Luxury, style and treat — just a click away

Every crisis is also an opportunity in disguise but grabbing it often requires new ways of seeing, thinking and responding. That is, indeed, articulation and Mehreen Omar has proven her mettle in making things happen.

A banker and sales expert, she has led from the front since the arduous times of the global financial crisis of 2008. Then, she decided to move away from banking and pivoted back to the technology sector, where she first worked at Bayt.com and subsequently with Groupon, as a director and head of sales for the UAE.

Born and raised in Lahore, Mehreen has been passionate about technology since beginning. It was a subject that was close to her heart. That intuition and talent ultimately drove her to set out for an entrepreneurial journey.

“It was during my time at Groupon, when I met Muna Mustafa and realised that she is the person, and one day, I would establish my own business with her,” Mehreen recalls.

“I must say that developing a business from scratch has been both challenging and, at the same time, immensely gratifying. I am the co-founder of an online membership-based discount platform called SupperClub,” she elucidated.

SupperClub is a platform that offers its members seamless access to five-star hotels, beach clubs and spas — at thrilling discounted rates.

Members book 5-star experiences on the SupperClub site, where all the work is done seamlessly on the member’s behalf. Once the member arrives at the venue, no coupon or voucher is required; the member is taken care of. SupperClub looks after the bill too at a special discount, making the experience smooth, memorable and premium.

Following are the excerpts of a talk with her:

How did you get this novel idea to start your business?

The concept came about following my realisation that there was a gap in the market. While there have been several successful discount platforms over the years, the systems and structures surrounding these programmes failed to address the social needs of the client, i.e., that people want to avail their discounts in a discreet manner; they want everything to be seamless and limitless.

SupperClub offers three types of memberships; Gold, Diamond and Platinum, each providing access to over 170 offers with over 30 participating hotels, primarily focused in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the majority of which are exclusive to SupperClub.

Why is this idea a game changer?

SupperClub was launched in November 2020. Our aim was to break the mould and provide members with a single membership with no limitations, giving access to luxury restaurants, hotels, spas, pools and much more — all at exceptional rates. We believe luxury should be accessible to everyone and that too in a discreet and limitless way.

Your role model business and companies?

One of my role models is Sara Blakey. She is the founder of Spanx, which is worth over $1 billion but that’s not the only reason she is my role model. It is the fact that she had a lot of setbacks early on in her career but she persevered and was a determined individual. I love the “never give up” attitude in people and a strong believer that “there is no substitute to hard work”. She believed in her idea, embraced failure and learnt from it. Literally went door-to-door initially to sell her merchandise and look where she is now! I call that being brilliant.

Your first source of funding?

It was totally self-funded. We believed in the idea and; hence, put our own money in it.

How do you see the startup environment in the UAE and Pakistan?

I think over the years, the Pakistani startup environment has exploded not only locally but internationally, too. As far as the UAE is concerned, it is a unicorn country in my opinion and I would love to see Pakistan diversify and be as successful as them.

Other than your present business, which new areas and sectors you would like to explore to expand your business empire?

The current expansion plans are Saudi Arabia and Pakistan and then further into the Middle East by 2024.

What do you advise to other entrepreneurs?

If you believe in your idea, just go with it. Believe in yourself, intuition and vision. Don’t wait for the product to be perfect, as it never will be. Launch as soon as you can. Constantly improve and reinvent.

To whom do you attribute the success?

Even from my early professional life my mother had always been supportive to me to work hard and go with my gut. And post-wedding my husband has been my rock and constantly encouraged me to pursue my business idea and had always supported me. Besides them, I would attribute my success to endless hours of hard work, dedication and self-belief.

What new measures did you adopt that resulted in the success of your business?

First of all, it was crucial to understand the marketplace and define clear KPIs. Setting up revenue and profitability goals, hiring the right employees and implementing the right tools for the growth strategy were the other measures.