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The Lighthouse Conversations with Hashem Montasser

The Lighthouse Conversations with Hashem Montasser

Written by: The Lighthouse
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About this listen

 Hashem Montasser, Founder of the The Lighthouse Restaurant & Concept Store in the UAE, is a raconteur who avidly follows the work of arts, culture, technology and, of course, food. In a series of conversations aimed at introducing its audience to the Middle East’s entrepreneurial landscape, Hashem asks his guests about their life journeys, inspirations, successes and failures and everything in-between.Copyright © The Lighthouse Art Economics Social Sciences
Episodes
  • “The day I stopped being a ‘Googler in Dubai’ and started being ‘Lynn, who happens to work at Google,’ everything changed.”​

    “The day I stopped being a ‘Googler in Dubai’ and started being ‘Lynn, who happens to work at Google,’ everything changed.”​
    Oct 17 2025
    Lynn Hazim, founder of Middle Child and creator of popular food blog @nosoupforyou, shares her journey from corporate life at Google to building her own restaurant in Dubai. The episode explores her early love for food, the roots of her inspiration, and her bold pivot to entrepreneurship. Lynn talks candidly about the challenges she faced funding the business and how she was determined to create a concept that felt true to herself. She shares how Middle Child in essence became the physical expression of her curiosity and creative restlessness.
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    43 mins
  • “It’s not enough to just have good taste.” Rajat Malhotra on building the last major independent festival in the GCC

    “It’s not enough to just have good taste.” Rajat Malhotra on building the last major independent festival in the GCC
    Sep 10 2025
    Raj Malhotra, co-founder of Sole DXB, shares the story behind building one of the GCC’s last major independent festivals — a cultural platform born from minimal capital yet lots of passion and grit. The episode traces his journey to meeting co-founders Hussain Moloobhoy and Joshua Cox, and how their shared love for fashion, music, food, and design helped shape the DNA of Sole DXB. Raj reflects on the drive for excellence that fuels the festival each year, their commitment to empowering homegrown businesses in the UAE, and what it means to create a cultural space that can fuel the region’s growth.
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    39 mins
  • "I’m competing with white space”: Heba El Gabaly on designing the future

    "I’m competing with white space”: Heba El Gabaly on designing the future
    Jun 11 2025
    Heba El Gabaly, co-founder and CEO of Efreshli, discusses her journey from corporate to entrepreneurship, scaling a tech-driven design-led business, and the importance of blending online and offline experiences. The episode explores her unique blend of leadership, what it felt like to bring on a co-founder and her mission to make quality design accessible to everyone. Chapters 0:01 Coming up… 2:36 The Efreshli journey 3:11 Building a business online vs offline 7:21 The Challenges of Entrepreneurship 8:53 First Customers and Social Media Success 14:15 Navigating VC Funding 19:31 Men vs Women Entrepreneurs 25:21 Bringing in a co-founder 35:16 Scaling and expanding Efreshli 38:47 The Impact of AI 47:42 ‘Good design companies sell taste’ 53:26 Expanding Efreshli to the UAE & Saudi Arabia 57:13 Creating keeps you young
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    1 hr and 2 mins
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