Behind The Build with Mohamed Gaber (Velents)

Mohamed Gaber, is the co-founder and CEO of Velents, an innovative data-driven AI-based hiring platform that combines an applicant tracking system with assessment software to automate the recruitment lifecycle!

Back in December 2023, Velents closed a Seed round for an undisclosed amount, led by A15 with participation from Nibras Capital, AUC Venture Lab, and local investors.

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🛠️ Breakdown what you do?

First and foremost, I am a father, that’s my main and full-time job 😀

Secondly, I am the CEO of Velents, where I would say my job as a CEO that I should be on top of a function of the company until I get someone makes it good then fire me from this function to work on another function then repeat.

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🚀 What gets you up in the morning?

I was once told to my face: “Google doesn’t take any candidates from your university”, which surprised and upset me, as I felt highly capable at the time.

Years later, I turned down an offer from Google because I was working on Velents.

Look, it’s statistically proven that having a degree from a prestigious university increases your chances of getting a job.

Having a certain name, accent, provenance may also influence how recruiters perceive you.

Sometimes it’s an issue of unconscious bias, other times it’s outright discrimination.

My main motivation with Velents is to help individuals get the jobs they deserve.

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💼  Leadership advice you wish you had known sooner?

For sure it relates to management style. While micromanagement typically carries a negative connotation, it's essential for founders to understand the details of their business.

Managers should enable their team to assume responsibility and ownership of their tasks.

Striking a careful balance between these two management styles is really hard but absolutely vital.

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🌟 What's been your most rewarding career moment to date?

I don’t really approach life this way, I’d rather not focus on the highs because that may also make me dwell on the lows. I take everyday as is and do the best I can.

Overall, I am proud of my team and what we’ve achieved so far.

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🗻 And the most challenging?

The Great Pivot! 🤯

We were six months into building Velents, we’d gone to market and realised our offer was not attractive enough. We were on the brink of collapse, and I even advised the team to look for other jobs. Not being able to pay people salaries is a low moment for any founder.

It was during this critical time that I had to mature rapidly. Velents took a giant leap forward and here we are today!

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🔍 What's a start-up trend you’re keeping an eye on in 2024?

For sure it’s AI-generated videos and this is where we plan on spending some of our R&D resources.

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👶 As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

You may find this surprising but I really wanted to be a journalist. It was my father who convinced I would be a good engineer, and here I am.

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😅 Go-to activity to decompress?

Playing chess is my outlet.

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📚 A book that stopped you in your tracks?

Zero to One (the philosophical part of it, not the practical part).

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🎧 Favourite podcast?

From the English realm, I really enjoy “Philosophize this!”. My favorite Egyptian podcast is “Eshtery mny”, which translates to “Buy from me”, it’s very funny.