An entrepreneur community can start with a simple introduction between people who might work well together. In this conversation, Abdul Osama (عبدول أسامة) asks Yahya Zakaria about making those connections, mistakes small-business owners make, and whether competitors can cooperate.
What does building a community look like?
Yahya describes noticing a potential collaboration between two people and introducing them. For him, community means helping people get to know and support one another without expecting an immediate return. The benefit of helping someone may only become apparent years later.
“If you had a delete button, which habit would you remove from small-business owners?” — Abdul Osama
What founder habit does the conversation challenge?
The guest criticizes treating company growth, funding rounds, and an eventual exit for money as though they were the purpose of building a business. Asked what mistake he wishes someone had warned him against, he points to quitting: at a difficult stage, continuing patiently can matter because walking away may waste earlier effort.
Can competitors collaborate?
Yahya says he sees room for harmony, not just competition, between companies in the same market. His example is recommending someone else in the field when that person is a good fit. He also says he does not regret sharing an idea that someone else goes on to execute successfully.
In numbers
- Two people: the guest connected them after spotting a possible collaboration.
- Ten years: an example he gives of how long it might take to see a return from helping someone, not a guaranteed outcome.
- Three years: the timeframe raised in a question about his future vision for his initiative.
What to do next
If you run a business, consider introducing two people with a genuine reason to collaborate. Build useful relationships without demanding an immediate payoff, and examine whether a funding round or exit has become a substitute for your actual business goals.
