founder of alif (investing seed) and co-owner of founders arm
San Francisco
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1 month into opening our new San Francisco HQ today.
I want to bring together the best founders and creators in SF.
Building something cool? Get a desk: alif.build/hq
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Converted an art gallery to host taraweeh (night prayers) for Ramadan.
You really can just do things
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I’m making a gc of the most cracked undiscovered builders + growth hackers I’ve met on here
comment for an invite and I’ll DM you
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Fast-tracking all applications to work at @Replit through Alif Network for the next 48 hours.
We're helping them hire full-stack engineers, cracked growth people, and vibe coders with audiences.
All welcome - interns and directors alike!
alif [dot] build [slash] network
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Today I'm announcing something I've been working on for the last 2 years: Alif.
When I started building my first company 5 years ago, I had no help.
There was no Founders, Inc. yet.
Buildspace didn’t exist either.
I wouldn’t have gotten accepted into any accelerator if I tried.
I didn’t have the people in my corner that I do today.
In fact, people told me that I was throwing my life away almost every step of the way.
I'm building Alif into the program I wish I had when I was starting out.
It's a 7 week fast-track for Muslim builders who want to start a company.
With what we've seen from AI in the last two years, there's a window of opportunity that's never existed at this magnitude in history.
More people will be able to create generational impact during this period than ever before.
There’s never been a better time to build.
This first batch won’t be perfect — this is an experiment more than anything.
But I truly believe that something like this has to exist.
I'll be rolling out more information over the next few weeks.
Batch 0 will kick off on June 24th.
Applications now open: alif.build
Bismillah
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I say this hypocritically
The most successful people I know are the fastest to reply
Very few exceptions
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Just signed a lease on an art gallery in San Francisco for Ramadan.
We want to fill it up with the coolest founders + builders we can find.
Will be bringing in speakers + hosting office hours for members.
(And hosting taraweeh + iftars)
DM me if you'd like a desk!
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most founders think they need to raise millions of dollars before they can generate millions of dollars
not @yasser_elsaid_ — he built Chatbase to $500k MRR without taking a dollar of funding
and he shared the whole playbook on the podcast
search "Omar Waseem" on YouTube
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Today, we're announcing Alif ١.
It's a 5-week program to fast-track the most talented Muslim founders across the world into Silicon Valley.
There was a lot to learn from Batch 0 — we really were building the plane as we were flying it.
But as we made our way to Demo Day, it quickly became clear what made Alif special:
It was the people.
It was throwing a bunch of founders into an office together and watching them build relationships that would last a lifetime.
It was watching them celebrate each others' wins as if it was their own.
It was sitting in the room as they pitched to best VC's in the industry, while some of them had previously never even spoken to one.
That's why, for this next program, we're doubling down on the people.
Because it's hard enough to build something great.
But to build something great alone? That feels impossible.
So if you're a Muslim founder working on a big idea, we want to be your first believer.
Alif ١ will kick off on December 1st.
Applications are now open: @alifdotbuild
Bismillah
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Today, we’re announcing Alif Summit.
It’s a conference of the brightest Muslim builders in the world.
And it’s happening on February 1st, 2025.
In San Francisco, CA.
👇👇👇
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most founders wait until their product is perfect before selling to customers.
@fin465 did the opposite — he dropped out of stanford and built a $50K/month AI startup before shipping a single feature.
full episode: search "Omar Waseem" on YouTube
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Met this guy on Twitter who's making $130k/mo with his AI dev agency
Never done an episode of the pod remotely but this was way too good to pass up
@andywalters shared literally everything -- down to the exact cold email outreach script he used
Full YouTube link in comments
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0 to 100k and mainstream in <12 months
Incredible feat @jordihays @johncoogan
The bar has been raised
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Looking to bring on an engineer to come hack on Vision Pro projects in the Studio
What you get:
- full time salary + equity
- dedicated growth/marketing team
- all your expenses covered
- a Vision Pro
Reply if you’re interested
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The story of @reductoai is a masterclass in building AI companies.
They went from YC to a Series B in 18 months,
and locked in a $1M+ contract w/ a Fortune 10 company as a 2 person startup.
So many good stories in here from @aditabrm - full episode now on YouTube!
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starting moving into our office two weeks ago
been here 7 days a week till 2am
we will win
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That's a wrap on Alif Summit.
We set out ~2 months ago with one goal: to bring the brightest Muslim builders from across the world under one roof.
And we did it to prove a point — that as a community, it's time to raise the bar of what we think we're capable of.
To move beyond trying to build the best "Muslim" version of anything, and shoot directly for building the best.
And this weekend, it felt like we made real progress towards that.
Alhamdulilah.
Ty to everyone who came by.
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I have some bittersweet but exciting news to share.
As of today, we will no longer be running batches at Alif.
It’s a decision that we sat on for a while, but it's clear now that it's the right one.
No, Alif isn't shutting down.
Instead, it's the start of a new chapter for the company.
A year ago, we ran the our first experiment: Alif Batch 0.
And looking back, we've done a lot since:
- run two more cohorts
- hosted Alif Summit
- created The Gallery
- put on 55 Jumuah's
It’s incredible to see how far we’ve come as a community in such a short time.
These past weeks, the team and I took time to reflect on what made it all feel so special.
And we quickly realized — it wasn’t what we built.
It was who we built it with.
The founders.
The teams.
The community.
That’s what we want to double down on.
That's why we opened an office space in the heart of San Francisco.
And that's why we're moving away from the batch model.
But rather, working with founders as deeply as we can, one-on-one, on a rolling basis.
Alif is no longer a 6 week accelerator.
But instead, the entry point to an incredible lifelong ecosystem of builders, investors, and first-believers.
There’s truly never been a better time to build (or to apply!)
Application linked below.
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Rahul (@0interestrates) founded Julius, an AI app that got 300k users in 6 months…
& pulled off one of the greatest pranks ever
He shared the entire story — how he got his first 20k users from ChatGPT, why he built a mobile app, how he met Elon, and more
Now on YT👇
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Such an incredibly good ad from Perplexity
Reminder that stories always sell better than features
Tanvi
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If you're under 25 and you're cracked
Next Sunday I'm hosting a [virtual] demo day for people to share what they're hacking on
Will be selecting a handful of the best projects to present
Reply or join the arena gc to get an invite
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new video just dropped on the second channel
titled pov: just a regular week building a startup in sf
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Make reversible decisions, and quickly.
Should I drop out -> take a gap semester
Is this a viable startup idea -> throw up organic content + capture emails
Would they be a good cofounder -> hack on something for a month together
Overthinking will get you nowhere.
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600 people are coming to Alif Summit this saturday
I saw tickets being resold for 3x our initial drop price
heard hotel prices in the area skyrocketed
there are hacker houses filling up of people that have never met each other
even our partiful for jumuah hit capacity lol
alhamdulilah
incredibly excited
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Alif Batch 0 is now complete.
Forever grateful for everyone who made it possible.
Alhamdulilah
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Today, we’re announcing Alif Batch 2.
Last batch, we received over 2,000 applications from Muslim founders around the world.
From which we selected 7.
We worked closely with them over the course of 5 weeks — helping refine their product/GTM, building their fundraising strategies, and connecting them with investors and founding talent.
And we started to see signs of success.
Like Saad, who went from 0 to $1.2M ARR in just 30 days.
Or Belal and Abdul Wahid, who closed their entire seed round 2 weeks after Demo Day.
Or Ahmat, who processed over $10M in crypto transaction volume in just the past few months.
And next batch, we want to go even bigger.
Batch 2 applications are now open: @alifdotbuild
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Easily the most enjoyable episode I’ve ever done
How @sfcompute went from 0 to $1M profit in < 6mo
Dropping this weekend
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full @zach_yadegari episode out now on youtube.
Filming a podcast with @zach_yadegari tomorrow
He built Cal AI into a $1M/mo app in just a few months
What do you want to know about building consumer apps?
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Never been this hyped to drop a @thedockpod episode before...
We talked to @AviSchiffmann about building @internetactvsm, dropping out of Harvard, getting international press, & creating the world's most famous COVID tracking site...
👉 Watch it here: piped.video/MkWFw0Pmjk4
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Within the first 24 hours of launching Alif, over 200 applications came in.
Writing that announcement post, I hoped it would resonate with people.
But I didn't expect the sheer amount of support we'd get from the jump.
Thank you to everyone who shared across socials, dropped it in WhatsApp groups, and to all of the founders/investors who reached out.
Alif is a community effort, and none of this would have been possible without all of your help (may Allah accept).
I received a lot of questions, which will be answered over the weeks leading up to the kickoff.
In the meantime, if you're someone who's built a company and would like to be an advisor to our first batch — whether you're remote or in SF — reach out! My DMs are open.
Applications close in 2 weeks: alif.build
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Threw this together today since Blake was in town
Will be hosting a lot more this summer, esp now that we have our own space
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A year ago, I made one of my most important investments to date: Founders Arm.
Today, I'm excited to share that I've become a Co-Owner of the company.
Full announcement: foundersarm.com/hello
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Just canceled my @Superhuman subscription...
We're redesigning email from scratch in the @fdotinc Studio — @reply if you'd like early access!
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Bought a new laptop today and realized how many somewhat-niche desktop apps I’ve downloaded recently
- Arc
- Cursor
- Raycast
- Granola
- Magnet
- Superhuman
- Perplexity
What other apps have changed how you get work done
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Hosted a private event w/ @mamoonha at Alif HQ on Saturday.
Had the pleasure of bringing together some of the best in the industry.
It's been beautiful to watch the ecosystem grow this past year.
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just posted a new vlog on the second channel.
pov: week in the life making $30m a year in your 20's
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Update: we're investing $10k into every Alif ١ company.
Applications close this Friday.
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How @chatbase got its first users from posting on Reddit forums.
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Just dropped the pod with Evan from @sfcompute
They went from 0 to $1m in profit in their first 6 months selling GPUs
Link to watch the full ep 👇
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Spending the week in NY
Will be hosting a dinner + looking to film podcasts - dm if you're around!
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Just met this guy who was an extra on HBO Silicon Valley
Being on the show was how he learned about coding
Now he’s becoming a founder at the @fdotinc hackathon
How the turn tables
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Just dropped a pod w/ Farza from @_buildspace
We talked about alt. life paths, the lore behind the team, how he convinced a16z to give him $10M, whether not it's becoming a cult, and more...
Full YT linked 👇
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For the first time since we literally tried to build our own alternative
It may be time to cancel my superhuman subscription
@NotionMail is incredible
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Just dropped the pod with @zuhayeer from Levels.fyi
They went from a college side project to a company that generates millions in $$ from helping people build their careers
Link to watch the full ep 👇
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Alif now has an office in SF.
We're just 3 weeks in, and I've already seen the incredible boost in energy and output from the team.
Huge props to @afra_nehal for putting the whole thing together so quickly - and without any designers or consultants.
Alif
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Three weeks ago, we kicked off Batch 0 of @alifdotbuild
Alhamdulilah it's been amazing to see the compounding effect of the community starting to form around our founders.
Some highlights:
- Hosted speaker sessions with @FurqanR, @FarzaTV, @zuhayeer, @agreeahmed, and more.
- Locked in official partnerships with @tryramp, @microsoft, @awscloud, @openai, @rippling, @MeetApollo, @runpod, @juliusai, @tarteelAI — the list goes on
- Started a weekly outdoor Jumuah in SF for Batch 0 + friends & family, something I've been wanting to do since moving to the city.
- @adilbuilds from Boycat launched a Chrome extension as their first effort in online shopping and broke 500K downloads on the App Store.
- Headstarter launched their fellowship and received 20,000+ applications
- @BeardAintWeird_ from Pam started their nationwide expansion, growing 50% MoM with their AI receptionist for car dealerships.
- @arshanmahmad from Worksense locked in key partnerships with CHRO's, growing 80% MoM
- Started to build out our internal VC network, with 5 of our companies receiving their first term sheets.
This week, our companies are gearing up to start fundraising.
On August 16th we're hosting a Demo Day for our companies to pitch to the best founders, builders, and investors in SF...
@reply if you'd like an invite to attend!
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I've got a list of cracked founding engineers + growth and design builders who are looking for their next role.
Both IRL and offshore, with tons of experience building cool things at cool companies
Who's hiring?
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POV: "Bro we should film a podcast" gone too far
Full @blakeandersonw ep. now on YouTube
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Thought Arib was demoing something…
Instead they’re deciding whether or not Drake tickets are worth $1000
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having @yasser_elsaid_ on the podcast this week
he built @chatbase to $500k MRR without taking a dollar of VC money
very exciting times
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It's been a month since Alif Demo Day.
Some of our companies are quickly starting to take off...
In the last two weeks:
- one of our companies jumped to multi-7-figure ARR after joining the batch with $0 in revenue
- two others said they paused fundraising altogether bc they aren't able to keep up with new customers coming in (now at $100k+ ARR)
- one of our founders sold his product to a diehard customer and is now going after a larger market
And that's only 1/4th of the batch.
Announcing the next program very soon
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Filming a podcast with @zach_yadegari tomorrow
He built Cal AI into a $1M/mo app in just a few months
What do you want to know about building consumer apps?
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Hosting a small event tomorrow at Alif HQ with one of our LPs
Talking about how he took a company from $4M ARR to a $485M acq. in 3 years
Reply/dm for an invite
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We had 2,000 applications come in for Alif ١
That's more than 3x what we had for Batch 0.
I spent the past 2 weeks going through applications and talking with founders, investors, and batch mentors.
So many of these ideas could change the world
I only wish we could back more of them.
Acceptances start rolling out tomorrow.
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Committed myself to documenting the process of building @fdotinc & @alifdotbuild in public this summer...
Just dropped the first of those videos on my YouTube channel
It's called the raw reality of turning your idea into a company
Full episode 👇
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Have a cool consumer mobile app we're incubating with @haroon soon
Haroon took @RocketMoneyApp from 0 to a $1.3B exit in a few years
Looking for a dev with mobile dev experience and great product taste that wants to create this with us
Tag someone that would be great / DM me!
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Underrated skill:
Knowing how to ask for help
Rarely productive to just brain dump your thoughts/problems on someone
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Alex cofounded and built Leap from 0 to $500k ARR + 250k users in under a year
We made a video where he shared the entire growth playbook — what worked and why, how much $ spent, etc.
Watch it now on YouTube 👇
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Took a gap year before college that changed my life.
Became the CMO of a $2b DAO governance protocol in freshman yr. and stayed in school while I worked there.
Then dropped out of @cal when @FurqanR gave me an offer to join Founders, Inc. in 2022
Yapping about it this Wed:
What should you do in college if you plan to be a founder?
Should you even finish school?
University Day is this Wednesday, where we're bringing together the most ambitious interns in San Francisco.
RSVP closes in 24 hours: lu.ma/uni
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Current favorite internet thing: godly.website
Easily the best design inspiration source I've found in a while
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