Tales of the Trade

On a special bonus episode, James talks to me about the state of the podcast industry, the audio versus video conversation, and his thoughts on its future.Links: The Vergecast: They’re called “Podcasts” Podnews: Why is all the podcasting money in the US by Will Page The decentralized nature of podcasts is its best feature (Dubai Podfest 2023) The Pen Addict podcast Chirag Desai and Ramsey Tesdell on the podcast industry: Website • YouTube Upload podcasts via RSS to YouTube The Podcast Index Apps supporting Podcasting 2.0 features Open Podcast Analytics Working Group Spotify leaves the IAB Megaphone is certified again Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pull up a chair and join my conversation with James Cridland, founder & editor of Podnews.netJames tells me about their growth from scratch to 32,000 subscribers, and the importance of owning your tech stack and workflow. We also talk about their acquisition of the Podcast Business Journal last year as a key expansion strategy.On a special bonus episode out tomorrow, James and I talk about the state of the podcast industry, the audio vs video conversation and his thoughts on its future.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On a special episode coming this week, I’m sitting down with James Cridland, founder & editor of Podnews.net, *the* place to get all your podcast news, and then some. Over two episodes, we’ll get into the genesis of the platform and get James’ insights on the latest shifts in the podcast industry. So pull up a chair & join the conversation!Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ramsey Tesdell shares his thoughts on some of the challenges and opportunities for the podcast landscape in the region. This episode is a continuation of my conversation with Ramsey, where he shared his entrepreneurial journey and some of Sowt’s growth plans, including their acquisitions of Finyal Media & Rising Giants Network.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do you go from social network to podcast powerhouse? Pull up a chair and join the conversation with Ramsey Tesdell, co-founder and CEO of Sowt. Ramsey tells me about his entrepreneurial journey, why he’s an unintentional leader & lessons from their recent podcast acquisitions of Finyal Media in 2022 & Rising Giants Network last year.On a special bonus episode, Ramsey also shares his thoughts on the MENA podcast landscape. This bonus episode is available to subscribers tomorrow and everyone else next week. Links: Our 2021 predictions on Apple Podcast SubscriptionsLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pull up a chair & join the conversation with Ramsey Tesdell, co-founder and CEO of podcasting powerhouse, Sowt. Available in your podcast apps May 7. If you subscribe now, you’ll also get a bonus episode on the state of the podcast landscape before everyone else!Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On our season finale, Tatiana Antontelli shared how she's been adapting her social entreprise, Goumbook, to handle the impact of the lockdowns and the pandemic. On this bonus episode, Tatiana shares her thoughts about the impact of sanitization and re-emergence of single-use plastic in light of the various guidelines put in place around the world. Thank you for joining us on this season of Tales of the Trade, and see you in 2021!CreditsHosted & Produced by Chirag Desai.With support from Pooja Sagar, Abhishek Venkatasubramanian & Zainab Ujjaini.Original Music by Reiner Erlings.Review us on Apple Podcasts • IMDb • PodchaserLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Goumbook was the UAE's earliest social entreprise helping promote sustainable practices since 2010. So pull up a chair & join our conversation with Tatiana Antonelli, founder of Goumbook, and how she is facilitating her business into the new world order and why 2020 could become a remarkable opportunity for entrepreneurs to step up. We'll be back with a new season in 2021. See you then! CreditsHosted & Produced by Chirag Desai. With support from Pooja Sagar, Abhishek Venkatasubramanian & Zainab Ujjaini. Original Music by Reiner Erlings. Review us on Apple Podcasts • IMDb • PodchaserLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pull up a chair & join the conversation with students Yusuf Zia & Rayan Malik about their journey as student entrepreneurs and the launch of a first-of-its-kind entrepreneurship platform out of the UAE. CreditsHosted & Produced by Chirag Desai. With support from Pooja Sagar, Abhishek Venkatasubramanian & Zainab Ujjaini. Original Music by Reiner Erlings. Review us on Apple Podcasts • IMDb • PodchaserLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A decade strong, Sugaholic started out from humble beginnings and is now a name synonymous with celebrations and events in the city. So pull up a chair & join the conversation with Ravisha Bhatia, about how they met the lockdown challenges head-on. CreditsHosted & Produced by Chirag Desai. With support from Pooja Sagar, Abhishek Venkatasubramanian & Zainab Ujjaini. Original Music by Reiner Erlings. Review us on Apple Podcasts • IMDb • PodchaserLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Dubai braced for a full lockdown in March 2020, two finance execs-turned-entrepreneurs met with their staff and announced their decision to close operations ahead of the official lockdown announcement. Pull up a chair & join the conversation with Hashem Montasser, co-founder of The Lighthouse. CreditsHosted & Produced by Chirag Desai. With support from Pooja Sagar, Abhishek Venkatasubramanian & Zainab Ujjaini. Original Music by Reiner Erlings. Review us on Apple Podcasts • IMDb • PodchaserLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chirag Desai is joined by Season one guest Arva Ahmed, Chief Executive Muncher at Frying Pan Adventures, who shares how her business is dealing with impact of the pandemic and how she's been coping--both personally and professionally with its impacts. Pull up a chair & join the conversation on the season premiere of Tales of the Trade. CreditsHosted & Produced by Chirag Desai. With support from Pooja Sagar, Abhishek Venkatasubramanian & Zainab Ujjaini. Original Music by Reiner Erlings. Review us on Apple Podcasts • IMDb • PodchaserLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new season on how companies--and the people behind them--are coping as we exit the various lockdowns in place due to the global pandemic. Join host Chirag Desai as he chats with a couple of former guests and partners, starting September 22.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey there, we're working on a new season of Tales of the Trade, and we hope to share more about that in a few weeks. In the meantime, stay up to date with us through our newsletter, and enjoy our episode from Summer 2019 featuring two entrepreneurs who journeys crossed paths in more ways than one. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over a decade ago, a young man left behind his masters program to move to the UAE. It didn't take long for him to spot an opportunity to branch out on his own and today--as much as he hates the term--can only be defined as a serial entrepreneur. Pull up a chair & join our season finale with Samer Hamadeh, founder of Aegis Hospitality & the man behind some of Dubai's iconic venues such as Republique, Stereo Arcade & Akiba Dori. CreditsHosted & Produced by Chirag Desai. With support from Pooja Sagar, Abhishek Venkatasubramanian, Sukayna Kazmi & Zainab Ujjaini. Original Music by Reiner Erlings. Review us on Apple Podcasts • IMDb • PodchaserLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Building a successful technology platform and a business model that is sutainabile is hard enough; doing that without a technology background in a part of the world not exactly conducive to the gig economy requires a steely determination. So pull up a chair & join our conversation with Loulou Khazen, founder of Nabbesh. Additionally, in these trying times, we ask that you support your local businesses. On behalf of Courtyard Playhouse, one of the companies we featured in season 1 desparately needs to raise funds to keep the lights on until the precautionary measures are lifted. You'll find more details on the episode and here’s a link to donate. We hope you'll consider even a small amount to help them out. CreditsHosted & Produced by Chirag Desai. With support from Pooja Sagar, Abhishek Venkatasubramanian, Sukayna Kazmi & Zainab Ujjaini. Original Music by Reiner Erlings. Review us on Apple Podcasts • IMDb • PodchaserLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On a special bonus episode, how Arafaat's eventual career has roots in his childhood, and what happened to those two girls who served as a catalyst to getting it all started? Arafaat Ali Khan co-founded the Middle East Film & Comic Con in Dubai. You can find the full episode in your podcast player.CreditsHosted & produced by Chirag Desai. With support from Abhishek Venkatasubramanian, Sukayna Kazmi & Zainab Ujjaini. Original music composed by Reiner Erlings.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the late 2000s, halfway across the world from the premiere event in the pop culture scene—the San Diego Comic Con—a young man couldn’t understand why the Middle East didn’t have one of these mega events for the aficionados of comic books & pop culture. Pull up a chair & join our conversation with Arafaat Ali Khan, co-founder of the Middle East Film & Comic Con.CreditsHosted & produced by Chirag Desai. With support from Abhishek Venkatasubramanian, Sukayna Kazmi & Zainab Ujjaini. Original music composed by Reiner Erlings.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just as the smartphone was revolutionizing the camera industry post-2007, a young expat was leaving behind his career as a brand marketer to become a photojournalist. Pull up a chair & join our conversation with Mohamed Somji, Director of Gulf Photo Plus & Founder, Seeing Things Photography. CreditsHosted & produced by Chirag Desai. With support from Abhishek Venkatasubramanian, Sukayna Kazmi & Zainab Ujjaini. Original music composed by Reiner Erlings.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Understanding how to scale your business—whether adding employees, opening a new branch, or even looking at funding—is really hard to do day-to-day. And when you've operated in a single-store model for over a decade, how do you go about changing gears towards a growth-oriented business? Pull up a chair & join our conversation with Sima Barazi Haroun, founder of Boom & Mellow.Credits Hosted & produced by Chirag Desai. With support from Abhishek Venkatasubramanian, Sukayna Kazmi & Zainab Ujjaini. Original music composed by Reiner Erlings.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices