Karim Jouini, Pursuing a Second Successful Startup and Rethinking his Identity as a Global Entrepreneur – Ep.6, Season 3

Born in Tunisia and “well-travelled”.

Geek, started my first software company at the age of 16.

Studied Software Engineering and AI at INSA Toulouse and University of Western Ontario.

Joined Microsoft, where I spent 7 years — from Software Engineer to Engineering Manager — and truly fell in love with testing and quality.

Then co-founded Expensya, an AI-powered expense management scale-up that grew across Europe and was acquired for over $100M.

Now building Thunders: a no-code, agentic AI testing solution that empowers both developers and non-technical teams to automate end-to-end testing at scale — without writing a single line of code. Passionate about shipping faster, with confidence.

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The Startups Arabia Podcast connects you to the most prominent founders, investors, and operators of the Arab region. You will be inspired by their success, the challenges they overcame and the opportunities they see.

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Karim’s LinkedIn account: @Karim Jouini

Thunders’ Website: https://www.thunders.ai/

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SHOW NOTES:

00:00 Introduction to Karim Jouini and the Podcast

03:10 Karim's Journey in Tech and Early Ventures

05:00 The Importance of Hard and Soft Skills

07:29 Challenges and Lessons from Building Expensya

10:16 Founding Thunders and Its Vision

25:56 Thunders’ Progress and Future Plans

30:38 AI in Testing and Overcoming Regional Challenges

47:55 Handling Customer Feedback

50:16 Go-to-Market Strategy

53:34 Team Size and Structure

55:56 Remote Work Policy

56:53 Leadership Principles

59:37 Identity and Global Citizenship

01:01:55 Impact of Global Events

01:08:54 Fundraising Strategy

01:13:05 Acquisition Decision

01:17:32 Co-Founder Dynamics

01:22:21 Regional Startup Ecosystem

01:25:13 Quickfire Questions and Closing Thoughts