Noor Sweid has experienced entrepreneurship from almost every side of the table, from helping scale a family business to a $1.1 billion IPO to building her own company, raising venture funds, backing founders and becoming a Shark.

In this conversation with Christine Assouad, she reflects on the decisions, risks and lessons behind that journey, including what makes a founder worth backing, why entrepreneurship can be far lonelier than it looks, how she learned to deal with rejection, and why knowing when to walk away can matter just as much as knowing when to begin.

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IN THIS CONVERSATION

00:00 The Journey of Noor Sweid
02:05 Five lessons Noor carries across life and business
12:33 Joining the family business and making family relationships work alongside it
16:40 Scaling from 6 to 22 countries and building towards a $1.1B IPO
25:34 What corporate life, family business and entrepreneurship demand differently
29:44 Building Global Ventures and meeting 400 potential investors to raise the first fund
36:02 How Noor evaluates 600 opportunities to find the companies worth backing
42:28 Why billion-dollar founders stay obsessed with the problem, not the product

01:03:17 Shark Tank, founder drive and what becomes visible when the pitch begins

A FEW THOUGHTS THAT STAY WITH YOU

Entrepreneurship can be tougher and lonelier than it appears from the outside.

Not every rejection is about you. Sometimes a “no” is simply a “no.”

The strongest founders stay committed to the problem without becoming overly attached to one way of solving it.

Discipline isn’t only about knowing when to invest. It’s also knowing when the right decision is to exit.

And sometimes the opportunities that change your direction begin with having enough courage to try.

ABOUT THE GUEST

Noor Sweid
Founder & Managing Partner, Global Ventures

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noor-sweid/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noor_sweid/

Global Ventures:
https://www.global.vc/

NOOR'S BOOK

📘 Coming of Age: How Technology and Entrepreneurship Are Changing the Face of MENA

Through interviews with 35 founders, Noor explores how technology and entrepreneurship have transformed the Middle East and North Africa over the past 25 years.

Book website:
https://www.comingofage.me

Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Coming-Age-Technology-Entrepreneurship-Changing/dp/1917523432

ABOUT THE HOST

Christine Assouad
Host, Notes from the Top

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christineassouad/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecatalystofgrowth/

CHRISTINE'S BOOK

📕 The Power to Say YES

Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Power-Say-Yes-Working-Creating/dp/196548039X

Amazon UAE:
https://www.amazon.ae/Power-Say-Yes-Christine-Assouad/dp/995306704X

Antoine:
https://www.antoineonline.com/intr/en/p/The%20Power%20to%20say%20yes-Christine%20Assouad/9789953067049

#NotesFromTheTop #Entrepreneurship #VentureCapital #FamilyBusiness #FounderInvesting #MENAStartups #GrowthCapital #SharkTank