The next vertical SaaS is built for the people who run events.
The only operating system for events that merges operations, a supplier marketplace, embedded payments & invoicing, and AI event assistance into one platform. Today's operators duct-tape 8β12 tools together β WePlen replaces them all.
AI PlanningTasks & ApprovalsTeam ChatSupplier MarketplacePayments & Invoicing
Pre-Seed Round
AED 2,000,000
Equity Offered
10%
Founder
Rabih Sahab, UAE
Stage
Live prototype Β· Pre-revenue
02 / 20
The Problem
Events are run on chaos.
Whether you run 1 event or 30, the chaos is invisible β until it costs you. Six failure patterns repeat at every venue, every operator, every region.
01
Gmail, WhatsApp, ExcelThree apps. No source of truth. Decisions vanish in DMs.
02
Single point of failureOne person holds everything in their head. They quit, you collapse.
03
Suppliers paid blind100% upfront, no recourse if they fail. Or 0% upfront, no commitment.
04
Late marketing kills shows34% of UAE events launch marketing too late. Result: 18β28% lower attendance.
05
Partners argue at the endNo transparent ledger. Settlement becomes a fight, not a calculation.
06
Same mistakes, every eventNo system that learns. The 50th event repeats the same disasters as the 5th.
UAE: 50,000+ events a year. AED 51B market. Zero purpose-built operating system.
03 / 20
Founder Insight
More than 20 years running all types of events. Every failure, lived.
WePlen wasn't designed by a software team guessing at workflows. It was built by an operator who has run every kind of event β intimate private functions, F&B and nightlife, corporate and luxury, festivals with more than 20,000 people β and has personally lived every failure it prevents.
"Every serious event runs on five or more disconnected apps, held together by one operator's memory and pressure. Across more than 20 years in hospitality and events, I've been that operator. That's not a system β it's a dependency. And dependencies don't scale: to grow one you over-staff β more people tracking every task by hand just to keep it from breaking."
β Rabih Sahab, Founder Β· WePlen Β· 20+ years in hospitality & events across the Middle East
Experience
20+
Years in hospitality, F&B, nightlife & large-scale events across the Middle East
Real events operated
50+
From private events to large-scale outdoor festivals with more than 20,000 people in Abu Dhabi
Prototype built
Live
6 working screens including AI blueprint engine and live finance P&L
04 / 20
The Solution
Seven modules. One operating system.
The only event operating system that merges operations, a supplier marketplace, embedded payments & invoicing, and AI assistance β every workflow that runs a professional event, now in one intelligent platform. AI prepares the blueprint. Humans approve. The system protects execution, capital, and delivery.
AI
AI Blueprint Engine
Generates complete event execution plans in seconds. Powered by Claude AI + 20+ years of operator rules. Live.
PC
Portfolio Command
One screen for multi-show operators. Live risk scores, network benchmarks, AI alerts. Built for enterprise.
MU
Multi-User Workflow
Role-based team access. Owners assign tasks. Team executes. Two-step partner approval flow built in.
W
Wallet, Escrow & Settlement
Org + per-event wallets. 50/50 supplier escrow. Partner settlement at event close. Funds release only on delivery.
SN
Suppliers Network
2,847+ DJs, performers, production houses, sound, F&B, venues β full directory with WePlen escrow.
LB
Learning AI Brain
Hidden intelligence layer. Every event makes the next event smarter. Network effects compound the moat.
$
Invoicing & Accounting
Organized invoicing, official accounting and in-app financial statements β every invoice issued and received, tracked to settlement.
Core principle: AI prepares the blueprint. Humans approve decisions. The system protects everyone.
LIVE AT WEPLEN.COM
05 / 20
Market Opportunity
A massive, underserved market.
The global events industry is worth AED 5.5 trillion. It runs almost entirely without intelligent operational software.
Global events market
AED 5.5T
Annual industry value globally
MENA events market
AED 103B
Growing at 12% CAGR. UAE is the #1 market.
UAE serviceable market
AED 8.8B
Corporate, hospitality & entertainment events annually
Why UAE first
β World's highest event budgets per capita
β 3,000+ event agencies, hotels, and venues
β Government events (Expo, World Cup, COP) driving demand
β Tech-forward culture with high SaaS adoption
β Founder has deep existing network in the industry
Our initial target customers
β Event agencies (1,000+ in UAE)
β Hotel & hospitality event teams
β Independent event operators & promoters
β Corporate in-house event teams
β Government event offices
06 / 20
Market β bottom up
Top-down it's huge. Bottom-up, here's who pays.
Anyone planning an event is a user β priced in tiers so the smallest pay little or nothing, while professionals and transaction flow carry the revenue. Counted from the UAE today.
Tier 1 Β· Professionals
~4,000
UAE organisations β 1,000+ event & production agencies, 1,240 hotels with events teams, plus venues and PR / wedding / exhibition organisers. ~10,000 event professionals work inside them. Full SaaS.
Tier 2 Β· Corporate & SME in-house
~40,000
The ~10% of the UAE's ~1M active business licenses that run events β corporates, retail, real estate, schools, government. Lighter tier, high volume.
Tier 3 Β· Consumers & long tail
100,000s
Weddings, parties and private events every year. Free β we earn the transaction when they book a supplier or sell tickets.
Our Year-5 target (SOM)
β 420 paying organisers
β 1,000 paying suppliers
β 28,000 free organisers
Why that's credible β not domination
420 paying organisers is a single-digit percentage of the ~4,000 Tier-1 organisations plus the top of Tier 2 β sitting on AED 8.8B of annual UAE event spend. We win by capturing a sliver of a market we can name and count, not by assuming we own it.
Counted from: UAE National Economic Register (~1M active licenses, mid-2025) Β· Ministry of Economy & Tourism (1,240+ hotel establishments) Β· business-activity directories (~556 event agencies in Dubai). Event-professional headcount via LinkedIn β figure to be confirmed.
07 / 20
Market β by segment
Every segment. One operating system.
The UAE runs 35,000β55,000 organised events a year β roughly AED 10B of direct event spend β and not one segment has a purpose-built operating system. WePlen is built for all of them.
Segment
Events / year
Direct spend
Corporate & brand activations
~14,000
AED 2.7B
MICE β conferences & exhibitions
~3,000
AED 2.7B
Weddings & private events
~6,500
AED 1.4B
Entertainment & nightlife
~4,000
AED 1.2B
Government & cultural
~3,000
AED 0.9B
Sports & community
~2,500
AED 0.6B
Hotel banqueting
~10,000
AED 0.6B
Total UAE
~45,000
~AED 10B
Volume and value: corporate, banqueting and weddings drive the thousands of everyday events; MICE, entertainment and sports are fewer but far higher value β MICE alone β AED 2.7B from just ~3,000 events. WePlen runs both: every segment, every size.
Direct event production & services spend β the layer WePlen addresses; sits inside the broader UAE events economic footprint. USD figures converted at the 3.67 peg.
08 / 20
Competitive landscape
Everyone owns a link. WePlen owns the chain.
The best tools in events are point solutions β each brilliant at one slice. Running an event is a chain. We connect the links no one else does.
The field β best-in-class, one slice each
Tripleseat
Venue booking & BEOs
Planning Pod
Vendor coordination
Nowsta
Event staffing
WePlen β the whole chain
Plan
AI blueprint
β
Staff
Headcount
β
Procure
BOQ Β· RFQ Β· quotes
β
Pay
Escrow
β
Prove
Evidence Β· disputes
The handoffs between these tools β procurement, payment, proof β run on WhatsApp and Excel. WePlen is the operating layer that owns the whole chain.
Only WePlen
Others cover too
09 / 20
Why We Win
The first vertical operating system for events.
Horizontal tools (Asana, Slack, Excel) don't speak events. Event tools (Eventbrite, Cvent) don't handle execution. WePlen is the category neither has built β and the playbook is proven in Toast (restaurants), Procore (construction), ServiceTitan (home services), Veeva (pharma): vertical SaaS beats horizontal SaaS in any industry with specific workflows and high stakes.
Platform
Event-aware AI
Governance enforcement
Partner finance control
Supplier governance
Legal-grade dispute resolution
WePlen β¦
β Live
β Enforced
β In-app
β End-to-end
β Auto-evidence
Asana / Monday / Slack
β
β
β
β
β
Eventbrite
β
β
β
β
β
Cvent
Partial
Partial
β
β
β
Excel + WhatsApp
β
β
β
β
β
The moat is three-layered. (1) Domain knowledge encoded: 20+ years of event operating wisdom β approval hierarchies, partner funding, milestone-locked payments, supplier governance β encoded as software rules that no horizontal tool can bolt on. (2) Legally admissible chat for dispute resolution: when a dispute is filed, WePlen auto-snapshots all event chat, payment timeline, BOQ history. This single feature makes WePlen "switching cost = lawsuits." (3) Network effects across the marketplace: organisers, suppliers, sponsors and finance partners β each side adds value to the others. WhatsApp groups can't compete with this.
10 / 20
The Engine
Not just software. A supplier marketplace.
Organisers post a BOQ; a vetted network of production, venue, F&B and staffing suppliers competes with real quotes; the organiser awards the best fit and pays through escrow on delivery. Every organiser pulls suppliers in β every supplier sharpens price and choice for organisers. The network compounds, and more than 20 years of Gulf relationships seed the supply side from day one.
ORGANISERS GET
Competitive bids in hours, not weeks Β· vetted suppliers with track record & ratings Β· one BOQ β many quotes Β· milestone-locked escrow so money only moves on delivery
β
SUPPLIERS GET
Qualified deal flow from real events Β· no cold outreach Β· paid on time via escrow Β· a reputation that compounds with every completed job
Why it compounds
More organisersβMore demandβMore suppliers joinβSharper pricing & choiceβΊ
No cold-start. The hardest part of any marketplace is the first 100 suppliers. WePlen begins with more than 20 years of Gulf event relationships already on the supply side.
It's the biggest line. Supplier revenue β listings, commission and promoted placement β is β AED 12.5M of Year-5 revenue (48%), the single largest line in the model.
11 / 20
Business Model
A marketplace where suppliers drive the revenue.
Organisers run their events on WePlen. Thousands of suppliers β production, staffing, AV, catering, security, talent β pay to be discovered and win the work. Suppliers are the largest revenue line. AED 26M Year 5.
The recurring base β event companies & enterprise operators plan, staff, procure and pay in one app.
Organiser & enterprise SaaSAED 7.9M
AI creditsAED 2.0M
YR 5 Β· 420 organisers Β· ~AED 1.5K/mo
TICKETING & TRANSACTIONS
14%
AED 3.6M
The transaction layer across every event β tickets, payments, escrow.
Ticketing rev-shareAED 2.4M
Payments, insurance & floatAED 1.2M
Both sides Β· every event
Where the AED 26M comes from
Suppliers Β· 48%
Subscription Β· 38%
14%
Total Year 5 revenue: AED 26M Β· Full-year profitable by Year 3 Β· 82% gross margin Β· ~AED 10M EBITDA at scale
+ 3% interest on escrow cash float
12 / 20
5-Year Projections
From AED 0.8M to AED 26M in 5 years.
Full-year profitable from Year 3. 82% gross margin. ~AED 10M EBITDA by Year 5. Conservative client growth: 25 β 420 paying clients.
26M20M13M6M0
AED 0.8M
AED 2.4M
AED 6.0M
AED 13M
AED 26M
YR 1
YR 2
YR 3
YR 4
YR 5
CLIENTS YR1βYR5
25β420
GROSS MARGIN
82%
BREAK-EVEN
Year 3
YR 5 EBITDA
~AED 10M
BASE CASE
7.8Γ return
13 / 20
Why the ramp is credible
The playbook is already proven.
Every vertical operating system ran the same arc β integrated platform, embedded payments, land-and-expand. Here is where our Year-5 plan sits against the companies that built the category. We're not asking you to trust a number; we're applying a proven model to an undigitised market.
SERVICETITAN Β· TRADES
~AED 2.8B ARR
~8,000 customers 71% subscription Β· 25% payments AED 370M ARR in ~6 years NRR ~110%
The point: our 420 clients and ~AED 26M Year-5 revenue are a fraction of what these proved possible β on per-customer economics that sit below ServiceTitan and Procore. The category and the model are proven. The one thing we do differently is a cheaper acquisition engine β a free funnel and a supplier marketplace β instead of their expensive field-sales motion.
Foreign figures converted to AED at the 3.67 USD peg.
14 / 20
Traction & Proof
Not a deck. A live product.
Working software β built, deployed, installable as a mobile app, with real-time multi-device sync. Today.
Live deployment
weplen.com β running on production infra
Supabase backend, Netlify edge functions, Anthropic Claude for AI Blueprint, custom email infra via Resend, Google Workspace on weplen.com. Real-time cross-device sync via Supabase Realtime. Installable as a native-feeling mobile app via PWA β no App Store needed.
62 features shipped
All 6 modules functional end-to-end
AI Blueprint writes structured task plans to a real database. Drag-and-resize timeline (Gantt) on the event page. Inline approve/reject on commitments. Cross-event "attention" dashboard. Manage Team with roles. Workspace-level multi-tenancy. Auto-snapshot evidence on dispute filing. Activity log on every action.
Real financial data validated
Operating wisdom encoded
Demo workspace pre-loaded with realistic data across 3 events β Sahara Sands Desert Party NYE (AED 850K budget, 36 tasks across 10 categories, 75/25 partner split), Brand Launch DIFC, private event. Every screen lights up immediately β investors see operator-grade detail, not lorem ipsum.
Defensible moat
Legally admissible chat for disputes
When a dispute is filed, the system auto-snapshots all event chat, payment timeline, BOQ history, and evidence cards. Both sides can submit. Manager arbitrates with escrow lock. This doesn't exist on WhatsApp, Slack, or any horizontal tool. It's the single feature that anchors switching cost.
AI blueprint engine β live
Streams structured execution plans
Input event params β Claude streams a structured plan with departments, tasks with deadlines (D-XX), owners, payment terms, and red flag triggers. On save, the plan writes directly to the Timeline as a Gantt chart. Real AI workflow, not a chatbot.
Market validation
Founder network = direct pipeline
13 years of relationships with event operators, venues, and agencies in the Gulf β direct access to first 10 pilot clients. Live beta cohort onboarding starts week of raise close.
15 / 20
Roadmap
From raise to Series A.
Operator-grounded milestones. Aligned to the financial model. Quarterly progress markers from foundation to the Series A trigger (~AED 1.8M ARR).
Q3 2026
Foundation
Close raise Β· IFZA license Β· hire CTO Β· production-grade rebuild Β· 3 pilot clients onboarded Β· convert LOIs to signed contracts
Q4 2026
Launch Β· Year 1
Public launch Β· 25 paying clients Β· 50 suppliers onboarded Β· first enterprise pilot signed Β· supplier escrow live in production
2027
Scale UAE Β· Year 2
Reach 80 organisers Β· 400+ suppliers across production, staffing, AV & catering Β· 2 enterprise contracts Β· expand team to 7β8 people
2028
Series A Prep Β· Year 3
180 clients Β· KSA pilot launches Β· full-year break-even Β· Series A conversations open Β· AED 6M revenue
Series A goal (end 2028): ~AED 3M ARR Β· 180 clients Β· UAE established Β· KSA piloted Β· ready for AED 5β10M Series A
The trajectory beyond: own UAE agencies & banqueting β become their system of record and their money rails β marketplace network effects compound β expand market by market. The destination: the operating system for every event β you can't run one without it.
16 / 20
Use of Funds
AED 2,000,000 β deployed precisely.
Every dirham mapped to a specific output. No waste. No ambiguity.
Team & salaries (18 mo)
36%
AED 720K
Product & engineering
30%
AED 600K
Sales & growth
17.5%
AED 350K
Infrastructure & APIs
6.5%
AED 130K
Legal, compliance & IP
6%
AED 120K
Contingency
4%
AED 80K
TotalAED 2,000,000
What the product budget covers
The MVP is already built and live at weplen.com. This funds senior engineers to harden, scale and extend it β payments, supplier portal, AI blueprint β not a build from zero.
~18-month runway
This raise gives ~18 months of runway to the first ~25β30 paying clients and proven payments volume. It funds to Series-A milestones β not yet to profitability.
Series A trigger
~100 paying clients + ~AED 1.8M ARR + payments volume unlocks a Series A of AED 5β10M to expand into KSA, Egypt, and Europe.
17 / 20
The Team
Domain expertise meets execution.
WePlen is built by someone who has lived the problem β not a team that read about it.
RS
Rabih Sahab
Founder & CEO
20+ years operating restaurants, nightclubs, and large-scale events across the Middle East. Has run events from 200 to more than 20,000 guests β including a large-scale outdoor festival of more than 20,000 people in Abu Dhabi. Built and operated a manual version of this system before turning it into a product. Deep network across the UAE and regional event industry, hospitality, and F&B.
?
CTO / Technical Co-Founder
Actively recruiting
Seeking a senior full-stack engineer with SaaS product experience. Starting equity: 5%, with a structured +0.5% annual increase tied to agreed KPIs and product delivery milestones. Prototype and complete specification ready to hand over on day one. This is a rare, well-defined technical opportunity with real upside.
Advisory network under development: UAE event agencies, hospitality groups, and government event offices have been informally validated as potential early clients. The founder's existing relationships reduce customer acquisition cost to near zero in year one.
18 / 20
The Ask
Join us at the beginning.
Events are one of the last high-budget industries operating without an intelligent system. We are building the first one. This is the right time.
AED 2M
Pre-seed round Β· Friends, family & angels
Raise amount
AED 2,000,000
Equity offered
10%
Post-money valuation
AED 20M
Min. ticket size
AED 100,000
Per unit
0.5% equity
Instrument
Equity / SAFE
What you are investing in
β A complete, working prototype β not a pitch
β A founder with 20+ years of domain mastery across the Middle East
β A 24-chapter product spec β dev-ready
β The first AI execution engine for events
β An AED 103B MENA market with no real competitor
β ~18 months runway to product-market fit
Contact
Rabih Sahab
Rabih@WePlen.com
+971 56 481 9899
www.WePlen.com Β· UAE
This document is highly confidential and intended solely for the recipient. WePlen β UAE. All rights reserved. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.
19 / 20
Investor Returns
Base case: AED 100K β AED 780K in 5 years.
Three scenarios modeled against the financial plan. Every scenario delivers a multi-bagger return. The base case is built on conservative client growth and proven SaaS exit multiples.
CONSERVATIVE
YR 5 REVENUE
AED 20M
EXIT MULTIPLE
5.0Γ
AED 100K β PAYOUT
AED 500K
5.0Γ return Β· 38% IRR
Base Case
MODELED PLAN
YR 5 REVENUE
AED 26M
EXIT MULTIPLE
6.0Γ
AED 100K β PAYOUT
AED 780K
7.8Γ return Β· 51% IRR
OPTIMISTIC
YR 5 REVENUE
AED 35M
EXIT MULTIPLE
9.0Γ
AED 100K β PAYOUT
AED 1.575M
15.8Γ return Β· 74% IRR
RAISE
AED 2,000,000
EQUITY
10%
POST-MONEY
AED 20M
MIN TICKET
AED 100K = 0.5%
INSTRUMENT
Equity / SAFE
20 / 20
Why AED 20M
The valuation reflects what you're buying.
AED 20M post-money is not aggressive for what's on the table. It's priced below comparable MENA AI SaaS pre-seed rounds β and what you're getting cannot be replicated with capital alone.
01
Encoded expertise
20+ years across the region's biggest clubs, lounges, dinner shows, fine dining, and events from 200 to more than 20,000 guests β productized into the AI Blueprint Engine. Cannot be hired, cannot be copied.
02
Working product
24+ pages live, real backend, AI streaming, real-time multi-user sync. Series A demo at pre-seed pricing.
03
AI-native
Built FROM AI on day one. Eventbrite, Cvent, Bizzabo are retrofitting LLMs onto 15-year-old systems. Five-year architectural head start.
04
Distribution baked in
Every major event operator in Dubai is one phone call away. Customer acquisition cost approaches zero in our launch market.
05
Massive underserved market
UAE events ~AED 51B. MENA ~AED 103B. Globally AED 5.5T. Still 95% run on WhatsApp + Excel.
06
Timing β on time, not early
LLMs crossed the capability line in 2024-25. Dubai Vision 2040 pumping capital into events & entertainment. The window is now.
Comparable MENA pre-seed valuations Β· 2026
Bayzat Β· HR SaaS
AED 29M
No AI
Sarwa Β· WealthSaaS
AED 37M
No AI
MENA AI SaaS median
AED 22-44M
Working product
WePlen
AED 20M
Below market β
Bottom line: AED 20M post-money values WePlen below regional comps that have less product and no AI. The 10% buys the moat, the methodology, the product, the distribution β all together.