Technology has proved to be the new dawn for the business world. Entrepreneurs have turned every impossibility into a grand success with a tech-mediated approach. This success has not only benefited the business community but has revolutionized every industry, every social group, and even the dreams of budding entrepreneurs too. Today, startups do not need a giant investment to start a business. All you need is an apt idea that can sail through the tide of time and yield a mutual benefit to the consumer and provider. But, a successful business has never been about just the kickstart. Moreover, it has been an endeavor to stay resilient in tough times, being armored in those storms that are ushered through the market and social forces.
This necessity of entrepreneurs has been very well understood by V.Francis John. Being in multiple business realms, V. Francis has achieved knowledge and experience that is truly unmatched. V. Francis has accumulated over four decades of experience in technology leadership, strategic investments, disruptive technologies, and developing corporate strategies that result in transformational growth. With his deep insights into the technology world, many entrepreneurs are achieving heights and ensuring that the business ethos ingrained by V. Francis continues to light up the technology world. As a strong believer in inclusivity in business, V. Francis ensures that not a single potential idea that can transcend into a functional business misses the light of the day. His empathetic approach toward business enthusiasts and excitement to observe an idea turning to its fruition make him a TRUE TECHNOLOGY LEADER.
Presently serving as the CEO of ZtartUp.com—a unique kind of private incubator/accelerator in UAE, V.Francis ensures to nurture innovators, disruptors, and thought leaders. Under his leadership, the company functions as a multisector business incubator for startups of every size and orientation. Furthermore, being in the Venture Capital and Private Equity Principals industry, V.Francis ensures a balancing act of organizational development along with the accelerating growth of entrepreneurs.
But, the corporate journey of V.Francis doesn’t just stop with ZtartUp. He has many feathers on his cap. He has recently been awarded the Global Youth Leadership Award 2022, Smart Innovation Award 2022, Outstanding Leadership Award 2022, Stevie Awards Program Award 2022, SME Award 2022, and Young Challenge Business Tycoon 2022.
Besides, he is on the Board of Startup Village by mUrgency Business Incubator, Board of mUrgency , and Director of MU Holdings. Adding to the amazement, V.Francis also founded Intelligent Beings, an organization that leverages emerging technologies to realize smart industry and ecosystems of innovation and collaboration.
Without further ado, let’s deep dive into the inspiring story of V.Francis John and learn his art of technology leadership that has empowered UAE’s corporates.
A Standout Technology Leader—V. Francis V. Francis
Initiating his humble beginnings in India, V. Francis pursued his education at St. Columbia School, New Delhi. Furthering ahead, he enriched himself with leadership lessons from his experience obtained through Landmark Forum in 1997. Later, he graduated from Sri Ramakrishnan International Institute of Management in 2009 and, through Dale Carnegie Training, V. Francis gained experience in leadership training. Utilizing this academic expertise, V. Francis became an active participant across major bootcamps on leadership and organizational development. But, his career took a steep rise when he was nominated for The World CEO Ranking in 2020.
V. Francis has been a member of multiple international forums like World Future Society, TiE Dubai, AIIA.net, International Society for Professional Innovation Management, International Association of Innovation Professionals, Blockchain Industry Group, Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence Industry Group, and the list goes on. This has helped him hone his skills in various segments of the technology world and has also given him a platform to innovate on multiple horizons.
As a champion of finding tech-oriented solutions, V. Francis has helped several companies to establish and scale up in this fast-changing world. Leveraging technology to find and bridge disparities has become his mission. More importantly, after decades of dabbling in various multiple entrepreneurial ventures of his own. The prospect of mentoring, coaching, guiding, and tutoring the next generation of startups and entrepreneurs is an inspirational experience of imparting decades of knowledge and experience aggregation. And now, at ZtartUp, he aims to ensure that innovators and disruptors are given a springboard to transform their ideas into sustainable business models.
As a technology leader, V. Francis finds it exciting to take entrepreneurs to the success that they deserve. But moreover, he is also hopeful about Dubai as the most suitable avenue for global business. He realizes the challenges of the time and says, “There is no dearth of innovators, but the challenge today has become finding the right avenues and resources- like an elaborate jigsaw puzzle.”
Challenging the Storms, Ushering with Grand Success
Keeping his wise business acumen intact, V. Francis acknowledges the industry’s challenges and shares the challenges he faced while twirling the industry’s uncertainty during COVID times. At the peak of the pandemic, the world was at a standstill, and the tourism industry was devastatingly impacted. Instead of just trying to stay afloat, the travel & tourism verticals of ZtartUp.com shifted gears and ramped up its activity by leveraging technology. While an entire ecosystem existed for travel, the potential it held as an interconnected entity was untapped. V. Francis ramped up operations to integrate and aggregate visaguy (visa issuance), zafaari (ticketing), thrillark (experiences), and airportassist (arrival/ departure services) into one cohesive network of cross-pollinated platforms. This allowed a traveler to complete the entire journey within this ecosystem seamlessly.
The resounding success of the above case study resulted in a myriad of accomplishments for this ecosystem. Airport Assist was shortlisted for The ATM Draper-Aladdin Startup Competition 2022 and came in fourth place. They also notched up their airport links to 1000+ globally. Zafaari was shortlisted to pitch at the Arabian Travel Market 2022 in Dubai. Thrillark was listed in the top emerging startups in the Middle East by Best Startup Asia. This mainly came from them streamlining efforts to bolster intrastate tourism, and as a result, they could bring in AED 20 Million+ in revenues. What’s more, when their industry counterparts were at their wit’s end, the teams were working harder than ever to speed up their operation. All in all, under the aegis of Ztartup. com, the incubatees saw light when the industry across the globe was plunged into darkness.
V.Francis’ Success Mantra
V.Francis John, an undefeated technology leader in the Dubai business sphere, had a lot of learnings. His professionalism and resilient approach inspire international forums. Behind his grand success, he accredits many individuals and institutions. But essentially, he learned that it is essential to get his hands dirty and work with the team. He says, “I might not be a master at things, but I would love to give my best to understand the nuances of the issue and learn relevant technology or process to guide the team better. In my opinion, leader attributes to Listening, Enthusiasm, and Dedication, Earn Respect, and team signifies Together Everyone Achieves More.”
Future Holds Progress
Standing at such a forefront of success where V. Francis holds the strength to pioneer the business sphere through his leadership skills, he is always nose-dipped in understanding the upcoming business trends in order to emerge with a solution that can prove to be an ecosystem for budding entrepreneurs. This vision of V. Francis has instigated hope among the international business community.
This has been possible due to his philosophical standpoint of an inclusive approach. He dreams of nurturing the business community with ZtartUp ecosystem and creating an assurance to budding entrepreneurs that innovation has no bounds and if one dreams big, one can achieve it. To make this possible, V. Francis is always looking for networking opportunities that can make Dubai—an international hub for knowledge exchange and a shelter to grow individual businesses to impeccable heights. Being a transformative wheel of such a strong incubator of Dubai, V. Francis leaves no stone unturned to pace up with the rising technological needs of the youth. This zeal of V. Francis has created a wave of optimism for tech-preneurs, and he wishes to stand for every individual who is directed toward the holistic growth of society.
He mentions, “ZtartUp.com provides the perfect platform for those who are contemplating to nurture and tap the right talent and are looking for the right opportunities. We give entrepreneurs the right mentoring so that their ideas develop into successful homegrown companies of Dubai,” he said, adding that these same companies can then go on to proudly boast the emblem of ‘Made in UAE’, this is a result of channeling creativity through the right metrics.”
Advising Budding Entrepreneurs
We asked V. Francis about his advice to budding entrepreneurs, to which he answered, “I see the Metaverse and AI assimilating into every aspect of our collective lives. Capitalizing on this right away can help you stay ahead of the curve. My advice for young minds is to trust your instincts. But the instincts must be honed by asking questions and learning from veterans. I also believe that one must strike a balance between work and personal life. Most importantly, homeostasis is what helps one’s innovation and life flourish.”
The Technology Leader
With over 40 years of experience in tech, leadership, governance, and policy, V. Francis dons several hats. He is CEO of Ztartup Network, Director of Startup Village, mUrgency INC, and MU Holdings. He is also the founder of Intelligent Beings, an organization that seeks to leverage emerging technologies to realize smart industries and ecosystems of innovation and collaboration. Leveraging technology to find and bridge disparities has been his mission.
Awards and Accolades
- V.Francis V. Francis
- Global Youth Leadership Award 2022- Global Youth Parliament Conference Hall Bangkok
- Smart Innovation Award 2022 – Future Workspace Summit and Awards 2022, Dubai
- Outstanding Leadership Award 2022 – European International University
- Stevie Award Program Award 2022 – SME Award 2022
- Young Challenge Business tycoon 2022
- ZtartUp Achievements
- Three UAE Golden Visas: Dr. Gautam Allahbadia, MMCIVF
- Dleef Muhammed, Arabian World Records
- Farhaan Feroz, Halatec
- Three Incubatees crossed million dollar mark in revenues in 2021-22
