Mo Gawdat

And my supervisor was like, you're going to fail. I was like, just give me a couple of weeks. And then I went in with, at the time we had dot matrix printers. So an entire report of every little elevation in every bit of the road. And before I even started drawing, I started to get job offers to be a civil engineer in the top companies in the country. And I said, no, no, no, no, no.

And my supervisor was like, you're going to fail. I was like, just give me a couple of weeks. And then I went in with, at the time we had dot matrix printers. So an entire report of every little elevation in every bit of the road. And before I even started drawing, I started to get job offers to be a civil engineer in the top companies in the country. And I said, no, no, no, no, no.

I want to be a carpenter. Until one day, I don't know if this is interesting or if we're chit-chatting, just because people need to know that a lot of life is luck when you really, really think about it. Now I need to marry Nibel. I need to find a good job, but I'm a freaking carpenter. I love what I do. And one day I have a fender bender with a friend of mine.

I want to be a carpenter. Until one day, I don't know if this is interesting or if we're chit-chatting, just because people need to know that a lot of life is luck when you really, really think about it. Now I need to marry Nibel. I need to find a good job, but I'm a freaking carpenter. I love what I do. And one day I have a fender bender with a friend of mine.

You know, I hit him in a traffic light. So he's opening his door, coming out ready to shout at me. And he goes like, oh my God, Mo, how have you been? I've been looking for you. I don't really have your contacts. And he basically said, we're looking for a civil engineer that knows computer science. And you're the only one we could think of. Can you come join us? That was IBM.

You know, I hit him in a traffic light. So he's opening his door, coming out ready to shout at me. And he goes like, oh my God, Mo, how have you been? I've been looking for you. I don't really have your contacts. And he basically said, we're looking for a civil engineer that knows computer science. And you're the only one we could think of. Can you come join us? That was IBM.

And so that was my life. And it's a series of fortunate events. The way I was hired at Google, the way I went to Google X. It is, as my daughter always says, I was paid in advance. God, I believe in God, but you know, if you don't, the universe wanted me to be in a certain place at a certain time.

And so that was my life. And it's a series of fortunate events. The way I was hired at Google, the way I went to Google X. It is, as my daughter always says, I was paid in advance. God, I believe in God, but you know, if you don't, the universe wanted me to be in a certain place at a certain time.

And so he sort of just always gave me a tiny little cheat, a cheat that worked against being born in Egypt or being educated in a public school or whatever. It was always a tiny bit favoring me life.

And so he sort of just always gave me a tiny little cheat, a cheat that worked against being born in Egypt or being educated in a public school or whatever. It was always a tiny bit favoring me life.

I always say every time I joined a company, it felt like home. And every time I left, it felt really, really alien. A massive pivotal point for me was in my second year on IBM, Egypt was struck with a seven point something hectare scale earthquake and a lot of the schools were cracked. And so children stayed at home.

I always say every time I joined a company, it felt like home. And every time I left, it felt really, really alien. A massive pivotal point for me was in my second year on IBM, Egypt was struck with a seven point something hectare scale earthquake and a lot of the schools were cracked. And so children stayed at home.

And then the international aid started to pour in and the government started to put in money in a place called the Educational Buildings Organization. The only condition for all of the aid was that they do everything now with fresh, modern technology. So they wanted CAD systems. They wanted database systems. They wanted GIS systems. They wanted everything to be state of the art.

And then the international aid started to pour in and the government started to put in money in a place called the Educational Buildings Organization. The only condition for all of the aid was that they do everything now with fresh, modern technology. So they wanted CAD systems. They wanted database systems. They wanted GIS systems. They wanted everything to be state of the art.

I was a good salesman. I went in. They had a bid. So I responded to the bid. They picked IBM. I wouldn't have designed the systems those way, but I was responding to the bid. Anyway, six weeks later, I realized that the configuration they're asking is not going to work and that my systems are not the best systems. It was a $4.2 million deal, which in IBM Egypt at the time was quite sizable.

I was a good salesman. I went in. They had a bid. So I responded to the bid. They picked IBM. I wouldn't have designed the systems those way, but I was responding to the bid. Anyway, six weeks later, I realized that the configuration they're asking is not going to work and that my systems are not the best systems. It was a $4.2 million deal, which in IBM Egypt at the time was quite sizable.

Anyway, so I wake up one morning knowing that it will probably cost me my job. I walk to the minister's office, sit outside and say, I need to meet the minister of education. And they go like, who are you? And I'm like the IBM account manager, 25 year old. And basically I sat there until 7 p.m. from 9 a.m. I walk in at 7 p.m. and I say, sir, I really advise you to cancel my order.

Anyway, so I wake up one morning knowing that it will probably cost me my job. I walk to the minister's office, sit outside and say, I need to meet the minister of education. And they go like, who are you? And I'm like the IBM account manager, 25 year old. And basically I sat there until 7 p.m. from 9 a.m. I walk in at 7 p.m. and I say, sir, I really advise you to cancel my order.

I think this, this and this are perfect from IBM. This, this and that you should get from Sun Microsystems. This you should ask Oracle to do. And I can help you, but I'm sure your technical team can do it. And he said, are you mad? I was like, no, no, no. I want to give you something that works. And the next morning he calls his team in and he cancels the order.

I think this, this and this are perfect from IBM. This, this and that you should get from Sun Microsystems. This you should ask Oracle to do. And I can help you, but I'm sure your technical team can do it. And he said, are you mad? I was like, no, no, no. I want to give you something that works. And the next morning he calls his team in and he cancels the order.