John Mady - The Vision Behind Qlub: Scaling a Restaurant Tech Startup Across Markets

What does it take to become the #1 payment method in every restaurant? Qlub's Co-founder, John Mady reveals the unconventional strategy that made them one of the fastest-growing fintech startups in the region. From spending a year working out of Dubai Mall restaurants to keeping the entire team on the ground with clients, this is what customer proximity actually looks like in action. In this episode from the Emerge Podcast, discover: 0:00 — Introduction: Welcome to Emerge and the Graduated theme 1:05 — What led to Qlub? 3:37— From drilling to consulting to operations to restaurant tech 8:00— Six markets in year one: The expansion story 9:52— Why did you do this to yourself? 11:39— The multi-country expansion: When did you feel ready? 13:45— The funding journey: Mubadala, Mastercard and what's next 14:49— What's the vision for Qlub now? 21:15— Do you miss the early stage? 23:21— What are the ingredients for other founders to build something like Qlub? 25:46— What is your most enjoyable part of the journey? 28:03— Hiring: How do you find the right DNA? 29:57— Hot takes: The payment literacy gap nobody talks about 🔔SUBSCRIBE for more founder stories from MENA's tech ecosystem 💬 What surprised you most? Drop a comment!