Show notes
There are founders who talk about disruption, and founders who actually change the game. In this episode I sat down with Hamad Mubarak Al Hajri, CEO of Snoonu, the first unicorn from Qatar and one of the fastest profitable tech companies in the region. We talked about ultra apps, AI powered recommendations, loyalty and gamification, and why for him the most valuable currency is not money, it is time. Hamad explains how Snoonu went from a local delivery platform to a Q commerce ultra app, where you can get groceries, medicine, an iPhone, or even laundry picked up and returned in minutes. Behind that, there is a very deliberate engine, AI recommendation systems, personalization and gifting flows that change customer behavior and drive one of the highest conversion rates in the world, around 43 percent on the app. But this is not just a tech story, it is a purpose story. Hamad shares his goal of building the first global tech champion from the Middle East, the way Sony or Alibaba represent their regions, and why he decided to give 15 percent of the company to employees, creating more than 30 new millionaires after a partial exit. For him, the customer matters, but the team comes first. 03:30, AI recommendations and a 43 percent conversion rate, learning from Netflix 05:10, Gifting, behavior change and how to sell high ticket products online 07:00, Time as the most powerful currency and why premium service wins 10:10, Partial exit, 30 employees become millionaires and 15 percent employee ownership 15:00, Profitability in year three and beating better funded competitors 17:30, Gladiators, common vision and yearly strategy sessions in the mountains 20:10, Vision, strategy, execution, metrics, the model behind Snoonu's growth 22:00, Rappi, Latam talent and why GCC is a launchpad for Latin American founders This is a conversation about ultra apps, AI, loyalty, purpose, wealth creation for teams and global ambition coming from a region that is still writing its big tech story. 🎥 Watch the full episode and tell me in the comments, what hit you harder, the vision for ultra apps or the way he treats his team as gladiators and owners of the company #Snoonu #Qatar #Commerce #DigitalTransformation #AI #CustomerExperience #Startup #Entrepreneurship #MiddleEastTech #SantiagoNaranjo