Meet the Minds Behind The Top 1%

Simon Squibb is an entrepreneur and investor focused on helping people build meaningful businesses. He’s best known for founding HelpBnk and for his Sunday Times bestselling book What’s Your Dream?, which encourages people to start before they feel ready.

He’s not your typical entrepreneur.

At 15, his father died and he found himself homeless. To survive, that’s when he started his first company — a gardening business.

That experience woke up what Simon calls his “entrepreneurial muscle”, and he’s been building and investing in companies ever since.

30 years later, he’s started over 19 different companies and invested in 80+ startups.

His last business was an agency in Hong Kong called Fluid, which he successfully sold to PwC for more money than he’ll ever need.

Now he’s on a mission to help 10 million people kickstart their businesses and follow their dreams.

Over the last couple of years, Simon has amassed 20+ million followers on social media through his #GiveWithoutTake movement and inspirational street interviews.

Simon has also been featured in dozens of publications including the BBC, The Sunday Times, Entrepreneur, TechRadar and many more.

Tim Draper founded Draper Associates, DFJ and the Draper Venture Network, a global network of venture capital funds. Funded Coinbase, Baidu, Tesla, Skype, SpaceX, Twitch, Hotmail, Focus Media, Robinhood, Athenahealth, Box, Cruise Automation, Carta, Planet, PTC and 15 other unicorns from early/first rounds.

He is a supporter and global thought leader for entrepreneurs everywhere, and is a leading spokesperson for Bitcoin and decentralization, having won the Bitcoin US Marshall’s auction in 2014, invested in over 50 crypto companies, and led investments in Coinbase, Ledger, Tezos, and Bancor, among others.

An Investment Banker with over a decade of experience in startup advisory, Sarthak is a Gold Medalist from the Indian School of Business and a bestselling author for his books, “Daily Coffee & Startup Fundraising”, “The Money Ball” and "Founder's Office".

Having been the youngest Indian with four degrees - in CA, CS, CMA, and a Bachelor's degree in Finance, all by the age of 23, he started his career as a Chartered Accountant in areas of corporate finance, valuations, and transaction advisory.

He currently works as an Executive Coach with select founders, helping them scale their business to international markets, and capital structuring, and is known by the masses for his daily videos on social media on subjects of finance, business development, and real estate.

A faculty member for Finance at institutes such as ISB, and the face of CNBC TV18’s show, Behind the Billions, you can join his 4 Million strong community on Instagram (@casarthakahuja), Linkedin and YouTube.

Jigar Sagar is a seasoned serial entrepreneur, strategic investor, and a government advisor based in the UAE, with over 15 years of experience scaling more than 30 ventures collectively valued at over $350 million. He is the founder of Triliv Holdings, a private family office that strategically invests in and nurtures growth-stage ventures across global and regional markets.

Jigar’s entrepreneurial instincts were shaped early, working at his family retail business in Sharjah’s Gold Souk from the age of 10. He later earned business and finance degrees from leading universities in Dubai and Melbourne, laying a strong foundation for his future success.

Throughout his career, Jigar has contributed to launching and enabling over 250,000 entrepreneurs, primarily in the UAE, driving innovation across sectors such as government services, technology, AI, recruitment, digital marketing, and e-commerce. He is widely recognized as a leading UAE business influencer, trusted mentor, and strategic advisor, particularly noted for his work with government entities to build thriving entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Jigar has founded companies such as Creó Global, Talent Higher, and EZMS, each playing a significant role in marketing, recruitment, corporate services, and venture building. Notably, he has also launched and successfully exited the UAE’s largest corporate services provider. Additionally, he co-founded AppiZap, valued at over $100 million, and Ocube, a 1,500-seat BPO with a global presence. In addition, Jigar is a sought-after advisor to UAE free zones, driving innovation in licensing frameworks and ecosystem development.

As a celebrated investor judge on The Final Pitch Dubai, Jigar brings extensive entrepreneurial and investment expertise to regional media platforms, further cementing his role as a prominent advocate for startup growth and corporate excellence in the UAE.

His story is one of resilience, curiosity, and a steadfast vision to build impact-driven ventures while nurturing meaningful connections both at home and within the broader community.

Jeremy Savory is the Founder of Millionaire Migrant, a platform helping entrepreneurs and investors legally minimize taxes, secure second citizenship, protect assets, and build wealth across borders.

Raised in the UK by deaf parents, Jeremy left at 22 to escape a 40% tax rate, landing in Dubai with ambition and no roadmap. That personal journey became his expertise. With over 20 years of experience in global wealth mobility, he has since helped more than 11,000 clients navigate residency and citizenship programs across 20+ jurisdictions, with a 100% success rate.

Jeremy is also a holder of multiple citizenships himself, including French citizenship obtained through descent, giving him firsthand insight into every path he guides clients through.

Bashar Aboudaoud is an entrepreneur, investor, and cofounder at Brinc, where he works closely with founders to launch, scale, and expand their businesses across global markets. With a background spanning multiple ventures, Bashar brings an operator's perspective to early-stage growth  understanding firsthand the challenges of building, funding, and scaling companies. His work focuses on connecting founders with the right capital, strategic partners, and infrastructure needed to grow sustainably.

At Brinc, he plays a key role in supporting high-potential startups through acceleration programs and ecosystem partnerships, particularly across MENA and Asia. He is deeply involved in helping founders refine their strategy, unlock new opportunities, and navigate the realities of scaling in competitive markets.

Bashar brings a practical, execution-driven approach to entrepreneurship, with a focus on what actually drives growth beyond theory.

Lark Davis is one of the most recognised voices in crypto, with over 1.4 million followers on X, 767K on Instagram, and nearly 600K YouTube subscribers. Known as The Crypto Lark, he has spent years cutting through the noise to help everyday investors navigate Bitcoin, DeFi, and the broader digital asset space.

He is the Founder of The Inner Circle, a private Discord community built for serious crypto investors seeking real-time insights, portfolio strategies, and direct access to Lark himself. He also founded Wealth Mastery, a free newsletter now read by more than 150,000 investors each week.

Based in the UAE, Lark combines deep market knowledge with a straight-talking style that has made him one of New Zealand's most followed crypto educators and a trusted voice globally.

American entrepreneur. Founder to funder. 3X exits in 3 continents.

Zuby is an independent rapper, author, podcast host, public speaker, and creative entrepreneur with over 2 million followers on social media. He was born in England, raised in Saudi Arabia and is a graduate of Oxford University.

He has sold tens of thousands of albums and books independently, performed in 10 countries, and gained 50 million+ online video views. His podcast ‘Real Talk with Zuby’ has surpassed 25 million downloads and streams, and reaches thousands of listeners every week. Zuby has done interviews with Joe Rogan, Elon Musk, Tucker Carlson, Piers Morgan, Ben Shapiro, and many others.

He is the author of two books, ‘Strong Advice: Zuby’s Guide To Fitness For Everybody’ and children’s book ‘The Candy Calamity’.

Vineet Budki is a dominant force in the Web3 landscape, not only as a serial entrepreneur and the architect of successful Middle Eastern funds like Cypher Capital, but as a global thought leader. He is the CEO of Sigma Capital, a US$100 million crypto-native fund headquartered in the Middle East. Sigma Capital is poised to invest in over 100 blockchain startups within the next three years, cementing its commitment to fostering the growth of the decentralized ecosystem.

Alex Fazel is Chief Partnerships Officer and Founding Partner at SwissBorg, a TEDx speaker, and the host of CryptonitesTV on YouTube.

Alex played a critical role in scaling SwissBorg into one of Europe’s leading exchanges, with over 1 million registered users and more than $2.3 billion in assets under management.

SwissBorg grew from a 5-person Web3 startup in 2016 into a 300+ employee scale-up by 2025. Alex is known for his passion for crypto investing, fundamental analysis, the evolution of tokenomics, startup scaling, KOL matchmaking, growth hacking, angel investing, and more.

Kevin Lee assumed the role of Chief Business Officer at Gate in 2024, expanding from his tenure as Chief Executive Officer of Gate HK since 2023. A cryptocurrency and digital asset pioneer since 2013, he previously led Sales Trading at Hong Kong’s inaugural SFC-licensed digital asset trading platform.

With over 20 years of expertise in algorithmic trading and AI-driven financial products across the Asia-Pacific region, Mr. Lee’s background includes prominent positions at major financial institutions such as BNP Paribas, Macquarie Group, and JPMorgan Chase. He also demonstrates a strong commitment to startup growth, notably serving as General Manager for Yelp’s successful Hong Kong launch. Today, he is recognized as one of the region’s most influential keynote speakers in the industry.

Mr. Lee holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a bachelor’s degree in software engineering from the University of Hong Kong.

Dyma Budorin is Co-founder and Chairman of Hacken and CEO of HAI Group, with over 18 years in cybersecurity and more than 8 years in executive leadership across blockchain, DLT, and digital assets. A leading industry voice, he champions verifiable security standards as a scalable foundation for trust in the digital assets economy.

As former CEO of Hacken, he built and scaled a global cybersecurity ecosystem into the decentralized Hacken Federation Network. He now leads HAI Group, a crypto-native holding company scaling cybersecurity innovation. Dyma is the visionary behind CORE.3, an independent platform designed as global self-regulatory infrastructure, making crypto risk understandable for institutions and regulators through its Probability of Loss framework.

A published author, ACCA member, INATBA Board Member, and frequent speaker at top-tier forums, Dyma actively advances secure, transparent market infrastructure through cybersecurity, accountability, and ethical hacking.

Anton Golub is a founding member of RWA Labs, a leading asset tokenization enabler in the UAE. He is a Dubai-based crypto executive with over 10 years of experience building and leading exchanges and market-making firms. Across ventures, he has raised over $17 million and drives institutional partnerships and market expansion across Europe and the MENA region.

Erhan Korhaliller is the Founder of EAK Digital and Istanbul Blockchain Week, a specialist blockchain PR, marketing, and events agency. Before launching EAK Digital, Erhan led large-scale project teams for renowned blue-chip brands such as Nike, Rolls-Royce, and Vodafone. His exceptional leadership and creativity earned multiple prestigious advertising awards, including the coveted Platinum Award from Campaign Magazine.

Wissam Younane is the Chief Executive Officer of BNC Media Group, a leading regional publishing and events powerhouse behind Entrepreneur in MENA, CBNME, Hotel & Catering News ME, Design ME, and other influential business and lifestyle platforms. Under his leadership, BNC has evolved into one of the most dynamic media ecosystems in the Middle East, combining print, digital, broadcast, and live experiences to spotlight innovation, leadership, and entrepreneurship across industries.

With over two decades of experience in media and brand building, Wissam has spearheaded award-winning initiatives and large-scale events that connect business communities across the UAE, KSA, UK, and beyond. His vision centres on elevating thought leadership and empowering entrepreneurs through storytelling, recognition, and cross-border partnerships.

Beyond media, Wissam is an angel investor supporting early-stage startups in technology, consumer innovation, and digital platforms. His investments focus on founders reshaping industries through creativity, technology, and impact. A firm believer in purpose-driven entrepreneurship, Wissam continues to mentor and back ventures that drive regional transformation and global competitiveness.

Through his dual role as CEO and investor, Wissam Younane is shaping the future of business storytelling and fostering a new generation of visionary entrepreneurs across the Middle East and beyond.

Anurag Arjun is the co-founder of Avail, a unified foundation for rollups to scale horizontally, share liquidity, move assets trustlessly, and communicate permissionlessly along with multi-token economic security.

A blockchain pioneer since 2017, Anurag founded Matic Network, which evolved into Polygon Labs. In 2020, he spearheaded Avail within the Polygon ecosystem, leveraging his deep expertise in research, economics, and engineering. By March 2023, he spun out Avail as an independent project, which has since raised $75M from top investors like Founders Fund, Dragonfly Capital, and Cyber Capital.

Today, Avail’s ecosystem is rapidly expanding, with 10+ chains already live, including Sophon, Lens, SOON, and Space & Time, and 50+ more expected to integrate within the next year. Beyond blockchain, Anurag is a serial entrepreneur with successful ventures in cash flow lending, regulatory tech, and advisory roles across multiple industries. He also sits on the board of rootVX, an enterprise-grade tokenization studio offering unified infrastructure to create, store, and exchange tokens for assets, payments, and data within regulatory frameworks.

His vision and execution continue to drive Avail’s growth, cementing its role at the forefront of the modular blockchain revolution.

Irina Heaver is the Founder of NeosLegal, the UAE’s first crypto-native law firm, and author of “The Founder’s Guide to the UAE Crypto Laws”. She advises on all aspects of VASP licensing and regulatory compliance across UAE regimes, including VARA, SCA, ADGM, and DIFC. Since 2016, she has structured over 300 crypto and Web3 projects, supporting exchanges, token issuers, DeFi platforms, and RWA tokenization ventures. Irina works closely with regulators, contributing to the development of virtual asset laws, and is a trusted adviser to founders, VCs, and institutions expanding into the UAE’s rapidly evolving crypto ecosystem.

Akshay Chopra is a serial venture builder, author, investor, and fintech executive. In addition to co-founding 237 Ventures, Akshay holds various executive, board, and advisory roles in public sector and private organizations. He holds eight patents and his executive roles include President & CCO of Gennius XYZ, former VP of Innovation & Crypto Solutions for Visa CEMEA, and former Southeast Asia Leader of the Deloitte Greenhouse.

In 2025, Akshay authored ‘After Us: A Tale of Life Beyond Superintelligent AI’, published by Jaico Books and praised by global leaders in business, politics, philosophy, and AI.

Akshay serves as Payments Committee Co-Chair of the MENA FinTech Association, as Advisor to the UAE Government’s New Economy Academy, and on the Board of Studies of India’s Rishihood University.

He has also taught adjunct executive courses on blockchain and finance at SMU Academy and Hult EF. Akshay is an alumnus of the Indian School of Business, University of Delhi, and St. Columbas School.

Dr. Mohamed Al Hemairy is the Founder and Chairman of the UAE Association of Blockchain & AI (ABAI), and serves as Director of the Technology Transfer Office and Faculty in Information Systems at the University of Sharjah, UAE. He holds a PhD in Software Engineering from Coventry University, UK, and brings over 20 years of experience in intellectual property management, research commercialization, and digital innovation.

His research spans artificial intelligence, blockchain technologies, and software systems that support sustainable digital transformation. Dr. Al Hemairy has overseen more than 400 international patents, secured multiple licensing deals, and founded several emerging-technology startups that contribute to the UAE’s innovation ecosystem.

As Chairman of ABAI, he plays a national and regional role in bridging academia, industry, and government to advance the adoption of Web3 and AI. He also collaborates closely with leading crypto platforms on ecosystem development, education, and community engagement.

Kimberly Adams has spent the last decade building critical onchain infrastructure to make global systems interoperable across borders. Her work spans governments, startups, and the stakeholders shaping the future of global coordination. She is the founder of Onchain City, a digital city designed to empower global citizens with access to modern services and opportunities.

Dominic Volek, CA(SA), FIMC, is Group Head of Private Clients at Henley & Partners and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. Originally from South Africa, Dominic now divides his time between the firm’s global offices across the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. He leads Henley & Partners’ worldwide private client practice, advising ultra-high-net-worth individuals, their families, and their trusted advisors on international residence and citizenship planning.

Dominic’s work focuses on countries most attractive to wealthy individuals in terms of mobility, security, privacy, tax efficiency, estate planning, and lifestyle diversification. He is also part of Henley & Partners’ Government Advisory practice, where he provides strategic counsel to governments on the design, implementation, and promotion of successful investment migration programs.

As a testament to his expertise, Dominic has personally acquired a second citizenship and holds multiple residence permits, giving him first-hand insight into the transformative value of global mobility and the benefits of domicile diversification.

A Chartered Accountant CA(SA) and Fellow of the Investment Migration Council (FIMC), Dominic holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting with Honors and a Bachelor of Arts in Corporate Communication. Before joining Henley & Partners, he was part of the senior management team at a Big Four accounting and advisory firm, working in Singapore, South Africa, and the USA.

A recognized thought leader, Dominic is a frequent speaker on residence and citizenship planning and is regularly featured by top-tier media, including BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, and Quartz, offering expert commentary on topics such as the Henley Passport Index and global wealth migration trends.

Krinza Momin leads Developer Relations at ZKsync, building the incorruptible financial infrastructure. She brings over 4 years of experience bootstrapping developer communities and working across the Ethereum ecosystem, from scaling global node infrastructure to contributing to alt-VM projects.

With a strong background in international business development, Guillermo has been working in the UAE since 2022, currently serving as Client Engagement Manager at IFZA Dubai. In this role, he acts as the key liaison between the Free Zone Authority and over 80 international partners, having supported the successful establishment of more than 1,000 companies across the UAE.

Guillermo previously worked as an International Trade & Investment Advisor at the Economic & Commercial Office of Spain in the UAE, where he facilitated the entry of Spanish companies into the Emirati market and organized global exhibitions. Prior to this, he held roles in international relations, event management, and consultancy in Spain.

Academically, Guillermo holds an International Degree in Digital Marketing from Dublin Business School and a Business Management and Administration Degree from IESIDE, where he graduated top of his class with multiple honors and national awards.

Multilingual and passionate about global engagement, his international mindset is complemented by his travels to over 75 countries and a deep personal dedication to teamwork, leadership, and continuous growth.

Nabil Arnous brings extensive commercial leadership and cross-industry expertise to his role as Chief Commercial Officer. He leads the commercial function at Innovation City, shaping and executing commercial strategy while driving revenue growth, market expansion, and high-impact partnerships across the innovation, digital assets, and emerging technology ecosystem.

Prior to joining Innovation City, Nabil held senior leadership roles including Director of Revenue & Strategy and Acting CEO at other Sharjah licensing authority where he led large-scale strategic initiatives from concept to execution, delivering sustainable commercial growth. He also orchestrated the corporate strategy at other Dubai licensing authority in the UAE and represented Roda Hotels & Resorts at major industry platforms, building a strong foundation in client experience and stakeholder engagement.

A key focus of Nabil’s role is positioning Ras Al Khaimah as a competitive and attractive destination for startups, scale-ups, and technology entrepreneurs looking to establish and expand their businesses in the UAE. He works closely with ecosystem partners and stakeholders to support company formation, growth, and long-term success within the emirate.

With a background in hospitality that informs a client-centric and commercially disciplined approach, Nabil oversees revenue optimisation, market expansion, and ecosystem partnerships at Innovation City.

Amar is the Global Head of Investments and Capital Markets at the Algorand Foundation. Amar is the bridge between promising ventures in the Algorand ecosystem and leading investors. Before joining the Foundation, Amar was the Head of Investments for another blockchain protocol, prior to which, he spent almost a decade investing in early-stage Web2 start-ups.

Henri Arslanian is the co-founder and Managing Partner of Nine Blocks Capital Management, one of the largest institutional-grade crypto hedge funds globally and the first crypto hedge fund licensed by Dubai's VARA.

He is also co-founder and Chairman of ACX International, the world's largest crypto compliance firm with over 250 staff dedicated exclusively to digital assets.

Previously a Partner and Global Crypto Leader at PwC, Henri has advised leading crypto exchanges, financial institutions, governments, regulators, and central banks worldwide on crypto strategy and policy.

A global keynote speaker and best-selling author of three books, Henri has over 500,000 LinkedIn followers and is regularly featured in Bloomberg, CNBC, CNN, BBC, The Wall Street Journal, and the Financial Times. He co-hosts Crypto Weekly on CNBC Arabia, reaching over 60 million households weekly across the Middle East.

Onalytica recognized Henri as the #1 most influential individual in Finance globally on LinkedIn. He is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Hong Kong, where he has taught the world's first FinTech and crypto university course since 2015.