Starting Young, Staying Curious
Atoum
I’ve been building things for more than half my life — starting with code at 12, my first agency at 15, and ventures that now span multiple countries and industries. Looking back, the constant thread hasn’t been luck or timing. It’s been curiosity — the drive to ask what if and then follow through. This is the story of how that curiosity shaped my journey, and the lessons I’ve learned along the way.
Every journey looks linear in hindsight, but mine never felt that way while I was living it. At 12, I was just a kid trying to figure out how websites worked. At 15, I was building sites for clients without realizing I’d started a company. In my twenties, I found myself leading teams, winning awards, teaching at Stanford, working at IBM, and building ventures that reached people across 16 countries.
The First Spark (12–15)
I didn’t start coding because I wanted to build a company. I started because I was curious. At twelve, I wanted to know how websites actually worked, so I taught myself HTML, CSS, and later PHP. The internet became my classroom — long nights on online forums, tutorials, and certificate courses.
By fifteen, that curiosity turned into my first agency. It wasn’t sophisticated — just me, a laptop, and the realization that people were willing to pay me for what I could build. I called it Yotta Solutions. Back then, I didn’t know the word “venture,” but I knew the rush of seeing something I made exist in the real world.
The early lesson? You don’t need a polished plan to begin. Curiosity plus action is enough to get moving.
From Hustle to Studio (Yotta)
What began as a teenager freelancing quickly grew. Yotta became more than a side hustle. I hired freelancers, delivered projects for clients across sectors, and learned the realities of leadership at a young age. It wasn’t easy — managing expectations, fixing late-night bugs, keeping clients happy — but it was the best education I could have asked for.
Over time, Yotta matured into a creative-tech studio. To date, we’ve delivered 175+ projects across 16 countries, building everything from websites and e-commerce platforms to SaaS products. But beyond the numbers, what matters to me is that Yotta became my foundation — the place where I learned how to run teams, scale delivery, and turn raw skills into a business.
The insight? Building a company is less about code and more about people.
Losing, Then Winning
In 2016, I entered a programming competition in Jordan and placed 10th out of 60+. For most people, that would’ve been decent. For me, it wasn’t enough. I realized I had gaps — in depth, in algorithms, in structured problem-solving.
Instead of settling, I doubled down. I studied harder, learned deeper computer science concepts, and prepared with more discipline. The next year, I entered a regional competition against 120+ participants from Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, and Iraq — and won 1st place.
That experience reframed failure for me. Losing with the right mindset isn’t a setback, it’s a signal. If you listen to it, it shows you where to improve.
Giving First (The 25 Startups Initiative)
Not long after, I started meeting founders who had promising startups but couldn’t afford websites. They were running in the dark, trying to grow without a digital presence. So I decided to build websites for 25 startups in Jordan, free of charge.
It was one of the most fulfilling things I’ve done. Watching their businesses grow, seeing their reach expand, and knowing I played a role — even a small one — showed me the power of giving first. Ironically, that initiative brought more opportunities back to Yotta than direct selling ever did.
Lesson? Sometimes the fastest way forward is to help others move first.
Recognition & Responsibility
In 2017, I received the Arab Creative Youth Award, presented by H.H Sheikha Fatma bint Mubarak. Receiving it from Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at Emirates Palace was surreal. For a teenager who started with a laptop and curiosity, it felt like validation.
But it wasn’t a finish line. It was a responsibility. Recognition isn’t a crown — it’s a reminder that people are watching, expecting more. That sense of responsibility pushed me to launch the Yotta Webmasters Bootcamp with Microsoft, training startups in web development, design, and marketing.
The lesson? Recognition is fuel, not a destination. Use it to give more.
Crossing Borders (The UK Years)
In 2018, I left Jordan for the UK to study Software Engineering at the University of Portsmouth. It was a leap into the unknown — new country, new culture, new challenges.
Academically, I pushed through with focus, eventually graduating with honours. But outside the classroom was where the real growth happened. I became Vice President of the Entrepreneurs Society, organized weekly events, led the Hult Prize competition — the biggest entrepreneurship program in campus history — and even represented students nationally as an NUS Delegate.
These roles taught me leadership beyond code: how to rally people, how to manage conflict, how to create momentum around an idea.
Around the same time, new opportunities opened. I joined IBM UK, working on developer experience, community, and automation tools for IBM MQ. I also served as a Programming Section Leader at Stanford University, teaching Python and mentoring students globally. Both experiences shaped my perspective: one grounded in enterprise scale, the other in education and mentorship.
Takeaway? Growth comes from putting yourself in unfamiliar rooms.
Failures, Pivots, and Building Abroad
In 2021, I went to Bali for what I thought would be a one-month trip. It turned into five months, and during that time I launched Scan2Dine, a QR-menu platform. I pitched to 120+ restaurants, built traction, and got serious interest. Eventually, I shut it down.
Was it a failure? Maybe. But I see it as practice. I learned how to pitch strangers, how to adapt to new markets, and how to spot when an idea isn’t worth holding on to. Not every idea becomes a venture, but every attempt makes you sharper.
Research with Purpose
Parallel to ventures, I’ve always stayed close to research. My project Retimo explored affordable diabetic retinopathy detection with deep learning. Later, Cognimo looked at AI-assisted therapy, combining NLP and multimodal sentiment analysis.
For me, research isn’t academic for the sake of it. It’s about grounding big ideas in evidence and rigor. It keeps me humble and forces me to build with a higher bar.
Lesson: the best ventures are born when research meets real problems.
Scaling Up in Saudi Arabia
In 2023, I moved to Saudi Arabia to join a venture-building firm. The scale here is unlike anything I’ve seen before — entire ecosystems being designed, ambitious projects across government and corporate sectors, and an appetite for AI and innovation at scale.
This phase feels like the natural continuation of a journey that started at twelve. From building websites alone to building ventures with teams across countries, the through-line has been the same: curiosity and the willingness to start before everything is figured out.
Lesson: your environment matters. Put yourself where ambition is high and opportunities multiply.
Why Mo:mentum
Mo:mentum isn’t a highlight reel. It’s a space where I want to share not just the polished wins, but the lessons, failures, and reflections that shaped me. If you’re starting out, I hope this shows you that beginnings don’t need to be perfect. If you’re already building, maybe it reminds you that the work is messy, but worth it.
Momentum doesn’t come from waiting. It comes from movement — from starting small, staying curious, and letting each step compound into something bigger.