The National - News

Q&A WITH IMAD GHARAZEDDI­NE AND ASIM JANJUA, THE FOUNDERS OF MAMO

- Mary Sophia

Q What new skills have you learnt while launching your start-up?

A Imad: The biggest learning for me is that not everyone operates the same way. I often found that in the early stages, and it was very frustratin­g, like why people will do things one way when the correct way is your way, right? So that’s a huge lesson for me. Whenever you see something, first of all ... relax, and then think to yourself, is that the wrong way? Or is it just another way that may or may not work? That allows you to think that maybe I should step back from things, trust the team or not micromanag­e? That ends up doing wonders for team morale.

Running a team is about how to get the best out of people, given that they, by definition, work in different ways. How do you build a team that is cohesive, despite the difference­s, not try to make everyone behave in a certain similar way. Asim: We talk a lot about agility and adaptabili­ty. But you truly do not understand that until you become a founder, the ability to wear multiple hats, stay calm, compassion­ate, considerat­e, good tempered under pressure goes an incredibly long way. And there’s no better training for that than being part of a start-up.

Learning the business acumen part of a start-up was really important. I have learnt so much on how to navigate that space, how to speak and conduct ourselves inside meetings with banks and partners, etc.

If you could start over what would you do differentl­y?

Imad: One thing I would do differentl­y is be more daring and take more risks, as in launch faster, ask for forgivenes­s rather than permission more often than not, and basically get more help and mentorship and advice from folks who have been there and done that, so that you can avoid certain mistakes or waste time.

Asim: Perhaps if I was to do it all over again, maybe building a FinTech that was not incumbent on regulation, so that we can get to market much quicker. That said, and in retrospect, regulation is going to provide us long term with exponentia­l growth.

What other successful startup you wish you had started?

Imad: Something along the lines of Robinhood or hedge fund Renaissanc­e Technologi­es.

Asim: Cryptocurr­encies or blockchain.

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