Uber. Airbnb. Dropbox. They’re household names – unicorns – all valued at over USD 1bn. But what about the Middle East’s rapidly growing digital disruptors such as Propertyfinder, Wadi and Namshi? These Dubai-based unicorns-in-waiting are attracting huge amounts of...
The benefits of choosing the franchise model as part of your long-term business plan can often be compelling. From raising capital without surrendering equity to supercharging your brand, it can give you the chance to grow your business quickly in the knowledge that...
A growing number of entrepreneurs based in the Emirates are bridging the gap between the Middle East and California: in establishing and developing strong links with Silicon Valley to take their tech businesses to the next level. This is creating an exciting new tech...
Nobody ever made it big without taking risks. In a single decade, industry thinking can move so quickly that what once seemed ridiculous can not only be made real, but quickly become a cornerstone of society. So what are these once-crazy ideas – and what can you learn...
To ignore or not to ignore. If that’s the question, what is the answer? Let’s look at both sides of the argument and understand where the entrepreneur should stand on what is both an important but often divisive issue. Is there a middle path through all this, and if...
Managing growth is about more than just the present. Considering and seizing opportunity only as it arises may work for some, but it isn’t enough for the entrepreneur who is seeking genuine, sustainable expansion for their business. Growth can contain an insidious...
Public relations (PR) disasters come in all shapes and sizes, from annoying service suspensions to fatal acts of sabotage, with brand capital that has taken years or decades to build up evaporating in the turn of one unfavourable news cycle or social media storm....
Whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur or an executive of an established business, at some point you may have thought of how to ‘uberfy’ your business or ‘Netflix’ your profits. But the graveyard of copycat business ideas is full – remember Zune? Or Amazon Fire...
Is there an app that can genuinely help your small business? It’s a big question. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the ‘app’ – those handy little pieces of software that help us navigate our day-to-day needs – sometimes needs we didn’t realise we had. It’s...
Whether you’re a new entrepreneur or CEO of a giant multinational, some things never change: financial problems can affect everyone. So what can we as entrepreneurs learn from the experiences of the major players? After all, they all maintain strong public profiles....
Who wants to be a billionaire? According to the market-leading Wealth-X billionaire census there are nearly 2,400 billionaires in the world, with combined wealth of USD 7,400bn. It’s a select club. All the billionaires in the world would fit into four Boeing 747s with...
There are few better places to start a business venture than the UAE. With the advent of major co-working spaces, such as Astrolabs Dubai and Impact Hub Dubai, it’s never been easier to start a new business on a budget here. What’s more, Dubai is home to...