Hamad Al Hajri: From Failure to Building Qatar's First Unicorn | Snoonu

About this episode

Hamad Al Hajri, Founder and CEO of Snoonu, joins the SEF Backstage Pass Podcast to share the journey behind building Qatar's first unicorn and one of the region's fastest-growing technology companies.From failing twice before launching Snoonu to building a purpose-driven company valued at over one billion Qatari Riyals, Hamad shares his lessons on entrepreneurship, leadership, hiring, company culture, and scaling technology businesses in the Middle East.Timestamps:00:00 – People are born twice00:40 – Advice for young entrepreneurs01:20 – Why ideas don't matter without purpose02:14 – The importance of finding your life purpose02:55 – Hamad's childhood dream of building a tech company03:36 – Turning a university project into Snoonu03:50 – Failing twice before succeeding04:39 – Building a tech company in Qatar with no VC ecosystem05:32 – The one trait every entrepreneur must have06:40 – Lessons learned from failure08:09 – Why startups fail: leadership09:33 – Building high-performance teams11:46 – Culture fit vs culture add12:06 – Managing a team of 90+ nationalities14:42 – Investing in employee growth and learning17:13 – Why generosity matters in leadership17:55 – How 30 Snoonu employees became millionaires19:18 – Snoonu's future: robotics, drones, and AI21:02 – Leadership during crises and supporting employees24:09 – Why Snoonu operates like a family25:36 – The annual Common Vision workshop26:26 – The real job of a CEO🎧 Watch the full episode now to learn how purpose, resilience, and leadership helped build one of the Middle East's most successful technology companies.This episode was produced in partnership with Poddster.Follow SEF:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sharjahefTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sharjahefLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sharjah-entrepreneurship-festivalWebsite: https://sharjahef.com