We met up with Jihad Alammar, the founder of Qaym, at Mix N’ Mentor Riyadh to discuss how his restaurant review site is scaling in Saudi Arabia.

Alammar reveals how he gained traction in Saudi, focusing on improving customer awareness around contributing to an online review platform. “We don’t have that culture of reviewing, where people share their experiences,” he says. “We had to even translate the word for review in Arabic.”

He goes on to discuss the importance of mobile, explaining how mobile hits on Qaym’s website far surpass those on a desktop. For some, he says, starting mobile first may be a better idea as more and more people go online via their phone than their computer.

For Alammar, some of the biggest challenges to starting up include a lack of regulations favoring startups, like flexible stock options, on top of the need for more effective payment gateways to benefit both consumers and merchants.

Check out the brief interview above to hear more about how Alammar is working to scale Qaym the importance of mobile, and what his greatest challenges have been so far in Saudi Arabia.