Celebrating 5 years at Anghami with 5 career lessons 💜

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Today marks my 5th Anghamiversary.. I wanted to be intentional about how I celebrate and reflect on this milestone that I’m proud of.

I still remember my first day: December 14, 2015. I was 21, a fresh grad who’s trying to figure her way in life. 

Back then, we were a team of <50 employees serving the region from a small Jounieh office. Today, we’re 100+ employees – working from the region to the world.
Anghami grew and I grew with it.

5 days in, my colleagues tell me they’re filming a video about the team and I clearly had to be part of it. We went into the conference room – one by one and they asked us: “If Anghami was a person, how would you describe that person?”

Honestly,  don’t remember what I said back then.. But now, 5 years later I would say Anghami is the person who challenges you to do better every day, the one who applauses your highs and picks you up at your lows. Anghami is home – not in a “comfort zone” kind of way but more of a home where you’re constantly invited to be yourself, to feel loved and empowered to always spread your wings, dream big and make those dreams a reality.  

In these 5 years:

1. I learned that when you don’t have the answers, you create them

When you work at a “startup” you learn  to thrive in ambiguity and not be scared of the unknown. You get to do things for the “first time”. You learn on the way, adapt your strategy on the way. You learn to be agile and get creative when it comes to solving day-to-day issues. 

2. Everyone has a lesson to teach you, be open to be inspired.

In these 5 years I got to work with young, talented people who made Anghami a success story. And by young I mean <26 YO. You would find an 18 year old intern coding like a champ. A 23YO managing a team. A 26YO VP leading a whole department on his own. At Anghami, people are empowered to handle responsibilities at a young age – and manage to shine.

3.  Passion makes a company shine.

Raw talent and passion have been fueling Anghami since day 1. 
If you just take a look – you will see passion across the board. Anghami is a passionate brand and so are its people; and that is what makes it shine from within. 

4. Having a mentor can help you accelerate your growth.

When I first started, I was too scared to make mistakes. I used to ask my manager to check every single email before I send it. Check every single report before I share it. I used to ask a million questions per day to make sure I understood how things are done and avoid any mishaps. I remember we got to a point where he told me “Sab, you have 5 questions/day, use them wisely.” He taught me that it’s okay to make mistakes because that’s how you actually learn and grow. His simple purposeful actions helped me believe in myself more and allowed me to see that fear is just a mindset. 

5. Work culture is key to success and colleagues can be family. 

Anghami has always been about the people and will always be. 

1825 days with these people – never felt bored, never felt alone. 

2020 was a tough year – for everyone. I personally relocated to Dubai on March 1st 2020 and spent the full lockdown in a hotel room, away from all my loved ones. I felt physically lonely but I had the most amazing people with me every minute of every day. My Anghami family was checking up on me every. single. day. They sent the hotel staff to check up on me. They celebrated my birthday – remotely – in the most loving way, sent gifts to my room, video called me, and entertained me and supported me when I wasn’t feeling okay. 

And for that I’m forever grateful. Anghami people are a blessing. And this is why I say Anghami is family.

Thank you for the amazing 5 years, cheers to more memories, more challenges, more mistakes, more learnings and more fun together 💜