"AI Kills the Course, Not Learning" | Willem Maritz | Gulf Founders

Willem Maritz couldn't find a job after his first degree, so he polished cars, walking from dealership to dealership. He decided that if he was going to do it, he would do it better than anybody else. That ended in a contract with Volkswagen. He went on to a senior HR and organisational development role at De Beers, then left in 2003 to found Kalleo, an e-learning business in South Africa. He bootstrapped it for 15 years with no external funding, gave his leaders and staff equity, and sold it in two transactions. The earn-out brought him to Dubai, where he has now lived for close to nine years. Since then: No More Courses, a venture that did not work, 18 months commercialising a hydrogen-powered boat, Studium Alliance in higher education, and soloSei, launched in September 2026. What we get into: What polishing cars taught him about excellence. The comment in a De Beers boardroom that tipped him into business. Selling e-learning when corporates did not yet know what an LMS was. The 2008 crisis: no salaries for a couple of months, and not one person resigned. Preparing a business for sale, and what he got wrong the first time. Going from founder to employee during an earn-out. Why the course is "a series of compromises". The exited founder who skipped validation, and the market that corrected him. Why universities cannot keep up with what his daughter learned on TikTok. soloSei, and helping people start earning instead of sending out CVs. Does AI kill the course? Chapters: 00:00 Welcome, and a small-world Dubai introduction 02:45 Twenty-five years in learning, nine in Dubai 04:34 What polishing cars taught him about excellence 06:56 Corporate HR, De Beers, and leaders who invested in people 09:29 The comment that tipped him into business 11:12 Was it scary to leave corporate? 13:01 Kalleo's first clients 15:08 Growing Kalleo organically, and giving leaders equity 18:27 The 2008 crisis: no salaries, and nobody resigned 21:11 Why he sold, and why it was two transactions 26:38 Lessons from selling a business 29:11 The earn-out: from founder to employee, and the move to Dubai 30:36 No More Courses, Habit and Wing Studio 32:05 The course as a series of compromises 35:19 When to quit and when to keep running 37:26 A detour into hydrogen-powered boats 40:07 Stay in your domain, and understand the problem 42:12 The exited founder who skipped validation 43:34 Solo founder or co-founders? 45:19 Studium Alliance: what TikTok taught his daughter 48:09 Validating in the conference corridors 49:35 How Studium Alliance differs from accreditation 51:12 soloSei: why solopreneurs, and why now 54:46 AI and the rise of the solopreneur 56:52 Interviewing successful solopreneurs 58:35 Does AI kill the course? 60:44 Where Studium Alliance and soloSei will be in three years 62:44 Stop sending CVs, start earning 63:11 Wrap-up Willem Maritz   / williemaritz   Studium Alliance https://www.studiumalliance.com/ soloSei https://www.solosei.com/ Hosted by Damian Hehir and Sam Whitcombe.   / damianhehir     / samwhitcombe   Gulf Founders is a conversation with the people building companies in the Gulf. New episodes with founders and operators across the UAE and the wider region. https://www.gulffounders.com/