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Anne-maria Salmela

Jul 26, 2026

0:00
After I decided to study in the Middle East, I ended up launching the UAE's largest youth startup community called Violet Ventures.
0:08
And so my big pain point that I was solving there was that I wanted to find entrepreneurial people that wanted to solve problems bigger than themselves.
0:17
but I didn't have a community or a club or a group of people to go to.
0:21
So we decided to create one.
0:23
And I ended up having a team of 30 volunteers where we brought Slush to the Middle East.
0:30
We brought Start Summit to the Middle East.

5 MINS LATER

5:45
And so resolve, why resolve and why the team you're working right now with, what really caught you? Oh yeah, that's the chapter where I really want, as you said, to work as a dog, to learn, to bring the value and to thrive.
5:59
Yeah, absolutely.
17:09
How did you end up taking the leap and making again the change from the place which seems to be for you a very grounded environment where you can learn a lot?
17:21
Yeah, yeah.
17:22
So after I decided to study in the Middle East, I ended up launching the UAE's largest youth startup community called Violet Ventures.
17:31
And so my big pain point that I was solving there was that I wanted to find entrepreneurial people that wanted to solve problems bigger than themselves.
17:40
But I didn't have a community or a club or a group of people to go to.
17:44
So we decided to create one.
17:46
And I ended up...

5 MINS LATER

23:14
And so resolve, why resolve and why the team you're working right now with, what really caught you? Oh yeah, that's the chapter where I really want, as you said, to work as a dog, to learn, to bring the value and to thrive.

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