Improvement Key

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Weekly self-development and business podcast hosted by the Kurdish entrepreneur and Co-founder/CEO of Meraki Ventures Darek Salam, where he brings you value by interviewing top professionals, successful people, and sharing his experience to teach you the tips and tricks to win in life and business.

Darek Salam


    • Jul 24, 2021 LATEST EPISODE
    • monthly NEW EPISODES
    • 29m AVG DURATION
    • 24 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from Improvement Key

    24. Specialize or Diversify ?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 24, 2021 7:28


    What Should You do?Specialize and focus on one thing or diversify. Get the answer on this solo episode

    23. Startup Lifecycle w/ Eileen Brewer

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 17, 2021 57:24


    Eileen with 20 years of experience in Silicon Valley with tech startups and now as director of Takween Accelerator joins Darek for a fire episode about the startup's life cycle and how to improve the startup ecosystem. If you want to accelerate your business this episode is for you!   You can know More about Takween Accelerator through their website :https://www.takweenaccelerator.com/

    22. The Art of Change w/ Saeed Kallas

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 10, 2021 41:21


    Saeed Kallas a not practicing doctor who changed his industry to development work talks about Change and how to that effectively.Main PointsPreach the need of change but never change too much at onceUse Sandwich Method, Hide the new idea (the meat) inside buns (old traditions) to make it more familiarSoft skills are a helpful tool to change more easilyChange has consequences be ready for themThe point is not "not to be afraid" but to be afraid and still do it.

    21. Why You Are Not Getting a Job ?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 3, 2021 26:15


    After a Hiatus, Darek comes back with a new season and a new episode.Talking about how to get your dream job and big mistakes that people do when they want to get a job.From preparing their CV to the job interview, this episode is a complete guide to getting a job that fulfills you.

    20. From Germany to Iraq by bike w/ Fadhil Ahmed

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 1, 2020 28:44


    Fadhil a young student who decided to go from his school in Germany all the way to Iraq by bike. the way he overcame fear is very inspiring for entrepreneurs.

    19. How to be a Great Leader

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 26, 2020 22:38


    Leadership the 5 Levels of leadership talked about by Darek, how to be a leader, and create a safe productive culture.

    18. North Star

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 18, 2020 8:17


    North StarThe concept of finding your light in the darkest of times, here Darek on his birthday ( October 18th) talks about how this concept shaped his mindset and made him calm in the toughest of times).

    17. Business & Tech w/ Godar Jader

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 11, 2020 28:56


    Mr. Godar the Co-Founder and CEO of Awrosoft and Lecturer at Salahaddin University, college of engineering.Talks about his journey and how he created Awrosoft one the leading It and development companies in the region.

    16. Extreme Ownership

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 3, 2020 11:40


    Extreme OwnershipWhen Darek first heard this concept from Jocko willink, he adapted the idea to his business and life. in this episode, he explains the importance of that concept in entrepreneurship and personal success. Not bringing excuses is the key to improvement.

    15. How Studying History Brings Success w/ Mazen Sirwan

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 26, 2020 57:07


    Mazen Sirwan the director of marketing at Korek Telecom talks about how his history major helped him in his life and how can we learn from history to make better decisions in our personal and professional life.

    14. Conserve Your Energy

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 19, 2020 10:55


    A solo Episode with Darek talking about how to protect your energy, and how to focus down on things that matter.

    13. From War Frontlines to Entrepreneur w/ Ayar Freedom

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 12, 2020 48:57


    AyarThe mysterious Fixer who got an Emmy award, opens up about his story, traumas and how he became an entrepreneur and co-founded Grei agency.

    12. How to handle Depression & Anxiety w/ Warzan Allani

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 5, 2020 51:51


    Depression something that most of us face at some point in our lives, and it can be hidden the way we handle it and understand it can be a difference that changes everythingIn this episode Darek interviews Warzan whose a life coach and specialist talking about types and levels of depression, how to handle it and when to reach out to a specialist.

    11. How to Go From a Small Shop to a Big Company w/ Shvan Xatab & Halo Adil

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 29, 2020 49:11


    Shvan Founder and President of AB HORECA co. and his media Consultant Halo, talk about how they grew their company and their story of growing even in Corona times. this is the first time In improvement key to interview two people at once.

    10. Passion & Creativity w/ Kaiwan Shaban

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 22, 2020 42:12


    Kaiwan the young Photographer/ Entrepreneur and artist talks about how he got to where he is now, his journey from the little town of Akre to all over the world. and being a known youtuber in photography tutorials and etc he also talk about how to follow your passion and create new things.Make sure to subscribe to his youtube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC37YX_5sEWTk024SPAXWG3Q and Follow him on Instagram on @itskaiwan

    9. Strategy Games & Decision Making w/ Lana Haddad

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 15, 2020 46:43


    In this episode, Lana Haddad founder of urbilum talks about her new board game the Assyrian empire, and how she shifted from academia to business and entrepreneurship.

    8. How to Overcome Adversity Like a Pro ?

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 5, 2020 10:08


    we all face adversity in our lives but the way we react and process that problem will either move us forward or put us downin this episode, Darek breaks down the system in three steps 1- take 100% responsibility for the situation 2- Don't Panic and stay Calm 3- Choose the best option and be willing to sacrifice. and the last point is knowing that everything that happens to you will make your life story better so love it no matter what. but also have a system in place to deal with it.

    7. Mental Fitness w/ Kawar Fariq

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 27, 2020 54:49


    Mental Fitness in this episode darek interviews Kawar from City Duhok over zoom, they talk about kawars journey and how to develop mental fitness, say no to excuses and have a morning routine and more,

    6. Young Entrepreneurship w/ Amooni Raid

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 21, 2020 21:22


    let me tell you a bit about ayman. He is like the youngest entrepreneur. I know, like he amazed us like about all of his work and projects.Yeah, so I'm ayman. Uh, commonly known as a Mooney here and there via, um, currently 18 years old. slowly but surely I built a pretty good client base. But then, uh, yeah, I mean, I reached a peak level where I was ready to expand. Uh, but then, uh, I traveled to Germany and that kinda slowed down until now two years after two years, I'm back. And I'm slowly building that up again.And that, that tells me. A lot about him and the way he thinks positively in that manner. And I really liked that. Yeah, that's true. I kind of forgot about the whole situation happened, but you know, uh, I think you got to get, take these opportunities now special everybody's working for cheap. And so I'm kind of taking that jump that.You know, a whilst that comes for me is like, I'm going to do this. Uh, I normally take them smudge, but because, because of the current situation, I'll take half of that and I'm like, yeah, bro, all day, every day. So for, for your restaurant idea, what's the concept, what's the idea, what's it all about? Yeah. So I'm going to say how I kind of came up with it.So, you know, when I came back here, it was in the middle of Corona. When I came back from Germany. And, you know, I went through the whole quarantine procedure and everything for two days in a hotel. Yes. But I mean, when I was in a hotel, I was just walking around the room and I was like, Oh, let me open up a restaurant.And so taking that idea, and then I started coming up with concepts. I went around with a few concepts, but I stuck with the concept of pizza and beer because I saw that it was kind of missing in the market. There are a few, but, uh, you don't really have good pizza. That's important about that. Yeah. So I came up with the concept, you know, a chill place, have a good beer, have a good pizza.And then, uh, yeah, it's called the Fern. I called it the Fern and yeah, that's the concept. Cool, cool. It's a nice concept. And there's a lot of people might be interested in that. And the thing is that you do a, like an. Research and market research on how, how many people are interested in that and, or like, did you plan, how did you plan the idea?It's always important to have the spirit for the entrepreneurial spirit for starting your project, but might be, what more important is to, for you to plan it, to plan everything in and have the idea written down your business model written down. So you have everything in mind. So since we see a lot of like, there's.Especially in the restaurant business, there's the failure rate is very high and it's really important to plan out what did you do for that part? Yeah, of course. Uh, so I normally, when I, whenever I start a project, you know, I get the idea and then there is this excitement, you know, you go, you're very excited.I immediately open a one note, one note sheet, if you know, when I use one note and I just put all the ideas I have. And then I slowly start planning and going through all the ideas. Now, once I chill out or the excitement is gone, I actually can start really thinking, is this feasible? Can I do this? Do I have the money for it?

    5. DGT

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 13, 2020 6:52


    DGT which stands for Daily Growth Time a system developed by darek to excel in your life and become the person you need to be.

    4. Side Income w/ Alan Ayoubi

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 7, 2020 31:45


    Side IncomeAlan Ayoubi is the guest on Improvement key talking about his journey and all the side income and online hustles he did from youtube to udemy we cover it all.

    3. Toxic News

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 1, 2020 7:51


    Toxic Newshow bad news affects our mind negatively and what system you can use TODAY to fight that.

    2. Circle of Influence

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 25, 2020 17:05


    This episode is about factors affecting your life and most predominantly the people around you how to remove negative people from your life in a smart way. how to be more self-aware of your decisions.and how crucial is all of that to your success?

    1. Start

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 18, 2020 8:16


    here Darek starts the journey with you, talking about the podcast format and goal,talking a bit about his story and why did he create this podcastplus why start, before you are ready, is one of the keys of improvement

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