We sat down with Lara Varjabedian and Jonathan L. Hasson to learn how their combined experience in corporate leadership, startups, and venture innovation has shaped UBQT, a platform designed to make in-person connections effortless.
Built in the UAE and backed by partnerships with the Ministry of Economy and Athar+, UBQT uses AI to help users reconnect with their networks when they're nearby or headed to the same place. Varjabedian and Hasson share their perspectives on why digital minimalism matters, how UBQT Magic works in practice, and what their Dubai base means for building community-focused technology.
What gap did you see in today's social platforms that led you to build an in-person networking app?
Cory Doctorow coined the term 'Enshitification' to describe how social platforms, once truly social, have been overtaken by media, advertising, and algorithms—often at the expense of genuine human connection. Today, we're more digitally connected than ever, yet loneliness, isolation, depression, and addiction are rising.
At UBQT, our mission is to reverse this trend. We built a platform grounded in digital minimalism, designed with one clear purpose: making real-life connections effortless. By putting the 'social' back into social networking, we empower social well-being, boost social capital, and support social cohesion in businesses, communities, and beyond. Our AI and other features are all designed to enable human-centred interactions that strengthen relationships and create lasting moments in real life.
How does UBQT help users connect with the right people at the right moment?
It works in three ways. First, it lets you know who's nearby from your network, without showing exact locations—just a private proximity perimeter. Second, it helps you know who will be nearby soon: add your upcoming trip or event you'll be attending, and contacts in that area are notified with one clear action—to schedule a catchup. Finally, with 'Catch Me' status, you can signal that you're open to meeting in one click, with all the details—who, where, and when—pre-filled.
In short, UBQT eliminates the hassle of traditional means of making real-life plans. There's no endless scrolling and no tedious back-and-forth. Instead, reconnecting is effortless and focused on in-person moments.
What does UBQT Magic actually do for users, and what early feedback tells you it's useful?
UBQT Magic is our recently launched premium feature—a smart personal assistant for real-life connections.
It uses AI-powered nudges, calendar and location cues, and privacy-first settings to tell you with whom, where, and when to connect. It also makes smart connection suggestions based on one degree of separation, prompting introductions and in-person catchups when people are in the same place at the same time—all with a single call to action.
The goal is simple: spend less time on screens and more time socialising in real life.
Staying true to our philosophy of 'less screen time, more life time', early users say Magic feels effortless and human—helping them reconnect intentionally and build stronger, more meaningful relationships.
You've worked with GITEX Global, STEP SF, AI Summit Barcelona, and UAE partners. What problem does UBQT solve for organisers, and how do you measure success?
UBQT solves a core problem for organisers: traditional conference and event apps are downloaded for a single event, used briefly, and deleted—resulting in lost engagement and no lasting value.
With UBQT, organisers can create one or more persistent communities well before the event, enabling attendees to connect, interact, and build meaningful relationships early. These communities remain active after the event, extending engagement and social impact. UBQT also encourages spontaneous one-to-one in-person catch-ups when attendees are in the same place at the same time.
Our AI engine, UBQT Magic, adds high-level matchmaking, whilst built-in ticketing and payments make UBQT a true all-in-one solution. We measure success through sustained community activity, repeat engagement, meaningful attendee connections, and in-real-life catchups.
You're headquartered in Dubai. Why is this the right home base for UBQT's success, and how does being UAE-built shape your product and partnerships?
The UAE is truly the ideal home for UBQT—a nation that embraces the future whilst honouring its heritage. With 2025 declared the Year of the Community, the country's priorities align perfectly with our mission to foster real-life connection, belonging, and social cohesion.
Being UAE-built shapes UBQT through unparalleled access to talent, supportive regulation, and a collaborative ecosystem that accelerates innovation. We're proud of our partnership with the Ministry of Economy and honoured to have been selected by Athar+ (backed by Ma'an, Abu Dhabi's Authority of Social Contribution) and Dubai Founders HQ, supported by Dubai Economy and Tourism.
How do your backgrounds and values show up in day-to-day decisions?
We're three co-founders and true global citizens, having lived and worked across multiple continents, with over 65 years of combined experience. Our diverse backgrounds make us a perfectly balanced team that complements each other's strengths.
I.Q. Sayed, our CTO, is a seasoned technologist who worked at Meta and Lyft before leading Careem's tech team ahead of its acquisition by Uber. Lara Varjabedian brings deep corporate and venture-building expertise, whilst I add entrepreneurial drive and experience as a disruptive tech angel investor.
Together, we work hand in hand, guided by shared values of gender parity, social responsibility, and sustainability. These principles shape every decision we make—ensuring UBQT is built on technology that's innovative, inclusive, and genuinely human.
What's on the product roadmap over the next six to twelve months, and what's one common misconception about UBQT you'd like to clear up?
UBQT is rolling out exciting new features designed to elevate social well-being. We're introducing a gamified social dashboard—a first-of-its-kind way to help nurture real human connections.
We're also expanding into travel tech with our very own 'Happy Places', helping people discover and share destinations that truly boost their mood. Plus, we're finalising our ticketing experience, which we can't wait to unveil.
One common misconception about UBQT is that we're another social media platform. We're social, yes—but definitely not media. No content feeds, no likes, no followers, no selfies. Instead, UBQT is a smart, efficient digital companion built to streamline catch-ups with your personal and professional network, which we often miss or don't have the time to schedule.
ABOUT LARA VARJABEDIAN
Lara Varjabedian is co-founder and CEO of UBQT, a UAE-built AI-powered platform designed to turn digital networks into meaningful real-life connections. She brings global experience across corporate leadership, startups, and venture innovation, with deep expertise in insurtech and healthtech. Varjabedian holds a European Master's degree in Finance and spent over 13 years in insurance at Generali Group and Coface, working across EMEA, the Americas, and APAC.
Her entrepreneurial journey began with Prenetics, Hong Kong's first unicorn to IPO on Nasdaq, where she helped introduce genomics to European insurers. Focusing on emerging technologies, she later founded Kojo and co-founded Thought On Paper (TOP), supporting early-stage startups. She co-founded UBQT alongside Jonathan L. Hasson and I.Q. Sayed.
ABOUT JONATHAN L. HASSON
Jonathan L. Hasson is co-founder of UBQT and a multilingual serial entrepreneur and early-stage investor whose global upbringing in Central Africa sparked a lifelong appreciation for cultural diversity. He began his entrepreneurial journey in China, launching a hospitality business and later co-founding a bespoke travel consultancy, after starting out as a trader and partner in a Far East textile company he eventually sold.
With a Bachelor's degree in Administration focused on Economics and International Affairs, he went on to support disruptive-technology startups as an investor. Now based in Dubai, he co-leads UBQT with Lara Varjabedian and I.Q. Sayed, and is known for championing values like gender parity, social responsibility, and sustainability—guided by his belief that 'there is no such thing as failure… and if there were, it would be to never try'.
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