When Simon Squibb started his first business at 15, there were plenty of things he didn’t know. How to build a company, where to find support or even whom to turn to for advice. Much of it, he recalls, involved figuring things out on his own.
Decades later, having built businesses, invested in 87 companies and amassed a following of 27 million on social media, the British content creator and entrepreneur finds himself thinking about that 15-year-old version of himself.
And what he would have done differently if someone had simply offered to help. “In many ways, this initiative is about helping the 15-year-old version of myself,” Squibb tells Khaleej Times during his recent visit to Dubai.
Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.
The initiative he is referring to is ‘100 Dreams’, a new programme launched by the 1 Billion Followers Summit in collaboration with Squibb and supported by the National Media Authority. It will offer 100 aspiring content creators and entrepreneurs $10,000 each, alongside six weeks of free training and business support, to help transform their ideas into sustainable businesses.
But for Squibb, the bigger ambition goes beyond building 100 companies. It’s about challenging a belief that, he argues, has discouraged generations of people from pursuing their passions.
‘We’ve been told a lie’
Ask Squibb what stops content creators from turning their passion into a sustainable source of income, and his answer has little to do with algorithms, followers or even funding. “A lot of people from a young age have been told a lie,” he says. “There’s this perception that doing something you love is not a money-making one.”
According to Squibb, many people grow up believing that a conventional job is the only reliable route to financial security, while activities they genuinely enjoy are better left as hobbies. “And that somehow getting a job that you don’t love will earn you money. But doing what you love is just a hobby. It either shouldn’t be monetised or isn’t monetisable. That’s not true.”
The problem, he believes, is that these assumptions eventually become internal barriers. “Basically, people self-sabotage with limiting belief systems that were plugged into them from a young age.”
And with artificial intelligence expected to reshape the employment landscape, Squibb believes it’s even more important than ever for people to reconsider how they define work. “We need to lean into this idea that what we love can be monetised and what we love can be our purpose.”
Why knowledge matters more than money
Through ‘100 Dreams’, Squibb hopes to provide something he believes is often missing from conversations around entrepreneurship, which is practical guidance.
Each selected participant in the initiative will receive $10,000, but he is particularly enthusiastic about the free six-week training programme. “We will help them and we’ll help them figure out how to make money from their platforms and how to take it to the level they want to take it to.”
That could mean helping a creator develop a stronger brand, understand how to secure sponsorships, improve their sales strategy or turn an existing online audience into a viable business.
Drawing on his experience in social media, Squibb also plans to teach participants about algorithms and team-buidling. “I have 27 million followers and hundreds of millions of views on my channel, so I understand how to build a team, how the industry works and how algorithms function,” he adds.
For someone who began his own entrepreneurial journey without access to such guidance, the opportunity to pass that knowledge on is particularly meaningful. “Nobody should have to give up on an idea simply because they don’t have access to the right knowledge or resources.”
Why he chose the UAE
For Squibb, choosing the UAE as the home of the initiative was a natural decision. “This place has vision,” he says. “The entrepreneurs that become successful are the ones who have a vision. So imagine a country that also has vision, teaming up with people that have vision. It’s a perfect match.”
He also sees parallels between the UAE’s development and the entrepreneurial journey itself. “The UAE itself was built on a dream. It began with an idea, a vision of what this place could become and that vision was turned into reality,” he says.
And that, he believes, is exactly what the initiative hopes to demonstrate. That an idea which initially exists only in someone’s imagination can eventually become something tangible.
‘If you don’t enter, you won’t win’
With applications expected to open in November, Squibb has a message for those who may already be convincing themselves that they do not stand a chance. “Many people see a competition like this and immediately decide not to enter because they think they won’t win. But if you don’t enter, you’re absolutely right, you won’t win.”
Even those who are not selected, he believes, may find that the application process itself becomes an important first step. They may begin discussing their ideas with friends or simply taking their ambitions more seriously. “Even if they don’t win, they’ve already taken that first step. They’ve started working towards something and that idea could still become a reality independently of the competition.”
That, ultimately, is Squibb’s bigger dream behind ‘100 Dreams’. “My dream is to see opportunities distributed more equally,” he says. “More importantly, I want everyone to have the opportunity to dream in the first place.”
Because for Squibb, the ultimate measure of success is not simply how many businesses are created, but how many people begin believing that their ideas are worth pursuing. “I have a purpose because I have a dream and I’m actively pursuing that dream. I want other people to experience that same feeling.”
Source: Khaleej Times