word of mouth and incentivize it Your best customers/clients, are your first. Give them your ultimate best, and reward their efforts to make your solution better and spread word about it. Whether what you are offering is a B2B or B2C solution, this method works wonders. Give them discounts, promocodes, credits, however you may call it, just make sure to keep those who believe in you from the start. Spend money on digital marketing and know which platforms work the best While your best bet is your network, but it is also important to gain trust from those who you don’t know because it validates your product-market-fit, and brings it to a new depth. Use email marketing, Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, or LinkedIn campaigns, and see which has the highest conversion rates and double down on it. In other words leverage growth hacking strategies to the best of your abilities. Listen and act accordingly It is extremely important that you treat your first customers with extreme care and listen to their feedback on a regular basis. They will always offer you unbiased feedback on how to improve your solution because there is always a bug that needs to be fixed, changed, or removed. Listen carefully and keep it up. Your first customers are your best bet, but your late adopters are the ones who will determine how far your startup can go. Flat6Labs programs are open for applications across MENA. Apply now!

Flat6Labs Best Tips & Tricks Round Up To Get Your Startup Off the Ground

Posted on 12 Feb 202015 Sep 2020 by Omar

Throughout decades, many entrepreneurs, investors, acclaimed businessmen/women have talked about how perseverance, resilience, passion, and drive will get your company off the ground. While working hard and having a belief in your startup will get you far, working smart will get you further. To work smart, you need to identify the main pillars that help you sustain, grow, and scale your startup from idea stage to seed-ready stage. With that said, here is Flat6Labs 2019’s roundup of the best tips from all over the MENA region on how to get your startup kicking.

1) Hire These People

Choosing the right team is essential to your business’ success. You could be a brilliant entrepreneur with an awesome business idea destined for success, but if you don’t have the right people on your team, you won’t go far. Based on CB Insights report on the top reasons startups fail, which was conducted on 311 flamed-out startups, 23% of startups fail due to not having the right team — it’s also the third most common reason for startup failure.

Continue Reading: The Five Types of People You Need to Hire for Your Startup.

2) Use Networking As A Infinite Resource Of Opportunities

There are a number of catalysts that could elevate your startup and improve its prospects when it comes to scalability; and standing the test of time and lots of glorious examples, is networking. In a report by Forbes.com, their highlighted research concluded that on the way to entrepreneurial success, networking is crucial for 78% of the startups. So yes, it does act as an undeniably strong force on the way to shaping a well-rounded future for your startup, which will likely entail a network of friends, mentors, investors, professionals for hiring, and advisers.

Continue reading: 5 Tips on How to Use Networking as a Limitless Channel of Possibilities.

3) Get A Strategic Partner

With your innovative services or products trying to enter the space of one thriving startup scene, it is crucial to know where your startups’ best interests lie; and what is the best course of action that will revolutionise how people live daily through your tech-based solutions. Identifying what you need early on, and settling on partnering with those who can help you propel your startup comes a long way; especially, if you chose Flat6Labs, and the reasons are many.

Continue Reading: Four Ways A Strategic Partner Can Help Your Startup.

4) Learn To Deliver A Perfect Pitch

You’ve put in your all to kickstart your startup and now you’re after investors who can share in the vision you have for your business. A great pitch goes a long way in securing investments and the way you present can make or break your chances. If you’ve been to one of Flat6Labs Bahrain’s Demo Days, then you’ve probably seen that we do know a thing or two about giving an exemplary pitch. Here are some of our tips to pitching your way to securing investments for your startup.

Continue Reading: Five Tips to Deliver a Perfect Pitch.

5) Read The Investors’ Minds

According to CBinsights.com, running out of cash and the lack of investor interest in a startup are some of the common hurdles that stand in the way of early-stage startups. With Flat6Labs expertise in the startup ecosystem over the past 8 years, Flat6Labs’ CIO, Dina el-Shenoufy, and our Managing Partners and Directors from our offices: Flat6Labs Beirut, Flat6Labs Bahrain, Flat6Labs Cairo, and Flat6Labs Tunis, discussed how startups can maximize their potential and chances with local, regional, and even international investors. They have thoroughly examined, through both experience and knowledge, the conditions and preferences of investors when they are fishing for innovative, scalable, and all-around amazing startups. And, with the number and magnitude of events we hold each cycle for our startups, we’ve demonstrated our ability to give each of our startups multiple chances to meet with and actually secure deals with investors. Mainly through our networking events, pitch nights; our speed-date investor mixers; and through the Demo Days, which always hosts a number of local, regional and international investors and even mentors and government officials.

Continue Reading: Six Top Tips to Get Investors Invested in Your Startup.

Here Is Why Flat6Labs Believes MENA Needs More Women Entrepreneurs

Posted on 19 Nov 201915 Sep 2020 by Omar

In 2018, the World Bank published a research that detailed how MENA’s GDP could have increased $1 trillion over the “predicted” level if the gender gap was narrowed down the past decade, and if more women were capable of taking part in the economic growth of their respective communities. With around 48% of MENA’s population consisting of females, and only 28% of adult women taking part in any kind of economic development, MENA has a goldmine of untapped women potential that could indefinitely help economies of different countries. It even stands truer, as Dina El-Shenoufy, Flat6Labs’ CIO put it in the World Bank’s Annual Meetings “Today, in my part of the work, less than 10% of the startups are launched by women. The economies would basically double, if we fix that disparity.” El-Shenoufy’s testament is at the core of what Flat6Labs stands for when it comes to supporting women entrepreneurship all over the region. We believe in women’s ability to change economies of countries. We’ve been supporting different female founders establish, grow, and scale their startups across the region through Flat6Labs. Also, the Flat6Labs powered initiative, StartEgypt, has been taking the helm of inspiring, encouraging, and educating women in Egypt to innovate. However, this is not the tip of the iceberg yet because with more women entrepreneurs, women’s impact extends economically, socially, and culturally.

More women entrepreneurs means more innovation

There are often two reasons why someone would start a startup, and it can be either the potential of an untapped opportunity or the potential of surviving poverty and unemployment. In a recent study on women entrepreneurship in the MENA region, Hala Hattab found that the general consensus is that women are driven to take part in entrepreneurial activities because of the existence of opportunities, especially in Egypt. Since we’ve already mentioned that women compromise 48% of MENA’s population, this means that with more women entrepreneurs there is a much higher chance for innovative products and services, and room for improvement in every industry. This will benefit consumers, businesses, governments, and economies of countries at large.

Women-led small businesses tend to create an overflow of job opportunities

If more women entrepreneurs were to start venturing with scalable businesses, more job opportunities will be created, and the GDP of countries affected by such growth will increase. In one research, it has been forecasted that if women were capable of starting such businesses, millions of jobs will be created; Dell’s research further elaborated that in the U.S. alone 15 millions jobs will be available for the unemployed. Hattab’s research on the employment rate in women-led small businesses in MENA, indicated that the highest average of employment rates exists in Jordan, Lebanon, and Yemen with around 20 employees per startup; a big number considering that the businesses are still at their infancy.

Women inspire other women

Women inspire women. Independent, powerful, and socially impactful women can inspire women to start their own businesses, and be a strong force in any economy. StartEgypt initiative has roamed 17 cities over the past years, and has trained and counseled 1,000 women entrepreneurs around Egypt through 14 Female Founder sessions. During such sessions, StartEgypt brings successful entrepreneurial models to inspire Egyptian females all across Egypt, and they also offer workshops for female entrepreneurs, and provide them with access to their incubation program. Also, StartEgypt’s ‘Inspire’ which was held 42 times, saw about 6,000 females attending it. Last but not least, StartEgypt has welcomed 20 female founders to their incubation program the past cycles! When women are inspired they can lift themselves up from poverty, they can fight unemployment, and their independence will evidently inspire other women.

Women are more likely to invest their revenues to further extend the growth and impact

A research conducted by the World Bank, found out a pattern where women are more likely to invest 90% of their income in supporting their families and communities. To further elaborate, a Goldman Sachs report states “enabling women, particularly as entrepreneurs, benefits future generations because women tend to spend more on their children’s education and health, which should boost productivity as well.”

The 5 Types of People You Need on Your Team to Take Your Startup to the Next Level

Posted on 15 Sep 201915 Sep 2020 by Omar

Choosing the right team is essential to your business’ success. You could be a brilliant entrepreneur with an awesome business idea destined for success, but if you don’t have the right people on your team, you won’t go far. Based on CB Insights report on the top reasons startups fail, which was conducted on 311 flamed out startups, 23% of startups fail due to not having the right team — it’s also the third most common reason for startup failure.

During the Flat6Labs Cairo 4 month acceleration program, we help our startups find the right candidates for their business by co-hosting a talent match-making event with one of the biggest online recruiting companies, Wuzzuf; and by offering them sessions on how to acquire the best talents and how to build a strong team delivered by top industry experts. Our applications are open all year long — you can apply on our website.

We strongly believe that creating a company from the ground up and growing it to a full-scale enterprise takes a well-rounded team that can overcome the many obstacles that come their way. To make sure that your company moves in the right direction, never loses focus, and grows to its full potential, there are certain personality types that you always need to have on your team — from the get-go!

1- The Visionary

Because of the magnitude of their thinking, they’re often entrepreneurs themselves. They are the masterminds that can come up with the most world-changing products and services. They’re always ahead of the curve in terms of, identifying potential problems and coming up with solutions that can change the course of humanity.

Even if you already have a big vision for your company, you still need to have a visionary on your team. They will help you create the right strategies to achieve, finalise, and realise your vision.

One of the best examples of this type of personality is the co-founder of Apple; Steve Jobs. Before Jobs came back to Apple and during the final quarter of 1996, Apple’s sales plummeted by 30 percent. The brilliant entrepreneur was able to save Apple from being on the brink of bankruptcy by decreasing the number of products by 70% and focusing only on four main products. He saw that focusing on quality and innovation rather than quantity will radically change the company’s future. One year later, Jobs’ vision did pay off, and the company turned a $309 million profit.

Good Habits 1: Train yourself to innovate every day. Grab a notebook and write down three ideas on how to develop your product.

2- The Social Butterfly

They are socially dynamic, networking, charismatic, and personally gregarious. A social butterfly is an extreme extrovert brimming with energy and confidence, who truly believe in your vision for the company and want to play an active part in helping you achieve it. They are exceptional marketers who know your solution well enough and understand its business needs.

A great example of this type of personality is the youngest self-made billionaire; Kylie Jenner. The famous Kardashian was able to build a one billion dollar cosmetic brand without manufacturing anything! Kylie Cosmetics is only responsible for marketing through social media, and other companies manufacture, package and distribute the products. In its first 18 months, the company made 420 million dollars in sales. All that success came mainly from Jenner’s social media followers. She has 145M followers on Instagram and a massive audience on Snapchat. The estimated value of a single post is $1 M.

Good Habit 2: Find a hobby or an activity that’s social. It’ll be easier to expand your social circle with people who share your passion.

3- The Ultimate Optimist

Running a business comes with its pressures and challenges. When things are not going your way, it’s easy to lose hope and look for the easy way out. That is why you need an ultimate optimist on your team.

As the name suggests, these are extremely positive people who stay calm under pressure and see the brighter side of things even in the darkest of moments. They have belief and conviction in the abilities of your team, and know that every obstacle is only a stepping stone for greater success.

Gary Vaynerchuk (or Gary Vee) is the perfect example whenever we talk about optimistic entrepreneurs. Vaynerchuk and his family immigrated to the US from Belarus in 1978, and he lived with 8 family members in a studio apartment in Queens, New York. Today, the 43-year-old runs a multimillion-dollar digital marketing company that he founded. The company’s clients include Fortune 500 companies like General Electric, Budweiser, Toyota, Revlon, and Unilever.

The brilliant entrepreneur succeeded despite his humble beginnings and despite the fact that he was a D- and F-student in school. He attributes that success to his unshakable self-confidence and optimism. “I do believe that blind optimism, naïveté, and self-confidence are enormously delicious traits that allow you to win more often than you lose.” Says Vaynerchuk on one of the episodes of DailyVee, a full-blown vlog documenting his life as a CEO.

Good Habit 3: Notice Negative Thoughts. Becoming aware of your negative thoughts and how often they occur will help you realize when and why you are negative. Maybe you’re more negative during stressful situations or when you’re feeling emotional. Being mindful of your pessimistic thoughts will help you pinpoint what’s causing you to feel negative.

4- The Hacker

They are your go-to people whenever you want to find an innovative solution. They know shortcuts to do things more effectively, and they understand your business from A to Z. They’re not necessarily technical or functional experts. But they have a tendency to question everything and explore it their own way. As a result, they grasp concepts quickly, and find out ways to use them for business benefit.

When you have hackers on your team, you always have a great chance to outmaneuver your competitors, and reverse-engineer successful products to build something more useful. When you get into trouble, they are your risk management experts who can turn the seemingly inescapable horrors to greater opportunities for growth and success.

Serial entrepreneur Elon Musk is the definition of “the hacker”. In December 2016, The forward-thinking co-founder and CEO of both Tesla and SpaceX became frustrated while stuck in heavy Los Angeles traffic. He tweeted “Traffic is driving me nuts. Am going to build a tunnel boring machine and just start digging…” Why sit in traffic above ground when you could speed ahead below it? Most people complain about traffic, but Musk took action. Two years later, he made a brief public appearance to unveil the completed tunnel.

Good Habit 4: Fix it for yourself: Whenever you face a problem in your business, take some time and try to fix it first before you call for help.

5- The Expert

They are the heart and soul of the company — they know the ins and outs of your core product or service. They are functional experts who understand the importance of what you have built, how it helps your customers, and what improvements you can bring to make it more useful.

If you’re not an expert yourself, there’s no shame in hiring a know-it-all experts to help you understand every aspect of your business, stand out from your competitors, and create a product that exceeds the expectations of your customers. “If you don’t understand the details of your business you are going to fail.” Said Jeff Bezos, the CEO & Founder of the well-known e-commerce company, Amazon.

These experts, along with the other 4 types discussed above, will be the backbone of your business model, and will provide you with a strong foundation on which you can build a vibrant organization.

Good Habit 5: Track one major business metric daily: In order to truly understand the core of your business, you need to focus on at least one business metric per day, and try to learn something new about it.

Here’s Why a Solid Partnership Is Essential to Your Startup’s Success

Posted on 16 Jun 201915 Sep 2020 by Omar

The resources available with partnerships help you ensure that your startup has garnered the necessary tools to scale. As you partner with Flat6Labs, you become one with an entity that has the experience of eight years accelerating +200 startups across the MENA region. This entails the expertise of Flat6Labs team, and the several bodies that support its existence like the Global Accelerator Network (GAN). With GAN’s connections to different experienced accelerators across the globe, it helps spread the know-how of highly technical and sometimes problematic issues.

Mitigating the Hurdles of Operating in the MENA Region

The expertise is just the tip of the iceberg, for in order to mitigate the common struggles that comes with regional or even global expansion; finding funds or mentors; finding a market need; outdoing competitors; or finding a team & getting exposed, it requires an expansive network spread across the entirety of the region. And, with GAN’s network of accelerators, it becomes across the globe as well.

One of the hurdles was identified in a research conducted by GetAutopsy on 60 MENA startups, which concluded that the main reason for 27.3% of startups failure was due to the inexistence of a market. A partner like Flat6Labs, can ensure that you take the necessary steps; be it pivoting or moving to a different market, all to avoid the startup’s early demise. Also, this kind of partnership allows you to ease your entry in a market that is more often than not resistant to innovative change that overtakes decades old manual processes.

Connecting to the Region and the Globe

Partnerships can enable startups expand beyond the borders of their origin; hence, highlighting and exposing their services and products to new markets. In fact, Flat6labs is one of the few accelerators in the MENA with regional and global reach. This network we pride ourselves in having is capable of, connecting our startups with government officials, investors, consultants, mentors, and even founders of startups like themselves who can on both regional and global levels — with the help of GAN network — offer unlimited support. This network also provides them with the tools to have soft landings in markets other than their own. You can take Rumman, a graduate of Flat6Labs Beirut program, as an example, which had a softlanding in Tunis because of Flat6Labs regional expansion and network!

Utilising Your Partner’s Network

Becoming one with such an entity, also means that the partnerships they have with investors, initiatives, and institutions can help startups explore new grounds and fund their operations.

Since finding talents is essential for growing startups, the Tunisian American Enterprise Fund Initiative (TAEF) partnership with Flat6Labs Tunis helps startups find the team that will help with its product/service development through its network. In one of our interviews with TAEF, the Chairman, said after Flat6Labs Tunis’ first Demo Day:

“TAEF has committed to serving all parts of the Tunisian small and medium business sector and this partnership is one of our important pathways for investment.” — Mr. Bowman Cutter, Chairman of TAEF.

While talents are important, the formula of success is derived from the many factors that come into play that’s why the partnerships your startup has with different entities contribute to your success. For example, through a network of local, regional, and international mentors and counselors, our partner, LE15 initiative of Meninx Holding, is capable of providing informative sessions that will help your startup kickoff. As well as, through their network, they can help you find potential clients/suppliers.

“Flat6Labs accelerator is opening up new horizons for these startups. We are very proud to support these high-potential entrepreneurs, and strongly believe that their energy, dedication, and innovation will help play a part in building the future of Tunisia.” – Mr. Mehdi Tamarziste, CEO of Meninx Holding.

Through different initiatives, such as OST, Bloommasters, Biatlabs and Endeaver, BIAT is supporting not only Flat6Labs, but the whole ecosystem by implementing the entrepreneurial mindset, and supporting entrepreneurs throughout the different stages of a startup.

Far into the Gulf, Tamkeen’s initiative to increase employment rates through encouraging startups is helping Bahraini startups develop plans, strategies, and build products/services that befit Bahrain’s market. This is done through the partnership they have with Flat6Labs Bahrain, and tailoring an acceleration program that is suitable for the Bahraini startup ecosystem.

Paving the way for many growth opportunities; increasing the chances of startups scalability; and pushing the startups into untapped markets has been a core drive of this partnership. This includes when Tamkeen helped send out three of Flat6Labs Bahrain startups: Innagrab, WNNA, and the Experience Accelerator to Silicon Valley to exhibit their products & services; network with a magnitude of professionals; and talk to bigwig, risk-taking investors.

Tamkeen’s belief in Flat6labs and efforts with it, is thoroughly illustrated through Tamkeen’s bigwig:

“We are delighted to have a world-class organization such as Flat6Labs, and look forward to enriching the experiences of Bahraini business by bringing global models and developing their business according to advanced and successful models of business accelerators.” — Dr. Ebrahim Mohammed Janahi, CEO of Tamkeen.

This partnership of sorts is helping curate a top-notch acceleration program that is supported by Tamkeen’s resources; knowledge of the local market; and funding, which will all contribute in creating more opportunities for our startups.

Developing Stronger Mindsets to Face Struggles Head On

It doesn’t exactly end with only two arms of a partnership aiding you through the onset of your life as a startup founder. Another arm would be the resourcefulness of our team when it comes to knowledge in helping in the creation of, solid business and financial models; the best ways to pivot; connecting you to investors; and sending you out on regional exhibitions to gain exposure. Also, mentoring you and your team through coaches & experienced mentors; creating workshops tailored to your field; and even finding you the best talents to help your startup progress with fresh minds!

Speaking of talents, GetAutopsy research also highlighted that one of the top three reasons for the startups failure was having a poor team incapable of developing the product/service. However, with Flat6Labs connections to a diverse network of professionals, this struggle becomes much easier to face head on.

With our network, regional exposure, and with GAN network of accelerators, Flat6Labs has demonstrated the ability to put its startup in front of investors at +30 demo days across the region. Over the last year alone, Flat6Labs’ startups received $1.3m of follow-on funding from different VCs, governments, and corporations.

The benefits you receive with partnering with a regional entity like Flat6Labs, puts you on a path filled with diverse growth opportunities that will enrich your startup with the necessary tools to flourish in a very competitive market.

5 Reasons Why Networking is Vital for Your Startup

Posted on 12 May 201915 Sep 2020 by Omar

There are a number of catalysts that could elevate your startup and improve its prospects when it comes to scalability; and standing the test of time and lots of glorious examples, is networking. In a report by Forbes.com, their highlighted research concluded that on the way to entrepreneurial success, networking is crucial for 78% for the startups. So yes, it does act as an undeniably strong force on the way to shaping a well-rounded future for you startup, which will likely entail a network of friends, mentors, investors, professionals for hiring, and advisers.

With all of that being said, we ought to tell you how you and your startup can benefit from having a local network; and how as you go, you can expand it beyond the local bounds to regional and possibly global reach, which will eventually create a stark difference and limitless possibilities.

Strong Friendships

Building a network of strong friendships as your startup grows saves you time, money, and effort. Soon enough you will realize that your some of your best ideas, hires and investments came from the professional friendships you have formed over the years. Your newly acquired friends will not hesitate with giving you advice, brainstorming new ideas, referring you to a bigwig investor or founding a startup with you.

A Flux of Opportunities

Constant involvement in professional events where you can meet entrepreneurs with similar interests or risk-taking investors who believe in your idea, can give you a chance to build strong relationships that will lay the foundation for future opportunities. In one article on entrepreneur.com, Alp Mimaroglu said that a marketing automation and intelligence platform called Eloqua, was sold for more than 200% of its estimated market price to Oracle because of the Co-Founder’s relationships with people at Oracle.

Deals a Major Blow to Any Doubts

Exposing yourself and your startup to a community of entrepreneurs, investors, and even government officials time after time, will leave you with a sense of confidence in what you are doing. Whether it is a service or product, earning recognition for your hard work from strangers is one of the best sources for motivation. Even if some are critical of what you are offering, finding a way to influence others to believe in what you are doing or having them respect your fight for the startup’s growth is a huge boost for your confidence. Remember confidence is earned. However, be wary of arrogance! If their criticism will make your startup better, use their ideas to make it better.

Using Your Expertise for the Greater Good

While networking you will often find people who are looking for consultations, ideas and referrals; much like yourself when you were just starting. Using the experience you have to give back to a community of professionals, will help boost your happiness, health, and sense of well-being, as cited on MentalFloss.

Finding the Right People for Your Startup

Don’t take the networking events you are invited to for granted if you are looking to expand your team. The casual, somewhat informal conversations you have with people at such events, can get you to find the people that your ‘job posts’ on social media platforms couldn’t get. There are many testimonials online about how people changed careers, or found their dream jobs through networking events, here is one.

Utilizing the tool that is networking to help your startup scale, will continue being one of the most important initiatives you take to seeing your startup flourish. Friends, opportunities, confidence, satisfaction, and an amazing team is a straight up amazing formula for any startup’s success and your personal growth.

Flat6Labs provides MENA-wide soft landings for its startups