How Dubai’s Craig Fernandes turned screen-time into student scholarships at 21: UAE startup's $10.4 million global success story

The energy is contagious. His voice radiates pride and passion as he speaks about building something from nothing—something that truly made a difference in people's lives.

Dreams do come true, yes, but they also spark new ones—each waiting to be willed into reality.

A conversation with the young and dynamic CEO, Craig Fernandes, almost makes you rethink the cynicism around the 'dream big and it will happen' cliché. But his story proves he wasn’t just chasing illusions or indulging in a fleeting "let’s-start-something-of-our-own" dinner-table conversation that never materialized. He was determined to turn an idea into reality—alongside his team—and that’s exactly what he did.

He takes immense pride in sharing his entrepreneurial journey—one that began in his university days and has since propelled him onto the global startup stage.

The startup journeys

Now the co-founder of SecureMyScholarship, an ed-tech platform offering students guaranteed tuition waivers and partial scholarships, Fernandes traces his passion for student support back to a seemingly ordinary day at university. Sitting in class, battling drowsiness, he noticed a pattern—almost everyone around him was either glued to their phones or struggling to stay awake.

That observation sparked an idea. What if there was a way to keep students engaged in learning rather than distracted by their screens? “I realized that phone addiction was a real problem, and I kept researching it,” he recalls. He started brainstorming with friends—an exchange of ideas that would ultimately lead to the success of his startups.

After returning from Iowa unviersity in May 2017, he didn't waste much time By September of the same year, his first company, Lock&Stock, was launched, when Fernandes was just 21.

The power of startups: From an idea to a global impact

How do you convince someone to stay off their phone?

Tell a student to put their phone away, and you’ll likely get a blank stare—or outright dismissal. That was the challenge Craig Fernandes faced. A fresh college graduate himself, he had to find a way to help students break free from phone addiction.

So, what if locking your phone could earn you discounts? That was the first spark of an idea.

In 2017, Lock&Stock was launched with 24 partner brands. The concept was simple: students locked their phones, earned virtual currency called “keys,” and redeemed them for prizes, discounts, and exclusive offers. What began as a two-person passion project to curb digital addiction quickly gained traction. By the end of 2018, Lock&Stock had grown into one of Dubai’s largest lifestyle platforms, with 80,000 students and 1,200 partner brands.

But Fernandes and his team soon realized that their mission could go beyond reducing screen time.

A bigger vision: Making scholarships more accessible

What if students could use their earned keys for something even more impactful—like scholarships?

“We realised there was so much more to explore, beyond just keeping students off their phones,” says Fernandes.

Lock&Stock expanded its scope, allowing students to redeem keys for tuition waivers at over 1,200 universities worldwide. By 2020, the platform had facilitated over $1 million in scholarship funding, significantly easing students’ financial burdens.

But this was just the beginning.

Realising the growing demand for student financial aid, Fernandes decided to create a dedicated platform for scholarships—and in October 2021, SecureMyScholarship was born. The transition wasn’t immediate; for a while, the team ran both platforms side by side. But as SecureMyScholarship continued to scale rapidly, they made the bold decision to wind down Lock&Stock and focus entirely on helping students access scholarships.

By 2023, SecureMyScholarship had disbursed $6.3 million in scholarships.

Building a startup from scratch: Planning, hustling, and believing

How do you take an idea and turn it into reality? Moreover, how do you convince people to invest more in your idea?

For Fernandes, it came down to planning, persistence, and relentless outreach. Coming from a non-business background, he had no ready-made network of investors to tap into. “We didn’t come from business families or wealthy backgrounds, so we had to reach out to as many people as possible and hope someone would listen,” he recalls.

His father provided the first round of small funding—just enough to get the project off the ground. But securing external investment was an uphill battle. It took nearly 100 conversations before they landed their first investor. “Finding that first one was the hardest,” Fernandes admits, “But once we did, we didn’t need to look back.”

Staying different in a competitive space

In the startup world, differentiation is everything. The question is always: What are you doing that others aren’t? For Fernandes, the answer was simple: An obsessive focus on students.

“We spent a lot of time thinking about what students want—what makes them happy, what makes them smile—and then we built exactly that,” he says.

The highs and the lows

By year two, Lock&Stock had 80,000 students on the platform, a promising sign. But revenue was slow, and the team was bootstrapped and working remotely.

There’s always a sense of idealism in wanting to “change the world,” but for Fernandes, it wasn’t just about lofty words. The vision had to translate into a sustainable business model. Success required not just confidence and belief but meticulous planning, adaptability, and an unwavering work ethic. It’s what finally convinced investors that they weren’t just youngsters with a random dream.

“During those tough days, we just knew we had something good—something unique—that could genuinely help people,” he says.

From two people to a team

The journey began with two people and slowly grew to five. For a long time, they stayed lean. But as revenue climbed and funding came through, the team expanded.

“Today, we have about 20 people across 13 different cities worldwide,” Fernandes reflects. “We’ve come a long way.” In February 2025, they achieved a new milestone: Crossing 10.4 million dollars for securing scholarships.

And with SecureMyScholarship continuing to grow, the journey is far from over.