E3: Ramzi Samara of MASIC | The Rise of Saudi Arabia and the MENA Region in Venture Capital

David Weisburd sits down with Ramzi Samara, Co-Head of Private Funds (VC) at MASIC, one of the few family owned investment firms in Saudi Arabia that has a dedicated venture capital program. Ramzi is also an active angel investor in early-stage startups in the US and MENA. In this conversation they discuss the vibrant dynamics of the region, Ramzi’s investing thesis and multi-year power-law driven strategy, and looking at passive vs active early-stage fund managers. If you’re ready to level-up your startup or fund with AngelList, visit www.angellist.com/tlp to get started. (0:00) Episode preview (1:45) How does VC view the market dynamics in Saudi Arabia? (7:16) How should Venture Capitalists think about navigating MENA? How does Saudia Arabia differ from the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, etc. (10:27) Ramzi’s investing thesis at MASIC (14:15) Ramzi’s portfolio strategy (15:56) Sponsor: AngelList (19:12) Criteria for evaluating a fund (21:41) Looking at passive vs. active fund managers (27:41) Risks and downsides of investing in micro VCs (29:12) How Ramzi thinks about concentration risk (30:05) What VCs should know about MASIC as one of the earliest adopters of the venture capital asset system in Saudi Arabia