u/mohamed-abubakkar

Does anyone know any active WhatsApp groups in UAE for business owners and entrepreneurs?

I’m looking for a group where people actually share business ideas, referrals, customer opportunities, partnerships and help each other grow.

Not interested in groups where everyone just posts ads or promotes their own services 😅

Would be great if the group has people from different types of businesses in Dubai/UAE.

If you are part of any good group, please share the link or let me know how I can join.

I have been working with a charity organization in Dubai for more than 5 years and I’m trying to apply for the Golden Visa under the Humanitarian Pioneer category.

I applied recently but got a response from Dubai immigration that this category is stopped/not available for now.

I already have a letter from my organization and ICP approval.

Does anyone working in a charity/humanitarian organization have received the Humanitarian Pioneer Golden Visa recently?

If yes, please share how you applied and what was the process, especially if you applied in Dubai.

Any advice or recent experience would be really helpful.

I have been working with a charity organization in Dubai for more than 5 years and I’m trying to apply for the Golden Visa under the Humanitarian Pioneer category.

I applied recently but got a response from Dubai immigration that this category is stopped/not available for now.

I already have a letter from my organization and ICP approval.

Does anyone working in a charity/humanitarian organization have received the Humanitarian Pioneer Golden Visa recently?

If yes, please share how you applied and what was the process, especially if you applied in Dubai.

Any advice or recent experience would be really helpful.

I have been working with a charity organization in Dubai for more than 5 years and I’m trying to apply for the Golden Visa under the Humanitarian Pioneer category.

I applied recently but got a response from Dubai immigration that this category is stopped/not available for now.

I already have a letter from my organization and ICP approval.

Does anyone working in a charity/humanitarian organization have received the Humanitarian Pioneer Golden Visa recently?

If yes, please share how you applied and what was the process, especially if you applied in Dubai.

Any advice or recent experience would be really helpful.

I was working as a tech partner in a company, but now I’m thinking of selling my product/system instead of taking shares.

The product is a complete business listing platform built with modern tech like Next.js, Web API and MSSQL.

It includes the complete database design for multi-merchant support, website, APIs, admin panel and other required services. The database and architecture are also designed with future expansion in mind.

I have some rough idea about the value, but I would like to hear from people who have experience with software products or similar businesses.

How much would you quote for a system like this?

Note: I developed the entire system myself, not with a team.

I was working as a tech partner in a company, but now I’m thinking of selling my product/system instead of taking shares.

The product is a complete business listing platform built with modern tech like Next.js, Web API and MSSQL.

It includes the complete database design for multi-merchant support, website, APIs, admin panel and other required services. The database and architecture are also designed with future expansion in mind.

I have some rough idea about the value, but I would like to hear from people who have experience with software products or similar businesses.

How much would you quote for a system like this?

Note: I developed the entire system myself, not with a team.

i have few years of experience working as a tech cofounder and building products but honestly i havent seen much success from those projects and now i feel like i cant keep continuing with the same things

right now im confused about what to do next

should i find another cofounder who has a different mindset and different ideas and try building something together

or should i try to find an idea by myself and become a solo founder

i know building software alone doesnt mean the business will be successful and i understand the business side is completely different

but now im ready to start building again and put serious time into something

the main thing im confused about is whether i should look for the right cofounder first or just start alone and figure things out along the way

what would you do if you were in my position

i have few years of experience working as a tech cofounder and building products but honestly i havent seen much success from those projects and now i feel like i cant keep continuing with the same things

right now im confused about what to do next

should i find another cofounder who has a different mindset and different ideas and try building something together

or should i try to find an idea by myself and become a solo founder

i know building software alone doesnt mean the business will be successful and i understand the business side is completely different

but now im ready to start building again and put serious time into something

the main thing im confused about is whether i should look for the right cofounder first or just start alone and figure things out along the way

what would you do if you were in my position

i have few years of experience working as a tech cofounder and building products but honestly i havent seen much success from those projects and now i feel like i cant keep continuing with the same things

right now im confused about what to do next

should i find another cofounder who has a different mindset and different ideas and try building something together

or should i try to find an idea by myself and become a solo founder

i know building software alone doesnt mean the business will be successful and i understand the business side is completely different

but now im ready to start building again and put serious time into something

the main thing im confused about is whether i should look for the right cofounder first or just start alone and figure things out along the way

what would you do if you were in my position

i have been offered a partnership in a business where i will be responsible for developing the complete technology side from scratch

basically i have to build the full system including database backend api frontend admin panel deployment integrations maintenance and everything needed to make the product actually work

the other partner is bringing the business side like the license office sales staff operations and other business requirements

in return he is offering me 2% of the company and he will keep the remaining percentage

the confusing part for me is that my 2% is based on net profits

for example if the business makes 80,000 profit then my share would be only 1,600

so i could potentially spend months developing and maintaining the complete system and my return would depend completely on how much profit the business generates

i am trying to understand if this is a normal or fair deal or if i should negotiate something different

should i ask for a higher percentage

should i ask for a fixed development fee plus a smaller equity percentage

or should i ask for a proper salary/technical partner compensation while keeping the equity

if you were in my position what would you do?

i am mainly looking for advice from people who have actually been in startup partnerships or have built the technology side of a business

would you accept 2% for taking complete responsibility for the technology or would you walk away/negotiate

I know this sounds freaky but I just have a hope on this business but not sure on the 2% equity.

i have been offered a partnership in a business where i will be responsible for developing the complete technology side from scratch

basically i have to build the full system including database backend api frontend admin panel deployment integrations maintenance and everything needed to make the product actually work

the other partner is bringing the business side like the license office sales staff operations and other business requirements

in return he is offering me 2% of the company and he will keep the remaining percentage

the confusing part for me is that my 2% is based on net profits

for example if the business makes 80,000 profit then my share would be only 1,600

so i could potentially spend months developing and maintaining the complete system and my return would depend completely on how much profit the business generates

i am trying to understand if this is a normal or fair deal or if i should negotiate something different

should i ask for a higher percentage

should i ask for a fixed development fee plus a smaller equity percentage

or should i ask for a proper salary/technical partner compensation while keeping the equity

if you were in my position what would you do?

i am mainly looking for advice from people who have actually been in startup partnerships or have built the technology side of a business

would you accept 2% for taking complete responsibility for the technology or would you walk away/negotiate

I know this sounds freaky but I just have a hope on this business but not sure on the 2% equity.

I spent 4 years building a startup that made $0. Now I’m confused about what to do next.

I’m a software developer and for the last 4 years I worked as a technical co-founder in a startup.

I built the complete product from the ground up — website, backend, database, admin system, user flow, everything.

The business model was quite simple. We were building a platform where agents could list monthly room rentals, and tenants could search for rooms and directly contact the agent through our platform.

We also spent money on marketing and managed to bring users to the platform. We had people actually coming to the website looking for rooms.

But the biggest problem was revenue.

We made literally 0 AED.

Our plan was to charge agents for listing their rooms. We had users, we had the product, we had agents, and we spent money trying to get traction, but we couldn't get agents to pay consistently.

Now, after around 4 years, the project is basically inactive.

The company license is still valid until next year, but because of the financial situation and the uncertainty around continuing the business, we haven't even renewed the hosting.

And honestly, this experience has made me question what I should do next.

Technically, I know I can build products. I've spent years building systems from scratch and handling the technical side of a business.

But I also learned that building a product doesn't mean you have a business.

Right now I'm thinking about taking a different direction.

Instead of starting another business completely from zero, I'm considering finding a business owner / startup founder who already has a business or a validated idea but needs a technical co-founder or technical business partner.

I would rather bring my technical skills into an existing business where there is already some market validation, customers, sales or a strong business person who knows the market.

So I wanted to ask founders and business owners here:

If you were in my position, what would you do?

Would you:

• Try to revive the existing business?
• Start something completely new?
• Join an existing startup as a technical co-founder?
• Find a business owner with customers/sales but no strong technical person and become their technology partner?
• Or simply focus on a high-paying tech career and build something on the side?

Especially interested in hearing from people who have already built and failed at businesses.

What would you do differently if you were starting again?

I'm not looking for motivation or generic advice. I'd genuinely like to hear what experienced founders would do in this situation.

I spent 4 years building a startup that made $0. Now I’m confused about what to do next.

I’m a software developer and for the last 4 years I worked as a technical co-founder in a startup.

I built the complete product from the ground up — website, backend, database, admin system, user flow, everything.

The business model was quite simple. We were building a platform where agents could list monthly room rentals, and tenants could search for rooms and directly contact the agent through our platform.

We also spent money on marketing and managed to bring users to the platform. We had people actually coming to the website looking for rooms.

But the biggest problem was revenue.

We made literally 0 AED.

Our plan was to charge agents for listing their rooms. We had users, we had the product, we had agents, and we spent money trying to get traction, but we couldn't get agents to pay consistently.

Now, after around 4 years, the project is basically inactive.

The company license is still valid until next year, but because of the financial situation and the uncertainty around continuing the business, we haven't even renewed the hosting.

And honestly, this experience has made me question what I should do next.

Technically, I know I can build products. I've spent years building systems from scratch and handling the technical side of a business.

But I also learned that building a product doesn't mean you have a business.

Right now I'm thinking about taking a different direction.

Instead of starting another business completely from zero, I'm considering finding a business owner / startup founder who already has a business or a validated idea but needs a technical co-founder or technical business partner.

I would rather bring my technical skills into an existing business where there is already some market validation, customers, sales or a strong business person who knows the market.

So I wanted to ask founders and business owners here:

If you were in my position, what would you do?

Would you:

• Try to revive the existing business?
• Start something completely new?
• Join an existing startup as a technical co-founder?
• Find a business owner with customers/sales but no strong technical person and become their technology partner?
• Or simply focus on a high-paying tech career and build something on the side?

Especially interested in hearing from people who have already built and failed at businesses.

What would you do differently if you were starting again?

I'm not looking for motivation or generic advice. I'd genuinely like to hear what experienced founders would do in this situation.