Omar and Tareq Tahboub, founders of Engagesoft: Each week, My Morning Routine looks at how a successful member of the community starts their day — and then throws in a couple of random business questions just for fun. Speaking to us this week are CEO Omar Tahboub and CTO Tareq Tahboub, brothers and founders of HR tech startup Engagesoft.

Omar likes to think of his career as distinct 12-year periods. He spent his first 12 years in Saudi Arabia, his second in Jordan, where he studied and began working at Accenture, and his third in the US at Oracle and eventually managed development teams. He later returned to Jordan and worked at Syarah before co-founding Engagesoft.

Tareq is a computer science graduate who worked on various government and enterprise projects in Jordan, Libya, and Iraq. His career took a pivotal turn when he moved to Japan for two years. “It was a superb experience. The Japanese are very committed to their work.” After returning to Jordan, he continued to work for the same Japanese company remotely for nearly 10 more years.

The experience in Japan directly influenced Tareq’s future path. “What I learned in Japan is this culture of consensus. Before you make any decision, you have to involve everyone, which can be slow, but you get everyone on board. They are also very meticulous and pay a lot of attention to detail.”

The idea for Engagesoft was born from the brothers' shared desire to build something together. “We wanted to build something in the business software sector, an area that we both have extensive experience in and a passion for,” Omar said, adding that their goal was ambitious from the start — to build a company that can develop world-class, exportable software from the Arab region.

The specific focus on employee engagement and workplace culture came after validating the market need and ensuring it met their personal criteria, Omar explains. “I had a lot of discussions with HR leaders, and they all highlighted a void in the region for strong providers in this area.” Tareq, whose background was in selling to enterprises, felt the venture was a natural fit. “I was particularly curious about employee engagement due to my experience in Japan.”

Beyond the market gap, the brothers assessed their own long-term passion for the subject. “We asked: would we enjoy talking about this product and selling it for the next 10-15 years?” Omar says. “Because when you build a company, you're in it for the long haul. The second criterion was: would we enjoy interacting with our target customers, which for us were enterprise companies?” Engagesoft met both tests.

Engagesoft aims to address the complexity of engagement surveys for large companies by helping clients prioritize the most impactful factors using methods like regression analysis. “With the integration of AI, we're helping them translate those priorities into actionable plans, both for HR and for line managers,” Omar explains. The vision extends beyond simple analytics. “The direction we're taking is to evolve this into a comprehensive organizational coach over the next one to two years.”

The startup adopts an Arabic-first AI approach in response to the "underserved Arabic language market" and the need for tools that can provide action suggestions in Arabic. Picking Saudi Arabia as their initial market was a strategic choice based on more than just size. “I think what we really liked about Saudi is the maturity of the Saudi buyer. They're very methodical, very objective,” Omar said, explaining that Saudi buyers don’t bias global providers over local ones. “And that has provided Engagesoft with a fair platform to compete,” he added.

For the future, the company plans on finalizing its 360 leadership assessment product, further developing the AI coach, and launching a performance appraisal product by 1H 2026. On the commercial side, Omar says they plan to penetrate other GCC markets after strengthening their presence in Saudi Arabia and Egypt. “After that, we'll be looking at Southeast Asia, like Malaysia and Indonesia, and Europe. This is probably in 1Q or 2Q 2026.”

Regarding management philosophy, Omar emphasizes the critical nature of hiring in a startup environment. “At our stage, you know, we're a fast-growing startup and every hire makes a significant difference,” he says. “So minimizing wrong hires is a top priority for us because they pose a big risk to the company's growth. At this stage, I'm a big believer in individual contribution over extensive processes.” His second key principle is about focus. “The second part of my philosophy is fostering a culture of intensity. And by intensity, I don't mean being busy, but focusing on high-quality outcomes per unit of time.”

Tareq, who manages a smaller team, focuses on transparency and involvement to keep members motivated. “I try to keep them engaged by being transparent about company sales, investment rounds, and other aspects. I also try to involve them in the decision-making process, linking their work directly to the company's achievements. This helps drive engagement and provides recognition for their labor.”

When it comes to their morning routines, the Tahboubs differ. “My morning routine is not the best, to be honest,” Tareq laughed. “I usually stay up late, and in the morning, I will just shower and rush to the office. I try to be in the office before 10am, usually staying late until 7-8pm.”

Omar’s morning is more structured. “I wake up, drive my son to school, and then I go play tennis,” he says. “I play tennis almost five to six times a week,” after which Omar heads home to prepare for the workday. “I go home, take a shower, and have a light breakfast. Usually, it's orange jam and butter almost every day, and black coffee. And then I head to work.”

“We take two vacations a year. One is a long cycling tour in Europe. We do that in the summer,” Omar explains. “It's usually a one-week trip. We've done it in Italy, France, Spain, and Austria. It's a one-week trip where we cycle from one city to another for 60-70 km a day.” The brothers also take a skiing trip in the winter together.

When asked about work-life balance, Omar acknowledges that disconnecting is not an option, even during their dedicated vacation time. “As a startup, you just cannot completely isolate yourself from urgent customer needs. [Our vacations] are often interrupted by work, as customer needs always come first.”

To relax and unwind, Tareq’s hobbies involve staying active. “I jog three times a week and cycle on weekends.” He also recommends an experience from his time in Japan: Kabuki, a traditional Japanese performance art that mixes movement, music, and dialogue to tell a story. “I would recommend people to experience it at least once in their lives.”

For Omar, listening to audiobooks is his go-to for relaxation. He recommends reading High Output Management by Andrew Grove. “Leverage is key for managers, as you're always trying to find ways to do small tasks that can have a big impact on the organization. Grove gives valuable practical advice on how to increase your leverage as a manager.” His second pick is a classic: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, “a beautiful work of art, wisdom, and history.”

Tareq shared with us his guiding principle in life: “I always try to follow the rule of 'treat people the way you like to be treated.’ I think this rule helps in understanding other people's perspectives and fosters self-improvement.” Omar agreed, sharing an inspiration drawn from his work. “I've been fortunate to have clients who are exceptionally generous with their support and advice,” giving a special nod to Edita’s Vice President Maged Tadros. “This really inspires me to be generous with others.”

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