- 5/12/2025
Brian Rose sits down with Crypto Lawyer Gordon Einstein to uncover the hard truths behind the West's decline 🏛️📉 and the unstoppable rise of Dubai’s innovation-driven future 🚀🌴
From failing systems to booming crypto hubs 💡🔗, this conversation dives deep into freedom, finance, and the future of global power 💰🌐
🔓 Decentralization, opportunity, and mindset shifts — find out what’s working and why it matters more than ever.
🍿 Watch Full Episode For Free: http://londonreal.tv/einstein
💰The Investment club: http://londonreal.tv/club
💰Crypto & DeFi Academy: http://londonreal.tv/defi
#CryptoLaw #GordonEinstein #Dubai #Crypto #Blockchain #Bitcoin #DubaiVsWest #FutureOfFinance #BrianRose #Web3
@GordonEinstein
From failing systems to booming crypto hubs 💡🔗, this conversation dives deep into freedom, finance, and the future of global power 💰🌐
🔓 Decentralization, opportunity, and mindset shifts — find out what’s working and why it matters more than ever.
🍿 Watch Full Episode For Free: http://londonreal.tv/einstein
💰The Investment club: http://londonreal.tv/club
💰Crypto & DeFi Academy: http://londonreal.tv/defi
#CryptoLaw #GordonEinstein #Dubai #Crypto #Blockchain #Bitcoin #DubaiVsWest #FutureOfFinance #BrianRose #Web3
@GordonEinstein
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00Action produces information.
00:02Also, action produces entropy.
00:04It produces randomness.
00:05And randomness, like volatility, is where you make your money.
00:09What's a crypto lawyer doing with this meetup social event that's become so huge?
00:16I grew up with a lot of social anxiety and with a speech impediment.
00:20The way I addressed both was rather than go hide in a corner, I went to the opposite extreme,
00:25which is organizing events and forcing myself on stage.
00:29And what you're seeing now with Tech Tuesday, you're in an environment that's curated and optimized for action takers.
00:35You can't argue with the full house.
00:37You can't argue with the way that people look.
00:40And I'm creating actual facts.
00:42And facts win.
00:44People come up and they tell me they found their partner there.
00:46They found their investor there.
00:47You know, there's a lot of money being made in that room.
00:49How would you describe Dubai?
00:50This is a meritocracy.
00:52And if you're consistent about delivering results, you'll get noticed.
00:56Dubai is for doers.
00:57This is a builder's paradise.
00:58You build yourself and you build your business and you build your relationships.
01:01And you get to keep a good chunk of what you build.
01:03Talking about ADHD.
01:04Okay.
01:05Is it a bug or a feature?
01:07It happened at a point where it wasn't widely known.
01:10It manifested itself as, you know, Gordon can't focus or he's not motivated or all this other stuff.
01:14And so I got all this negative messaging growing up.
01:16Huge amounts of pain and focus and adrenaline burnout and cortisol.
01:20And I brute force it through, but I brute force it through in a way that exacted a toll.
01:25What's good about ADHD is audaciousness.
01:27It's bravery.
01:28Saying what's on your mind and not having fear.
01:31You need to have it diagnosed.
01:32You need to have it treated.
01:33You need to be gentle with yourself, but you need to maintain responsibility for your life.
01:37You know, whatever happens, you are responsible for you.
01:39No one's coming to save you.
01:41Ten years from now, Gordon, where are you going to be?
01:44What are you going to be doing?
01:45I want more and better of what we're doing now.
01:47I want to stay on the same track and keep on pushing it.
01:49I want to be involved in more projects that make the world a better place.
01:52I have three standards for any project I'm involved in.
01:54It needs to make a ton of money.
01:56It needs to make a ton of cool.
01:58It makes the world a ton better place.
02:11The world is changing.
02:14Inspiration is everywhere.
02:20It has never been so easy to connect, share, and bring people together.
02:24We're learning from others and finding the best in ourselves.
02:34Challenging our beliefs.
02:37Sharing our vulnerability.
02:41Overcoming our fears.
02:46Transforming ourselves so we can transform the world.
02:50How far can we go?
02:55This is London Real.
02:56I am Brian Rose.
02:57My guest today is...
02:58Hey.
02:59I know investing in crypto is scary.
03:00It takes a real leap of faith because there are so many scams, rug pulls, and bad actions.
03:05actors out there.
03:06It's a dangerous business, which is why 95% of people lose all their money.
03:15Well, that's why I created the London Real Investment Club.
03:18cams, rug pulls, and bad actors out there. It's a dangerous business, which is why 95% of people
03:24lose all their money. Well, that's why I created the London Real Investment Club. So you can access
03:29the hottest deals on the planet and use the crypto full market to create the generational wealth
03:34that you deserve. Join my team of over 100 people from around the world that are making millions of
03:40dollars behind the scenes investing in blockchain, AI, Web3 games, DeFi, Bitcoin, and more. Don't
03:47miss out. Click the link below to book a call with one of my team now. But hurry, this full market will
03:53end soon. I know investing crypto can be scary. That's why I got to turn the investment club on the trigger.
03:59Let's do this. This is London Real. I am Brian Rose. My guest today is Gordon Einstein, the crypto
04:09attorney, technologist, and enterprise strategist. You are the co-founder of Crypto Law Partners and
04:16has spent the last decade guiding startups, enterprises, exchanges, and DAOs through the
04:20legal and regulatory crypto landscape. In 2014, you were captivated by Bitcoin and the philosophy
04:26behind it and quickly realized that while blockchain could solve many of the inefficiencies of traditional
04:31finance, it lacked a coherent legal framework to support real-world adoption. Since then, you've
04:37guided early-stage crypto ventures through complex compliance and regulatory challenges while
04:42serving as a trusted advisor to governments and businesses worldwide. You're also the founder of
04:47Dubai Tech Tuesdays, a best-in-class weekly business and technology networking event that brings together
04:53leading visionaries, builders, and innovators operating in the UAE. You ultimately believe that
04:59crypto isn't just about money. It's about freedom, transparency, and rethinking the way we humans
05:05organize and define ourselves. Gordon, welcome to London Real in Dubai.
05:11Brian, I'm honored to be on the show and what an intro.
05:14What a man. So there you go. Look, I want to jump in and I want to start with what I witnessed last
05:22night. I was at this beautiful restaurant called Bel Canto near the Dubai Opera House. There were 300
05:27plus people there in this incredible environment where I guess people were networking, but they were more
05:35just kind of hanging out and enjoying themselves. There were things happening on stage and people
05:39talking about it. There were some high-level local Emiratis that you were honoring. There was tech
05:45people. There was a women's chess club that was there. And everyone's dressed up and really enjoying
05:51themselves. And I'll be honest with you, I've never seen anything like that in London or New York City
05:56or anywhere else. Really?
05:57I haven't. Not that vibe. And there were people I met there in the real estate business and there
06:03were other people in other businesses. And they're like, we actually come here because it's one of
06:07the few events where there's all these different types of people, Europeans and Russians and Ukraines,
06:12and they're all here. And it's one of the better even events, not just tech events. And I've been to
06:18maybe six of them at this point. I know you've been doing 43 in a row, 42?
06:2342 was last night. But we have the next two on calendar already.
06:27Okay. And I don't think you've ever missed one. What's a crypto lawyer doing with this meetup
06:35social event that's become so huge? Can you just walk us through what the ethos is, why you,
06:41and how do you continue doing this tireless effort?
06:44Okay. So I'm going to go deep.
06:47Let's go deep. That's why we're here.
06:48Of course. And I'm a big fan. I've seen your shows for a long time. And it's kind of a surreal
06:54moment to be here with you in an interview context. So I'm going to show this to my mom,
06:59who's actually visiting from Los Angeles.
07:00Oh, very cool.
07:01She'll be excited to see it.
07:02Okay. Why do this in the first place? Okay. So I've just a little personal stuff. So I grew up
07:10with a lot of social anxiety and with a speech impediment. And the way I dress both was rather
07:17than go hide in a corner, I went to the opposite extreme, which is organizing events and forcing
07:23myself on stage. It was like a big overcompensation thing. And part of the idea there was I would just
07:29rub that nerve to oblivion so that there was no longer a sensitive point. And so I've been,
07:35you know, it's, I kind of got the strategy later, like in my 30s or something, but I started hosting
07:41events in Los Angeles. I had a group called Happy Hour Mafia. And we used to do different,
07:46every Fridays or every Thursdays, once per week, we'd do an event. And it was always supporting
07:51charity. And, you know, it's a lot easier to talk to people if you're the host. You're, you know,
07:55you're not, if there's a cluster of people, you have a good reason to approach them. You can say,
07:58hey, walk up to them and say, hey, are you having a good time? How are you doing? So that was my first
08:02experience putting events together. And then when I, we can talk about this, when I switched back into
08:07the practice of law because of crypto and blockchain, it became necessary for me to work on my public
08:12speaking skills because I needed to advocate on behalf of this new kind of law. And so I would
08:17globetrot around the world on stage, I'm seeing, giving presentations, you know, doing, and you can
08:22see this all on YouTube, I have a long track record. And so I had to get over the speaking impediment.
08:27And then when I came to Dubai four years ago, Dubai, you know, Dubai is a place where if you're bold
08:32and ethical and consistent, you can do well. And if you aren't those things, you may do well for a
08:38minute, but then you'll have issues. But I was very blessed in that when I came here four years
08:42ago, within a week, I was on stage working, helping people with their events, emceeing. I just
08:47volunteered. I don't charge. You know, I'm a lawyer, right? I don't need to charge to help with this
08:52stuff. I just help. I've helped this community so much and built such a nice network from volunteering
08:57and just helping people out and being on stage just because I love it. And so past few years, I started
09:03organizing my own things like these occasional lunches, crypto lunches or iftars. I've done a
09:08bunch of crypto iftars. But this last summer, I was here. My lovely wife, who you know, we found out
09:14we were pregnant. And so the traveling was kind of a little bit lower. And, you know, Dubai in the
09:19summer is a little challenging. But we kind of looked at each other and said, let's start something
09:24new. So on July 2nd, 2024, we did Dubai Tech Tuesdays. You know, I figured I'd try it. We
09:35were at the door, which unfortunately has closed since that time. But very nice management. Just
09:40started it and it was successful right in the middle of summer. And I was like, oh, this is
09:45interesting. And so I'm a big believer in taking action. Like I always say action is the killer app.
09:51More than thinking. More than ChatGPT. More than whatever. You need to take action. You need
09:56to be consistent with your action. That's the next stage of it, right? Because an action one
10:00time doesn't mean anything. You have to keep on doing, doing, doing. So I'm a big believer
10:04in iterating quickly. Being consistent and iterating every, you know, very fast. Like you go to the gym
10:10once. You have to keep on doing it and be consistent with it or diet or whatever. So we, I knew that
10:17the first ones would not be that great. And they're, they're actually okay. But I'm, you
10:22know, I guess I'm a little bit self-critical, but every week we make it a little bit, a little
10:25bit better. And what you're seeing now that we're rounding up in our forties is the result
10:30of a lot of work and a lot of improvement. So the format has been honed. The community's
10:35been honed. The venue has been honed. The people we let in have been honed. The people we've
10:40decided not to invite in has been honed. It's been an experience. And we're very happy that
10:44you're joining us. And there's a whole philosophy behind it. We can get into, but there's short,
10:49I was actually a little bit surprised by what you said, because what, in my mind, it's a
10:53New York style networking event transplanted to Dubai or New York or Berlin style, which
10:58are my favorite cities. I'm a kind of a Berlin baby, right? So the idea of having a hip, but
11:04not obnoxious tech gathering, tech business gathering with a certain like New York dress code
11:10and, and savoir faire, but having it here, not a, not a, not a crypto bro thing, not a stiff
11:17event where, you know, that's not my thing. That's not my style. And I don't think maybe
11:23it's not yours either, but it's sort of like formal enough that good people come and business
11:28happens. You know, there's a dress code. People dress nicely. The ladies are all in a cocktail,
11:33you know, outfits or business attires, you know, everyone dresses up, but it's, it's not stiff.
11:38Right. And we bring in a lot of elements and it's like, it's like a goulash, you know,
11:43no, I could say it's closer to New York than anything else. Yes. But also in New York, I
11:46don't think you'd have that kind of interaction because that only I think happens in Dubai where
11:51people want to help. Sure. And everyone feels like maybe they're in a similar boat and things
11:55actually happen. That's what I maybe remember. I think that's a perceptive comment. So right.
12:00Dubai. I mean, you know, you always think of New York is like the immigrant city, but Dubai is
12:03the immigrant Emirate or UAE is the immigrant country. And we're, we're 80 or 90% expatriates
12:09here. And it's Switzerland-like in the sense that wherever you're from, whatever your local beef is,
12:14you're supposed to leave it at the door or leave it at customs. And here you're supposed to at least
12:19be polite to each other and ideally do business with each other. And there's pros and cons to that,
12:23you know, you know, as a politically aware person, sometimes I feel a little bit of internal
12:25tension, but I really like their ethic. And I think maybe Switzerland is straight from that ethic.
12:30The UAE has kept that ethic and there's something golden about it. So when you, when you get all
12:35these different religions and all these different nationalities, all of these, you know, men and
12:38women, everything in a room, having fun, being productive, it's cool. And you're right. New York
12:43has a little bit of a biting edge to it. I don't really mind it so much because I have a little bit
12:48of a biting edge, you know, and I kind of got that a little New York thing, but you know, that doesn't
12:52necessarily fly with everyone. Some people are just very nice and they're not from that culture.
12:55So we keep it gentle. It's a very family environment. You know, we're up there, you know,
12:59my, my son is three months old and he was there yesterday. So it's hard to have a biting culture
13:03when you have a three month old baby walking around or being carried around.
13:07Well, I want to go deeper on the UAE and what you see here as a country, as a culture, for sure.
13:11But just like to, to finish up with last night, like the vibe of the event is important to address,
13:17like what you're trying to create there. And so what I noticed is, first of all, you want to make
13:22sure everybody introduces themselves. Everyone feels welcome to express who they are, even if they're
13:27resisting you. So you're walking the mic and everyone interested. Um, everyone's dressed
13:31up and I'm wondering why you do that. There's at least 50, 50 men, women, sometimes it seems like
13:36more women and the women sometimes come from fashion or the chess club or whatever. And they're
13:40in the cocktail dresses and then forces us guys to really step up our game. And it's just a really
13:45kind of a, gives a little bit of electric vibe. It's fun. You have someone on the stage to talk,
13:50but, but everyone hasn't, has to be silent for the talk. And it's just kind of dynamic. So it's not
13:54stuffy, but also there's always things happen. I always meet some interesting people there.
14:00So perceptive comments. So it's all by experiment and it's all by design. And both things are true
14:06at once. It's all by experiment and it's all by design. Okay. I knew from the beginning,
14:10well, I'll take each element. Okay. Why have people dress up? You know, some people complain,
14:15some people get turned away and they get annoyed. Well, we're, you know, we're, it's not crypto
14:20Tuesdays. It's tech Tuesdays. It's, it's a tech and business event. Okay. We're in Dubai. This is
14:26a, in some ways, a traditional culture. And, you know, why are you here unless you want to enjoy
14:30the traditional culture? We want to have an environment where it's not just the usual suspects,
14:34but, you know, it's a tech event, but it's heavy female population in the group, like, like you
14:40notice that's unusual. There's a ton of very successful businesswomen here and they shy away from
14:45events where they're not treated correctly. So I'm, I'm intentionally creating it. My wife and I
14:50and Siam are intentionally creating a very female safe environment without overdoing it,
14:54you know, because you can go too far to the other direction also. And then it becomes oppressive in
14:58its own way. We, we, we thread the needle very carefully. The dress code, it's a chance to glam
15:04up. You know, it is opportunity. You, you dress very well. You've made a point of it and you've
15:08evolved your style over time. You know, you go, you aren't your suit, but your suit communicates
15:14something and it has you act a certain way when you're wearing it and people interact with you in a
15:19certain way when you're wearing it, even though it's obviously an extra skin, right? You know,
15:22we're all the same people underneath, but it, but it communicates a certain idea. It's a,
15:26it's a professional event. We're not, we're not there getting drunk. We're not there having a
15:29wild party. We're, we're there in a, you know, in an environment that's a little bit conservative,
15:34conservative enough that people can come. And if they're normally nervous about a tech or business
15:38event or a large gathering, they know it's safe within a certain way. Um, and as you pointed out,
15:43we're, it's a lot of Emiratis there. It's a lot of Arabs there. It's a lot of Muslims there.
15:47Okay. You know, and the, you know, it needs to be a place where people feel comfortable drinking
15:51or not drinking and not feeling awkward about that. We have a large contingent that doesn't
15:55drink alcohol and it's, it's fine. They feel comfortable. You know, you saw the honor table
15:59at the front with all the local, uh, personages, I guess, for lack of a better word. So it's all,
16:05it's all a careful dance. Um, and part of the dance is, you know, or it's, it's all of carefully
16:12prepared dish. And part of that dish is removing certain ingredients. Um, to be blunt, if there's
16:17someone who makes a woman feel uncomfortable, they're not, they're never going to come back.
16:21So you get a couple of complaints and they're off the list.
16:24Uh, especially, so, you know, I, I, I'm, on one hand, I'm having fun. On the other hand,
16:28I'm watching like a ADHD hawk, which is something else you can talk about. You know, I have that sort
16:32of peripheral vision of social interaction and I'm just scanning the room to make sure everyone's
16:38happy and everyone's comfortable. I'm scanning the room to make sure the stage is getting the
16:41attention it can get. Uh, as you alluded to, look, it's not a library. It's not a conference.
16:46It is a networking event. People are going to talk even when other people are talking on stage.
16:49I just try to keep a bounce there. I don't want to be too oppressive, but I want to have enough
16:53attention on the front. You know, you've dealt with this yourself. Um, it just, it's just,
16:57I'm doing a constant vibe control. Okay. You know, it's, it's a, it's a challenge. Yeah. Uh,
17:02and you know, and, and how is it so consistent? I, it's, it's not always easy, but I think
17:09if you're, it's hard to be consistent when you're in a vacuum, but when you have a team,
17:14it's a lot easier. And when you have a social expectation that you do something, it's a lot
17:19easier. And my ego is either strong enough or insecure enough that I can't stop because I don't
17:25want people to see me stopping. So even if I'm like, oh gosh, I'm tired, you know, I feel there's to do it.
17:30Plus I know what we're building. We're going to a whole multi-city model, which we can talk about.
17:35And I know the value it brings and people have it, like it. And to be honest, I enjoy it. It is fun.
17:41It is a lot of fun. It looks like fun. Yeah. It's a blast. And so you're super proud. You're
17:45like 42 in a row. Yeah. And why can't you take a week off? Well, I'll tell you the day my son was
17:52born, the day Joseph popped out of arena to make it like, it was actually a beautiful experience,
17:58but I mean, just being casual about it. He came out, I made sure he was okay.
18:03What the London Real Investment Club actually does for you, it gives you the keys to open that door
18:07to the inside deals. In the last three weeks, I've participated in three incredible deals,
18:12a layer two Bitcoin protocol, an incredible AI protocol. The deal flow is beyond what I expected.
18:21I don't think I've ever seen a model like this that just gives average folks the opportunity to be
18:25behind the deals. And that's exactly what we've done. Not only that, you get to hang out with
18:30Brian Rose every week. And for me, that was huge because I look at Brian as somebody who's not only
18:35an expert in the space and I think is on the leading edge, but just the leading edge of thought
18:39with London Real and the work he's doing there. To anyone who's taking a serious look at this,
18:44I know it's a big decision. It was a big decision for me and my family. And it is one of the best
18:49decisions I've ever made. So I wish you all the best and hope you come join us.
18:59I made sure she was okay. I got the hall pass. I Ubered over to Tech Tuesdays, ran the stage for
19:06all of an hour. I said, my son was just born, but I'm here to show I'm serious. I made sure
19:10everyone was good. Luckily, Mohamed Siam and my friend Rick took over and I went back to the
19:14hospital and it was good. There's only been two Tuesdays we haven't done it. One of them,
19:19we had the Iftar that week. So we had an alternative event and the other one was New Year's Eve. And
19:23for some reason, people didn't want to do New Year's Eve at Tech Tuesdays.
19:26You were ready to do it.
19:27I was ready to do it. We actually had the venue.
19:28Amazing.
19:29But it was like, Gordon, just relax for a week. I'm like, okay. And we do it during the summer
19:33where things normally die out. But a lot of people, Dubai, especially in the crypto world,
19:40is famous, unfortunately, for rug pulls. People talk big. They build up a community.
19:45They look like they're serious. They have a team that looks like they're serious. And then they
19:49get bored or they run away with the Ethereum or something happens. They have their own little
19:57drama. And then you're like, what the hell happened there? What happened to my coin? Now the whole team
20:02has run away with a deposit. Or what happened to this event? They go to number eight and then they
20:07wait for three months before number nine or something. It's like a nice weekly event you
20:10got there. So that happens a lot here. But I think once you're consistent, let me put it
20:18this way. Dubai is great. But Dubai is a low-trust environment for a variety of reasons. Because
20:22people come and go and people are fast talkers and don't necessarily deliver. Imagine creating
20:28a high-trust bubble in a low-trust environment. Once people see that, they love it. And consistency
20:34and doing what you say you're going to do, being a man of your word, creates trust. And
20:38when they see this happening every week, it creates trust. And when people can see each
20:41other every week and get to know each other, it creates trust. And then you get business
20:44done. There's a lot of money being made in that room. It's great.
20:49Yeah. And I've started to build up trust with a lot of people there because I've seen them
20:52now three or four times. So the first time you connect, but then you don't really send
20:56a message afterwards. The next time you have a little more of a conversation and then you're
20:59meeting up and it's the thing. But only an American would do this every week in a row
21:03to an obsessive way. And that's a beautiful thing.
21:06Well, I am German also. So maybe a German would.
21:11Maybe.
21:12And I mentioned before casually, but just to be clear, with the ADHD thing, one of the
21:16compensatory things for ADHD is being a little bit OCD, being a little bit overly structured.
21:22So I have controlled chaos. Structure is good. So if it was once a week, but I didn't know
21:30what day, we wouldn't be doing it. But it's Tech Tuesdays. I locked myself in. If it doesn't
21:36happen on Tuesday, everyone knows it didn't happen. And everyone's staring and asking what
21:40happened. So I built the structure around me that supports accomplishing the goal. And
21:44again, my wife is fantastic. And she has her women's community that comes. Mohamed Siam is
21:49fantastic. He's got the local connections and government connections. And he's integrated
21:52with the society. I mean, when you think about it, we're three very different people.
21:56Yeah. Very different. Talk to me about the relationship with Mohamed Siam, because I had
22:00met him separately at Blockchain Life and had a really good vibe with him. And then I saw
22:04him later when I came to speak at your event. And then I was like, wow, this is unique to
22:10have that Emirati partner with what you're doing. Yeah. I mean, that's not typical.
22:15So it's an interesting situation here. It used to be, used to be, before I came here, that
22:22in order to run a business here, you needed an Emirati partner. It was a legal requirement.
22:26I remember. You know, and they would kind of, you can call it rent-seeking behavior or whatever.
22:29They would kind of, you know, put their name on the license, sit back and let you work,
22:32you know, for the honor of paying them, for better or for worse. The wise leadership of
22:37this country, and I'm not just saying that to be nice, they are wise, said, this is archaic.
22:41What are we doing? You know, it's the 21st century, enough of that. And so you can have
22:46full control of your businesses and everything else. Now, we are in the Middle East. We are in
22:52the UAE. It is a Muslim country. It is a country with a strong sense of tribe, clan, and religion.
22:59Okay. And if it's, you don't need to have a local partner, and I certainly wouldn't do it just for
23:04kicks, but if you meet a local person that you like and you respect and they bring value to the
23:10table, you'd be foolish not to engage. It helps. It's just like, you know, it's like going to China
23:15and not speaking Chinese or not being friends with any Chinese people. I mean, you can live in your
23:19little bubble, but if you really want to get in there deep, you've got to kind of cross some
23:23bridges and just, and get work with it. And he's, he's just a very cool guy. He's got his own AI
23:27company. He's, you know, he, he did some hacking as a very young kid and the police found him and
23:34rather than punch him, you know, they adopted him. And so he got his government connections. He,
23:38he has a great bunch of interviews and he talks about it at length. He's just a cool guy.
23:43Yeah. And I, you know, I could have started this by myself, but you know, it was initially my idea,
23:48but you know, it, why I, you know, it's like, I'm not, you know, it's not the Gordon show. It's
23:54tech Tuesdays. And I wanted to work with other people. Mohamed Sayyam is a great partner in this
23:58and other things. Uh, my wife is a great partner with God's, you know, and I think you are interviewing
24:03each other one way or another. Um, you know, he, he's a great friend and he, he's very busy,
24:08but he contributes a lot. We have a whole ecosystem. So, um, no, I'm happy to work with
24:14Mohamed Sayyam. Yeah. Mohamed Sayyam, I think every week I've seen him every time. He, he, he,
24:18he is a partner in tech Tuesdays. He's, he's very good and he has a lot of value. And that says a
24:22lot when you're there every week. Yes. When you show up. Oh yeah. And I, yeah, I met a lot of locals
24:27that I'm guessing came through him or because of him, or maybe they just came, but yeah, it's, it's,
24:32well, it's social proof because there, there, there is, there is a, a divide between the
24:38communities here. Okay. There, there's the expatriate community, the local community,
24:41and then there's the thin membrane of people who cross and you see the same faces at all
24:49these events as the Emiratis who work with expatriates or like that environment. And then
24:54you get the few expatriates who kind of slightly cross over into that world, but it's a little
25:00bit impenetrable. Okay. You know, it depends where you are culturally and religion wise and
25:04everything else, but it's a little bit impenetrable. What's unique about our event.
25:08And I kind of want to take it up a few notches over time is that you do have a blend between the
25:13expatriate community and the local community to a certain extent. That's why we have the decorum
25:18at the event because, you know, to have Emiratis and especially Emirati women show up,
25:23it's got to be a proper event. It can't be shady in any respect. It has to be very respectful,
25:28structured, good people, dress nicely, behave nicely, nice venue, everything else. Then they
25:33feel comfortable showing up. And, you know, then they see other people like themselves and you get
25:36social proof and then it grows. So I'm, I'm tending this garden with extreme care and awareness.
25:43And as we expand Abu Dhabi and then Qatar and Bahrain and then Saudi, it's, we're going to be
25:49maintaining that conservative middle student vibe, which, which actually I like, I don't have a problem
25:53with. You know, I'm from, I'm from licentious California and I'm feel more at home here.
26:00And, you know, you can have your fun here, obviously, you know, it's Dubai, but I kind of
26:04like that conservative family vibe and that resonates with the local culture and I'm good
26:08with it. Well, let's talk about that because this is a long way from where you were in 2020
26:13in Los Angeles, a completely different culture and completely different vibe. And a lot of people
26:18watching us or listening to us right now are going to be in the United States or Canada.
26:21And, you know, for my dad who lives in San Diego, California, when I keep telling him
26:25to visit me, you know, he's in his eighties, he's like, I can't go over there. It's the
26:28war zone. And I, and I'm like, no dad, my mom is here and she's in her eighties. She's
26:32here right now. So I want you to go tell your dad that Gordon's mom is here.
26:37Yeah. I just, I guess my point was, is they have a completely opposite perception of what
26:41it feels like to be here. And like you just described a little bit of a feeling and how
26:45you feel here. I know before you've said a little bit like this place is like a really
26:49nice hotel where you come in and it's got these beautiful things set up. And if you
26:54follow the rules, then you can come back again. And that was an interesting way of describing
27:00a place as opposed to comparing it to a city in the U S I saw that interview. Um, what's
27:04that? You saw that interview. Oh, interesting. Okay.
27:06And so how would you describe how you feel here and how would you describe Dubai or the
27:11Emirates to people outside of here, maybe Americans who've never been here and maybe have
27:15misconceptions about it or think it's this or that, or it's a monarchy and it's oppressive
27:19and we have our freedoms and they don't. How do you describe it?
27:22Um, well, it is a monarchy. I mean, let's be truthful, right? The, okay. So what, what,
27:28what is Dubai for me? Okay. What, what is for me may not be what the same thing it is for
27:33a Bangladeshi laborer on a building or for an Emirati or for a woman or for this or for that.
27:38What, what is it for me? Okay. I, you know, as an American German lawyer who's into crypto
27:44and blockchain, it's fantastic. All right. It, the way I described it variously is it's
27:49a very high level hotel, if you like, it's a residence hotel. Okay. You don't necessarily
27:55gonna, you're not necessarily gonna stay your whole life here. They don't necessarily want
27:58you to stay your whole life here, though that may be changing a little bit, but you can come
28:02here and accomplish great things. Uh, it is not an oppressive system. Do you have a lot
28:07of personal freedom? Okay. There's political freedom. There's freedom of
28:10expression. There's personal freedom. There's, and you know, nowhere is all this
28:13way. And some, maybe some of the personal freedom comes, you know, because you don't
28:17have necessarily this other stuff is everything's in a balance. And you know,
28:19people said, Oh, Gordon, you're so blunt on these interviews. It's like, I, I think
28:22I'm just being fair. The, what freedoms matter to me? Okay. I'm 55 years old. Okay. I have a
28:27wife. I have a three month old son. Okay. What freedoms matter to me? The freedom to
28:30walk down the street without getting stabbed. That's a big freedom. Okay. If I was a watch guy and I'm
28:35kind of silly becoming a watch guy, the freedom to walk down the street without my watch being
28:38taken or my iPhone being stolen on some bike, that's a freedom. Okay. Uh, for the non-Americans
28:43out there, the freedom to not be taxed to death, not to work like a slave and then have your money
28:48inflated away on one side and then tax away on the other side. And then, you know, what the heck
28:52happened? You know, um, there's within certain bounds, there's good freedom of expression and the
29:00freedom of expression that isn't allowed. I actually don't have a problem with like, you're not
29:03allowed to insult other races or religions or anything like that. They, they want it. They
29:07have, I think, you know, I talked to someone recently, you have 156 countries cohabitating
29:11here peacefully. You know, that's, that's either a recipe for a disaster or that's a recipe for
29:17something awesome. You actually have, unlike in the United States, diversity works here.
29:22Okay. But there, there is a structure within which that diversity exists, you know, and that,
29:28that structure has rules. You know, it's like we're, we're in the matrix. Okay. And the
29:32matrix has rules and you can either master the rules and become Neo, or you can resist
29:35it and have a problem. Okay. And, and if you don't like it, you can leave, you know, I
29:41mean, barring something extreme, no one's making me stay here. I can go. If I don't like it,
29:45I'll leave. Maybe one day I will, but I like it. They, they, they don't, they're, you want
29:51to talk about law of attraction. They are strong believers in law of attraction. Okay. No one's
29:55forced to come here. You're choosing to come here. And if you choose to come here, just like
29:59if you choose to come to someone else's house, you respect the rules of their house. They say,
30:02you know, this is the private library. Don't go in there. Okay, fine. Have fun. Okay. You know,
30:07you're, you're making me dinner. You're, you know, I have a nice comfy bed, whatever. And I can go,
30:10you know, if I hear something terrible, then that's a different situation, but it's, it's not
30:14like that. You know, people get this weird, you know, look at the Western media. I'm like,
30:17oh my gosh. You know, and I'm not an, I'm not an apologist for some things that some people
30:23might have an issue with, but the Western media presents an incomplete view that when you're
30:29having the lived experience here, it's not actually like that. Okay. And you need to come
30:34here and you need to experience it. And then you need to talk to people and you can judge
30:37for yourself, whether it's good. It is safe. You have a great deal of expression. It is not
30:42like 15 years ago where if you kissed your wife or girlfriend on the beach, you know, the morals
30:46police are going to come and get you. I think there was like 20 years ago, some British couple
30:49was acting inappropriately on the beach, like really overdoing it. Yeah. And then
30:52Al Arab, I remember it was a British couple. Yeah. But that was 20 years ago. Okay. You
30:56know, the, the, it's the, the decorum it's, it's like tech Tuesdays. It's there's a level
31:03of decorum. If you don't like it, don't come. Yeah. I love, I've, I've fallen in love
31:07with it. It's like, you know, it's like, I think it's okay. Maybe people shouldn't be,
31:12you know, making out in public. You know, I like it when I go to the beach and if I'm walking
31:16on the ball back, I was like, put your t-shirt on. I'm like, okay, I like it that I don't
31:20have. He's just jealous of you. Yeah. He's just jealous of your build. I also like it.
31:23That's just like, I don't see strip clubs and I don't see sex shops and like, I don't
31:27see drunken footballers like I see in London. It's like, I don't need to see that. And I
31:31know they have the freedom to do that, but it's like, I also like the fact that that's
31:34not here and it just makes for a really peaceful place for me to be. And I think that's, that's
31:41also really nice. And like you said, it's like visiting someone's house. It's like, oh, you
31:45could say, well, I just visited your mom's house and I have the right to tell her that
31:49her cooking sucks and her place is bad. And I hate her political beliefs. Okay. Is that
31:54freedom? Maybe. But if I'm in someone's house and I'm a guest there, then I'm not going to
31:58do that. And nobody would. And so, you know, that's some people would, some people would
32:02actually, some people would, they're doing something. I mean, I'll get political. You can
32:06always shut me up, but in the U S people are doing that. People are coming in there on student
32:10visas and everything else and telling them that their mother's cooking sucks, right?
32:13Because they're exercising their freedom of speech. Yeah. Yeah. And actively interfering
32:17with others' freedom of speech and act, you know, look, whatever I stand on politically,
32:22I generally want people to express their points of view, but when those, you know, it's the
32:25usual thing about your rights stop at the tip of my nose. You know, people are getting
32:29past the nose in the U S and interfering with other people's freedoms. I agree. So, you know,
32:33where, where, where, where's freedom here? I have the freedom to practice my religion,
32:37to engage in commerce, to make friends of, you know, of every nationality and every belief system.
32:44I have a freedom to do these events. I have the freedom to go. I have the freedom to come.
32:48It's a, it's a lot of, one can call it civil freedoms.
32:52How do you get out of a rat race? How do you create wealth, not only for yourself,
32:56but also for the generations to come after?
32:58I am absolutely amazed with the quality of companies that we're getting exposure to.
33:03We go on to zoom calls with the innovators and the folks who are building new applications in
33:08metaverse, blockchain, artificial intelligence, decentralized finance.
33:13What's going on, everybody? Thumbs up. If you've been seeing me,
33:16we are focusing on early stage investment and the quality of people that we're getting exposure
33:23to, whether it be Dan Tapio with one RT, Jason Ma from open a Yatsu from Animoca.
33:28It's been a phenomenal experience thus far. It has far exceeded my expectations.
33:33We are focusing on cutting edge technologies.
33:37I view it now as the best investment I've ever made. The upside I view is unlimited.
33:43And as a retail investor, I would never get this exposure anywhere else outside of investment
33:48club. See you in the investment club.
33:51Okay. And you, you know, is there a dark side? I think so. You don't want to get on the wrong side
33:58of the police. You don't want to get the wrong side of the Emiratis. You don't want to talk trash,
34:02you know, but again, if you don't let it go, if you want to be critical of the UAE,
34:07do it from Germany. Okay. But if you're, if you're living here, you know, play by the rules.
34:12Okay. And the rules are not draconian. The rules are great. I mean, here we are having a good
34:17conversation in Dubai. Okay. And we're talking about my Emirati partner and, you know, and it's
34:21like, it is good here. And also, I mean, Andrew Tate, God bless him. I've never met him. I feel
34:28like I will one of these days because we're kind of in the quasi same circles. Just like, you know,
34:32you know, I eventually meet everyone, Cole. Take it as a compliment. But, you know, his point was,
34:37you know, if you create an environment where people feel safe with their stuff, they're going to come
34:43here with their stuff and they're going to make more stuff. Okay. You got countries where people don't
34:47feel safe with their stuff. Their stuff can be their physical stuff, their mental peace of mind
34:53or their family stuff. And, you know, if you want them to have it and make more of it, you got to
34:58create an environment where it's secure and they're secure from the government and secure from the
35:01people. And, you know, they're doing a great job here. You know, one of the things I don't miss
35:05about London is, is being involved in all the politics and all the, he said, she said,
35:11no, no, no, no, no. It's now become our form of entertainment in the last 10 years. There's none of that
35:16here. I remember I sat down with Dr. Marwan and I'm here. He's an interesting guy. He's an amazing
35:20guy. And he's the reason I'm really here. And because he made my golden visa. So just because
35:26of who I was, it's another reason I love this place, you know, because they really go out of
35:29their way to bring talent in. And like, you know, the UK didn't do that for me. But my Marwan once
35:36said, he's like, we don't, we, you know, we want people to be able to get up here in the morning and
35:40work on their business and work on their family. And, you know, there's not the headlines. You don't
35:44have to worry about this. There's not all this, there's not all this drama. There's not all
35:46this other stuff. And I must say, I don't miss hearing what the Tories said about the
35:50conservatives. It's nice to tune that out. And now I just can focus on the things that
35:55are important to me.
35:56Yeah. It's, it's a, how do I say it? It's a planned development, if you want to use
36:01a U.S. term, you know, so, okay, so trees can't grow to a certain height. Okay. I don't
36:05care. I'm like gardening anyway. You know, I'll also say you can, there's different kinds
36:11of politics. We're going to go on a little tangent, if you don't mind, but there's, I'm
36:16a big believer in winning through results and winning through action and not through language.
36:24The, like the, like with Tech Tuesdays, you know, it's like, you can't argue with 42 times.
36:34You can't argue with, you know, what a full house is when we pan the camera around and
36:38really is a full house. You know, you can't argue with the way that people look and I'm
36:43creating actual facts and facts win, you know, and how do you create facts? You, you can't
36:48BS your way to a fact. You have to create action. Okay. Now you can negotiate and use
36:52language to coordinate your parties and your, in your groups, but there, there is a form
36:57of politics, the politics of the deed. Okay. The politics, you know, which I, the way I think
37:02you might find distasteful and I do too in the, in the U S is that the, the verbal nature
37:08of the politics yet it's lacking substance and reality and actual impact. You know, they
37:14said this, they said this, you know, okay, that was witty, but what did it actually change
37:17in the universe? Other bunch of oxygen atoms moving around. I love creating facts on the
37:22ground and, and winning or, you know, and it's not just me winning, having my group win or
37:27humanity went through those actions and Dubai is, I always say Dubai is for doers. Okay.
37:33You can, you can engage in the politics of the deed. You, you can build that new research
37:37facility that is going to let everyone live longer. You can build that new ethical AI.
37:42You can, you know, you can do those experiments that will help people live longer with
37:46stem cells and everything else. You can really impact the world. You just need to
37:50change your mentality. It's almost, it's almost, dare I say a little Chinese, like they
37:54get stuff done. They get stuff. It's, it's a little scary how they get stuff
37:57done. They get stuff done fast and at speed. And you can do that in a suddenly more microcosm
38:03way in Dubai. And so I'd encourage people to take that point of view and just, you know,
38:08I was in Los Angeles. It was 2020 COVID was happening. Various lives were mattering on the
38:14streets and that was not safe. So I came over here at a friend's invitation and I, and I
38:19saw the contrast and I grew up, I grew up in Los Angeles. I was born in Los Angeles. So,
38:24you know, I had a little stint in Washington. My dad was in the military, so I was in
38:27Falls Church for a while near the Pentagon. But, you know, Los Angeles, it has its greatest
38:32parts and it's nice to visit. And don't get me wrong. You can have a good life in Los
38:36Angeles, but it is not on the right trajectory. Okay. Dubai and the Middle East and all these
38:40other ways are on the right path. So I saw the contrast when I came out here, thanks to
38:46a friend and I saw crypto was happening and it was great. And I flew back and had to wrap
38:50up some personal stuff and then came out here and never looked back.
38:54That's a crazy trajectory. I mean, if you had told yourself in 19 that you were going
38:57to move to the Middle East for the rest of, not for a big chunk of your life.
39:01It was, look, I thought, and it still may happen in some form. I thought I was going to
39:05either end up in Ukraine, because I really like Ukraine and I've been there 25 times
39:09and that's actually the reason I'm in blockchain and crypto. Or I thought, and this may still
39:13happen to some variant of this, you know, end up, whatever that means, in Switzerland.
39:17Uh, just cause I like, I like their kind of attitude. Um, I did not see Dubai coming.
39:24Okay. And it shocked me, but again, I was in that circumstance in Los Angeles, you know,
39:30I, it could, it was COVID there, you know, and this is the draconian, crazy California
39:36lockdown of COVID. And, uh, you know, thank God I got that invitation. That invitation changed
39:41the course of my life. You know, that, that, that, you know, nice friend, but not like
39:47my really close friend, just, but just a, you know, medium level acquaintance inviting
39:51me out. And it's like, boom, little things can change a lot. You know, you're, you're
39:55smart by the way. I'll break the fourth wall, but you, you have this pre-interview form
39:58that people fill out. And one of them is like, what's your aha moment?
40:01My aha moment was coming to Dubai. And you know, at that moment, there was not much traffic.
40:06That one, that one, that one, they fooled me. Okay. But the aha moment was the place
40:10the places were open. They were doing crypto. People were nice. Um, like good looking people
40:16here, you know, a lot of opportunity. And I was like, aha, this is what it can be. Okay.
40:20Nice. It's like a hustler's paradise for me. Um, and it's also got, it's a builder's paradise.
40:26Yeah. Yeah. Maybe that's it. Builder's paradise. And then it's also got amazing weather and beaches
40:31and all that, you know, but you can also work hard and everyone else's as well. Yes.
40:35And that's a rare combination. It's a meritocracy on steroids.
40:39So you can either come here to have a good time and God bless you if you do. And a lot
40:43of people first come here to have a good time. But if this is a meritocracy and it, it, it
40:48flushes out the people who aren't, aren't America don't have the merit eventually. But if you,
40:53it's like I was saying, if you're consistent about delivering results, you'll get noticed
40:57and you, you don't have to be Muslim. You don't have to be Arab. You don't have to, it's okay.
41:02They're, they're open minded here. Okay. And you know, you'll just build the relationship slowly
41:07and then things happen and then you start adding value and it can happen. So, you know, the hustler's
41:12thing is like, it's another Andrew Tate ism, right? Hustlers University and all that stuff.
41:15But he, he's not really a hustler. He's built businesses. He works out. He did kickboxing.
41:20Kickboxing is the opposite of hustling, right? He, you have to trick your, you're a martial
41:24artist and you're doing your boxing thing. You know, it's not a one time. Oh, I won.
41:28He didn't roll the dice. He didn't lie to anyone. Like nothing is more real than getting
41:31in a fight. Right. And then having to train for it. Cause then all the words mean nothing.
41:35That's just the physical reality of it. So this is a builder's paradise. You build yourself
41:39and you build your business and you build your relationships and then you get to keep a good
41:43chunk of what you build. What does this place look like in 10 years? Do you think? And on
41:47that same note, what is, you know, tech Tuesdays look like in 10 years? You mentioned the explanation.
41:51Oh, I love, I love how you integrate those two. Um, I, it's very hard to know what the world
41:57is going to look like in 10 years with the political situation with right now and with AI
42:02and a bunch of other things. That being said, like China, like some other countries, they do
42:08they do have a plan. Okay. The U S the plan changes every 10 seconds. Cause you never
42:12know, you know, who's in charge or many people or no one's in charge here. You know, it will
42:16get more green. Okay. It will get more populated. It will get more expensive. Uh, it will face
42:23enhanced competition from Saudi Arabia. Okay. Saudi Arabia in some way is becoming a big Dubai.
42:29They're behind, but they're massive and they have massive money and a big population.
42:33Yeah. And a big population.
42:35Right. Which, you know, in American terms, it's like a 10%, but you know, in local terms, it's,
42:40it's big and they have physical space. Uh, so Dubai was always, and UAE was always sort of an
42:47outlier economy, like an entree port to, to access the bigger GCC, the more, the more liberal place,
42:52the place that you want to live and raise your family. And then, you know, or UAE or Abu Dhabi,
42:56you know, and then you go to Saudi for three days to do some business. It's hasn't,
43:01Saudi is not a big Dubai yet, but as it loosens up, as opportunity grows there as
43:06everything else, Dubai is going to have to hustle.
43:09To continue watching the rest of the episode for free, visit our website, Londonreal.tv
43:15or click the link in the description below.
Recommended
4:00
|
Up next
2:00
3:34
1:33:36