No NDA. No equity. What’s in it for them?

Why would an executive running a billion-dollar business pause their schedule to spend hours with a founder still in their first chapter? Why open their offices, their calendars, and their lives with no agenda and no stake? Why share their own vulnerabilities in an industry that celebrates cut-throat competition?

At a recent Endeavor Multipliers event in Dubai, Silvia Cavalcanti, Endeavor’s Global CMO, set out to answer some of these questions. Joined by Magnus Olsson of Careem, Mohamad Ballout of Kitopi, and Mona Ataya of Mumzworld, the panelists explored a simple yet provocative idea: multiplying goes far beyond ecosystem building. 

For Mona Ataya, founder of Mumzworld, mentorship is a responsibility and a privilege. “It’s something that I love. It’s a passion. The privilege to use your experiences, your skills, your knowledge to share with the new generation. It allows them to break barriers, to disrupt, to innovate, and to know that you’ve played a part not only in helping them disrupt, but more importantly in helping them become better than you.”

Here, mentorship widens the field for entire ecosystems. “It creates this network of support, where success is not about you individually,” said Mona. “It’s what you can do within your surroundings, within your ecosystems, to create greater impact. That’s true leadership. That’s true impact.” And even as she gives, she learns.

When you’re mentoring, you’re shifting paradigms, sharing insights, and looking at things through a different lens. That’s very important for continued innovation and disruption. Selfishly, I’ve been rubbing shoulders with some of the brightest minds in the region that I’ve been able to invest in and support.”

Magnus Olsson, co-founder of Careem, described mentorship as something almost indulgent. “It’s probably quite selfish. I love building, and there are only so many things I can build at the same time. When you mentor others, you get to dig into their space. Even if it’s just a short phone call at midnight with some crazy entrepreneur, you get to hear the challenges they’re facing, the business they’re building. And just dig completely in, without all the stuff that happens when an organization gets large. You can just purely focus on the building part. It’s like a kid in a candy store.”

Sometimes, this offers the opportunity to act. A founder Magnus was advising was close to a life-changing exit but had maxed out his credit cards – an experience Magnus had already gone through at Careem. “We were raising a Series B and were close to not being able to pay salaries. I remembered how an angel investor in Saudi Arabia had just wired us money. No paperwork.”

In that moment, he said, it felt like the universe was giving him a chance to pay it forward. “I told this founder, ‘Send me your bank details.’ I did a test transaction of 100 dirhams, it worked, and I sent him money. I said, ‘We’ll figure out the details later.’ It’s a blessing to be able to help. It’s beautiful. Incredibly rewarding in itself.”

That flashback to their own early days as founders is powerful. Mohamad Ballout, co-founder of Kitopi, recalled when experienced mentors met with him without any expectation of return. “I remember meeting Tjaart [Van Der Walt]; he just wanted to mentor me. There wasn’t an investment conversation. And I left those meetings thinking, ‘Why did he do this? What’s in it for him?’

Speaking with other founders on their entrepreneurial journey reminded our panelists of what made them founders in the first place — the thrill of solving, giving, building something beyond themselves, and the gratitude they experienced over meaningful support. The Multiplier Effect begins as an act of self-fulfillment and becomes a force that leads to new partnerships, ventures, and investments. The personal side-effects are just a bonus.

“Speaking to founders who are crazy passionate, who are on a mission that is so contagious, it’s like going on a miracle trip to some spa,” said Magnus. “It’s the most rejuvenating thing I can think of.”