< Previous30 CEO MIDDLE EAST JANUARY 2024 COVER STORY | SHAI ZAMANIAN Perhaps the inefficiency of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is fueled by the narrative surrounding immigrants. The adverse portrayal of immigrants is that they are a burden to the social, economic, and political characteristics of the country. We have seen this narrative circu- late globally. In the United Kingdom, the Conservative Party used Brexit under the pretext of promoting eco- nomic independence to restrict the number of immigrants. As an advocate of migrants, what are your thoughts on the illegal migrants and the refugee crisis in America today? It’s important to discuss the illegal migrants flowing into America. They are not the brazen type looking to hop over fences and transgress necessarily. There are tour groups set up in their home countries that play on their insecurity. These smugglers, operating under the guise of tour groups, set up buses and navigation routes and make promises of a soft landing in the US. Yet the illegal path to the US is arduous to say the least. Some are shoved off ships and told to swim to shore with infants in hand or dumped behind fortress walls of barbed wire and told to climb. Those that survive this turmoil must trek in groups to nearby towns to find meals they can- not afford and state officers that hurry them onto a bus to be better disposed of elsewhere. This is a difficult issue to deal with. Do you have solutions? It is important to seek professional help from those that are experienced in performing I-526 and other U.S. government forms from the region as every region has its own particular and nuanced differencesJANUARY 2024 CEO MIDDLE EAST 31 SHAI ZAMANIAN | COVER STORY We need to stop seeing them as our enemy and a plight to American society. America is not a socialist economy and does not provide gener- ous handouts and that’s a fact, and no, these migrants are not effectively taking meaningful jobs away from Americans. These migrants many times end up taking roles they know best – farming fields and tasks less preferable to the general American public. If you’ve tasted strawberries in the US and afforded them at lower costs, you could have tasted that luxury off the bruised backs of these migrant workers. Have you visited a strawberry field? For many, these fields are within a few hours drive, they are located in some of the most populated states. If you see the workers at a distance, you might not even recognise them. The job requires them to be hunched over for the duration of their eight hours on the job, if not more. These jobs simply won’t do for the vast majority of Americans that have had the privi- lege of being better educated. The solution lies with the US federal government. There needs to be more action taken at a federal level so that states most affected are not carrying the sole burden. USCIS is a federal agency that processes legal migration of all types. That agency’s funding to operate comes from fees they charge applicants seeking im- migration. There needs to be a better policy in place to educate migrant workers to not pay foreign smuggler groups that dump them into tragedy, but provide an effective and legal route to petition. Even with a higher fee to hire more personnel to process applications more quickly, it should be a priority. The money spent on smugglers and tour groups would be redirected to legal channels. Perhaps nothing more would alleviate the inflation and future stagnation than to bring in migrants legally that willingly take the tough jobs to keep America competitive. I’ll leave you with this. If you think for a moment these migrant popula- tions are prone to crime and poison American society, I urge you to get to know them. They sense they are outsiders and lack priority in society, they walk on eggshells not to be de- ported back. They pay their rents on time out of fear of being accosted by Americans that know the system far better than they do. Since Trump took office, the United States has processed migration petitions at a slower rate at its peril. The era of shutting out immigrants and pretending they are not us needs to stop. Did we all forget, we too and our ancestors came from distant lands in pursuit of that American dream? If you insist on building a wall, build one with an effective iron clad door that swiftly lets in those that legally migrate. The Amecian Legal Center has been the leading voice on EB-5 related matters “AMERICA IS NOT A SOCIALIST ECONOMY AND DOES NOT PROVIDE GENEROUS HANDOUTS AND THAT’S A FACT”32 CEO MIDDLE EAST JANUARY 2024 “THIS REGION WILL BECOME THE NEXT SILICON VALLEY. LET’S MAKE IT HAPPEN”JANUARY 2024 CEO MIDDLE EAST 33 hat is a legacy? Is it impor- tant to leave a legacy? For some, these are questions that are left too late to be answered, but for 27-year-old tech billionaire Shadman Sakib, these answers are intrinsically tied to his fundamental vision. “I already have plans for after I die ... I want to build products that last for generations,” the founder of short-form video platform Vurse tells CEO Middle East when we sit down. “Everything that I have, every- thing that I will ever accumulate, and everything that I’m working towards, all of this has to be for all of humanity in perpetuity,” he says. For Sakib, his “most important objective is to con- tribute to the advancement of human- ity. It sounds broad and utopian, but that’s what I’m always thinking about.” Our conversation turned to the melancholic subject of the lifespan of a human life when discussing the leg- acy that Sakib plans to leave behind, a subject that he feels very strongly about. “In the broader scope of the history of our universe, humanity is a mere miniscule. Yet, we have accom- plished a fair amount in our relatively BUILDING THE FUTURE MIGHT BE THE EXCITING JOB OF A BILLIONAIRE TECH FOUNDER, BUT WHAT YOU LEAVE BEHIND IS WHAT MATTERS MOST, SHADMAN SAKIB TELLS CEO MIDDLE EAST BY MATTHEW AMLÔT W LEGACY Tech experts. Sakib’s work-hard mentality is self-evident throughout Vurse’s skyscraper offices and its team SHADMAN SAKIB NOTE: THIS ARTICLE WAS FIRST PUBLISHED ON CEO MIDDLE EAST IN MARCH 202334 CEO MIDDLE EAST JANUARY 2024 Recognition. Sakib received the Young Achiever of the Year award during the CEO Middle East Awards in December of last year $81.5BN The value of the global Web3.0 market in 2030, according to a report from Emergen Research SHADMAN SAKIB short history. To keep that legacy alive is what keeps me going. If there’s no advancement of humanity’s legacy, there’s no point in me spending days and nights building,” he comments. To have such an all-encompassing, uncompromising focus on legacy is somewhat striking in such a young, albeit very successful, entrepreneur. Put simply, for Sakib: “What’s the point of being given this blessing of a human life if you’re not willing to contribute to the legacy of humanity as a whole? Every- thing that I build is for our legacy.” Vision It starts with a vision. Startups are easy to come by in the UAE. Indeed, the small business sector dominates the country’s non-oil economy, and represents that majority of the job market. However, finding success in the hyper competitive startup world is no easy feat, with the road paved with challenges. Sakib puts his own success down to building and manag- ing a team of like-minded individuals through a “rock-solid vision,” a belief system which brings him personal happiness too. “I have been a man without mon- ey, and I have been a man with money. When I was with money, I was happy, and when I was without money, I was still happy. The only reason for that is because I’m not driven by money, I’m driven by passion, vision and happi- ness. When I’m chasing my passion and vision with reckless abandon, I’m at my happiest, both mentally and physically. And money is a by-product of working hard towards your vision.” On the subject of money – Sakib disagrees with the age-old adage that money doesn’t bring happiness, noting it as “absolutely not true,” but brings his own caveat. “It depends on the person. For some, a million dollars makes them happy, while for others just $100 makes them happy. The reason a small farmer in Bangladesh could still be happy earning relatively less money is because he/she knows that they’re adding value to the lives of many people around the world. And that’s what’s most important. Every single human being working towards creating value in their own small or big ways.” he adds. This belief is something that Sakib has brought through into Vurse, a self-described “hyper-interactive” short-video platform. “With Vurse we have our own Crea- tor Programme, backed by the latest Web 3 Technologies such as Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence where we try to help content creators and our users with their livelihood as much as we can. We make sure that the platform will reward creators and reward regular users for spending time in the app,” Sakib explains. “We want to make sure that spending time in the app will contribute to the financial happiness of the users and content creators.” Given the nature of the plat- form, with its roots firmly set in the futuristic world of Web3.0 technology, it’s perhaps no surprise that Sakib chose Dubai to set up shop. The city has announced big plans to become the global hub for metaverse, block- chain, and other Web3.0 technologies, revealing its goal to add $4bn to its economy via a “metaverse strategy.” The decision to open his company in Dubai was one that came to the tech JANUARY 2024 CEO MIDDLE EAST 35 Content creation. Vurse believes in the vision of nurturing the world’s most extraordinary talents and making their content accessible anytime, anywhere entrepreneur “quite easily.” “Dubai will become the next Silicon Valley, and the reason is that the quality of living here is so much higher. “If you compare the lifestyle, entertainment, security, and, most importantly, the quality of people that are moving here, it’s highly moti- vating.” In particular, Sakib highlights his quest to solve the talent equation as an important facet in the decision to be based in Dubai. “If I want to build a team and bring them to any country in, say for instance, Europe, it’s very dif- ficult. First of all, here [in Dubai] the regulations from the authorities help, but to bring foreign talent in is a lot easier than in Europe or the United States,” he says, before noting that the quality of talent available in Dubai is “top-tier.” “You have the best and the brightest coming here. People who understand technology and people with imagination and ambition. This satisfaction can only come from peo- ple who work in a city that “provides them with the environment to enjoy their life,” he says. The security of Dubai is like “no other city on earth,” Sakib adds, before applauding the emirate’s leadership as “phenom- enal,” noting the leaders deserve a large amount of credit. “The culture key. While it may be a fantastic city for attracting and retaining talent, the key remains in successfully building and manag- ing a team of highly skilled and driven people. Sakib is no slouch in this department, stating that he’s “often in the trenches with the team.” “Managing people becomes difficult if you’re a difficult founder, and I don’t think I’m a difficult founder...Even if the team is working 20 hours a day, I’m right there with them. I’m their friend.” In the discussion of manage- ment and culture, the topic of vision returns. “As founders, our most company, they do it for the team, and, most importantly, they do it for the vision,” he says. Sakib’s work-hard mentality is self-evident throughout Vurse’s sparse skyscraper offices. As previously mentioned, the founder puts a lot of emphasis on happiness, and he states candidly, “my happiness is to see other people happy.” Sakib adds: “If I see my team members are happy, or the prod- ucts VURSE is building makes my users happy, that makes me happy. That makes me successful,” he says. Simultaneously, if the entire company is aligned to one vision, then it’s able to move forward despite any road- blocks. And you can only reach there by continuously focussing on building, making mistakes, and reinventing,” “A LOT OF PEOPLE SEE SHORTER ATTENTION SPANS AS A CURSE, BUT FOR ME I SEE IT AS A BLESSING” SHADMAN SAKIB important job is to align everyone in the company with a vision. If every- one buys into the vision, it encour- ages them to work hard, and to build something long-lasting. They don’t do anything for me, they do it for the 36 CEO MIDDLE EAST JANUARY 2024 SHADMAN SAKIB Sakib says. “Move fast, make mis- takes, and reinvent”. Sakib, thinks this expression should be applied more broadly. “We should be encouraging our society to make more mistakes, and not be afraid of making mistakes. But at the same time we have to ensure we’re working hard towards learning from these mistakes and putting our best foot forward through experien- tial learning,” he says. The culture of making mistakes, learning and reinventing has bled into the way in which Vurse has de- signed its short-form video app. Vurse With Vurse, Sakib is determined to improve the social media land- scape for both content creators as well as users. “Social Media is at the epicentre of human interaction today. We have seen the impact it has had on people from all walks of life. However, there is still a lot of room for improvement. The Crea- tor Economy has taken the world by storm, giving birth to a whole new paradigm of wealth generation, but the little guy is still left far behind. The centralized nature of social media platforms favors the bigger creators, but we want to make sure we create an inclusive environment where everyone gets a level playing field.” Sakib notes. Another key aspect of Sakib’s vision behind Vurse is a highly user- centric approach. “The amount of time an average person spends on social media to- day is extremely high. This is a fact that we must come to terms with and its addictive nature implies that this is not going to go down anytime soon. Therefore, my team and I at Vurse, believe that we must reinvent what it means to be a user on social media. Through gamifica- tion of user activity, coupled with the latest cryptocurrency tech- for users, as fans, to get something in return for their loyalty as well as giving them great insight into what it takes to be a successful content crea- tor and build a living out of it, if they aspire to do so.” As the interview finishes up, Sakib turns to walk us back through Vurse’s office, wherein we find the ma- jority of the team huddled at one end working on an undisclosed new feature. On the wall are large, vivid signs, perhaps each an expression of the firm’s “rock solid vision,” includ- ing phrases designed to, as Sakib explains, “evoke brilliance.” When asked though why he works in “the trenches” and endures the 20+ hours a day of work though, he had a simple answer, with the subject of legacy never far from his mind: “I want to be remembered for some- thing that really made a difference.” “ I WANT TO BE REMEMBERED FOR SOMETHING THAT REALLY MADE A DIFFERENCE ” Empowering creativity. Sakib says Vurse rewards creators and regular users for spending time in the app nologies, we are able to create a new ecosystem of solutions where users can generate passive income from the time spent on social media. “Along with this we are also work- ing on narrowing the gap between users and content creators. Through some very interesting features in our app, we are able to connect these two stakeholders like never before. This gives users much deeper relationships with their favorite creators and allows 42KM MARATHON • 10KM ROAD RACE • 4KM FUN RUN Sunday 7th January Register now at dubaimarathon.org Run for the chance to win an EXEED RX *T&Cs Apply38CEO MIDDLE EAST JANUARY 2024 Eywa is a boutique building with 48 exclusive residences and two penthouse apartments strategically placed over 19 stories REAL ESTATEREAL ESTATE JANUARY 2024CEOMIDDLE EAST39 that combines science, art, astrono- my, and astrology to enhance wealth, health, prosperity, and happiness. The building will feature 1,450 spe- cially selected crystals, gemstones, and geodes fixed into its structure, making it a unique “well-being generator.” This approach aims to purify and eliminate negative energy while promoting positive energy throughout each floor, Alex Zagrebelny, chairman and CEO of R.evolution tells Arabian Business, adding that the well-being effects are expected to include re- duced conflict, improved concentra- tion, and enhanced mental and physi- cal health, especially in children. Inspired by the Banyan tree and China’s Southern Pillar of Heaven, a quartz sandstone mountain, Eywa’s architecture is a stunning blend of organic elements. Aside from circular open col- umns, interlacing roots, and an organic weave of branches in the building, Eywa’s façade will also use various plants to enhance sustain- able living for all. Moreover, according to Zagrebel- ny, Eywa goes beyond its architectural marvels to provide residents with a comprehensive range of state-of-the- art facilities. These include an elite spa, open- air and indoor cinema, library, three ywa is located along the Dubai Water Canal and of- fers exclusive two- to five- bedroom residences with views of the Dubai Canal, Downtown Dubai, and the iconic Burj Khalifa. Eywa, devel- oped by global award-winning luxury real estate developer R.evolution, will soon make its debut in Dubai. With its design and focus on well-being, this revolutionary next- generation residential building aims to redefine urban living in the city. The project will be led by concept and design architect Open AD, the executive architect Brewer Smith Brewer Group (BSBG), and Christie’s International Real Estate Dubai as the exclusive real estate broker. This boutique building includes 46 apartments and two penthouses across 19 floors, carefully crafted to promote a sense of harmony and community well-being. The residences also include spacious living areas, family rooms, front-of-house kitchens, service kitchens, walk-through wardrobes, and exquisite en-suite bathrooms. Dubai’s Eywa: Unique Well-being Oasis Eywa is also an extremely unique pro- ject as it incorporates the principles of Vastu Shastra, a holistic concept E SUSTAINABILITY AT THE CORE Eywa by R.evolution is due for completion in Q1 2026 BY AB TRAVELLER STAFFNext >