It drops you at a predetermined location. : So last topic that I want to go through is as youve grown, the issue of you know, what do you keep in the central place that you can learn from everybody? You look at it and you say, if we can do this, then we can change our view. Shikhar Ghosh: And the competitions telling themselves the same thing, so its this constant movement. And the more I get into it, the more I realize that if you just get this right, then this thing will start running like a machine. Maybe a month or two months? But guess what happens? Every six months, Careem was adding new people to the company and addressing the challenge of holding together the operations with its strong values. : Somebody that we had in class one day was talking about profitability as being like jet fuel for an airline. [32], On 4 May 2020, Uber Eats announced they were exiting the United Arab Emirates and that their services would be offered through Careem Now. Whats your sense of the trade off? This thing will start driving and incentivizing people the right way. : So what does that mean? Why can it not be in the Middle East? Or do you think, like, well figure that out? WATCH LIVE. And one of the things that were discussing is should we have anyone do this culture test, right? Wed but another six months. So at what point did you and Magnus sort of say, weve got to have some discussion with our families, think we should balance this out in some ways? And thats pretty much it. And, you know And its not something that is easy to do as well, right? Give feedback to our colleagues to keep growing them, and to drive progress in our communities. So we have these three value pillars and there are 12 values. Now, of course, it could be cause and effect but when weve invested in people and getting people excited, weve actually seen growth happen I those markets. The organization always spoke about other things, right? What were the things that surprised you that as you grew, you know, what were the things that you came in and said, well, this is sort of different from what it was, what I was thinking it might be? These are the behaviors that we want, this is how we add this to our recruiting process, this how well add this to our performance measurement process. This was a five-year business plan that was prepared in 2012. : Yeah. Now youve got a sales force, theyre doing their thing. I should have the ability to fire the service provider if the service provider is not performing well. It grew pretty rapidly, even initially, and then at some point it became clear that your hands are not big enough to do all the things that you have to do. And if you were in a different industry, you might think about growth differently? It grew pretty rapidly, even initially, and then at some point it became clear that your hands are not big enough to do all the things that you have to do. Mudassir Sheikha: Yeah. Mudassir Sheikha: Yeah, its a good question. You can do it. Shikhar Ghosh: And then shes the one who has to think through all of the day to day things and build a team and do all these things. Now, that vision has been defined. Search for: Search. And she basically created a team and went after the opportunity. : So, you know, all of that is driven by the external world, right? Mudassir Sheikha: I have been able to, except in the last few months when weve fundraising. Im going to give a promo code that gives people 50% off for the next 10 trips. Shikhar Ghosh: And then youve got to have some process or approach by which you can even judge whether the person is a values fit or not. : So you want to do the values in a particular way. You became the CEO of this company somewhat reluctantly in the sense that you had the founders and then you all got together and this was what? So they can provide a service to a city. So that says that this is by far the most effective sort of way that you can do it. The movement of things as well. Even weekly is unusual, right? This transaction will be completed by the first quarter of 2020 and will be divided into $1.4 billion to be paid in cash and $1.7 billion in convertible notes into Uber stock. You go through that deck, you know, I think in literally half an hour, you get a very good sense of what this organization stands for. But youre across multiple countries, and these countries have very different cultures. : You are serving people in different teams in different locations. Mudassir Sheikha: Yeah, they dont change immediately but weve actually been pleasantly surprised that our colleague NPS, strongly correlates with our growth numbers. But thats not what generates anything. You know, you can be ambitious in Pakistan and you can be ambitious in Egypt and you can be ambitious in Saudi, right? [2] In Saudi Arabia, women make up 80% of the company's customers. And youre coming at midnight. So we would only patch things and buy us six months. : I think that the thing that was most surprising for me was around people and culture. : So, yes. So not much changed. And this is not just in growth, but this is in everything. Its Karachi should do something, Lahore should do something and the people that are running those cities need to be empowered to do those things. So the local adaptation probably gets factored in in some of these things. What does it mean? So thats when Magnus and I would have to be a lot more involved in the business. : When we raised our CVC, we actually promised ourselves that we will get away from that mindset, that were not going to keep patching things because that whole debt was starting to catch up to us. Shikhar Ghosh: But you didnt even have a performance management process, right? : And then we would have some weekly check ins, sometimes even daily check ins. I dont know remember what Magnus had. : So thats been a core challenge for the last year almost, for us. Mudassir shared his journey and ways to boost entrepreneurship in the region. But our definition of big was different back then. So if your competition is a lot bigger than you, then youre not even providing a competitive service to the customer or the captain. You go in, you show the boarding pass, youre in. I need to get responses in this time, Im going to pay this much money. High-growth companies achieving a billion dollar valuation with their ability to defy the odds in the global south are rare, just like unicorns. And if he do them well, then a lot of the metrics start improving and we started seeing healthier growth happen as a result versus just trying to see, hey, I need 10% growth tomorrow. "From seeing a startup go belly up, Careem CEO Mudassir Sheikha has come a long way", "CNBC Transcript: Careem CEO Mudassir Sheikha Speaks with Hadley Gamble from the CNBC Evolve Global Summit", "Careem CEO says the Middle East is 'not very far' from seeing more billion-dollar start-ups", "Uber buys rival Careem in $3.1 billion deal to dominate ride-hailing in Middle East", "Dubai's Careem rides high after $3bn Uber buyout", "Meet The Unicorn That's Beating Uber In The Middle East", "Careem's Mudassir Sheikha on Co-Founders, Establishing Culture & Balancing Family at a Rapidly Scaling Startup", "Co-Founder Careem, Mudassir Sheikha Donates USD 2 Million to LUMS Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering | Welcome to LUMS", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mudassir_Sheikha&oldid=1150982003, This page was last edited on 21 April 2023, at 05:42. Even when youre there, youre not present. Or the systems that have to run, you know, like a railway thing. Mudassir Sheikha: But we unfortunately are in an industry that is-. In 2012, he left to form a new company with ex-McKinsey colleague, Magnus Olsson. : So, you know, this sort of working on these very short time schedules and intervening when things go off, so youve got dozens of markets. : And a lot of the values around taking ownership start to kick in and people are like, look, this is an opportunity. : But we unfortunately are in an industry that is-. Mudassir Sheikha: Then you have to live the process. San Francisco Bay Area, Silicon Valley), This describes the type of investor the person is (e.g. And when that service is provided, it needs to have very clear SLAs. He received his bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Lahore University of Management Sciences and later went on to obtain a Master of Science degree in Computer Science from Stanford University in 2007. So you have to work through other people. Mudassir Sheikha: So look at the Netflix deck, right, which most people respect. We were a bit naive when it came to architecting how we work and the culture that we wanted. Its not a static thing that we reach and we-. : Someone, one of our colleagues that worked with us on the OS, he asked me, do you know where Mackenzies revenue was? And if you do it at the country level, then youre not going to get the agility that you need or the relevance that you need. Because if you wow them, then they will wow your customers, right? But the food delivery or the telecom or the anything else that you start is again going to be brand new, with all kinds of new problems. And who knows what happens in six months? [40] : So there was definitely a transition from doing everything to then having people who were doing things. And the idea was that Magnus and I would hold each other accountable to what we were supposed to do. [5], Careem began as a ride-hailing service in Dubai and soon expanded to other cities across the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. Right? It completely exceeded our expectations of speed and growth. If you dont deliver them the right experience, and they get a certain quality of experience from within Careem, how can we expect them to deliver an outstanding experience outside of Careem, right? So thats something that weve done in the last-. Keep improving and stay humble. And were starting to change the KPIs that we look at as well. Both companies apps will also continue to operate under separate brands. : But for example, if you have something that says that people who work for us should have opportunity. You know, one of our first things was driven by our mission and values. : Yeah. And drive engagement for your people and thats going to drive growth. but also educated them on professionalism, compliance of rules and procedures, and most significantly, customer service. The idea was not just to build a big business, but start one that would have a big impact, be meaningful, and with a mission to simplify and improve lives and create an awesome organisation that inspires. [24] Saudi Telecom in this funding round invested in a 10% stake in Careem. But youre building a structure to do that. So would probably have an edge in how much they can invest in our markets and they might have better core technology than us. It requires a lot of, in deciding of the market, analytics. Wed but another six months. If youre running a business of hundreds of millions of dollars, a mistake is many millions. Not just on the day to day side, but then to make sure that these transitions were caught early enough or late, not too late, and then fixed. And we are basically funding her and we are supporting her to make this thing happen. Mudassir Sheikha: I think that the thing that was most surprising for me was around people and culture. : Every year that vision sort of expanded. And Ill see the growth, but as soon as that promo code is over, the growth will vanish, right? So then you dont have to be as proactively pushing for it because now I know that people are looking at these numbers, right? And focusing on people is not just focus on individuals, but focus on the culture-. Shikhar Ghosh: And at that point, investors are expecting a certain degree of formality and all of that. The idea for a transportation service oc. : So in the Careem operating system, one of the principles is invest in experience to get growth. [7], Sheikha is married with a family. Which is speak up, take initiative, see things through impact, be frugal, and make sure to be collaborative with each other. [33], In Pakistan, Careem employs women drivers. They know what theyre doing and they are extremely driven and in line with the mission and vision of Careem. Now, of course, it could be cause and effect but when weve invested in people and getting people excited, weve actually seen growth happen I those markets. That puts a huge tax on you, individually, right? The entire company is looking at these numbers. Shikhar Ghosh: And the KPIs were mostly output-oriented? Thats the default one. And there are cultures in which, say women, dont have positions of authority or its harder for them to exert authority. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals and the transaction is expected to complete by the first quarter of 2020. How do you think about that challenge? And go to the office, you know, there are bunch of meetings depending on the day and depending on the time of the month. And go to the office, you know, there are bunch of meetings depending on the day and depending on the time of the month. And on the customer side, for example, experience is a function of, you know, when you open the app, is a car available? How do you balance these two things? And even if they find those local opportunities at the same time as us, were able to prioritize them much before them. : So product market fit is a constantly evolving thing because you have to be continuously better than someone else that has deeper pockets, that is able to give the same thing that you have, with some delay, at a cheaper price. Careem will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Uber, preserving its brand. How do you transfer that knowledge? You have to be involved in the process, you have to steer the process, you have to ride the process. Mudassir Sheikha: Theyre output oriented. Do you have a demand issue, do you have a supply issue? It has been over years and Careem has not built some of the features in the original bucket list. We were a bit naive when it came to architecting how we work and the culture that we wanted. Thats the default one. Give feedback to our colleagues to keep growing them, and to drive progress in our communities. Mudassir Sheikha: So, yes. Many of our customers will value it for long haul routes. A committee was organized by the Egyptian government to assess the complaints of the protesting taxi drivers and standardize taxi services in Egypt. But before that, Shikhar Ghosh, you know, product market fit is a relative thing as well. So if lets say, pricing as a topic. And youre always doing things in a hacked up way to buy yourself another few months, right? Not just on the day to day side, but then to make sure that these transitions were caught early enough or late, not too late, and then fixed. : I think 15 minutes or 30 minutes is within the same range. So they say theres seasonality and theres this and that, so I cant do monthly, even. Even people that werent hands-on in the beginning, after six months, theyre forced to be hands-on because thats the expectation the organization has because we started doing everything ourselves and thats how we built this. You know, pricing is a pretty complicated, sophisticated topic that has far reaching implications if its not done right. Because if you wow them, then they will wow your customers, right? Have you actually started working less as a result of that? She assembled a team, asked us to fund this thing. And so its interesting because you started by saying, you know, we focus on the outputs, the growth, every other thing. On day one, literally on day one, one of the first things that we did was we created the first version of our values. So shes acquired a business, by the way, that was doing something similar to get a jump start. : So well hopefully create these type of initiatives-. Let me just be out there and make sure that we are hitting our growth numbers and we are competing and we are doing the right things. . So the kids I generally see on the weekends. The things that we commit to our wives that we will do on a weekly, monthly basis. Vince Staples net worth, height, age, family, dati Muni He (golfer) Wiki Biography, age, height, boyf What happened to Stephanie Soo? And basically what that meant was every leader that came in started running their units in ways that made sense to them, based on what they had done prior. Should you Careem around Karachi, Lahore? These are the behaviors that we want, this is how we add this to our recruiting process, this how well add this to our performance measurement process. How do you transfer that, then? And when you make the hard choice, you know, I can get more revenue by doing this, you know, heres this person who is our best salesperson, but hes a jerk to all the employees. Mudassir Sheikha: And then we would have some weekly check ins, sometimes even daily check ins. Lets try to create some management layers that will create some sanity to it. : So would it be possible to get us a weekly calendar? What percent of the times is a car available? You did something inspirational. Many of our customers will value it for long haul routes. We were obsessed with weekly growth rate. Maybe this thing that were doing will not even materialize. You dont know when those plays run out, right? If we become cheaper, they will match our prices and go even below because thats the game they can play. Mudassir Sheikha: So one opportunity for example, one of our early, early colleagues, she realized that bus, Careem bus was an opportunity. And this was an initiative that was started by her. : In fact, if anything, I felt I was busier two years into it than I was busy in the beginning because there was just a lot more to manage. Mudassir Sheikha: It had some validity, it had some relevance. Lets try to create some management layers that will create some sanity to it. So they say theres seasonality and theres this and that, so I cant do monthly, even. They feel aligned and driven to make it happen. And so the pressure on the top comes down a little bit. So thats been a huge focus for me for the last six months. And thats what we believe is the biggest opportunity in the Middle East versus just a mobility opportunity or something else. Mudassir then joined the founding team of mobile testing and monitoring startup, DeviceAnywhere, where among other things, he . The numbers dont change immediately. Now, I dont know how long we followed that contract, which was sort of the sad part. And when that service is provided, it needs to have very clear SLAs. : So they are writing agreements with their families now? [9] In 2017, the company announced a program to extend maternity leave and hire more women. I think some of these things are tested locally as well. And the cities will make the choice, typically, if theyre not getting the right service or if theyre not getting the right speed of service. Mudassir Sheikha: So the day looks like start at four. So scale is important. I think one is weve been able to build a leadership team thats a lot more capable than what we had ever before. And youre coming at midnight. She assembled a team, asked us to fund this thing. : Yeah, so a lot of the interviews are done, if theres a very local candidate, the results are done by the local person, right, thats going to be the manager for that person. It will slow you down in the very, very beginning because it requires some thinking. This scholarship will allow LUMS to reward the high performing undergraduate scholars at the Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering (SBASSE), inspiring and nurturing a vision for . We sent it to each other. It would have made us, you know, correct a lot of the hiring decisions. Thats when people really look and see. This page is not available in other languages. Careem is a Dubai-based super app with operations in over 100 cities, covering 12 countries across the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia regions. Celebrities Mudassar Sheikh Net Worth Mudassar Sheikh Net Worth 2023, Age, Height, Relationships, Married, Dating, Family, Wiki Biography So, you know, as the CEO, what have you learned, what surprised you about being CEO of a really fast-growing company? So Wednesday, for example, is fully blocked for thinking. But generally, Friday Ive been able to block. We need to help them if theyre not doing it. : Yeah, they dont change immediately but weve actually been pleasantly surprised that our colleague NPS, strongly correlates with our growth numbers. The numbers dont change immediately. Friday is a working day in many parts of the world, so Friday is when we do meetings with investors. How do you think about that? You get a boarding pass. Mudassir Sheikha: And that did not happen at the quality and the rigor that should have happened. 11) Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani - Net worth: $1.2 billion. [42], Uber and Careem faced heavy criticism in Egypt at the beginning of 2016 by local taxi drivers for operating without official taxi licenses. And at some point, there were many people reporting to me and Magnus said, look, this is not sustainable. So after CVC, we said lets start-. Mudassir Sheikha: So well hopefully create these type of initiatives-. Or for that matter, engineering. Mudassir Sheikha: When we raised our CVC, we actually promised ourselves that we will get away from that mindset, that were not going to keep patching things because that whole debt was starting to catch up to us. I would like to do this. And if you do it at the country level, then youre not going to get the agility that you need or the relevance that you need. So thats one thing which is different. [15] The service was discontinued in early 2020. [50], Careem has been a supporter of Cricket for a Cause and has supported the league's efforts to raise funds for children in developing nations. Nothing is impossible. If its a necessary part of it, but its the customer service, its the on time, you know, its all of those things. : So this is not something that can be done right away or that can be outsourced. So how will we win against someone like that? The entire company is looking at these numbers. southern baptist church pastor,