< Previous70 Vol. 23/04, April 2022 The business of beauty keywords related to cosmetic treatments per month, in the Middle East. “This shows that people want to learn but, to do so, they would typically need to open multiple websites and figure out which of them is a credible source,” says Tamer Wali, founder of selfologi, an e-commerce WHILE $2.2BN WORTHOF cosmetics treatments are conducted annually in the region, the industry remains relatively untapped with 70 percent of the population having never had any form of cosmetic skin treatments. This is despite the fact that there are 1 million Google searches using marketplace to compare clinics and practitioners and make bookings. “They end up calling a friend for recommendations which may not be the best course of action as criteria on what constitutes a good treatment differs between individuals and some practitioners are specialised in a certain treatment or area so may not be the right fit for another,” he continues. It is within this context that Wali first thought of launching selfologi last September starting with a comprehensive content base written by experts exclusively for the platform. Last June, selfologi raised $17.5m in seed funding raised by Wali himself and Xenel International Group, a conglomerate headquartered in Saudi Arabia, the amount required to “deliver the experience and end-product that we had in mind,” says Wali. In a wide reaching interview with Arabian Business, Wali details the progress selfologi’s expansion plans and business model while also giving advice to entrepreneurs like himself, embarking on their startup journey after a few decades of industry experience. What is the idea behind selfologi? The whole premise of selfologi is to be a destination for people to come and learn, discover and book cosmetic treatments and medical skincare. The community, or content section, is meant to provide information and in-depth knowledge on all sorts of skin and cosmetic treatments where people can learn about the new technologies coming up, as well as discover new options and possibilities to make an informed decision on what suits them best. Once they have that, we support them in finding the right practitioner and clinic that suits their individual criteria. After that, we facilitate knowing the booking of the treatment online, showing availability and cost. How did the idea for selfologi come about? I was talking to a young lady about non-surgical facelift options and she was surprised that we could do that – this is when I thought of launching selfologi. Despite all the cosmetic clinics we see Tamer Wali Arabian Business shines a light on the all-important SME sector in the region, from success stories and VC news to expert insights Selfologi is digitalising and standardising an industry that is not accustomed to transparency, says founder Tamer Wali BY NABILA RAHALarabianbusiness.com 71 in the city, there are still a lot of things that people don’t know. Close to 75 percent of those in the region have not done a skin treatment and that is sad, to me, because it is amazing what you can do to your skin these days – non-intrusively – to keep it rejuvenated and delay the signs of aging without any risk, if done by the right practitioner. How many practitioners and types of service do you offer on selfologi? We’ve had a hundred clinics join the platform and are on boarding their information on a daily basis. In terms of treatment, we cover everything and have 10,000 line item treatments available. We are standardising the industry which is something of a novelty. Being an e-commerce platform, we service consumers who are accustomed to transparency [around the products or services they’re purchasing] but the cosmetics industry is not used to providing minute details about all services. When ordering a Botox treatment on selfologi, for example, the consumer is asked which area [of their face] they want to apply the treatment on as each one has a different as does selecting multiple areas. All this has been done within a span of less than a year and a half. What we are most proud of is the content we have created because it is original and comprehensive without the medical jargon that no one understands. It is written by experts exclusively for us and meant to illuminate the writing style of luxury lifestyle magazines. What criteria should practitioners have before you on-board them to the platform? Selfologi aims to be a trusted source of information not only of treatments but also of practitioners. As such, we will only have clinics and practitioners that are certified by the local health authorities. To give comfort to the consumer, licence numbers are prominently displayed on the listings. The consumer will also be able to see the number of years the practitioner has q WE TOOK OUR TIME TO DELIVER A COMPLETE PLATFORM, A LUXURY LIFESTYLE BRAND” q SELFOLOGI AIMS TO BE A TRUSTED SOURCE OF INFORMATION NOT ONLY OF TREATMENTS BUT ALSO OF PRACTITIONERS” $1.9bn The value of the Middle East skin care products market by 2027, according to projections by Allied Market Research u Selfologi believes in the highest standards of transparency and authority been operating and we will soon have peer ratings and reviews displayed too. These will be more intensive than your usual star system as we will be asking consumers to rate the clinic, practitioner and treatment separately. We’ve done it this way because we would like to participate in setting new standards of client-service performance levels. What are your expansion plans? We launched in the UAE in March and are already onboarding clinics in Saudi Arabia. It will be our next market to be launched in the coming few months with an important number of clinics. From there, we will see. All the content that we have is in Arabic and English and our market is the Arab world at this stage. Once we prove that this concept works, and that the purchasing-will for people to buy cosmetic treatments online is there, our model is applicable everywhere in the world. Finding a platform where you can get all the information you need about cosmetic treatments from one source is very difficult, even more so to find that in an engaging manner so we are addressing a universal market need. What is your business model? For the consumer, the whole process is free of charge. For the clinics, we take a commission on treatments booked through our platform. Sometimes, it is just a consultation that is sold but clients have the option to book the treatment itself online. In this way, they can share their experience to benefit the rest of the community. What advice would you give to entrepreneurs such as yourself who have years of experience in an industry and decide to launch their own business? I’ve been in the business for 34 years [before starting my own business] so it’s different launching a startup at that age. The advice I would give to similar businessmen is to do it in the way you think is correct and not how the startup industry is built to look at startups. My experience is that the startup ecosystem is used to doing things in a certain way, with all the funding rounds and pre-determined steps, which is excellent for some business but does not work for a booking platform like mine. We took our time to deliver a complete platform, a luxury lifestyle brand which happens to be in cosmetics. Liquid assets 72 Vol. 23/04, April 2022 A second later, framed by the burnt orange sand of its desert, this brilliant white Oryx moves on, for it I’m already a fleeting image, forgotten in an instant, for me the reverse is true. Rousing from sleep I’d been unsure what I was seeing in the cold desert morning, but as waking brought focus there it was, this totem regard- ing me from the dunes which sweep into the distance from my villa. As I stare, it is joined by its mate and the pair slip away HOTEL REVIEW The spellbinding magic of the desert The fi ve-star Ritz-Carlton Ras Al Khaimah, Al Wadi Desert is nestled in a protected 1,235-acre nature reserve with 100 private villas, all which come with private pools BY SCOTT ARMSTRONG unhurried, back across the sands of their home. Mist rises from the villa’s pool, its heated water dancing with the early chilled air to cast an ethereal spell over the scene which seems to last an eternity, the time between OR A MOMENT, JUST a moment, our eyes seem to lock on to each other in the stillness, a frozen second in which this majestic creature regards me with mild curiosity while I am trapped spellbound. u The stunning beauty of the landscape and the fantastic facilities are sure to captivate guests at the Ritz-Carlton Ras Al Khaimah, Al Wadi Desert FArabianBusiness.com 73 100 The number of Bedouin-style villas with private pools and decks at the Ritz-Carlton Ras Al Khaimah, Al Wadi Desert / HOTEL REVIEW u Luxury in the UAE knows no bounds, and the villa suites at this Ras Al Khaimah resort are no exception heartbeats measured in years not milliseconds. This waking dream continues as I step slowly, deliberately, into the warm waters of the pool. Finally submersed and immersed I gaze out at the desert, this ocean on land, and let any notion of time slip away. The spell is finally broken by a peel of laughter from my daughter as she barrels into the pool, sending the light dancing across the now animated surface. As her beaming face swims closer to me I breathe in the morning air knowing I’m taking down more than simple oxygen, I breathe in peace, I breathe in silence, I breathe in the magic of this place. The allure of the desert This oasis of calm can be found a little more than an hour’s drive from the bustling metropolis of Dubai, with the road to Ras Al Khaimah prov- ing to be less a highway and more a portal to an alternative dimension, one where time beats to a slower metronome. The Ritz-Carlton Ras Al Khaimah, Al Wadi Desert five-star retreat is nestled in a protected 1,235-acre nature reserve with around 100 private villas all which come with private pools. This sprawling resort amid the dunes is navigated by bicycle, foot or buggy as camels, gazelles, goats and oryx stroll past, largely uncon- cerned by the guests who stop to take pictures. Indeed, wildlife abounds in this haven, with owls and falcons, ponies and horses all found within the dune complex. The villas themselves are impressively appointed, especially our Al Khaimas tented villa, with the billow- ing canopy ceiling creating the illusion you are indeed in the accommodation of an Arabian prince. It’s all luxuri- ously done and designed that so wherever you’re at you are gazing out into the desert. The villa is configured with two wings, one the bedroom accommodation, the other a sprawling bathroom with a freestanding bath. Your giant bed, all crisp white, stares directly out at your infinity pool that in turn looks at the dunes. That pool and the view become the centre point of your world during the stay, becoming your morning ritual, your lunchtime spot and your evening swim under the stars before retiring for the night. Indeed, there are few places where you could literally check-in and never explore any further than your accommodation, but you should because there is so much more to experience. After acclimatizing, (ie) slowing down, we took to the bikes (one of my daughter’s favourite activities) to discover what else this fabulous retreat had in store. Our first evening meal was taken in one of the resort’s three restaurants, the Moroccan Moorish, appropri- ately named as the food was certainly moreish. We put our faith in the capable Adnan and the chef Hassan and were rewarded with sumptu- ous fare, including grilled prawns and smoked cheese croquettes to start, followed by two melt in the mouth tagines, especially the grilled lamb barkook which dripped off the bone. That night we digested both the food and knowledge under the heavenly bodies on a stargazing experience with resident expert Gabriel. He guided us through the constellations and brought (more) wonder to my little girl’s world with tales of Cassi- opeia and Polaris and Sirius. But if the night belonged to the stars, the morning was owned by just one star, that being Harry the owl who greeted guests sitting down to a fine international breakfast at Kaheela, the resort’s all-day dining option. Unforgettable experience It’s been said that the desert is the place to lose yourself or find yourself and for parents the Al Wadi offers a little of both. Its excellent kids club provided a safe and happy place for our girl to play (and she still talks about Favour who played with her) while we slipped off to the Rainforest. This incredible spa complex literally tries to bring the rainforest to the sands, with all kinds of steamrooms and saunas, aqua jets and pools. In one room you are scrubbing salt onto your skin, in another – the igloo – snow, yes snow. It’s invigorating, surprising and utterly relaxing. From steam it is a short cycle to smoke, with the elegant yet relaxed Farmhouse Restaurant which features food from its own smoke- house. This idyllic spot gazes across a lake and bulrushes and is the perfect place to watch the sun go down while sipping something chilled (and actually reasonably priced). I had to start with the charred octopus with beef chorizo and hummus, followed up with the 12-hour oak wood smoked black angus short ribs, the memory of which causes me to salivate on simply writing. It’s all so well done, from the sophistication of the accommodation, the stunning beauty of the landscape and the fantastic facilities but it is the warm charm of the team behind the scenes which truly makes you appreciate the magic of this place. This is a place where the words of T.E. Lawrence swim to the mind: “Dream your dreams with open eyes and make them come true.” Ritz-Carlton Ras Al Khaimah, Al Wadi Desert Address: Al Mazraa, Wadi Khadija, RAK Telephone: +971 72067777 Email: reservation.RAKdesert@ ritzcarlton.com74 Vol. 23/04, April 2022 How women can balance family and professional lives Cathy Mauzaize, Vice President, EMEA South, ServiceNow, shares her experience navigating her professional life with raising her children Cycles of life Support matters Ideal company Keep the faith Planning counts When returning to work after having children, ask for fl exibility not part-time opportunities. With the latter you might miss out on promotion and salary increases, as you’ll be viewed as not being able to keep up with the needs of the business. Companies will look to full-time employees for projects that part-time workers cannot. When children fall ill, you might need to pass on certain opportunities at work, family will always come fi rst, but as kids get older, making time for your career becomes easier. The key point to remember is that career growth need not be linear and may instead happen in fi ts and starts. Having the right partner is critical. It is close to impossible for both partners to look to advance their career at the same time, especially when they have children, but, at the same time, the woman should not always be the one making sacrifi ces. Here again, appreciating cycles is very important. The right employer will be an integral part of your ideal journey. When hunting for this model employer, compare diversity records. How many women are in leadership roles in your prospective employer? How are parents supported and what is the policy on paternity leave? An equality attitude toward parenting bodes well for women. More and more industries are realising the value of having a diverse and inclusive workforce and are actively seeking that out. Competitiveness requires innovation, which requires diversity and inclusion. Corporate survival is at stake, so I believe we, the region’s professional women, will have a lot to celebrate going forward.ArabianBusinessEnglishAprilissue200X265indd22022/03/2310:35:28Next >