#84 - Merouane Zouaid - Why I left Morocco for Silicon Valley at 22 yo

<p>Get Next Wave’s Startup List 2026: https://next-wave.kit.com/04ffde046b</p><p>Thanks to our partner Content.ma for sponsoring this episode!Content.ma connects you with 500+ content creators who can help promote your products or services on social media.</p><p>Use the code NEXTWAVE to get 10% off, or simply sign up using the link below.</p><p>---</p><p>A year ago, I saw a great video on YouTube. </p><p>It was about “finding opportunities as a student”, and was published by a young Moroccan engineering student under a nickname: Kaito.</p><p>Kaito explains in this video that there are many ways to find opportunities: volunteering, attending events, participating in hackathons, making content, etc.</p><p>Since this video, I saw others, and followed his journey as he was, indeed, finding lots of opportunities.At 23 years old, Merouane Zouaid (aka Kaito), has already:</p><p>- Started multiple projects at the intersection of tech and content creation</p><p>- Joined Entrepreneurs First program in a castle in Germany- Met a co</p><p>-founder (in the castle!) and started a tech company- Raised a pre-seed and moved to San Francisco to pursue his dreams</p><p>While sharing everything through his videos on Instagram and YouTube. </p><p>He is an inspiration not only to students, but to everyone.</p><p>Merouane Zouaid is the founder of Odysser, and he was my latest guest on Next Wave.In this episode, we talk about his journey from Agadir to San Francisco, from studies to launching his company and raising funds. </p><p>He also shares his vision for Odysser, as he wants to help millions of people share their stories easily thanks to AI.</p><p>Thank you Kaito for accepting my invitation!</p><p>▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ TIMELINE ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬</p><p>00:00:00: Who Is Merouane Zouaid</p><p>00:02:20: What Is Odysser</p><p>00:03:52: Starting content creation</p><p>00:09:11: Finding opportunities as a student</p><p>00:11:59: Hackathons</p><p>00:12:45: Buildspace experience</p><p>00:19:43: From content creation to tech</p><p>00:22:20: Joining Entrepreneurs First</p><p>00:30:48: Moving to the United States</p><p>00:33:34: The San Francisco experience</p><p>00:38:14: Building a company in San Francisco</p><p>00:42:45: How to move to the US</p><p>00:44:20: How Odysser works</p><p>00:51:03: The vision behind Odysser</p><p>00:57:04: On storytelling</p><p>00:58:22: Building in public</p><p>01:02:15: A video to watch</p><p>01:06:41: Where to find Merouane Zouaid</p>