From the day I was a kid, my father always taught me about computers and their inner workings. And let me tell you, I learned a ton! Growing up, I was the epitome of geekiness. Everyone in the neighborhood would call on me to fix their computers . Oh, the struggles of dealing with those Windows 98/XP formatting, and partitioning . I vividly recall my father gifting us computer games, and one particular strategy game called "Age of Empires 1997" captivated me. to construct cities, lead armies, and oversee the intricate management of these virtual realms. This experience ignited my passion for RTS Real-time strategy games .

When I was 13, i remember one of my teachers asked the class what we were good at. Lots of kids raised their hands, bragging about being artists and stuff. So, I raised my hand too and proudly said, "I'm a computer progammer!" The teacher was so impressed that he made all the other boys sit down and took me outside the class. I thought, "Whoa, am I in trouble?" Nope! Turns out, his ancient computer couldn't connect to the internet. He looked at me like I was a superhero and said, "Can you fix it?" I couldn't resist saying, "Sure, but only if I get an A+!", LOL Joking!. I ended up going to his house and saving the day,I got A+, but it wasn't because of my tech skills. It's simply because I'm already super smart :D .

Back Then, I was blown away by the world of web technologies http, ftp, sockets, networks and how things work!. I delved deep into the realm of web servers (back in the PHP days) and learned a great deal. I joined a team of hackers called the Yemeni Hackers, hacking internet vb forums and café networks left and right. We even took over some government websites shhhhh!!!! i mean it ..full ftp access and all xD . I was called "sHaDoW_KiNg" you may know me xD

I must say, one of my talents is being curious and exploring as many exciting things as possible. So, while I was exploring the internet, I stumbled upon this awesome website called b-style1.com, and man, it was like a dream come true! The amount of creative folks I met on that site was mind-blowing. That's when I discovered I had a knack for graphic design. I may not have been the best, but it was a blast doing something fun and creative.

Then, some of my buddies introduced me to this amazing software called "FL Studio," which lets you create sounds and make music. And that's how I got into music production, Back then, FL Studio was a simple program for making loops and rap beats. So, I started learning it and made a bunch of beats—although, let's be honest, they were pretty bad! I posted them on the forum and, after a few weeks, I started getting the hang of it. I shared one of my rap beats, and the audience loved it. It was so awesome—I still remember that rap beat as one of my favorites. listen to it here:

That's when I decided to reach a wider audience. I created a SoundCloud channel and started sharing all my music. I even collaborated with my beat-making friends from different places like Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Russia, and Egypt. We called ourselves "BeatMakerz" and ended up releasing three music albums that were some of the best in the Arab world. If you wanna check out my channel, you can find it at soundcloud.com/kernelcode

During my second year of university, there was this epic competition among students from all levels. And guess what? My favorite teacher, Nael Adeeb, was like, "Hey, you! You gotta join this competition!" I was all like, "Sure, why not? I'm in!" He totally had that Dumbledore vibe going on, you know? 😄 So, I decided to showcase two mind-blowing programs I had whipped up that year. One was an animation in Turbo C++ that simulated the mind-boggling processor operations of converting postfix to infix notation. The other one was a virtual piano that could record and play music. I mean, it was like an Apple product launch, but with me as the star! So, when it was showtime, I thought, "Why not blow their minds and play something truly epic?" I unleashed my inner Mozart and played Symphony No. 40 in G minor on that virtual piano. And guess what? There was a moment of stunned silence that I will never forget. But then, BAM! Every single teacher and student jumped up, clapping and cheering like crazy! It was like I had just earned Gryffindor 10,000 points, just like Harry Potter! 😂 Man, it was such an unforgettable and ridiculously awesome experience!, And YES i won a laptop and a certificate of recognition 🎉

In last days of the second year of university, something hilarious happened. I stumbled upon a news article about a famous Yemeni entrepreneur who had created a fancy website called "SocialPalz" , a total Facebook clone. Now, I'll admit, I was a tad bit jealous at first. It was Ramadan, and I thought, "Why not give this new 'Facebook clone' a whirl?"

After about an hour of exploring the inner workings of the site, I realized it had a massive security issue. I did some digging and discovered a bug that allowed me not only to control the entire web application but also gave me full access to any user's account. Can you believe it? I could be the king of "SocialPalz" for a whole week! (Keep in mind, it only had about 10,000 users.)

But then, a mischievous idea popped into my head. Instead of seizing the opportunity right away, I decided to make it more dramatic. Unprofessional? Perhaps. Hilarious? Absolutely! So, I tracked down the founder of SocialPalz on Facebook and messaged him after changing his account password. I simply said, "Can you log into your account on SocialPalz?"

His response was priceless. "Who are you??????" he exclaimed. I couldn't help but feel like Kira from Death Note, the mastermind with all the power. I replied, "Just log in."

There was a brief pause, and then he confessed, "I can't."

That's when I dropped the bombshell. "You messed up, bro. You can access your account using the password '123456'."

His reaction was a mix of disbelief and WTF-ness. I felt a twinge of remorse, so I quickly explained that I wanted to join his "startup" and told him about the bug I found. He was impressed and made me the "Chief of Security." Little did he know, I didn't even have a clue what the heck a (Chief of Security) do at that time. Talk about winging it, right? LOL!

I fixed the bug and a bunch more, but unfortunately, SocialPalz didn't last. It flopped after a while. However, that didn't deter us. We dusted ourselves off and started another startup called "Anamehani."

After I graduated from university, I applied for a job I found on Facebook.com's career page. I thought, why not give it a shot, even if I don't have much experience? Surprisingly, just three days later, I heard back from their recruiter. She interviewed me and sent me a bunch of coding challenge books. She said the interview would take place in about a month or so. So, I practiced coding challenges every day. When the interview day came, I solved two problems, but the third one—about rotating a red/black binary tree—was a challenge, and I didn't pass. Still, it was a fantastic experience. I learned a lot about coding challenges and interview rounds. But, to be honest, it didn't really interest me. I'm more into starting up my own ventures than just being a coder building someone else legacy.

War can turn your life upside down in the blink of an eye. Trust me, I experienced it firsthand after finishing university. Our family was living right next to a military base in Yemen, because apparently, our brilliant government thought it was a genius idea to put a damn military bases in the middle of the city. Well, it wasn't.

When the "Operation Decisive Storm" hit Taizz city, we naively thought it would blow over in a month or so. Boy, were we wrong! The explosions became our daily soundtrack, raining down on us from every direction. Sleep? Forget about it. We were sleep-deprived ninjas, waiting for the war to end like it was the grand finale of a never-ending action movie.

But finally, after two months of terror and playing hide-and-seek in our neighbors' houses with the rest of the neighborhood gang, I convinced my dad that it was high time to make a run for it. We left everything behind, including important stuff, because speed was of the essence. It was like being in a real-life Call of Duty game on a mission to rescue VIPs , except when you die, there are no respawns – game over xD! And so, in 2015, we embarked on an epic journey to Al Hudaydah, where the epic YeTech Story began.

I remember getting a call from Saeed, the founder of SocialPalz, back when I was in my final year of university. You know, all the exciting stuff always seems to happen during those university days, haha! Well, Saeed had this awesome idea called "Anamehnai" and he wanted me to be the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to develop the web application and later the Android app. Let me tell you, it was an absolutely amazing experience! I had to travel all the way from Taizz to meet the energetic team in Sana'a. We were full of life and enthusiasm, ready to conquer the world. But then, things took a turn when the war started wreaking havoc. It destroyed everything, including the internet. The "Bombing of Jabal Attan" felt like a mini nuclear explosion. It was a total disaster.

Nevertheless, I didn't let that stop me. I traveled from Taizz to Al Hudaydah and decided to start my own company called YeTech. And you know what? In just a matter of months, our media server software became a sensation, one of the most famous in the entire country of Yemen. It was mind-blowing! You see, since the internet was shut down and public networks relied on us, we became the go-to for media services. We made a real impact, despite all the challenges we faced.

When I was in Al Hudaydah, I came across a unique opportunity. The government had imposed restrictions on internet bandwidth, resulting in extremely poor internet connectivity. In response, I developed an application called Estra7ahManager. This innovative app allowed public Wi-Fi networks to create their own "mini-internet" and stream various media files, such as audios and books, to their users. This meant that even during internet shutdowns, Estra7ahManager would continue to function seamlessly. However, we encountered another challenge - the server running the software required electricity. To overcome this, I came up with a brilliant idea. We started using mini PCs called Single Board Computers, with Raspberry Pi being one of the best options on the market. After some modifications and tweaks, we managed to run our software on a mini Linux distribution at full speed. In 2018, we sold thousands of these devices equipped with our software. With the profits we generated, my co-founder and I decided to establish an office in Sana'a. Since then, we have expanded our operations to Egypt, Palestine (Gaza), Syria, and Iraq. From 2017 until now, we have been successfully serving tens of thousands of public networks in Yemen and other countries. You can see the impact we have made here: http://statistics.yetech.co/.

In 2015, I paid a visit to Sana'a, and three years later, I made the decision to move there. Sana'a has had a profound impact on me, with its remarkable people and the captivating historic Old Sana'a city. I genuinely cherish this city and all it has to offer. However, let me first share the real reason behind my arrival, which, as always, boils down to war. After relocating from Taiz to Al Hudaydah and residing there for approximately three years, the ongoing conflict between two factions once again threatened our safety. Consequently, we had to seek out another secure location.

Considering my past experiences in different cities due to my father's work, Ibb seemed like a suitable choice. In 1995, my father served as the manager of Teleyemen Ibb Branch, necessitating frequent moves. We lived in Ibb for five years, and it was a blessing in disguise. Ibb's climate resembled that of Switzerland. During my childhood, we embarked on weekly road trips to breathtaking places like "Wadi Al Jannat" "Mashearah" and "Jabal Rabi" surrounded by lush greenery. I vividly remember a mountain stream where the water was incredibly hot and boiling, allowing us to brew tea without the need for fire. It felt like stepping into a magical land.

While I hold a deep affection for Ibb, it isn't conducive to business ventures, much to my amusement. Hence, I proposed Sana'a as the optimal location for my startup, YeTech, being the capital city. I took the plunge first and resided in a hotel with my co-founder, working diligently as clients flocked to our doors day after day, eager to purchase our products. It was an amusing sight. During that time, we focused on establishing our office to accommodate client visits. Once the office was operational and my family joined me in Sana'a, everything fell into place perfectly. Conveniently located nearby were PC equipment and electronics markets, allowing us to easily import the necessary supplies from Alibaba to fulfill orders.

What truly captivates me about Sana'a is its thriving startup ecosystem and the opportunities for networking. I had the pleasure of meeting bank managers, angel investors, and brilliant individuals pursuing their own startup ventures. It seemed as though everyone was striving to become the next Yemeni unicorn. And let's not forget the coffee shops—their presence added an extra touch of charm. I, for one, thoroughly enjoy them. However, I believe my journey in Sana'a will soon draw to a close.