According to Business Insider, Mejuri cofounders Noura Sakkijha and Majed Masad have been applying Jeff Bezos’ “disagree and commit” strategy to navigate business disagreements since launching their jewelry company in 2013. The married couple met in 2009 through mutual friends and married two years later before starting the business together. Sakkijha serves as CEO while Masad oversees marketing, data, retail, merchandising, and real estate as president. They estimate they agree about 95% of the time, but when disagreements arise, they defer to whoever is closest to the issue. The approach has helped them manage both business growth and home life with their twins.
Bezos in the bedroom
Here’s the thing about mixing marriage and business: it’s basically taking the hardest parts of both and combining them into one giant stress test. And yet Mejuri’s founders have made it work for over a decade now. The “disagree and commit” philosophy isn’t just some corporate buzzword for them – it’s a survival mechanism. When you’re debating business strategy over breakfast and then trying to have a normal family dinner that same night, you need clear rules of engagement.
What’s fascinating is how they’ve adapted Bezos’ framework for their unique situation. They’re not just business partners who happen to be married – they’re using their relationship strengths to actually make better business decisions. That “blind, crazy trust” Sakkijha mentions? That’s not something you can manufacture in a typical workplace. But it’s exactly what makes “disagree and commit” actually work in practice.
The real secret sauce
So what’s actually working here? It’s not just the Bezos principle – it’s their complementary skills. Masad describes himself as detail-oriented and data-driven, while Sakkijha focuses on communication and emotional intelligence. That’s basically the classic left-brain/right-brain partnership that so many successful companies are built on.
But here’s where it gets interesting: they’ve intentionally scheduled one-on-one meetings to keep business conversations away from the dinner table. That’s the kind of practical boundary-setting that most couples struggle with, let alone couples running a company together. They’re treating their relationship like another business asset that needs protection and maintenance.
When business meets marriage
Now, let’s be real – this isn’t for everyone. Masad admits there were times they questioned whether they should be doing this together. The early days were especially tough – newly married AND trying to build a company from scratch? Then add a pandemic and twins? That’s basically the entrepreneurial equivalent of running a marathon while juggling chainsaws.
But their approach raises an interesting question: could more companies benefit from this level of trust and directness? When Masad says they can be more open because they’re married, it makes you wonder why regular business partners can’t achieve that same level of honesty. Maybe the real lesson here isn’t about marriage – it’s about creating environments where people can truly “disagree and commit” without fear.
The future of founder couples
We’re probably going to see more of these founder couples in the future. As remote work becomes normalized and the lines between personal and professional life continue to blur, the idea of building something with your life partner starts to make more sense. But the Mejuri founders’ experience shows it requires serious systems and boundaries.
The Bezos principle works for them because they’ve built a foundation of trust that goes way beyond typical business relationships. When Masad says “Noura’s problems are my problems,” he’s describing a level of shared commitment that most cofounders would kill for. That’s the real advantage here – not the management philosophy itself, but the relationship that makes applying it possible.
