Mohammed AI Sabeeh, Founder & CEO, Marn
Effective leaders are known to solve problems. They have the ability and skills to anticipate, identify, solve, and learn from problems. They never view a problem as a distraction, but rather as a strategic enabler for continuous improvement and opportunities previously unseen. They identify a problem or gap in the market and bridge the gap with an innovative solution while constantly looking for ways to improve upon existing products and services and finding new ways to bring value to the marketplace. With the right mix of sheer grit, determination, and unique perspective, they not only succeed to become change makers but also inspire those around them to follow the suit and contribute to the overall growth of society. One such truly inspiring entrepreneur who is setting an instance of effective leadership in the staffing and recruiting industry with his impeccable business acumen, vast industry experience, and unmatchable problem-solving skills is Mohammed AI Sabeeh, the Founder & CEO at Marn, a leading flexible hourly recruitment solution in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
After completing his MBA from Washington University in St. Louis, Mohammed worked for some of the best companies in Saudi Arabia, where he gained imperative knowledge and market understanding. He also had a few entrepreneurial experiences where some of his ventures failed even before launch while others were successful. During that experience, he also helmed several leadership positions at some of the largest financial institutions in the kingdom such as Al Rajhi Bank, Jadwa Investment, and Elm. He liked making an impact, solving puzzles, and building things while creating jobs and this is what ultimately led his way to build Marn.
Bridging the Recruitment Industry Gap
It all started when Mohammed sensed a need to fill a gap in the recruitment sector. He realized that there are always companies looking for employees, and job seekers looking to work, especially at the junior level where the most requirements and job creation happens. However, a lot of friction in the market makes it difficult for both parties to meet. The major issue is that employers require a minimum level of experience from job seekers. However, job seekers on the other hand need help to acquire those experiences. This gap needs an innovative solution that can lower the risk of employment for companies, and help job seekers enter the job market easily, acquire skills, build their career, and equip them with a variety of experience that shapes their personality in the early year of their career. Cognizant of this need, Mohammed founded Marn in 2018. Marn is a multi-sided platform connecting Saudi businesses with thousands of Saudi job seekers in the Retail, hospitality, F&B, and Hajj industries. As one of the first Saudi on-demand hourly staffing platforms, Marn has had the trust of hundreds of well-known brands and hundreds of thousands of job seekers. It provides the infrastructure for both sides to transact in a frictionless environment and empower businesses with tools and infrastructure to equip them for the future of work which demands more flexibility on all fronts. It makes a reliable option for all those businesses that suffer from seasonality and high turnover or any business that is growing super-fast and wants a growth partner, or a business whose project requires mass recruitment in a short period of time. “The market in Saudi is new and is growing rapidly. In our platform, we have more than 380k applicants from 70 cities in the kingdom, and we expect to reach 1 million applicants in the next year. We served more than 250 brands and more than 900 locations,” elucidates Mohammed.
Cultivating a Transparent And People-Centric Culture
While the success of Marn comes from its incredible technology and solutions, the vast majority of its success can be attributed to its transparent and people-centric culture. Mohammed strivesto cultivate a winning company culture at Marn where everyone has the freedom to share their thoughts and opinions regardless of their title, department, and location. It is the mission to create job opportunities for everyone that keeps the diligent team at Marn motivated and happy to wake up every day knowing they have a good impact on society and the economy. Headquartered in Riyadh, Marn targets talents from all over the kingdom and the world, and today, it has more than 30 employees, working from 14 cities, and seven nationalities. “We are learning new things every day. In interviews, I often ask: when will you leave Marn, the answer I got the most is ‘when I stop learning’. Personally, I try to listen to my team, and be there for them, remove the obstacle from their way, and support them to achieve great results,” affirms Mohammed.
Leadership Is a Journey Of Learning
According to Mohammed, great leaders understand themselves and have high self-awareness. They should also be humble and willing to learn from anyone. “Omar ibn Al-Khattab said: Allah has mercy on one who shows me my flaws. This is how leaders learn and grow. Leadership is a journey of learning and supporting, recruiting, and mentoring other leaders around you.As entrepreneurs, we owe it to ourselves and society to try! Success is not granted. But at least we can try and push the frontier one step further,” opines Mohammed.
The avid leader encourages experimentation, transparency, teamwork, and effective communication. He believes that a leader must communicate the vision, and create alignment, commitment, and direction to build trust.
Aspires to Make Marn A Part of Every Company’s Tool Kit
Forging ahead, Mohammed aims to make Marn the infrastructure of the future of work for evrey company, and the hub of flexible workers by offering different solutions in recruitment or employee management or employee financials and career development powered by AI and machine learning using deep tech and big data. It continues redefining the work concept while helping businesses adapt to the future of work mindset, and inject flexibility into their culture and process to help them grow. “Marn Platform will cater to more than a million youth and job seekers and will be their mentor and friend during the first ten years of their career path. We will provide them with job opportunities, training, consultation, internship, fin-tech solutions, insurance, and loyalty programs and connect them with their favorite brands,” asserts Mohammed.
The ardent leader is also excited about creating opportunities and jobs, where people and businesses can work smoothly together. “I am excited about entrepreneurs who are trying to tackle their societies’ problems and want to make their home and the world a better place, entrepreneurs who fall in love with the problem, not the solution, who dedicate the most precious years of their time to solve their societies’ problems or die trying,” adds Mohammed on a concluding note.
