The post Entrepreneur Rising: Tarek Fouad appeared first on Dubai.
]]>Q: Which was more challenging for you: the process of launching your startup or the process of maintaining it throughout out time by making sure that it keeps competing successfully in the market?
A: Both are equally challenging! In the beginning, entrepreneurs have a lot of ideas in mind and face a lot of obstacles to get those ideas into practice. It is true though that certain things become easier after the startup is launched and is deemed to be successful as once you have the right employees in place and the right structure in place then things start to go in a smoother way. However, once you are in the market, you immediately start facing competition and the key element to survive and assure success is to innovate on a consistent basis. The moment you stop innovating is the moment you lose your competitive advantage. So both are challenging but with time an entrepreneur starts to adapt and get better at it.
Q: We know that failure tends to be common when it comes to entrepreneurship as most entrepreneurs have failed before they became successful, how did you deal with failure?
A: Throughout our several years in business in different industries, the way we looked at failure was simply to face it, learn from it and move on. We actually created a culture where we rewarded ‘failing’. In fact when we hire people we ask them for providing us with their CVs of failure instead of those of success. To put down everything that you are good at is easy but putting down everything that you are not good at and the failures that you made throughout your journey and how you dealt with them, is what gives a notion on the person’s attitude towards facing issues and that is what really matters in the end of the day.
Q: What were the most important decisions you made that contributed to your success?
A: Two things; hiring a lawyer and hiring a finance manager who ended up being my partner. Without those two people in place, you might easily start taking decisions based on emotions instead of reason. So having people who are focused on finance and legalities is going to save you from a lot of failures which are based on emotions, since these people tend to see things from a different perspective. In addition to that, learning from the head start not to trust anyone, learning how to control our cash in and cash out, and looking after our finances consistently are important decisions that we took and which contributed to our success.
Q: What motivated you to be the Launchpad facilitator?
A: I first want to thank Impact Hub for inviting me to be part of this wonderful experience which enables me to contribute to the entrepreneurial world. Being part of a place that can harness all the ideas and create things that can actually impact the world around it is the prime motivation that makes me want to be part of the Impact Hub. Another reason is obviously networking as you get to meet a lot of ambitious people with amazing ideas who are interested in transforming an innovative idea into reality; that in itself feeds me with energy and motivates me to be part of this process and share my experience with these people.
Q: If you could give one advice to the participants what would it be?
A: Remember that businesses do not succeed, people do. No matter how difficult it is to make your business successful and maintain it that way, it is the team that makes it that way not the business itself. So the focus should be on your personal development and in developing your team. We are all in business for money however in the end we realize that money comes and goes but what really stays is the legacy. You want to leave something that people can remember you with after you die. It is indeed an extremely challenging journey for the rising entrepreneurs as in the end of the day success depends on how much perseverance you have to keep moving forward regardless of the obstacles you face. So my advice to those participants is simply to never assume that the entrepreneurial journey is going to be an easy one in which in couple months down the line they are going to be rich, but they have to expect that they may stay five years holding on to their idea without having any glimpse of success. Entrepreneurship takes a lot of patience and mostly perseverance. If you are motivated by money then you will probably give up during the first years but if your motivation is based on creating an impact and a legacy then you will be able to persevere until you meet your vision.
Q: If you could go back to day one of your startup, what would you do differently to avoid the mistakes and failures that you faced in the past and hence save yourself time and money?
A: I will first of all hire my finance manager and legal assistant from the first day. The second thing I would do is to make more market research before launching the startup. The reason I said that is because in the market there are a lot of rules that do not apply, you may assume that they apply but they actually don’t. There are a lot of tips and tricks that you don’t uncover until you are in the market. You get to learn those tricks once you are in the market and when all of a sudden you bump into people who tell you “oh you could have done that differently” and you realize that a lot of those things could have saved you time and money. This is what I mean by market research; it is acquiring as much tips and tricks from people who already have experience in the field before getting started. It is quite easy to establish businesses here in the UAE as the laws are easy but yet the country is so expensive so you need a lot of capital to start with which is not the case in a lot of other developing countries. So having somebody who could give you tips and tricks on how to be as lean as possible would probably be what I could have done as well if I were to go back to day one.
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]]>#Hack4Impact was the official hashtag of the event and as soon as the hashtag was announced, tweets started rolling in.
The first speaker on Thursday night, Ahmad Rabieh, gave an amazing keynote about the power of mobile applications in this age. “Instagram was sold to Facebook for one billion dollars. To build the Burj Khalifa, it cost one billion dollars. Which is easier, writing some computer code or building a Burj Khalifa?”
The techies and entrepreneurs were there to solve social problems by utilising technology. And they have to solve these problems in teams of 3-5. After the attendees pitched their ideas, the ideas went through a voting process and 12 ideas were chosen. The attendees worked on these ideas throughout the 72 hours they were given. The event featured many startup incubators like Hi2 (Hamdan Innovation Incubator) and other incubators.
On Friday morning, the two featured speakers were Shaima Ghafoor and Sallyann Della Casa. They were phenomenal. Shaima was super interactive by telling the attendees her story with entrepreneurship and how they can learn from her mistakes and successes. Sallyann was full of energy and the attendees were taking notes like crazing! After their workshops, the attendees surrounded the Shaima and Sallyann and didn’t want them to leave.
The rest of day continued with another workshop on making a startup at minimal cost and then the attendees continued working on their ideas.
Saturday was full of excitement mixed with hope for winning the first prize. Just before the pitching session at night, the team practiced their pitches and received feedback from the mentors and organizers. The turn out of the final pitching event was amazing with parents, friends, and of course, judges filling the room. The 12 teams pitched their ideas to the judges and three projects were selected. At 3rd place came “GLOBIO”, a project that updates users on news and happenings around the world in video. At 2nd place came “LESA”, and at 1st place came “Heart-Ping”, both of which are projects that help save the lives of patients who had a cardiac arrest. “Heart-Ping” team members won a trip to attend EXPO 2015. The other winning projects will receive incubation, mentorship, and other prizes.
All in all, the event was lots of fun with Roxane Jurkovskaja, one of the confounders of Hackamena, concluding, “it was a good start for a bigger journey.”
The post BUSINESS TRENDS FOR 2015 appeared first on Dubai.
]]>Ms. Rushika Bhatia, from SME advisor, shared with us her top 10 trends for 2015. From the Internet of Things to wearable technology, she offered a sneak peek into the near future of business, and conveyed priceless advice to our aspiring entrepreneurs.
Do you feel ready to start out, but lack a business idea? Are you seeking inspiration for your next project? Trends are here to help, according to Ms. Bhatia.
Established business owners should not be the only people to care about trends; aspiring entrepreneurs can use them too. Knowing the major trends affecting your market can be an invaluable source of inspiration. In fact, this is how Travis Kalanick and Garett Camp came up with the idea for Uber. These two self-made millionaires sat together in 2008 and listed their top three business trends: at the congruence of the three, they found the idea for a crowdsourcing transportation app.
In summary, if you want to succeed in business—be on the constant lookout for trends.
Ms. Bhatia also highlighted an important distinction when talking about trends. Trends are long-term shifts in consumers’ preferences or in the way we do business. Trends are not fads, although they are by nature cyclical, and eventually smooth out. So when looking out for trends—search for lasting changes in consumption and business patterns.
Mr. David O’Brien, founder of Ghaf Kitchen, shared with us the worldwide culinary travels that eventually led him to launch his own company in Dubai. Ghaf Kitchen is a private event catering service that creates tailored outdoor scenes where fresh and sustainable dishes are served out of a vintage Citroen van. Talk of an outstanding experience! You may find more on Ghaf Kitchen in the interview Mr. O’Brien gave to Hotelier ME in September2014.
Mr. O’Brien reminded the by-then starving and drooling audience that Dubai has become an international dining hot spot, and highlighted his selection of F&B trends to look for in 2015.
It is useful to remember that food is first and foremost a social experience: in fact, 90% of a given restaurant’s customer base is made of regulars. The value of food consumption in the UAE reached AED 28.2 billion in 2014 and is expected to increase to 40.6 billion in 2018. And reputation is key: while a bad experience will be related to ten other people, a good experience will only be shared to three!
Food consumption patterns are intrinsically linked with business cycles, with people eating out during highs and cooking at home during troughs. For the next year, Mr. O’Brien foresees food trucks to keep their hype, while pop-up restaurants will continue to emerge in the F&B landscape. There is a clear drive toward local and artisan products, with sustainability remaining a reliable source of brand value. Lastly, bakeries and teashops will remain centrepiece in the city’s high life.
On this note, I will rush to the nearest bakery to satisfy a lightening croissant craving. We’ll see you soon for the next session of our Go Trend Yourself series—and in the mean time, bon appetit!
The ‘Go Trend Yourself’ series continues with our next instalment scheduled for March 24th. The theme will be for this session with will art trends.
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]]>Transitioning between careers is never an easy thing, much less going from working at a large organization to becoming an entrepreneur, but Yoko Shimada has managed to do both in a …
The post From Health Economy to Fashion Design appeared first on Dubai.
]]>Transitioning between careers is never an easy thing, much less going from working at a large organization to becoming an entrepreneur, but Yoko Shimada has managed to do both in a very big way. Yoko is a hubster, a health economist, a mother, and now a fashion designer. Her new line of maternity clothing, the Mitera Collection, grew out of a desire to fill the gap between being a professional at the World Bank and being a new mother.
Although she came into motherhood later in life, Yoko was dedicated to making sure her children had the best of everything. Particularly when it came to health, which meant that she was breastfeeding for a very long time. After her experiences with the postpartum clothing available, she decided that enough was enough.
Mitera dresses are machine washable, wrinkle free, convenient for breastfeeding, and comfortable, all while looking effortlessly chic. On top of all that, each dress sold will contribute part of its price to a very interesting cause. Instead of a simple charity, Mitera is partnering with D-REV, an organization innovating cost-effective ways to improve lives in underdeveloped countries. For instance, the Brilliance unit, which is treating newborn jaundice in 9 different countries including India.
Mitera is set up in New York, but Yoko herself lives here in Dubai. A health economist for 15 years, she said that being an entrepreneur after so long with the World Bank is like trying to deal with daily heart attacks. Visit her website www.miteracollection.com or find her at the Hub and watch out for the dresses which are due to be released in early February.
The post From Health Economy to Fashion Design appeared first on Dubai.
]]>The post Tips to Unleash the TED Speaker in You with Standup Communication appeared first on Dubai.
]]>How did you start? What was your inspiration?
I’ve always been a communication enthusiast, interested in things like TV commercials and political speeches. That led me to work in advertising, marketing and PR for quite some time. But I had always felt that something was missing. I wasn’t really fulfilling myself. So it took a real low where I was unemployed to start my entrepreneurial journey and establish Standup. I guess it all started out of the necessity to be productive again, but also as the expression of a personal passion.
In your opinion, what is an example of a great public speaker and why?
A great public speaker is one that entrances you and makes you feel upset when they’re done talking… because you wouldn’t want them to stop! And let’s face it: al lot of us have been through meetings and ceremonies where the speakers make us want to commit suicide… just for the sake of stopping the suffering! Public speaking should be an enjoyable experience for whoever is at the receiving end of it… and for that to happen, great public speakers enjoy the process and look forward to standing in front of audiences. That’s what we try to do with Standup: instil the love of public speaking in people’s hearts.
What has been your most significant achievement to date?
Self-publishing my first book! Standup has been fortunate to be the speakers training partner for the last two editions of the TEDxLAU main event. Based on my maiden training experience with the speakers lineup of the 2013 event #TheCrossRoad, I decided to document it all in a book where each chapter provides a public speaking tip based on the actual performance of each of the speakers. This is how “Public Speaking X: Tips to Unleash the TED Speaker in You” was born. The book is currently available to buy on the Amazon Kindle store here.
What are your professional aspirations for the next few years?
Our mission at Standup is really simple: to bring out the best communicator in people, through an engaging and memorable training experience. We believe that anyone – and we mean anyone! – can be a great public speaker, and our down-to-earth approach to training makes for an enjoyable and memorable experience for individuals, corporate employees, high-level executives, and entrepreneurs. So I hope to be able to extend the Standup experience to the widest audience possible, starting from Dubai where I am currently based, and beyond – Beirut, Riyadh, Amman… and why not: even San Francisco!
Regarding the upcoming workshops at the Hub, what can participants expect?
To join a movement that has been empowering people throughout the wider Middle East, helping them conquer fear and embrace the public speaker within! The first session in February will be all about unraveling the basics behind public speaking excellence. The second session in March will focus on persuasion and the art of pitching. And the third session in April will be all about design impactful slides that engage the audience visually… so we’re in for a fun and rewarding ride!
Can you give us 5 tips to achieve great public speaking?
Let’s put it in practical terms: if you don’t have good listening skills, you might convey a certain defensiveness in your attitude – which is a big turn off for audiences; and if you don’t have a proper structure to your content, you might get into a rambling pattern where you’re no longer making sense. Those are two tips… the remaining three – and more! – will be shared in the workshop series at the Hub.
The post Tips to Unleash the TED Speaker in You with Standup Communication appeared first on Dubai.
]]>The post Eat, Pray, and Get on your Yoga Mat: In Conversation with Hubster Payal Khanwani appeared first on Dubai.
]]>Like in most beautifully written entrepreneurial stories with unexpected and admirable twists, Payal Khanwani left her Biomedical Corporate career in Europe to return to her hometown of Dubai and make her yoga passion a business reality. To realize this passion, her first port of call was the Impact Hub Dubai where she claims her HQ. Here, she will be running specially designed yoga workshops that help participants relieve stress and think with more clarity. Applying her science background to her teaching, Payal is paving the way for more holistic involvement with yoga, one that is not just a physical practice but is a way of living life that we can all use to realize our ultimate aspirations. Payal took time out from her busy schedule of teaching, practicing yoga, and building a business to discuss what yoga exactly is, the science behind how yoga relieves stress, and how Dubai is embracing the yoga movement.
1. What are the yoga workshops you are running with ‘Create Congress’ at the Impact Hub and what inspired them?
The classes I will be running at Impact Hub Dubai are called ‘Hatha Prana Yoga’ and ‘Yoga Nidra’. ‘Hatha Prana Yoga’ is a combination of postures (asanas) and pranayama (breathing techniques), which are the starting point of reaping the all benefits of Yoga.
Despite all that you may have heard from some motivational speakers, only one out of every five persons achieve the things we set out to achieve. ‘Yoga Nidra’ is a deep relation technique that helps us to access a state of deep rest (delta waves) in our brain, which gives us the potential of reducing the unconscious resistance that often stands in the way of us fulfilling our intentions.
I think Impact Hub Dubai is a place where we all are working towards achieving our deepest desires and intentions, so it all goes hand in hand. We can learn to carry the lessons on the mat and off the mat!
2. How did your yoga journey begin?
I started off with Yoga 8 years ago in Bangalore without an awareness of how widespread it was in the world outside India. As a teenager, I didn’t think a lot about why I loved it or what it brought to my life in particular. I kept coming back to it over and again. But now I know the depth at which the physical practice was working. I’m personally drawn to the philosophy and science behind it. And I feel the journey has just started.
Academically, I focused my engineering Bachelor research thesis and publication on the effects of alpha meditation on our brain. As I moved to Germany for my Masters, I was already learning the physical, mental, and spiritual aspects of Yoga. The day I finished my Masters in Germany, I took a flight to India and went for my intensive 200 hours certified yoga training.
3. How is practicing yoga different from teaching it? As a yoga teacher, do you find it enhances your yoga practice? What do you do to keep your yoga practice going?
Teaching gives me the satisfaction of sharing my passion and knowledge of Yoga given to me by my teachers. It is rewarding because it is a human- to-human connection. And I believe every individual is unique, and hence not every teacher may be suitable for every student.
I cannot stress enough that it’s important to practice. If you are looking to get the benefits of mind, body, and spiritual health, then we need to practice. Practice is everything. My practice is what keeps me centered and connected to my best version of self. As a practitioner of Yoga, it has helped me each day to learn from life, embrace change, and never give up!
As we speak, I’m heading to India just to retreat for a few days and get back to my mat.
4. The benefits of yoga have to be felt, not told. In your own personal and professional experience what do you think are the benefits of yoga and what small changes can people make to their daily lives to feel the benefits of yoga?
Yes, the benefits of yoga have to be felt. Most people start doing yoga for physical benefits and slowly start to realize how it uplifts their mindset and general sense of being. You always walk out of class feeling better than when you walked in. Why? Because it works! One of the many reasons ‘asana’ and right breathing leaves you feeling good is because it works on the parasympathetic system, which is responsible for counteracting our stressful and fast-paced lives.
The benefits of asana are endless. It improves the quality of our lives. It has several health benefits since we work on physical musculature, internal organs, and right breathing practices. It works on subtle energetic levels, which enhance our state of mind, balance our emotions, and create focus and overall balance in our lives. Today, Yoga therapy is practiced for medicinal purposes for practically all kinds of health issues.
The small habits that I would recommend for anyone apart from a physical asana practice is to be mindful about your breathing patterns and eating habits. These are keys to feeling good and keeping your body and mind healthy.
5. If people come to your class and love it, what do you suggest they do to keep up the practice? Are there books they can read or further workshops/ classes they can attend?
Practice. No matter where you are and how little time you have, something is better than nothing. A five minute meditation or a 2 minute shoulder stand can make a difference. There are several books you can read to enhance your knowledge. I am a Yoga books junkie so my list is endless but for some one just starting off with yoga here is a list of few:
1) Light on Yoga by BKS Iyengar
2) The Heart of Yoga: Developing A Personal Practice by T.K.V Desikachar
2) Living Your Yoga: Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life by Judith Lasaster
3) Yoga Mind Body and Spirit by Donna Farhi
There are several online resources as well for the interested, and many workshops around town. However, to be sure you’re practicing yoga safely and effectively, I would recommend to always start with a good teacher whom you connect with.
6. How do you think Dubai is embracing yoga?
The yoga community is Dubai is growing and I do see a lot of people embracing yoga now, which is really positive. However there is a big gap and a lot of misconceptions about what yoga really is. There is still a need for more awareness about the potential of this practice. You have the extremes of those who consider it as a religion, to those who think it’s merely a form of physical exercise. I think a right combination of the Western and the Eastern perspective on Yoga together is needed in a language that can resonate to the over 200 nationalities in Dubai.
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Join Payal for ‘Candle Light Hatha Yoga & Yoga Nidra’ on Thursday 11th December 2014 at 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm and ‘Hatha Prana Yoga’ on the Sunday 7th December 2014 at 10.30am – 11.30am and Wednesday 3rd December 2014 at 4:30 – 5.30 pm at the Impact Hub Dubai. To book your session contact Payal at [email protected].
Guest blogger, Mia Jafari is a British/Iranian fashion print designer www.miajafari.com
The post Eat, Pray, and Get on your Yoga Mat: In Conversation with Hubster Payal Khanwani appeared first on Dubai.
]]>The post The Wondrous World of Fashion PR: in conversation with The Mode Villa appeared first on Dubai.
]]>1. What made you join the Impact Hub Dubai?
I was looking for a space to work from while my office was under construction. Impact Hub Dubai is a fabulous community of interesting, driven individuals and teams that are passionate about the projects they’re working on. It’s an inspiring space to be part of. The hosts (Hebah in particular) are always on the lookout for ways in which to help each of us build stronger networks. The location and ambience is brilliant, making it easy to meet clients here, or spend the day plugging away on my laptop. There are also a number of engaging talks and workshops throughout the week that Hubsters can be part of. The whole cohesive feel sets Impact Hub Dubai apart from any other entrepreneurial workspace in Dubai.
2. What is The Mode Villa and how is it different fromother branding/PR fashion agencies?
I set up The Mode Villa (TMV) while I was living in Switzerland with the goal of it becoming a platform for designers to launch into new markets. Being in the UAE makes it even easier to connect with both talented designers and with a fascinating marketplace for their products. My agency works on all aspects of brand enhancement for companies within the fashion and retail sectors. We offer a full range of services from brand strategy and PR, to representation and sales – so we can work with a brand through its full product cycle. Each client has very specific needs so we tailor-make packages to suit their requirements, which means we may be doing a pop-up event for one while we work on a complete social media plan for another. Our tailored hands-on approach for each client as well as our continued connections to retailers in the European market set us apart from other agencies in the region
3. As a young, emerging designer, it’s financially straining to afford PR and sales presentation for your business. In my experience, even if you manage to find a PR agency to represent your brand, most PR agencies don’t give small brands much attention, and you are you competing with huge established brands at every level. How do you think small, young designers can develop their brands through PR to overcome these obstacles?
As an upcoming brand with limited funding, you can work with boutique PR agencies such as TMV or others in the city for which fashion is an area of expertise. You can limit PR to specific campaigns or events so that your budget is used more effectively. As a smaller brand, it’s important to create unique events that draw the media’s attention and also generate sales.
Do not underestimate the power of your own network and personal PR. Ensure that your social and professional circles are aware of your work and support your collections and events. Brand ambassadors are also a great way to amplify your message in this market and it is valuable to spend time developing your unique brand identity and connecting with potential ambassadors who resonate similar values and are willing to support and showcase your brand. Designers need to become their own brand ambassadors as well and find unique avenues through which to tell the story of their brand.
4. It’s fantastic for your ego to get featured in high profile publications … but in my experience, PR doesn’t generate sales. How do you think this obstacle can be overcome? What strategies do you feel designers/PR agencies should develop?
Visibility for the brand is almost as important as creating a beautiful collection. Every buyer in the region is a consumer of media, and they are always on the lookout for brands that create a buzz. This increases the brand’s desirability and overall salability of the collection: both to retailers and end consumers. In my experience, especially in the Middle East, PR plays an important role in generating sales in the long term. Special events are a great way to generate effective PR stories while creating sales revenue. Brands can create trunk shows and pop-up shops for their collections in interesting venues in the city or within multi-brand boutiques they sell from. There are also a lot of interesting exhibitions within the city that a brand can participate in so that they can increase visibility and benefit from the overall footfall of the event. A very popular and well-attended event by the local fashionistas is The Pop-Up Party at Al Serkal Avenue. The format invites a number of different regional brands to be part of the event and a single brand is then exposed to the clientele of each of the participating brands. The Garden exhibit at Fashion Forward also provides an ideal venue for accessory designers to showcase their work. A strategy that encompasses focused activities and bursts of PR work best for smaller brands so there is continuous ‘talk value’ generated about the brand while the content remains fresh.
5. You work with many local and regional fashion designers. What are their biggest obstacles, and what do you think needs to be done to support designers in the region?
Designers in the region experience an overall lack in mentorship and technical expertise. Production facilities in the region are also limited and designers struggle to effectively build production capacity. This in turn impacts the development of an economically feasible line. On the other end of the product cycle, retailers work mainly on consignment with local designers. This is an extremely difficult model for new designers to work with as it greatly restricts cash flow and the designers’ ability to produce new collections.
There is distinct need for the creation of a fashion council that can develop training programs and expertise in addition to regulating the production process and helping promote upcoming designers in a collaborative space. I feel that with the growth of spaces such as Al Serkal Avenue in Al Quoz and the development of Dubai Design District, we are starting to see change and more positive prospects for regional designers.
6. As fashion designer specializing in textiles I feel so much needs to be done to develop an appreciation of the history of textiles in the Middle East: from how it is produced and transported around, to a topography study of how patterns, yarns and colours are created in the region. You are presently working to promote appreciation of the textiles industry in Dubai, how did the project come about and what do you hope will be achieved with the project?
I have always been passionate about the cultural and historical heritage of the city. Although Dubai is not a large manufacturer of textiles, it is an important trading hub that provides designers in the region access to textile from various parts of the world. My current project involves highlighting the significance of textiles in Dubai. My aim is to showcase both the trading aspect as well as the local textiles that are being used by organizations such as Sougha and Little Farasha. When you live in Europe there is so much respect for the materials used in each garment and the work involved in the manufacturing process. In the Middle East and the rest of Asia, consumers don’t appreciate the work involved in the production and treatment of various fabrics. I would love to see this appreciation develop. The project is a stepping-stone towards building that awareness.
7. How is social media changing the face of fashion PR? How do you think designers/small business can best utilize social media?
Social media is easily the best marketing tool for any designer. It is a cost-effective channel and an excellent way for brands to connect with end consumers. Social media is becoming one of the strongest marketing channels for most companies. Bigger brands are allocating more and more of their overall marketing budget towards platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.
Designers can easily engage potential consumers via their social media feeds. However, they must understand that this is a marketing channel and the brand’s tone of voice must be maintained and messaging be adapted for each individual platform. Understanding the brand’s personality and developing a social strategy in line with that is one of the aspects my agency specializes in. I look forward to sharing more insight on the topic during my social media workshop at Impact Hub in December. Karuna Advani is joining ‘Create Congress’ to run a workshop on social media and how it can be tapped to develop your business. Please check our calendar for further details!
Guest blogger, Mia Jafari is a British/Iranian fashion print designer www.miajafari.com
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]]>The post Drizzle Your Story in Swarovski Crystals. appeared first on Dubai.
]]>Starting a business in London was fairly straightforward, you only need one thing and lots of it; moola, dough, dosh, capital, money. Here however, there exists only one true currency: networking. It’s about who you know, and more importantly, who knows you. What better place to start than by joining the community at Impact Hub Dubai. Here in the Hub I could really learn about this great city of Dubai, have access to their impressive networks and share my skills and experience of running a design business with other like-minded souls.
The Impact Hub (and a special thanks to Hebah) welcomed me with open arms and I instantly felt the warm glow of a community of fellow can-do entrepreneurs in-the-rising. My first port of call was the Emirati Launchpad, a pre-incubation program designated exclusively for Emirati entrepreneurs, and the first of its kind. I participated in the inaugural workshop, a session on storytelling and its origins. There I was given the opportunity to meet members of this thriving and inspiring community. One such member was Shuaib Alkaff, a local Emirati who works as an executive in market surveillance for the Abu Dhabi government. We discussed in detail his plans to launch a beauty app in the UAE that discloses the nearest beauty salons within a mile radius of you. Because let’s be honest ladies, you never know when you need one in a rush. And this is why you’ve got to love Dubai: a city where you will meet many successful men and women who refuse to play it safe, choosing instead to risk it all to follow their passion for creating something new in their country.
After the initial excitement of meeting so many inspiring Emiratis, we were addressed by our enigmatic and charismatic speaker Rabih El Khodr from Standup! Communications who started off by telling us his own story of how he got into public speaking: two years ago, frustrated in his job, he experienced a bolt of lightning, ‘I should do what I do best – motivate people through public speaking’. Simple, but how many of us dare risk our safety nets in the pursuit of our version of happiness? Whilst Rabih’s presentation focused on how as entrepreneurs we must be able to tell and sell our story, what I really felt from Rabih and other participants in the workshop was their energy and desire to cultivate change. This was the basis of all their stories. We were all here in this one place at this one time to make a change in our lives and the lives of others.
As Rabih led the discussion, I pondered over my own decisions, my own experiences, and my own business. Whilst I absolutely love what I do; from travelling the world to find inspiration to perfecting the final photo-shoot that best captures my model’s look and style; the idea of running a fashion business, dealing with manufacturers, managing taxes, sales, marketing and PR has very little to do with fashion and everything to do with business. What’s wrong with this you may ask? Well as the Rabih brilliantly simplified it, ‘we all go into enterprise because of our passions’ and my passion has never been business. So in many ways I have felt like I have failed in my original endeavor – to be a designer. I may have have been all major fashion magazine like Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar and have seen my designs sold in designer shops like S*uce, Dubai and Debut, New work but I have constantly felt myself weighed down with the incessant practicalities of business and have had little space to experience creative growth.
Yet being here, now, in Dubai with such people around me, all who want to create something and knowing that it’s only through business that they can do so has made me reevaluate my own mindset. The energy in the room was contagious, exhilarating even, and the first change I know I must make is my mindset. Business can be creative rather than the ugly surplus a creative designer has to endure. Being a designer, creating in our studio is isolating, but being an entrepreneur is more than bringing our designs to the attention of buyers and consumers, it is about creating a brand, a legacy, something that has life in itself, and ultimately something that brining in profits. I am rejuvenated.
Here in this community, I have found something that I never expected to find, that I am not alone – we are all here with the desire to cultivate change. And what this community has taught me is that I don’t have to be alone, and that by coming together to share our stories, ideas, dreams, fears and doubts; our individual passions are strengthened in the face of daily turbulences that life throws in our way. We can’t go through our journey alone, we need a community, a fraternity; “no man is an Island”, they say, we need lots of little islands, made up of like-minded people that support us, perk us up over a cup of coffee or suggest new ideas and opportunities…
And that’s what the Impact Hub Dubai does best of all.
Guest blogger, Mia Jafari is a British/Iranian fashion print designer www.miajafari.com.
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]]>Now imagine a platform that aims to help developers raise the capital they need, opens the opportunities for investment more broadly than a select few of high net worth individuals, and improves the transparency and reporting in the real estate industry.
Meet Hubster Aakarshan Kathuria, co-founder of EstateUp with partner Nilesh Jadhav. EstateUp is a crowdinvesting platform connecting real estate developers to common investors as minor shareholders of the property projects in the UAE and India markets.
In the traditional industry, when a developer purchases land, he begins off-plan (before construction) sales of units. This basically means the investment size is extremely high and prohibitively expensive for many people: on average, anywhere between AED 2,000,000-15,000,000 for a unit, in addition to agent and miscellaneous fees that fall around 6%.
EstateUp reduces the investment risk by opening the market to a larger pool of shareholders, whereby individuals like you and I can become equity partners and not unit owners. In this model, the average investment size is around AED 150,000-AED 200,000 with expected returns of 12-18% on a per year basis, based on current market information. Investors maintain limited voting rights, but receive regular reports and updates curated by EstateUp on the progress of the property development. Only projects that have been vetted by an independent law and audit firm are published on the platform, so as individual investors you can feel more confident in the opportunities before you.
Similar to the Kickstarter model that inspired the EstateUp team, only projects that reach their full funding goal commence construction. And, in case you’re wondering, EstateUp as a company doesn’t get into collection of the money. Their model incorporates an independent fiduciary and a project manager so that the fiduciary holds the funds and controls escrow of the development. Investments are actually carried off-line. The first 10% of payments from crowd investors are withdrawn at the time of commitment, and when the project reaches its full funding goal, the remaining 90% is drawn down in stages. If a project fails to raise sufficient capital, the money is returned to the investors. Investors do not incur any fees; EstateUp earns its revenue through a percentage of the funding goal charged as well as a registration fee from the developers.
Pretty impressive concept for a 24 year old former pilot brokering real estate deals on the side for the past few years, eh? Aakarshan was born in Dehli, India, and moved to Dubai at the age of 7. He graduated from Leeds University with a Bachelor’s in Aviation Technology. You can get in touch here, or pass by the Hub to say hello to him. The team has been selected as one of 13 teams to represent the UAE at the exclusive Web Summit in Dublin, Ireland in November. They are currently looking to expand their team and are seeking design and programming geeks, auditing and sales persons, and investors for mentors as well as to secure the kind of funding such that they can obtain a license to internally manage the investment funds.
Website – www.estateup.com
Facebook – RealEstateUp
Twitter – TheEstateUp
Instagram – theestateup
Youtube – TheEstateUp
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Author: Hebah Fisher
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