Forbes covered how my persistence landed me home.
I got delayed in Dubai during Ramadan while speaking at a technology conference. A few days later, flights started disappearing from the departure boards as tensions escalated across the region. What was meant to be a short trip stretched into something else.
There was no clear plan. No quick fix. Just time I hadn’t accounted for.
And in that space, I started paying attention.
My experience navigating the disruption was later covered in Forbes, in a piece about travel insurance during conflict. But what stayed with me had nothing to do with policies or logistics.
It was the people.
How they carried themselves.
How they showed up for one another.
The Stage, the Silence, and What People Remember
The STEP Conference brings together founders, investors, and operators from all over the world. It’s fast, ambitious, and full of sharp thinking.
I was on a go-to-market panel moderated by Andreas Mueller. We were deep in metrics, strategy, growth.
At one point, I mentioned I had written a poetry manuscript.
That was the moment people held onto.
After the panel, people came up to talk about poetry. Not funnels or frameworks. Poetry. Meaning. Life.
When Community Shows Up
The next day, I joined a roundtable with Women in Tech Dubai, that is part of a broader movement led by Azza Gabr and Suegoli Sirjani through Women Who Thrive—a community that brings women together not just to connect, but to grow with intention.
What stood out to me wasn’t just the conversation. It was everything around it. Dubai has this way of quietly weaving people together.
People check in on each other. They make introductions. They open doors without making it a transaction. You could feel the difference between a network and a community.
An Evening I Won’t Forget
One evening, I joined an Iftar with the women behind Financially Savvi Women, founded by Nichola Collinson.
We sat together at sunset and broke the fast.
Conversations slowed down. People opened up. Stories were shared without filters.
What stood out to me most was how naturally mentorship showed up in that room.
Women offering guidance.
Sharing what they had learned.
Making time for someone earlier in their journey.
It wasn’t structured. It wasn’t scheduled. It just happened.
And it felt normal.
That stayed with me.
Speaking of Mentorship — 3 Things I Took With Me
1. Give First
That evening at Iftar made something clear.
When things feel uncertain, it’s easy to turn inward. What I saw instead was people doing the opposite.
They gave more.
They shared more.
They made space for others.
One simple practice during Ramadan is taking what you would have spent on food and giving it to someone else.
That idea extends far beyond money.
Your time.
Your experience.
Your perspective.
This is a moment to offer those things.
To mentor someone.
To share what you know.
To help someone take their next step.
Through communities like Financially Savvi Women, mentorship becomes accessible. Through platforms like The Angel Hive, those same conversations extend into investment and opportunity.
That kind of environment doesn’t appear overnight. It’s built through small, consistent acts of generosity.
2. Restraint Changes How You Think
Fasting slows you down.
You don’t react as quickly. You don’t rush to fill every silence.
You observe. You wait. You gather more before you act.
I found myself listening more closely. Paying attention to what wasn’t being said.
It changed the way I moved through conversations.
In business, we often reward speed.
But there’s a quiet advantage in holding back just long enough to understand what’s really happening.
3. Stay Hungry
There’s clarity in having less.
Less noise. Less distraction. Less excess.
You become more aware of where your energy goes and what actually matters.
I thought about early-stage building. When resources are tight and every decision carries weight.
That state sharpens you.
It keeps you focused. It keeps you close to the work.
“Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”
It felt less like a quote and more like a practice.
The month didn’t go the way I planned.
But it gave me something I wouldn’t have gotten otherwise.
A reminder that even in uncertain moments, people can create stability for each other.
Through attention.
Through generosity.
Through showing up.
Dubai has built something special in that way.
And once you experience it, you don’t forget it.
📖 Everything Is Fleeting, my forthcoming poetry collection on impermanence, ambition, and becoming, releases July 2026.
Until then, subscribe to my Love Letters https://letterstoai.substack.com/
