Entrepreneur Mahmoud Bartawi on cooking up a startup success GULF BUSINESS June 24, 2024 Emirati serial entrepreneur Mahmoud Bartawi knows a thing or two about starting and exiting a business. In 2016, Bartawi founded Under500, a brand that pioneered selling healthy meals consisting of less than 500 calories. Fast forward to 2021 and Under500 was acquired by dark kitchen outfit Kitopi after raising $700m through investors, including SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2. In a recent interview with Gulf Business, Bartawi gives some tips to budding entrepreneurs in the GCC. Here is an edited Q&A transcript of some of the key startup advice from Bartawi: Entrepreneur Mahmoud Bartawi on cooking up a startup success