Basel Anabtawi spent a decade working in marketing and communications and was always thinking about a side hustle. His passion for communicating drove him to launch ‘Basel Meets’ in 2017, a podcast where he interviews people he’s interested in and have “Joe Rogan style” conversations. His podcasting adventures led him to interview the famous Guns and Roses guitarist Slash and local celebrities like Khalid Al Amiri.

In 2020, Basel and his co-founder and sound engineer Bashar Najjar, teamed up with Barry Kirsch, the founder of BKP, one of the top music production houses in the UAE. Together, they launched Rising Giants Network (https://risinggiantsnetwork.com) which quickly grew to offer 30 English and Arabic podcasts with hit shows like Al Rasoul, Al Tikriti and Beirut Blast.

Basel takes us through his journey of trial and error, why it’s important to ask for what you want and to drop your ego. We also discuss the ups and downs of startup life, educating brands on the value of podcasts, monetization and creating hit shows.

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