In our latest Substack, we take apart one of the laziest takes in circulation: that Dubai has no culture.
You’ve seen it, maybe you’ve even said it. A manufactured city, a theme park with no history.
So we went ahead and unpacked where this idea actually comes from, why it’s never applied evenly, how “culture” gets filtered through a Western lens of legibility, what gets ignored when it isn’t packaged for export, and the quiet expectation that some places should stay frozen in time to feel authentic.
We also get into why Dubai’s modernity gets mistaken for inauthenticity, the contradiction of demanding spectacle then calling it fake, and why influencers are an easy scapegoat for a story they didn’t create.
The real story is elsewhere and it’s far more interesting.
The company maintaining Saudi refineries, North Sea oil rigs, and nuclear plants across Europe…started as a bankrupt scaffolding business with 30 employees.
Today it’s a $5B industrial empire operating in 50+ countries. And it was built by a Syrian immigrant who arrived in France with almost nothing.
What if the future isn’t being built in Silicon Valley...but in Central Asia?
We went to Astana to understand how Kazakhstan is positioning itself between China, Russia, and the West and why it’s quietly building one of the most ambitious AI and tech ecosystems in the region.
One thing is for sure, this isn’t the story you think it is.
Full episode drops next Wednesday, 25/02.
Turn on your notifications so you don’t miss it.
Javed grew up in the slums of Mumbai and went on to build and sell a company for $2M, completely bootstrapped.
He did it with no dilution and no one else taking the first cheque.
We often look at higher numbered exits with awe but most don’t understand the economics of exiting a business you raised money for. Javed did it without investors and that’s a very different kind of win.
From selling small things to survive, to coding his way through engineering school, to bootstrapping Kustard with friends and selling it, this episode breaks down exactly how he climbed out of his circumstances.
If you’re a founder starting without connections, money, or privilege, this is required watching.
The full episode on why investors avoid one of the world’s largest cities is finally out!
We meet the founders running Karachi and what Pakistan can teach us about scaling businesses when markets are massive, capital is scarce, and failure isn’t an option.
We're back! This time, we're going inside the Olayan family.
If you’ve ever bought a Coke, used a P&G product, or walked into a major bank in Saudi Arabia, you’ve felt their influence. For decades, they built a $40B+ empire by becoming the indispensable local partner to the world’s biggest companies.Â
This is the story of how a family from Riyadh positioned itself at the crossroads of global capital and a rising kingdom, while building one of the most influential business networks in the Middle East.
In this episode of Founder Mode, we sit down with Spek, the founder of PopArabia. A former rapper who sold over a million records, he has been building the backbone of the Middle East’s $1B music industry from Abu Dhabi.
His roster includes JID, Mohamed Ramadan, and Nancy Ajram, and his bet is clear: the next global hits won’t come from LA or London, they’ll come from emerging markets.
This episode isn’t just about music. It’s about ownership, leverage, and rewriting how culture is monetized in the Middle East.
THIRD
In Power Moves’ latest episode, we broke down a country almost no one is paying attention to: Uzbekistan.
While everyone watches the usual suspects, they’re building New Tashkent as a deliberate play for capital, talent, and relevance.
Watch the full episode and let us know what you think!
2 months ago | [YT] | 7
View 0 replies
THIRD
In our latest Substack, we take apart one of the laziest takes in circulation: that Dubai has no culture.
You’ve seen it, maybe you’ve even said it. A manufactured city, a theme park with no history.
So we went ahead and unpacked where this idea actually comes from, why it’s never applied evenly, how “culture” gets filtered through a Western lens of legibility, what gets ignored when it isn’t packaged for export, and the quiet expectation that some places should stay frozen in time to feel authentic.
We also get into why Dubai’s modernity gets mistaken for inauthenticity, the contradiction of demanding spectacle then calling it fake, and why influencers are an easy scapegoat for a story they didn’t create.
The real story is elsewhere and it’s far more interesting.
Read it here: open.substack.com/pub/readthirdnetwork/p/why-dubai…
2 months ago | [YT] | 5
View 0 replies
THIRD
In this episode of In Plain Sight, we went down a rabbit hole to trace where venture capital actually comes from…
And it turns out, the story starts long before Silicon Valley, and explains far more about today’s startup world than you’d expect.
3 months ago | [YT] | 6
View 0 replies
THIRD
The company maintaining Saudi refineries, North Sea oil rigs, and nuclear plants across Europe…started as a bankrupt scaffolding business with 30 employees.
Today it’s a $5B industrial empire operating in 50+ countries. And it was built by a Syrian immigrant who arrived in France with almost nothing.
Let us know what you think👇🏽
4 months ago | [YT] | 17
View 1 reply
THIRD
What if the future isn’t being built in Silicon Valley...but in Central Asia?
We went to Astana to understand how Kazakhstan is positioning itself between China, Russia, and the West and why it’s quietly building one of the most ambitious AI and tech ecosystems in the region.
One thing is for sure, this isn’t the story you think it is.
Full episode drops next Wednesday, 25/02.
Turn on your notifications so you don’t miss it.
5 months ago | [YT] | 9
View 0 replies
THIRD
Javed grew up in the slums of Mumbai and went on to build and sell a company for $2M, completely bootstrapped.
He did it with no dilution and no one else taking the first cheque.
We often look at higher numbered exits with awe but most don’t understand the economics of exiting a business you raised money for. Javed did it without investors and that’s a very different kind of win.
From selling small things to survive, to coding his way through engineering school, to bootstrapping Kustard with friends and selling it, this episode breaks down exactly how he climbed out of his circumstances.
If you’re a founder starting without connections, money, or privilege, this is required watching.
5 months ago | [YT] | 15
View 0 replies
THIRD
The full episode on why investors avoid one of the world’s largest cities is finally out!
We meet the founders running Karachi and what Pakistan can teach us about scaling businesses when markets are massive, capital is scarce, and failure isn’t an option.
Let us know what you think!
6 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 15
View 0 replies
THIRD
We're back! This time, we're going inside the Olayan family.
If you’ve ever bought a Coke, used a P&G product, or walked into a major bank in Saudi Arabia, you’ve felt their influence. For decades, they built a $40B+ empire by becoming the indispensable local partner to the world’s biggest companies.Â
This is the story of how a family from Riyadh positioned itself at the crossroads of global capital and a rising kingdom, while building one of the most influential business networks in the Middle East.
7 months ago | [YT] | 19
View 0 replies
THIRD
More than 70% of global companies are family-owned, including some of the biggest names you’d never think of as “family businesses.”
We dug into the dynasties shaping economies, industries, and even nations.
We also mapped how power, ownership, and legacy intersect, and why family might be the strongest business model of all.
8 months ago | [YT] | 6
View 0 replies
THIRD
In this episode of Founder Mode, we sit down with Spek, the founder of PopArabia. A former rapper who sold over a million records, he has been building the backbone of the Middle East’s $1B music industry from Abu Dhabi.
His roster includes JID, Mohamed Ramadan, and Nancy Ajram, and his bet is clear: the next global hits won’t come from LA or London, they’ll come from emerging markets.
This episode isn’t just about music. It’s about ownership, leverage, and rewriting how culture is monetized in the Middle East.
8 months ago | [YT] | 6
View 0 replies
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