My Business: How these women entrepreneurs are helping UAE residents buy smarter and waste less

Dubai: Every day, people across the UAE pack up their lives. Many are arriving to start a new job. Others are moving into a bigger apartment. Some are leaving the country after years of calling it home. Amid the boxes and moving trucks, one thing often gets left behind, belongings that still have years of use left in them.

Some have been stored away with the intention of selling them later, while others were given away or simply discarded because finding a buyer feels like too much effort.

It has been a pattern that caught the attention of Federica Bonometti soon after she moved to Dubai. Having lived in several countries before arriving in the UAE, the Italian entrepreneur has been familiar with platforms that made buying and selling second-hand goods relatively simple. 

For her, Dubai has offered plenty of opportunities but not the same convenience when it came to resale.

“I was surprised that despite being such a modern and dynamic city, the second-hand experience was still fragmented and often inconvenient,” Bonometti told Gulf News.

The more she looked around, the more she has felt the issue reflected something bigger than simply buying and selling used items.

“I noticed something else. Dubai is home to a large expatriate community. People arrive, move, upgrade their lifestyles, and often leave the country, yet thousands of perfectly good items end up sitting unused in storage rooms or are simply discarded because selling them is too difficult.”

She added, “I realised how much value was being lost simply because people did not have an easy and trusted way to resell their belongings.”

That observation has eventually led her and co-founder Malahat Peyvandi to establish Revyn, a Dubai-based resale marketplace. 

Beyond second-hand

Growing up in Italy, Bonometti has noted that she was drawn to second-hand shopping from an early age.  

“I have always been fascinated by the stories behind clothes and objects. I loved the idea that an item could have a past life and continue its journey with someone new instead of being forgotten or thrown away,” shared Bonometti.

As she lived and worked in different countries, that habit has become part of her lifestyle.

“It became a way to express my personality, discover unique pieces, and build a style that felt truly my own.”

Over time, it has also changed the way she viewed consumption.

“I have always believed that perfectly good items deserve a second life and that small choices like buying and selling second-hand can make a meaningful difference.”

Turning an observation into a business

As the idea developed, Bonometti partnered with Peyvandi, who has more than 13 years of experience in business development, sales, and operations. The pair has previously worked together at the same international company.

They have chosen to launch in Dubai because that was where they had experienced the problem themselves. 

“Dubai's highly mobile expatriate population creates the perfect environment for a platform like Revyn. People are constantly relocating, upgrading, and moving in and out of the country, yet there was no simple and trusted way to buy and sell pre-owned items,” explained Bonometti.

Building while learning

Identifying the problem was one thing. Building a company around it proved to be something else entirely. The founders have funded the business themselves in its early stages, wanting to test the concept before seeking outside investment.

“Bootstrapping the business has forced us to be disciplined and resourceful, making sure every decision and investment was focused on creating real value for our users,” stated Bonometti.

Like many startup founders, they found have themselves wearing multiple hats.

“One of the biggest challenges has been building with limited resources while managing every aspect of the business ourselves.”

From product development and operations to marketing, partnerships, and customer support, they have handled every stage while trying to grow both buyers and sellers at the same time. The timing has added another layer of difficulty.

“We were also building the company during a period of regional conflict and uncertainty, which added an extra layer of emotional and operational challenges. There were moments when staying focused and continuing to move forward was not easy.”

Those experiences have changed the way they approached entrepreneurship.

“We learned that entrepreneurship is rarely about having perfect conditions, it is about continuing to make progress, even when circumstances are far from ideal.”

Changing mindset

While the business is still growing, Bonometti has highlighted that one thing became clear.

“Seeing hundreds of listings has been incredibly rewarding because it validates something we strongly believed from the beginning, there is a real appetite for a more modern, trusted, and accessible second-hand experience in the UAE,” exclaimed Bonometti.

The response from users has been equally encouraging.

“Hearing users tell us, ‘this is exactly what I've been looking for,’ only reinforces that belief. Each one is a product being given a second life and a small step towards changing the way people think about ownership, waste, and consumption.”

Hardest job

Bonometti and Peyvandi have both grown up around family businesses, giving them an early appreciation of the commitment that comes with entrepreneurship. Even then, Bonometti has bared that nothing prepared them for building a startup.

“We often joke about how much easier it would be to go back to a 9-to-5 job. Building a startup is by far the hardest thing either of us has ever done, and we have never worked as hard in our lives as we do today,” remarked Bonometti.

“There are plenty of difficult days, moments of uncertainty, and times when things do not go according to plan. That said, we have never seriously considered giving up.”

According to her, entrepreneurship is “like doing an MBA in real life, except you're learning every single day through experience.”

Starting before you're ready

Meanwhile, Bonometti believes aspiring entrepreneurs often spend too much time waiting for certainty. 

“Start before you feel ready. Many people spend too much time waiting for the perfect moment, the perfect product, or the perfect plan. The reality is that you learn the most by putting your idea into the market and listening to real customers,” said Bonometti.

She has also encouraged founders not to wait until they have everything figured out.

“Don't be afraid to start small. Focus on solving one real problem exceptionally well before trying to do everything at once.”

The business Bonometti and Peyvandi have built started with a simple observation about the way people live in the UAE, homes change, cities change, and people move on. The things they leave behind, however, don't always have to be left behind forever.