Contributor

Magnus Olsson
Magnus Olsson on LinkedIn
Magnus Olsson

Co-Founder and Managing Director, Careem

Magnus Olsson is the Co-Founder and Chief Experience Officer at Careem, Middle East’s leading ride-hailing company.

Prior to Careem, Magnus served as an Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company where he advised global clients on strategy and business development in high-tech practice. Initially based in Stockholm, Sweden, Magnus moved to the Middle East in 2006 during a consulting project. By the fifteen, Magnus founded his first company, an IT consultancy focused on helping SMEs. He earned undergraduate degrees in computer science and business before joining McKinsey. He lives in Abu Dhabi with his wonderful wife and two children

Contributions

  • Learn By Function

  • Three men (Careem's co-founders) standing in a line with arms on one another's shoulders, smiling, as they managed the pressures of rapid scaling
    Building the Business: Founder-CEO Roles & Challenges

    Managing the Pressures of Rapid Growth

    As you scale, the strengths and habits that enabled you to launch—visionary thinking, working nonstop, or making decisions based on experiential knowledge—can become liabilities that damage your startup’s capacity for long-term growth and have serious negative consequences. In an interview with Shikhar Ghosh, Careem's co-founders Mudassir Sheikha, Magnus Olsson, and Abdulla Elyas reflect on their meteoric growth from 2012-2014. Candidly sharing the mistakes they made, they identify the consequences of rapid scaling and share practical advice for other founders.

    5 min read