A random LinkedIn message to someone I’d never met ended up changing my life. That person is now my co-founder.

Together, we’ve built a profitable business, expanded to clients across five countries (including the UAE), and were recently featured in the news.
We’re now exploring our next venture with a strong focus on the UAE.

If you’re someone who’s serious about building—not just brainstorming—and you’re looking for a co-founder or collaborator, I’d love to connect. Whether you already have an idea or are exploring opportunities, I’m always happy to exchange thoughts and see if there’s genuine alignment.
We’re based in India but have been working with international clients for several years, so geography isn’t a limitation if the vision is compelling. We are open to relocate to UAE as well

If this resonates with you, feel free to send me a DM. You never know where one conversation might lead.

Hi everyone,

I'm the founder of Neighbr platform, a UAE marketplace where people can rent items instead of buying them.

We're live, with users and listing, and we got picked up by some pretty awesome publications (super grateful for it all)! many thanks Nicola over at https://www.reddit.com/user/BudgiePR/ But I'm also focusing on the hard part: getting more people to actually know we exist.

I'd love some honest advice from founders who have grown products in the UAE.

If you were in my shoes, where would you spend your time over the next few months?

A few ideas I'm already exploring:

• Partnerships
• Collabs
• Local creators maybe?

I'm also curious if there are collaboration opportunities I haven't considered. If you've built something in the UAE, what channels ended up working far better than you expected?

Appreciate any feedback. Thanks!

I’ve been going through annual reports and investor presentations of several DFM companies over the last few weeks, and one thing keeps bothering me.

It feels like many retail investors here don’t actually buy businesses—they buy familiarity.

The conversation almost always comes back to the same names:
- Emaar
- Emirates NBD
- Salik
- DEWA

Don’t get me wrong. These are quality businesses. I own some of them myself.

But here’s what I struggle with.

If everyone already knows they’re great companies, isn’t a lot of that quality already reflected in the price?

At the same time, I see companies like Lulu Retail, Aramex, Watania, and a few smaller names posting improving earnings or trading at much lower valuations, yet they receive almost no attention.

Maybe the market is right and these deserve to trade cheaply.
Or maybe retail investors (myself included) naturally gravitate toward companies that feel “safe” because they’re household names.

I also wonder whether we focus too much on dividend yield.
For example:
Company A pays an 8% dividend but grows earnings slowly.
Company B pays almost no dividend but compounds earnings at 15–20% annually.

Ten years later, which investor actually ends up wealthier?

Another thing I’ve noticed is that DFM discussions rarely revolve around valuation.
People ask:
“Is Emaar a good company?”
Almost nobody asks:
“Is Emaar a good company at today’s valuation?”

Those are two completely different questions.

The same applies to real estate.
Many investors are comfortable putting AED 2 million into a single apartment but hesitate to invest AED 200,000 into a diversified portfolio of listed companies.

Is that because property genuinely offers a better risk-adjusted return, or because we can physically see it?

I’m not trying to argue that everyone should chase turnaround stocks or ignore blue chips.

I’m genuinely wondering whether the average UAE retail portfolio is built around minimizing anxiety rather than maximizing long-term returns.

Curious how others here think about this.

Do you mostly buy market leaders regardless of valuation?
Do you actively look for mispriced companies?
What percentage of your portfolio is in “boring compounders” versus contrarian bets?
Interested to hear from people who’ve invested through multiple market cycles, not just the last couple of years.

View Poll

Looking for a launch operator in Dubai (funded project, not a job ad — a partner search)

I'm funding and building the tech for a consumer marketplace launching in Dubai. I need someone on the ground to run the launch: hiring a small team (~6 people), managing daily field operations, and hitting clear supply targets in the first 90 days.

You'd start on salary with a clear scorecard. If you're exceptional, there's a genuine path to equity and a cofounder seat — I'm looking for a long-term partner, not just a manager.

Ideal person: has operated in UAE real estate, classifieds, or marketplaces; comfortable being hands-on (calls, field visits, hiring); ownership mentality.

Not revealing the concept publicly — happy to share details with serious people. DM me with a couple of lines on what you've run before.

I’m a fashion designer in the uae and the job market is disheartening. I understand due to the current state of the world and economy, many companies are suffering but being paid peanuts is something I have faced for a long time.

I’ve always wanted to start a clothing business, nothing big at first, home business for now. I understand uae is over saturated with clothing businesses but my vision is on the niche side. What advice would you give a person in their 20’s taking the risk.

As well as, some advice on how to go about the licensing would be greatly appreciated!

​I am looking for a professional production team or agency in the UAE for a long-term content retainer. I have the scripts ready to go; I need you to handle the logistics.

​The Requirements:

​Volume: 20 Instagram Reels per month.

​Logistics: Must provide a modern, professional "office" location (my current office is unsuitable).

​Personnel: Must provide the on-camera model/presenter.

​Workflow: Must be experienced in batching (all 20 reels filmed in a maximum of 2 shoot days per month).

​To save both our time, please DM me with the following:

​Portfolio: A link to 3+ examples of similar high-quality, corporate/office-style Reels you have produced.

​Pricing: Your monthly retainer rate for:

​Tier A (Shoot Only): You provide location, crew, and talent; I receive raw footage.

​Tier B (Full Service): You provide location, crew, talent, and professional editing/subtitling/finishing.

​Logistics: Confirm if your pricing includes location rental and talent fees, or if those are billed as extra pass-through costs.

​If you cannot handle this volume via a 1–2 day monthly batch-shoot, please do not reach out. I am looking for a partner who can scale with me.

Whether it’s a business you like for how well they’re run, for their quality, for any unique things about them specifically..

I’ll list some of the ones I really admire

- Katrina: affordable and actually good quality. Majority of businesses either offer great quality at premium prices or meh/ok quality at normal prices.. you don’t get too many fair price AND good quality product or service businesses here but feel free to prove me wrong

- maisan15: still criminally underrated, I’m surprised we don’t have more tropical vibe cafes like cafes where it feels like ur outside but have cool weather (if you’ve ever sat outside there you’ll know what I mean).. also I spoke to the owner a few times they’re really friendly and pour their heart into it

- Frio: while I don’t like their pricing I like how they’re extremely consistent and I’ve been a regular buyer for quite some time.. this one is so much cleaner than Coke and it’s 100% local which is cool

I’ll edit if I can think of more as they come to me, do yall have a fav business here?

I am new into the real estate industry and work with a company with a good name but very bad flexibility as the cut i get is only 50% on each deal after getting my own leads and that too the payout is in cycles. I am considering to switch to a company on the side who can provide me off plan leads and a good cut for my deals. Please suggest some good real estate agencies and if there are any off plan lead companies with trustable results, i am happy to go with it too.
Thank you

For 4 years, I was a tour guide in Dubai. Desert safaris, city tours, dhow cruises. I was the guy in the van at 7am, the guy travellers tipped, the guy operators called when things went wrong. I saw how this industry actually works from the ground. And honestly? It's broken. The operator loses 30-50% to concierges and middlemen. The traveller pays more and gets less. Everything runs on WhatsApp, cash, and handshakes. In a $330 billion industry across the Middle East and Asia, 70% is still offline. So I'm building the thing I wish existed when I was guiding.

Where I Actually Am (No Fluff):

· UK company registered. Stripe and bank account live.

· Website under development. App planned for later.

· 4 years guiding in Dubai. I know the operators, DMCs, concierge networks, and seasonal rhythms personally.

· Conversations with operators in UAE and China. Interest is real. Nothing signed yet.

· Pre-revenue. Pre-launch.

The Ask (Planning):

· $400K pre-seed for 10% equity (SAFE, $4M cap).

My Real Questions to You:

1. Would you back a former guide who knows the problem from the inside, even without traction yet?
2. What would you need to see from someone like me to write a cheque?
3. Is a $4M cap reasonable, or am I too early for that?

Not last month. Not what your accountant told you 6 weeks ago. Right now, today, do you know your cash position? Offhand atleast?

I realized I didn't. And I'd been running my business for over a year. I was completely dependent on my accountant to tell me how things were going, and by the time I got that information it was already outdated.

The shift for me was treating my finances as something I should be able to check like a dashboard, not something I hand off and wait on.

Curious how other business owners handle this. Do you have real-time visibility into your numbers or are you also flying a bit blind?

Anyone with an established company in dubai freezone please message me, very urgently need help!

I am running an Amazon seller central agency called Zamms. (Www.zamms.info)

We help in all verticals that will increase your sales on Amazon.

1. Automation
2. PPC ( ads spend on Amazon )
3. Creatives
4. Accounting services
5. Influencer marketing

We do a free audit for all brands ( top brands or new brands doesn’t matter for us ) and we work on a commission based setup. We make money when you make money. Base one time fee just for setup costs is what we charge.

I am in Dubai free to connect and audit anytime. Thanks 😊

I’m looking for a technical co-founder to build something real with me in B2B SaaS.

About me: I come from a delivery, consulting, and enterprise transformation background, with deep experience in B2B transformation across procurement, supply chain, and operations. I’ve worked with Big 4 consulting firms and Fortune 500 companies on large-scale transformation programs.

I know how these businesses actually operate, where manual breakdowns happen, and what buyers are willing to pay to fix.

I’m currently shaping a product around a real operating problem I’ve seen firsthand in B2B operations.

What I’m looking for: A technical co-founder who can design, build, and iterate an MVP. Ideally, someone comfortable with SaaS architecture, automation, integrations, and AI-enabled workflows.

This is for someone who wants ownership and equity, not a contract gig.

I’m particularly interested in connecting with India-based or Middle East-based technical founders and builders with a long-term startup mindset.

If you are technical, founder-minded, and want to build something meaningful in B2B SaaS, I’d love to connect.

DM me with:

1. Your technical expertise and base location

2. Products or projects you’ve built

3. Your vision for building a startup

Looking for genuine advice from anyone who’s navigated this, ideally other SME owners in logistics/delivery, HR consultants, or PROs who deal with MOHRE daily.

The situation:
I run a last-mile delivery company in Dubai — we’ve been operational for 12 years. Cash flow has been tight the last couple of years, and Emiratisation has turned into the thing that’s actually breaking us, not the macro stuff everyone talks about.

Here’s where it gets frustrating. The Emiratisation quota is supposed to be calculated on skilled employees only (Levels 1–5 in the MOHRE classification, requiring post-secondary education). Our workforce is ~98% riders. Riders fall under unskilled / at best semi-skilled categories — they’re not Level 1–5 skilled workers by MOHRE’s own definition. We have maybe 1–2 actual skilled employees (office/admin/management).

But when we log in, the system shows our “Emiratisation percentage” sitting at around 82%, and still tells us we need 4 Emiratis on payroll to comply. The math doesn’t reconcile with how the policy is written publicly — the quota is supposed to be 1 Emirati per 50 skilled workers, scaling to 10% by end of 2026. With 1–2 skilled staff, we shouldn’t need anywhere close to 4.

When we tried to raise this earlier, there was no clear escalation path for “the classification of our workforce is wrong.” We ended up paying AED 96,000 in fines just to keep operating. Now with the half-yearly 1% increments (next deadline June 30, 2026) and the AED 6,000/month per missing Emirati climbing to AED 9,000 by year-end, plus the new AED 6,000 Emirati minimum wage kicking in Jan 2026 — we’re bleeding just to maintain the headcount we already have, and the target keeps moving up.

What I’m trying to figure out:
1. Has anyone successfully challenged the skill-level classification of their workforce with MOHRE? If our riders are being incorrectly counted as skilled in the system, that’s the root cause and there should be a way to fix it. Tickets through the regular channel went nowhere last time. Is there a specific department, a Tas-heel route, or a written request format that actually gets reviewed?
2. The new MOHRE grievance committee (formed 2023, appeal window 30 days) — has anyone used it for an Emiratisation classification dispute specifically, or is it really only for individual labour disputes?
3. Are there honest, competent Emiratisation/HR consultants in Dubai who’ve actually moved the needle for delivery / logistics / blue-collar-heavy SMEs? Not the ones who just sell you Nafis CV shortlists. I’m looking for someone who understands the classification and reclassification side. Names via DM appreciated.
4. Has anyone in logistics/delivery successfully restructured — e.g., moving riders to a manpower supply company or service-agreement model so they’re not on our visa quota — without it being flagged as fictitious Emiratisation or running afoul of the new AI monitoring?
5. Any sector-level lobbying or industry body for last-mile / logistics SMEs that’s actually raising this with MOHRE? The policy makes sense for white-collar industries. For a sector that is structurally 95%+ unskilled labour, the current calculation feels like it wasn’t designed with us in mind.

I’m not looking to dodge the rules. I’m trying to understand whether the rules are being applied to us correctly, and what the legitimate route is when you believe they aren’t.

Any pointers genuinely appreciated.

Setting up a Freezone company (SHAMS or SPC). My model is simple, a UAE manufacturer produces and stores my product, logistics company delivers it, I just sell and invoice. No physical mainland presence whatsoever.

Can I legally invoice clients in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, all emirates directly from my Freezone license? Or do I still need a dual license / mainland permit?

Hi! I'm planning to start a 9K gold jewellery brand—something I've wanted to build for quite some time.

I'm currently looking for a business partner who can provide the initial investment, while I'll take full responsibility for the operations, sourcing, branding, marketing, sales, and day-to-day management.

I'm proposing a 50/50 partnership where we both have equal ownership and work toward building a long-term, scalable brand together.

If this sounds interesting, I'd love to discuss the business model, investment required, projected margins, and growth plan in more detail.