Karim Jouini, Pursuing a Second Successful Startup and Rethinking his Identity as a Global Entrepreneur – Ep.6, Season 3
Karim Jouini, Pursuing a Second Successful Startup and Rethinking his Identity as a Global Entrepreneur – Ep.6, Season 3Description
Born in Tunisia and “well-travelled”.
Geek, started my first software company at the age of 16.
Studied Software Engineering and AI at INSA Toulouse and University of Western Ontario.
Joined Microsoft, where I spent 7 years — from Software Engineer to Engineering Manager — and truly fell in love with testing and quality.
Then co-founded Expensya, an AI-powered expense management scale-up that grew across Europe and was acquired for over $100M.
Now building Thunders: a no-code, agentic AI testing solution that empowers both developers and non-technical teams to automate end-to-end testing at scale — without writing a single line of code. Passionate about shipping faster, with confidence.
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The Startups Arabia Podcast connects you to the most prominent founders, investors, and operators of the Arab region. You will be inspired by their success, the challenges they overcame and the opportunities they see.
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Karim’s LinkedIn account: @Karim Jouini
Thunders’ Website: https://www.thunders.ai/
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SHOW NOTES:
00:00 Introduction to Karim Jouini and the Podcast
03:10 Karim's Journey in Tech and Early Ventures
05:00 The Importance of Hard and Soft Skills
07:29 Challenges and Lessons from Building Expensya
10:16 Founding Thunders and Its Vision
25:56 Thunders’ Progress and Future Plans
30:38 AI in Testing and Overcoming Regional Challenges
47:55 Handling Customer Feedback
50:16 Go-to-Market Strategy
53:34 Team Size and Structure
55:56 Remote Work Policy
56:53 Leadership Principles
59:37 Identity and Global Citizenship
01:01:55 Impact of Global Events
01:08:54 Fundraising Strategy
01:13:05 Acquisition Decision
01:17:32 Co-Founder Dynamics
01:22:21 Regional Startup Ecosystem
01:25:13 Quickfire Questions and Closing Thoughts
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