In this episode of the Sunny Ray Show, Sunny Ray talks with Erass Majdoubeh, a partner at Silicon Badia, about how the firm evaluates founders in the age of AI. Majdoubeh traces his path from entrepreneurship student to intern to partner in under seven years, driven by a mission to build the MENA ecosystem. He explains why mission driven founders matter more than any particular business model, how customer willingness to pay separates must have products from nice to have ones, and why distribution and go-to-market now rival the product itself. He also describes how Silicon Badia sources deals through a 30 year network and an internal deal sourcing engine, what makes a cold LinkedIn message work, and the common first meeting mistakes founders make. Finally, he previews the firm's third regional fund, an 80 to 100 million dollar vehicle built around a local to global thesis. Listeners get a practical look at how a MENA focused VC sifts through noise to find companies that can scale.
A MENA venture partner explains why mission, distribution, and honest numbers beat vibe coded pitches when choosing which founders to back.
How did you first end up in venture, and what made you stay?
I originally studied entrepreneurship planning to start my own company in the region, where infrastructure lagged far behind the US. While meeting ecosystem players I found Silicon Badia, the first VC in the region, which bridges MENA and the US. I joined as an intern and became a partner in under seven years because I was mission driven and wanted to impact the region.
What was the moment you knew a founder was worth backing, before the numbers said so?
For me the most important attribute today is being mission driven. Many people just vibe code a tool and chase a problem. I care less about whether SaaS is dead and more about the outcome a company drives and how cash efficiently it uses AI. One founder we backed built AI credit scoring that gives lenders and borrowers answers within seconds.
What are you looking to back right now, and what signals make you lean in fast?
Because we have been in the US for over 30 years, our US portfolio shows us which disruptive solutions are in market before the region follows. The biggest validation is customer demand and willingness to pay. I want a must have, where you can quantify the cost you save or the revenue you generate, rather than a nice to have.
How do the best founders reach you, and what should a cold intro say?
We are ecosystem builders, so we show up at events and workshops, and warm intros from VCs, angels, and ecosystem builders go a long way. The best conversion channel is LinkedIn, and we take calls when a founder fits our mandate. Skip the AI slop. Write a genuine message about what you are building and start a conversation.
How does Silicon Badia get in front of great founders, and what has actually worked?
Two things. First, 30 years of relationship building, including co-investing with over 1,000 investors globally and weekly catch-ups with many of them. Second, an internal deal sourcing engine, not vibe coded, that we have developed for over ten years. It moved from offline to manual to automated workflows and briefs us daily on top deals. That mix gets us the best deals.
What do the next 90 days look like at Silicon Badia?
We are closing our third regional fund, which is 80 to 100 million dollars and focused on MENA. Our thesis is local to global. We build scalable technology in low cost markets like Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia, then export it to mature markets such as Europe, the US, and the GCC. That is how we compete with incumbents.
What is one mistake you see founders make in their first meeting with an investor?
The first is not being fully transparent. The best founders we backed disclosed the real numbers and issues, because we want to see how we can help. The second is not doing homework on the investor. It is a marriage. We lead rounds and focus on local to global companies, so hyper local, macro heavy pitches do not fit.
What question tells you whether a founder's mission is real or just a good pitch?
In our due diligence workshop calls, I look at team alignment and the ability to attract great talent. Then I ask about the founder's background and why they started this company. Was it a problem faced in a previous role, a passion, or a painful experience? Someone with many random ideas who just wants any business is not mission driven.
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