Abdulaziz Al-Abdullah - Chief Ideas Officer
With a background in development studies and economics, Abdulaziz spent much of his early career working on macro-level government projects dealing primarily with investment promotion and infrastructure. After that, he Co-founded his first tech startup back in 2006, Sufrati.com, which was the region’s first, and largest, online dining guide, which was later acquired in 2012. And once he caught the pioneering bug he never looked back. In keeping with his entrepreneurial spirit, Abdulaziz expanded into the real estate development sector where he created the “micro-mansion” concept with the aim of helping solve the housing crisis in Saudi Arabia. After that he founded You Reek’a Ideas Inc. which is a house of innovation that provides startups with the tools they need to see their ideas come to life. Tools range from access to angel networks to direct startup consultancy, where besides holding a certificate in SME consultancy, he uses his extensive experience in the field to help startups overcome hurdles. You Reek’a Ideas also likes to get its hands dirty, so besides that, they create in-house projects in the tech and non-tech sectors alike. Launching end of the year, their latest project is Co-founding Smart Washr, alongside Founder Suhail Jaber, which is an on-demand laundry service that hopes to make the tedious chore of washing laundry as easy as ordering a pizza.
And in keeping in line with his efforts to organically foster the regional startup ecosystem he's currently on the eve of opening a brand new startup-centric co-working space in the heart of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia called ’The Spot’, which he says he hopes to be the Wework of the middle east. Its aim is to provide a creative and encouraging work environment where entreprenuers and freelancers can hone their skill and develop their projects further. It will also provide mentorship, workshops, and discounts in startup support tools which ’Spotters’ can make use of in order to help them grow. To know more, or to book a spot, visit www.thespot.ws Abdulaziz was named in Forbes’s ‘Future Leaders of the Kingdom’ list, and also sits on the board, as head of media and PR, on the ’The King Saud Foundation’.