“The ‘build first, monetize later’ mentality doesn’t really work well in this region and will give you a very hard time raising capital. There is (a) lot of bureaucracies and inefficient processes to get anything done, so be patient.”

Haris Aghadi, co-founder of Meddy, a website that allows Qatar residents to find and rate doctors and healthcare providers. In a recent interview with Entrepreneur Middle East, he explained the new site and offered his tips to aspiring start-ups in the region.