In this episode of The MAL Show, we sit down with Armie Baghoumian, one of the leading voices in private credit and growth financing in the Middle East.

Most founders understand venture capital. Raise equity, give up ownership, and use the capital to grow. But what if there was another way?

We explore the world of business financing, venture debt, growth debt, and private credit—and uncover what actually makes a company fundable.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why some companies get funded while others get rejected
• What investors and lenders look for before providing capital
• The biggest mistakes founders make when raising money
• When debt can accelerate growth—and when it becomes dangerous
• How startups like Tabby, Bayzat, and Trukker used debt to scale
• The hidden rules of business financing
• Why banks reject many growing businesses
• Asset-backed lending vs. traditional business loans
• The future of private credit in the Middle East
• How founders should think about risk, leverage, and growth

Whether you're building a startup, running an SME, or simply want to understand how business financing really works, this conversation offers valuable insights into a side of entrepreneurship that most people never see.

Don't forget to subscribe for more conversations with founders, investors, operators, and business leaders shaping the future of the region.

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
3:54 Growth Debt vs. Banks
7:07 Loans vs. Asset-Backed
14:43 Fintech Chicken-Egg Problem
19:22 Covenant Traps Explained
24:32 Advice for Equity Investors
28:15 Debt Literacy Evolution
31:52 Pricing & Term Sheets
36:22 Tenors & Case Studies
42:46 Multiple Lenders & Enforcement
50:09 Shariah Finance Explained
54:16 Stress Testing & Global Credit Risks
1:05:42 Retail & Wealth Bubble
1:08:39 Why PFG Is in the Region
1:13:27 Egypt & GCC Expansion
1:16:12 Cross-Cultural Business
1:18:30 Armineh's Career Path
1:24:51 Operators vs. Investors
1:27:30 14-Year Team Culture
1:29:43 Approaching PFG & Hiring

To get in touch with us:
podcast@mal.ai

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https://www.linkedin.com/in/youssefsamysalem/?skipRedirect=true
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To get in touch with Armie Baghoomian
https://www.linkedin.com/in/armineh-baghoomian-045262/

#TheMALShow #BusinessFunding #Entrepreneurship #StartupFunding #VentureDebt #PrivateCredit #BusinessGrowth #Startups #Finance #middleeastbusiness

In this episode of The MAL Show, we sit down with Jad Antoun, Founder and CEO of Huspy, one of the fastest-growing proptech companies in the Middle East and Europe.

We discuss entrepreneurship, risk-taking, fear of failure, building global companies from the Middle East, and the future of real estate in an increasingly uncertain world.

How do you know when it's time to leave a stable job and start a business? Why do so many people spend years thinking about entrepreneurship but never take action? What does it take to scale a company across multiple countries, raise capital, and build a high-performance team?

Jad shares the lessons he learned building Huspy from a startup launched during COVID into a company operating across international markets. We also explore leadership, company culture, AI, real estate, and the psychology behind life-changing financial decisions.

Topics discussed:

Entrepreneurship and risk-taking
Fear of failure and decision-making
Building a global company from the Middle East
Scaling teams and company culture
AI and the future of real estate
Dubai's property market
Fundraising and startup growth
Leadership and high-performance teams

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:24 Starting a Business During COVID
03:14 The Real Risk of Quitting Your Job
05:43 Lebanon's Entrepreneurial DNA
08:20 How SF Changed His Thinking
12:16 Middle East Needs Bigger Ambition
13:58 Why Huspy Went to Europe
16:01 Raise First or Expand First?
19:45 AI Won't Replace Brokers
22:03 Psychology of Buying a Home
25:41 Is Dubai Real Estate a Bubble?
26:58 Dubai's Value Prop in 5 Seconds
30:48 Launching 5 Cities in 60 Days
36:46 Who Huspy Hires & Why
47:17 Employee Secondaries Explained
51:21 Managing Cash & Runway
54:02 Risk vs. Paranoia as a Founder
56:49 How to Become a Broker
1:01:59 Where to Invest in Real Estate

Subscribe for more conversations at the intersection of business, technology, investing, and human behavior.

To get in touch with us:
podcast@mal.ai

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https://www.linkedin.com/in/youssefsamysalem/?skipRedirect=true
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To get in touch with Jad Antoun
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jad-antoun-204/

#TheMALShow #JadAntoun #Huspy #Entrepreneurship #Startups #Business #RealEstate #Dubai #Technology

- Real estate has long been considered one of the most powerful ways to build wealth. But for most people, investing in property feels out of reach — requiring large amounts of capital, long-term commitments, and access to opportunities that are often reserved for a small group of investors.

In this episode of The MAL Show, we sit down with Rami Tabara, Co-Founder and CEO of Stake, to explore how technology is changing the way people invest in real estate and why the future of wealth creation may look very different from the past.

We discuss fractional real estate investing, tokenization, passive income, property ownership, investing psychology, the future of real estate in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and whether access to investments is becoming more important than ownership itself. We also explore how younger generations think about money, why real estate remains one of the world's largest asset classes, and how platforms like Stake are opening the market to millions of new investors.

In this episode:

- Can you really invest in real estate starting from AED 500?
- How does fractional property ownership actually work?
- Is real estate still the best way to build long-term wealth?
- Why are younger investors changing the investment landscape?
- What is tokenization and how could it transform ownership?
- Should you invest in real estate, stocks, crypto, or all three?
- How do you create a second source of income?
- Why are global investors increasingly attracted to Dubai and Saudi Arabia?
- What does the future of investing look like?

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe and turn on notifications for more conversations about money, investing, business, and human behavior.

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
3:04 Why Everyone Should Invest in Real Estate?
6:37 Real Estate Culture in the Middle East
10:02 Investing from 500 AED
13:58 SPV vs. Tokenization
21:35 Weekly Dividends Explained
26:02 Your Second Income
27:08 How Much Real Estate in Your Portfolio?
29:10 Launching During COVID
35:09 Real Estate Made Easy
38:25 Buying a Full Home Through Stake
40:54 Mubadala, Aramco & ENBD as Investors
42:24 Managing 1.2 Billion AED
51:31 Women Invest Better Than Men
53:19 Gen Z vs. Older Investors
1:00:14 Golden Visa Through Stake
1:05:42 Why Rami Started Stake
1:08:12 Own Dubai Property in 3 Minutes
1:17:31 Skills to Work at Stake
1:21:27 Message to Regulators

To get in touch with us:
podcast@mal.ai

Follow us on Social Media:
https://www.instagram.com/themal.show/
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To get in touch with Yousef Salem
https://www.linkedin.com/in/youssefsamysalem/?skipRedirect=true
https://www.instagram.com/youssefsamysalem?hl=en

To get in touch with Rami Tabbara
https://ae.linkedin.com/in/rami-tabbara

#RealEstate #Investing #Stake #Dubai #WealthBuilding #PassiveIncome #Finance #TheMALShow