Get All Access for $5/mo

#EntMETalks: The Best (And Worst) Advice You've Received As Entrepreneurs What's the best and worst advice you've received as an entrepreneur? We asked five entrepreneurs.

You're reading Entrepreneur Middle East, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

In this #EntMETalks episode, we asked startup founders at the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Festival 2017 about the best and worst advice they've received in running their business.

"The best and worst advice is to get advice," adds Tarig El-Sheikh, a Dubai-based serial entrepreneur and startup mentor, noting that entrepreneurs need to learn to filter through the barrage of advice they'd get on a day-to-day basis. For instance, for Abdulla Al Matar, co-founder of Meet The Locals, being told by a mentor that his idea wasn't a profitable one ignited him to perservere in his business and follow his passion. Ghizlan Guenez, founder of The Modist, an e-commerce platform curating international brands for the modest fashion market, notes the best advice she got was that it's always worth asking for help.

ProTenders founder and CEO Karim Helal, whoses construction platform enables businesses to grow, utilizes tools and data to streamline tendering processes and find suitable partners, says one of the best pieces of advice he's received was to find people you can collaborate and partner with along his entrepreneurial journey. "Find a co-founder, find partners, find a support system, grow as a group." Siddiq Farid, founder of Smart Crowd, a real estate investment platform enabling access to the UAE real estate market low minimum investment amount, adds: "Have a purpose-driven business, and believe in your gut, and go for what you believe in."

Related: Arab Youth Center's Arab Youth Startup Marketplace Welcomes Young Startups And Investors

Side Hustle

'Hustling Every Day': These Friends Started a Side Hustle With $2,500 Each — It 'Snowballed' to Over $500,000 and Became a Multimillion-Dollar Brand

Paris Emily Nicholson and Saskia Teje Jenkins had a 2020 brainstorm session that led to a lucrative business.

Business Process

How CEOs Can Take Control of Their Emails and Achieve Inbox Zero

Although there are many methodologies that leaders can use to manage their emails effectively, a consistent and thought-through process is the most effective way to systemize and respond to emails and is a step of stewardship for the effective leader.

Growth Strategies

UAE-Born Startups jalebi.io and Olive Gaea Partner to Tackle $1 Trillion Global Food Waste Crisis

Jalebi.io, an AI-enabled F&B SaaS platform to optimize operations, and Olive Gaea, a climate-tech company leveraging AI to drive decarbonization, have joined forces to provide sustainable, scalable solutions for the global food waste crisis.

Starting a Business

Startup Spotlight: UAE-Born Meta[bolic] Is Redefining Healthcare

With his UAE-born healthtech startup meta[bolic], co-founder and CEO Ali Hashemi is aiming to be a pioneer in the hybrid healthcare space.

Innovation

Innovation: Small Businesses Live It, Big Businesses Buy It

Startups are constantly needing to innovate to stay alive in the dog-eat-dog world of entrepreneurship. Large corporations are taking notice and looking for opportunities to capitalize on new concepts and ideas.

New Products

Toyota Transforms Some Classic Cars to Run on Electricity and Hydrogen

Restomods of the Sprinter Trueno and Corolla Levin were showcased at the Tokyo Auto Salon 2023.