Your startup should be further along. Let's fix that.
zero21 is the AI-first product practice of Egemen Eres, based in Dubai and working with founders across MENA. Senior product thinking and hands-on building, with AI at the core: 0-to-1 launches, AI products people actually pay for, and the story that gets them funded.
Book a call · partnerships@zero21.ai · Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Services
- AI products and workflows. AI agents, workflow automation, LLM product features, and evals/guardrails shipped into real products, not demos.
- 0-to-1 product launch. Discovery, MVP scope, roadmap, and first-version launch in weeks rather than quarters.
- Embedded product leadership. Senior product leadership at roughly 10 to 15 hours per week, owning prioritisation and sprint cadence inside your team.
- Investor-ready product story. Product narrative, deck, GTM story, and data room that make the ask easy to say yes to.
Selected work
- sallis.io · WeBuild Ventures (Dubai, 2023) — $200K+ in 6 months, acquired in 14. Built a product from a blank canvas: ran discovery, hired the team, shipped iteratively, acquired by Strive Consultants.
- Watermelon Ecosystem (Dubai, 2024) — ~$50K saved per year. Built the product and tech function from scratch, including a credit-financing module and AI loan-tracking workflows.
- Spring Studios (Bahrain) — 3 fintech launches, 60+ founders. Led three 0-to-1 launches (influent, opensponsor, cohire) and sourced 60+ founders across two accelerator cohorts.
- Papara (Turkey) — 30+ enterprise clients. Opened a new B2B revenue line (Checkout, QR Checkout, Payment Links, Merchant Gift Cards).
About Egemen Eres
Egemen Eres is a senior product builder based in Dubai, working with founders across MENA and beyond. Over the last decade he has taken products from blank canvas to acquisition, built product and engineering functions from scratch, and opened new revenue lines inside some of the region's fastest-growing fintechs. He also writes Scalable, a weekly read on AI, product, and building from zero.
What founders say
"From our very first session, Ege brought a combination of strategic clarity and hands-on practicality." — Najib Khanafer, CEO & Co-founder, Rewa
"Working with Egemen has helped us tremendously. It genuinely feels like having an additional co-founder in the company." — Abdullah Alomar, Founder & CEO, Thunder
"His advice on GTM, product, and AI has consistently helped me cut through noise and focus on what matters." — Huzaifa Hameed, Founder & CEO, Sylus AI
Read the zero21 blog · Tell us what you are building →