Business with Meaning

For humanity, what the Way is is one of the sacred and invariably eternal questions of philosophy. In Ancient China, for example, the Way was denoted by the hieroglyph Dao, where the left part means "to go forward" and the right part means "paramount". In other words, Dao (the way) is to follow the main road. Perhaps that's why in Dubai they say, "It doesn't matter where you came from; what matters is where you're going."

Entrepreneurs have always been ahead of their time; their innovative and unconventional solutions have been changing the world for centuries. Today, the main indicator of success is not so much about money as it is about the meaning that underpins the company. If it's packaging, it's made from recycled materials (sustainable); if it's a corporate training, it's created through gamification; if it's a start-up, it involves young talent, and so on. The last four months of working on this issue have gifted us the chance to get to know more than 500 entrepreneurs in the UAE. Talented and creative, energetic and enterprising — each one is unique, and what unites them is their passion for their work and the desire to make the world a better place. Not in the future, but in the present. Today and now.

Dubai is a place where the future has already arrived. A country where innovations and unconventional solutions are born. Farms with microgreens, plantations with the world's largest dates, fintech start-ups, analytical applications, work with artificial intelligence, and numerous other projects — these are the people who have forever inscribed their names in the history of the United Arab Emirates.

When we conceived this project, we understood that its main goal was to introduce the heroes and tell these stories to readers so that their path would become an example for many. However, perhaps, to become the best, you don't need advice, but the desire to change the world. Then the business's success and profit will follow.

We set out to create a unique, living encyclopaedia of Russian-speaking entrepreneurs from different fields who have launched businesses in the Emirates.

66 heroes — developers, restaurateurs, financiers, designers, lawyers, and others — became part of the project and joined our new club for entrepreneurs, "Business with Meaning".

Even before the release of the special issue, we began to introduce companies to each other. Now we are waiting for unexpected collaborations and interesting partnerships. New tandems in business are akin to new neural connections — you never know what uncharted Universe will suddenly open up.

As entrepreneurs, we learned many lessons during this experiment.

The ability to separate true values from false ones, as well as the importance of forming an ecosystem: holidays, networking, and joint projects. It's high time to accept the fact that the days of competition are over. To win, we need to unite. Businesses with meaning form a nurturing environment in which together we can do more, shine brighter, and be more productive. It became clear that you can and should conduct business like a reality TV show. The world has become open, and people want to watch a new exciting show called "Start a Business in Dubai".

The winners now are those who create their "blue ocean", develop their business model, and do what is important to them. Almost all our heroes began their story like this: "I wanted to create something better for myself, my family, my child, the city." Do what you know how to do and love what is important to you, and it will make the world a better place.

Why do top managers abandon their careers and high positions for the opportunity to start their own business? How much harder is it to be an entrepreneur, to take on an unbearable responsibility and often go all-in? Which path to choose? Which country? Which partner? You will find answers to these questions in this issue, but the main question that each of our heroes must answer is not "What are you launching?" and "Where are you doing it?", but "Why are you opening your own business? What imperfection of the world are you addressing with your new business idea?"

Smooth and convenient roads, of course, exist, but they are just utopias in the projects of armchair dreamers. Real roads are full of potholes and ruts, with the wreckage of "what we began to be and what we could have become". We are what we are. And if you don't stop, the road will become the Way, and the potholes and ruts will turn into experience. After all, it is the Way that makes a person significant and worthy.

And then: We never know how high we are
  Till we are called to rise;
And then, if we are true to plan,
  Our statures touch the skies.
(Emily Dickinson, "We never know how high we are")