For those who may not know, I am the founding CEO of Saffar Capital, the private equity firm that invested in Zawya in 2001 taking a 60% stake and then selling it to Thompson Reuters in 2012. I was also the Chairman of Zawya from 2001 to 2011. It was an incredible investment, one that I was actively involved in for a decade, and that I also learnt a lot from.

I have published a series of posts highlighting some of these lessons, lessons that allowed a tiny online media company backed by a young private equity firm to grow into a regional success rivaling and surpassing international competitors with deep pockets and global experience.

I have created this static page, My Zawya Story, to keep track of all the posts. Subsequent to publishing these posts I was asked to write an article in The National summarising the main points of the story which led to My Zawya Story 2nd Edition (same article as The National, just on my blog).

My Zawya Story posts:

• Introduction: 20 October 2014
• Origins: 22 October 2014
• Acquisition Negotiations: 23 October 2014
• Two Initial Decisions: 26 October 2014
• Deciding the Business Model: 27 October 2014
• Negative Cash Flow Lessons: 29 October 2014
• Positive Cash Flow Challenges: 30 October 2014
• Strategic Growth Decisions: 2 November 2014
• The Importance of Independent Board Members: 3 November 2014
• Global Financial Crisis: 5 November 2014
• Finale: 6 November 2014

Sabah al-Binali