All Insights

Papi & Laado publishes occasional notes that reflect observations across the Saudi venture environment. These notes study patterns in behaviour, structure, regulation, and alignment among founders, investors, public institutions, family offices, and ecosystem builders.

Showing 10 of 22 insights

Seeing the Obvious Early: Saudi Arabia, Grey Rhinos, and the Discipline of Responsible Foresight

A reflective examination of “grey rhino” risks in the Saudi context - the visible, high-probability challenges that sit in plain sight during periods of rapid transformation. The article explores why early, respectful risk-flagging, clear ownership, and evidence-led foresight are essential to sustaining momentum and delivering the long-term ambitions of Vision 2030.

Micro, Meso, and Macro: How Start-ups Are Shaped

This Insight examines how start-ups are shaped by three interacting layers of influence: micro (the venture itself), meso (ecosystem intermediaries), and macro (institutions and system design). It highlights where each layer holds responsibility, where misalignment most often occurs, and why ecosystem maturity depends less on activity levels and more on role clarity. The reflection situates this structure within a National Sense of Responsibility, emphasising boundaries, restraint, and system coherence.

Knowing Limits, a Missing Discipline from the Ecosystem

As Saudi Arabia moves from startup formation toward M&A and exits, the ecosystem is entering a higher-stakes phase. This insight explores why knowing limits, drawn from behavioural psychology, becomes a structural advantage at this stage. It reflects on lessons from early startup infrastructure, where broad participation was necessary, and explains why exit infrastructure requires a different discipline, clearer boundaries, better judgement on when to pass responsibility, and restraint embedded into the system itself. The focus is not on individuals, but on how recognising limits protects founders, transactions, and long-term ecosystem credibility.

Exit Infrastructure as a System

This report examines how Saudi Arabia’s venture ecosystem must evolve from strong startup formation into a system capable of delivering consistent, repeatable exits. It argues that exits should be treated as economic infrastructure rather than isolated outcomes, shaped by governance standards, secondary markets, investor behaviour, and policy design. By situating exit readiness within Vision 2030, the report positions liquidity as a national mechanism for recycling capital, talent, and institutional confidence across the ecosystem

Plato’s Cave and the Venture Ecosystem’s Blind Spots

This insight examines how assumptions form and persist within venture ecosystems when trends and news narratives are prioritised over evidence. Drawing on the metaphor of Plato’s cave, it explores how repeated signals, media reinforcement, and unchallenged enthusiasm can create the illusion of validity, even in the absence of proof. The piece highlights how short-term alignment with fashionable ideas can suppress critical challenge and weaken long-term outcomes, concluding with a call for greater discipline in evidence-seeking and assumption-testing as a structural responsibility within the ecosystem.

The Venture Ecosystem Is Not the Product

A venture ecosystem, like any effective service system, exists to enable change rather than to showcase its components. Programmes, funding, mentors, and institutions are not the goal; they are instruments. The true measure of an ecosystem lies in whether ventures emerge more capable, resilient, and aligned with their operating environment than when they entered. When ecosystems focus on inputs instead of outcomes, founders are left to assemble transformation on their own. A mature ecosystem accepts responsibility for the journey, not just the activity.

Building for Oneself Before the Market Notices

Pebble and Clicks highlight a shared pattern of founder-led product clarity. Both are building devices they personally want to use before responding to broader market signals. Pebble’s calm, self-funded revival and Clicks’ BlackBerry-inspired communicator show how restraint, lived experience, and quiet nostalgia can shape focused products without chasing scale or trends.

The Responsibility of Power: Reconciling Purpose, Principles, and Authority in Leadership

This Insight examines the tension between purpose, principles, and power in modern leadership, drawing on contemporary interpretations of the Machiavelli Paradox. It explores how authority, when exercised without structural responsibility, can erode trust, distort judgement, and weaken institutions. The piece reframes power not as a tool for control or personal advancement, but as a custodial obligation to the wider system. Through the lens of National Sense of Responsibility (NSR), it outlines why restraint, alignment, and ethical coherence are essential for leaders and advisors operating in high-impact environments.

Mentorship as Capital and the Responsibility of Advisors

Mentorship is increasingly treated as a form of capital within entrepreneurial ecosystems, yet the responsibility carried by those who advise is rarely examined. This Insight explores where mentorship adds value, where it introduces risk, and why discernment, restraint, and alignment are central to credible advisory work. It clarifies Papi & Laado’s position on NSR and the limits of sincere engagement.

Respect, Silence, and Decision Quality in High-Growth Ecosystems

This Insight examines how leadership language around encouraging disagreement and “failing fast” is often adopted without the supporting structures required to make it effective. Focusing on the Saudi venture and institutional ecosystem, it explores how respect for authority and seniority can unintentionally suppress necessary challenge, leading to premature consensus and delayed learning. The Insight argues that this is not a cultural weakness but a system design issue, and outlines how disciplined questioning and decision integrity can be embedded respectfully to strengthen outcomes across founders, investors, and institutions.

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Insights are published as part of our ongoing study of venture environments and institutional development.