In this episode of The CTO Show with Mehmet, we sit down with Walid Abou Ali, the CTO and Co-Founder of Places, a groundbreaking F&B discovery platform based in Dubai. Walid shares his unique journey from a 3D artist to a tech innovator in the MENA region, where he has channeled his passion for food and technology into creating a highly advanced search engine for the F&B industry. We dive deep into the challenges and triumphs of building a tech startup in Dubai, the importance of accurate data, and how Places is revolutionizing the way people discover dining experiences across the city. Walid also discusses the technical complexities of developing a robust search engine tailored to Dubai’s diverse culinary landscape and his approach to balancing innovation with practical business needs. He shares valuable insights on the future of F&B tech in the MENA region, offering advice for fellow CTOs on avoiding technical debt and scaling smartly.
More about Walid:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/walid-abou-ali-45680a43/
01:11 Walid’s Journey from 3D Artist to Software Engineer
03:24 Founding and Vision of Places
03:43 The Spark Behind Places
04:19 Building the Places App
05:22 Meeting Co-Founder Matthew Davidson
07:00 Challenges in Dubai’s F&B Scene
08:05 Advanced Search Engine for Foodies
09:20 Data Accuracy and Engineering
13:44 Revenue Model and Business Strategy
19:43 Technical Challenges and Solutions
24:19 Combining AI and Traditional Search
24:56 Transparency in Episode Recording
25:13 The Gold Rush of AI
26:23 The Role of LLM in Software Engineering
28:54 Choosing the Right Technology
35:18 Scaling and Technical Debt
36:41 The Importance of DevOps
41:24 The Evolution of Startups in MENA
48:06 Future Expansion Plans
49:01 Conclusion and Final Thoughts