Once a victim of piracy and illegal music streaming and downloads, the Arab world now has its own music streaming platform with over 35 millions songs and 70 million users: Anghami.

I have watched Anghami grow from the day I downloaded it and said “Ew! Arabic music. No thank you, bring Limewire back!” (back in 2013),to when I became a loyal daily user who enjoyed every experience it offered, to this day, as a UI/UX designer, who is not only watching the streaming app evolve, but is one of the people contributing to its growth. And I am grateful.

I am grateful that, not only was I given a chance to join the company during difficult times in my country and as a fresh graduate, but in only three months working there, I have thrived and learned more than I could imagine.

Here are three reasons why, in barely three months, Anghami can help you develop.

People appreciate your work

I had the chance to intern at many companies before joining Anghami. Naturally, you are given tasks, projects with deadlines and you are expected to return them to your superiors. That’s what you’re here to do.

I get into Anghami, I am given my first task. I’m excited, working on it, I want to prove myself. As I come to deliver the project to my Product Manager, he says, to my utmost surprise: “Thank you so much!”.

This is what I’m here to do, it’s my job. Why would you thank me?

Recognition and appreciation, even through simple words, make a difference. They make you want to work more and do more, they motivate you and make you feel like you’re contributing, even if the task is as silly as resizing icons.

An easy “Thank you!” encourages you to keep on going and giving 100%.

You are given time

I’ve always been told to first get experience at a startup or any small company. Bigger firms will not give me the time of the day and will not care about you learning as they have more going on.

I don’t know if Anghami is still classified as a startup, but 70 million users is not something you easily handle.

However, no matter how many bugs come crashing, or how many campaigns are awaiting release, the people here allow you to learn, to fall, to get up and keep on going.

As a newcomer, you are given responsibilities and you can feel the weight on your shoulders. In my opinion, it is only under pressure that you learn the most. And for a company with a small team compared to its big audience and millions of daily users, trust me, you will feel the pressure.

You and that small team are responsible for every feature many enjoy, and there’s nothing like realizing and understanding the importance of your success to help you grow.

We are all equal

PMs sit with interns. Leads have lunch with their teams. Founders casually sit somewhere around the open space office working and discussing feature ideas with engineers.

This mentality within a workplace pushes proactivity and involvment of the employees. You feel like you are listened to and respected and the idea of fear from your boss at work is replaced with security and assurance that you can go discuss any issue with them.

This is one very important point to allow a company to operate in a smooth, creative manner with all employees satisfied and productive. And Anghami treats you equally.

A special thanks to Rashel, Mohammad, Tala, Wael, Rodrigue and many many others!