Student Spotlight: Stefano Fallaha
Stefano Fallaha is a computer engineering student at the Maroun Semaan Faculty of Engineering and Architecture (MSFEA). He founded his own company Fallound Inc and was recently listed in Forbes 30 under 30. Stefano is one of the top student entrepreneurs in the world and a TEDx speaker.
Stefano was interviewed by Jana Farhat, a mechanical engineering student at MSFEA for the first issue of Cogs & Caffeine, a student-led magazine at the faculty.
C&C: Can you tell us a bit about Fallound?
SF: Fallound is a software for cars and app that connects to car navigation systems and finds for drivers perfectly-timed audio content according to their commute time and their interests. The app aims to fill in lost time while driving, walking or working out, with educational, entertaining and personalized content.
C&C: How was Fallound initiated? How did you get the idea and was it easy to start it?
SF: Fallound started as a side-project in the last year of school and has been evolving ever since. It started as a social network for audio. Multiple pivots and several product launches led us to find our product market-fit for commuters. I had no funding to start with, so I had to convince passionate people to join for the vision instead of the money. Fast forward 2 years, we raised funding from the Qatar Government’s Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy in partnership with the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
C&C: What is next for you and for Fallound?
SF: We’re currently growing at 8% week-over-week, expanding our user base and forming distribution partnerships with telecoms and mobility services. We’re also partnering with content creators and publishers to increase the content available in the region since podcasting is a hot market at the moment.