Meet the co-founder of Nebuli
Tim El-Sheik is a biomedical scientist, entrepreneur, and CEO and co-founder of Nebuli, the world’s first Augmented Intelligence Studio. After a master’s degree in Computer Science and Information Technology, Tim combined his experience in design, bioinformatics, neuroscience, and engineering to start as an entrepreneur in the media and advertising sectors, scientific publishing, and social enterprises. From there, he founded Nebuli, an augmented Intelligence studio solving complex problems and bringing positive impact into people's lives with a people-first approach by harnessing the power of ethical AI.
Since the age of 10, I've been a self-taught coder, and my real passion is designing enhanced human experiences through intelligent algorithms. Hence, I'm also an avid gamer! After my masters, I combined my experience in design, bioinformatics, neuroscience, and engineering to start as an entrepreneur in online multitier system architectures and developed Nebuli, an augmented Intelligence studio that focuses on building dynamic user experiences with the application of ethical AI.
There's always a lightbulb moment before the beginning of a new venture. What was that moment for you?
Nebuli is a culmination of several lightbulb moments that I had over the years. I would go as far back as my 10th birthday when my parents bought me Atari 2600, which was my first real experience with augmented human-machine interaction with graphical interface. This very quickly made me want to learn how to create games, eventually leading me to learn how to code and read obsessively about robots.
My second biggest light bulb moment was during my biomedical science degree, where I studied bioinformatics and learned how to apply deep data mining techniques to decode animal genomes. This was, perhaps, my biggest revelation that AI and smart tech are not about robots and fancy gaming, but it's about the software that can solve hugely complex problems. This was back in 1998, where AI or machine learning was not even in the public focus. Even the Internet was not a significant general focus then.
Jumping into the entrepreneurship abyss in 2001, post the disastrous ‘.com’ bust, I was determined to use my skills in building complex online architectures. But it wasn't until 2012 that I could see a potential path for AI in the online space, as e-commerce and social media platforms were growing exponentially. Another light bulb moment was when I realised the level of misunderstanding around AI in my field, which was biotechnology at the time. I had found an opportunity to create a personalised AI system for biotech researchers and businesses, which we called Nebuli.
How do you prepare for all the unknown obstacles when running your business?
You can never know what is around the corner. No one predicted COVID-19, or the financial crash in 2008, not even the ‘.com’ bust before then. However, as a big believer in learning, I always try and stay in touch with the latest news, research, and any other affairs. This is not only in my own field of work but also far beyond.
I have a personal interest in Leonardo da Vinci because of his obsessive interests in asking questions and exploring the unknown. This was one of my key influences in becoming a biomedical scientist, which is all about trying to understand the unknowns of the human body. I have effectively applied the same principles in my business and personal life.
Since I specifically look at human experiences through Nebuli, I’ve learnt that humans are the same in any market but that their habits tend to differ in various sectors. That’s why I read and research a lot around these markets and particularly like to research business failures to ensure I can keep an eye on potential obstacles. In that way, I can at least be mentally prepared for the unknown obstacles that can very easily take any entrepreneur off-guard.
I have myself experienced failures in the past, both as an entrepreneur and a pro-athlete, but I’ve learnt more from these experiences than from my successes. I would recommend entrepreneurs to read An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth by Colonel Chris Hadfield, which focuses on the mindset of how to prepare for failure and prepare for the worst whilst still enjoying the process.
How do you set yourself apart from other businesses in your industry?
The AI market has become an overly crowded space, with many myths, misleading promises, and failed promises. The MIT Sloan School of Management - the biggest proponents of AI - released a staggering report in October 2020, revealing that only 10% of AI investments achieved what they described as reasonable returns. I don't see this as a success. We saw evidence of this well before our endeavour of building Nebuli in 2018 and we decided that we want to be the exact opposite of our AI competitors.
In other words, focus on transparency by openly highlighting the good, the bad, and the ugly aspects of AI, bust as many AI myths as we can, focus on ethical AI where we put people's privacy first, and focus on solving real problems.
Unfortunately, AI has become somewhat of a vanity project for many enterprises; hence the 10% figure is not surprising. This reminds me of the ‘.com’ era, where having a ‘.com’ website was the key hype of being a potential future success. But, in fact, it was a useless website. Hence, a company like Amazon thrived because they focused on solving problems and offering useful services online. AI is in the same transition now. We are seeing more and more AI projects running out of funds because their bubbles are deflating fast. We wanted to avoid being part of this hype. So, we do not classify our company as another AI company, but a company that focuses on enhancing human experiences through functional data strategies, smart tech (not necessarily AI-powered) and creating meaningful human-machine symbiosis to solve problems that matter to enterprises and communities.
What's the single most important decision that you made, that contributed to your business?
Not to invite external investors. Yes, I know this sounds crazy, but it was the critical decision that we strongly believe made Nebuli what it is today. I should emphasise that this is not me bashing investors or discouraging others from seeking investment funds. I’ve had a very positive experience with investors and a positive relationship with them through my previous ventures. But it is essential to highlight the fact that seeking investment must be a key part of your business model. My concern is that many start-ups and start-up accelerators are treating investors as cash machines, which can lead to disastrous outcomes for all parties involved.
As an entrepreneur who is an expert in your field, you must assess and research how and why external investors could bring value to your company. It's not just about the money but also about their contributions. In our case, we did have conversations with investors in our existing network, and it was clear to us that most investors with interests in the AI space were seeking a business model that did not suit Nebuli's business model. But, more importantly, it did not fit the business model sought by our customers. Customers must always come first. I urge all entrepreneurs to research the number of start-ups that raised millions of dollars worth of investments that failed, not because their founders did not work hard, but they simply did not attract enough customers. It's your customers that determine your future, not your investors.
Do you prioritise self-care as an entrepreneur?
Absolutely! At the end of the day, if you are not healthy, both physically and mentally, you can never perform at your optimum. If you are tired all the time or unfit with a poor diet, you cannot expect to work well under pressure. Being an entrepreneur is like being in a pressure cooker. I am incredibly fortunate to have had the experience in martial arts since the age of 5, being a pro-athlete in my late teens and early 20s, and a biomedical scientist, because they put me very closely in touch with my body and my health. People tend to see health and fitness as vanity, but your body is a machine, I treat it as such, and if I want this machine to perform at its peak, I have to maintain it and make sure it operates as expected.
What are your thoughts on 'no sleep' culture as an entrepreneur?
I think it is disastrous and unfortunate. There are endless numbers of medical research papers that show sleep deprivation deteriorates the accuracy of performance. Not to mention, it is also linked to such conditions as heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Again, people associate sleep with laziness. During my pro-sports years, we had to sleep for at least 10 hours, sometimes trying to push it to 12 hours, to achieve full recovery after an 8-hour training day and then have the ability to perform at a 100% capacity in matches. Of course, this is an extreme example, but sleep is a recovery tool. My personal sweet spot is 7 hours sleep. During holidays, I try to push it to 8 hours. So, as a medical person, I urge entrepreneurs to rethink. To put it simply, think of food and water as the fuel for your body, and sleep as the fuel for your brain. You need both to stay alive and perform.
What routines have you got in place to ensure that you don't ignore your mental health?
As you may have noticed earlier, I love sports. I work out extensively every day. It keeps my mind very active, but I love it. It is the only time where my mind truly switches off. When I lift heavy weights or spar with an MMA partner, I need to focus 100%. Otherwise, I would end up with a severe injury. I also love gaming and, thankfully, my kids inherited my gaming genes, so I play video games with them quite regularly, which is excellent.
Entrepreneurs need to find something that takes their mind away from work 100% and makes them happy. Exercise is a great way of achieving a refreshed and happy mindset. They don't have to take to my extremes, but even a walk in the park is fantastic for your mind. But I must also make the point about entrepreneurs' business choices.
Many entrepreneurs, including myself in the past, fall into this trap of jumping on the bandwagon by setting up a company in a lucrative market. But it is not necessarily a market that they enjoy. As I mentioned earlier, you must enjoy the process of your hardship. In other words, your own company should make you happy as well, including the boring and painful aspects of your business. If you don't enjoy the process, you will suffer mental pressures. So, if you are considering becoming an entrepreneur, work on something that you love and can make you money. If you are not happy with your work, you most likely will not achieve a successful outcome, both for your health and for your business.
Has the COVID-19 crisis placed more pressure on the mental health of business owners?
No doubt – like during the financial crash, and even more so during the pandemic, most companies have had to switch very quickly into a survival mode, which is very stressful for owners.
A large part of this switch during the pandemic was the unprecedented acceleration of businesses adopting digital services across many markets and building new digitisation strategies and data-first strategies. As physical doors closed, many organisations, both big and small, rushed to open a virtual one, undoubtedly adding a new layer of stress for many business owners.
How have you seen the need for richer analytics and data evolve over the years?
Do you remember big data? Yes, that didn't really work, did it? The problem we have witnessed, and indeed I saw this first hand in bioinformatics since the late 90s, is the obsession with collecting as much data as possible and, more dangerously, at any cost. The whole belief of big data was that data is the new gold, which is true. However, we have seen companies and governments collecting datasets without any limitations since the early days of the Internet. All of the privacy issues that we started discussing in recent years was caused by this indiscriminate approach to data collection. Then, a new hype started to emerge, and that is building analytics in order to visualise and analyse data patterns and trends that may or may not be useful.
This is where AI and machine learning (ML) started to take precedence. However, the market did not appear to realise that AI and ML need good quality data to generate useful analytics. Hence, this issue of biases emerged and created the debate around digital ethics and ethical AI.
The simple rule is this; garbage data generates garbage AI and analytics. It is actually about the quality of your data, not the quantity, that dictates your analytics and AI outputs. The bulk of our work with Nebuli is helping companies refocus their attention on their data strategy that is built on the quality of their data. We don't even start the conversation about AI or analytics strategy until we discuss their data strategies.
I would say that almost all of our customers who approached us seeking AI/analytics solutions were not aware that they did not have or need data strategies. We have seen that having a clear data strategy is hugely transformative for any company because it enforces a new data-first business culture. This is the foundation for smarter analytics output in any business application.
Why do you think now is the right time for the world to begin exploring and adopting technology that aids sustainability?
We built Nebuli on what we describe as human-centric augmented intelligence principles - with the motto "People First." This means that we focus on issues that matter to society the most, including but not limited to AI ethics, sustainability, digital inequality, data privacy, environmental challenges and equitable technology. Why? Because we live in an interesting era where all of the above issues have collided.
For example, you cannot talk about technology innovation without talking about sustainability. You cannot talk about achieving sustainability without accepting that there is a growing gap in digital inequality worldwide. You cannot aim to solve the digital inequality issue without discussing data privacy, which is currently being abused by the large tech and many western governments, especially during the pandemic creating a surveillance economy. You cannot talk about solving data privacy issues without considering AI ethics the dangers of AI biases. And the list goes on.
The world has now become a digital ecosystem that impacts the environment and people's lives positively and negatively. The question, and indeed the challenge we face in the technology world, is how to increase the positive outcomes while reducing the negatives.
The post-COVID world has the highest demand for digitisation than ever before. We have seen an acceleration in digital innovations and investments since mid-2020 and the momentum is not slowing. Hence, we aim to support companies in this journey because, again, I see a very similar pattern post the financial crash in 2008.
In a similar fashion, we witnessed a global economic collapse that impacted millions of people and smaller businesses, who then needed a digital alternative that was cheaper and more accessible for their needs. As it happens, during the same period, broadband became more cheaply available to households; the iPhone was released - bringing the full Internet experience to mobile devices; the Internet became the digital alternative to legacy "physical" services with the explosion of e-commerce and, of course, social media platforms started to dominate the web.
Businesses that decided not to keep up with these developments are those that perished. We see almost an exact pattern in the post-COVID world, and we advise companies that now is the time to digitise and accept the new digital world for what it has become and its evolution towards AI and automation while also considering all of the other critical social and environmental issues I discussed above. We cannot ignore any of these elements if we want to achieve a thriving digital world that serves humans, not the other way round.
