I Found Beard Oil Abroad and a Tradition of Care at Home
A story about discovering beard oil abroad, returning to Jeddah, and realizing how much knowledge about care was already close to home.
Writing
Essays on identity, belonging, care, and the work of building. Practical notes on AI live here too.
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Arab Beauty Needs Arab Expertise
A company can use Arab ingredients, draw on Arab traditions and sell a product through an Arab story. It can do all of that without trusting an Arab founder to set its direction.
How Much Should You Change to Grow?
One video made me hesitate because it felt too much like me. I eventually released it. That decision didn’t give me a rule for the next one. I’m still asking which reluctance to trust and which parts of my own judgment I need to challenge.
The Store Looked Good. It Still Wasn’t Selling.
Design is easy to judge. Function begins with a harder question: what problem are you trying to solve? One polished store showed me why sales need a buying and fulfillment system that works.
The Person in the Ad Does Not Exist
A person in an AI video ad can look real. But when that ad resembles a customer's own footage, what are we being asked to believe?
Will AI Destroy Schools and Universities?
A brilliant essay can hide how little a student understands. I’m hopeful AI could help teachers reach students differently, if we keep checking what they can do for themselves.
The Parts of Home We Learn to Hide
At summer camp in Canada, I carried a water jug into the bathroom and tried to keep it unnoticed. One boy’s question changed how I left the toilet seat, but not the habit I had brought from home.
I Was Arab Enough to Stay, but Not Arabic Enough to Read the Board
In grade one, I stood with the non-Arab children because I couldn't follow the Arabic lesson. I had to stay because I was Arab. My mother helped me learn. The feeling that a language mistake could put my belonging in question has been harder to leave behind.
I Am Not Asking Permission To Be Saudi
People have been telling me I am not Saudi enough for ten years. The harder question is whether our idea of Saudi is large enough to recognize the Saudis already here.
I Once Watched a Room Change Its Mind
A university seminar made changing a mind visible: vote, explain, listen and choose again. It left me wondering whether open-mindedness belongs only to the person, or partly to the room.
It’s Hard to Jump When You’re the Last One
On a bungee-jumping platform in Korea, I helped a near-stranger find the courage to jump, then stood at the same edge and walked away. The moment changed how I think about courage and the people who help us become braver than we can always manage alone.
The Human System Came Before the Software
Before Diggn’It had mature systems, family, partners, friends and customers carried the knowledge and work that kept it moving. Software later gave parts of that work a durable home, but it did not inherit the founding credit.
Freedom Is Logistics
I could work from Bali because other people still knew where the stock was, made the products, packed the orders and kept them moving. The freedom was real, but the work had not disappeared.
The Country I Could Not Wait to Leave
For years, Saudi was the country I could not wait to leave. Returning with my children into a changed daily life made me reconsider what freedom, family and home meant without deciding my younger self had been wrong.
What a Men’s Grooming Company Should Never Make a Man Feel
Diggn'It rejected two beard-comparison images because the groomed side appeared to add hair. The decision raised a harder question: can a grooming brand offer change without making the customer feel incomplete?
I Was Never Good at Tech. I Just Stayed With the Problem.
The skill underneath technical confidence is less glamorous than it looks: stay with the unclear part, read the next clue and keep your judgment in the work.
A Man Is Not Beautiful Alone
After more than ten years in men’s grooming, I still believe being good-looking is an advantage. I am less certain that a face can tell us what makes a man beautiful, or what happens to that beauty when he is the one who needs help.
Building Diggn’It Led Me to AI
I did not arrive at AI through an abstract interest in technology. Ten years of running Diggn’It gave me the problems, data and operating pressure that made it practical.
The Beard Was Permission
What growing a beard—and building a men’s grooming brand in Saudi Arabia—taught me about masculinity, care and beauty.
How To Choose AI Use Cases Without Getting Distracted By Hype
The best first AI use case is usually the one with a real workflow, clear owner, visible friction, and a result you can measure in 90 days.
What A 90-Day AI Roadmap Should Actually Include
A useful 90-day AI roadmap chooses the first pilot, names the owner, lists the dependencies, and defines how success will be judged.
AI Readiness For Owner-Led Businesses In Saudi Arabia
Before choosing AI tools, owner-led businesses need clarity on workflows, data, ownership, and adoption. Here is a practical readiness framework.
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