What started as two aspiring entrepreneurs friends bringing together 300 builders in Limassol, has grown into a global platform for founders, operators, and capital. On November 26–27, 2025, the story continues in Dubai as Doers Summit takes the stage at Dubai Digital Park in Dubai Silicon Oasis.
Produced in collaboration with Dubai Silicon Oasis, the specialized economic zone for knowledge and innovation within the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority (DIEZ), the Dubai edition pairs practical content with direct access to the people and partners who move ideas forward pairs practical content with access to the people and partners who move ideas forward.
Seven Years, One Through-Line: Rooms Where Doers Meet
The Doers story began in 2018 when Dušan Duffek and Stylianos Lambrou, friends from the University of Cambridge, invited ~300 peers to a gathering in Limassol. Both were building Duffek was part of the co-working business in Slovakia; Lambrou in real estate in Cyprus, and felt a gap: events full of talk, too little execution. The first edition of what they called the Reflect Festival made their hypothesis obvious: with the right people in the same room, conversations turned into plans and plans turned into outcomes.
Year after year the flywheel compounded and curated real-world experiences with precise guest lists became the founders’ specialty. Under the Reflect Festival banner, the community expanded and the guest list went global; by 2022 the festival spread over the old town of Limassol, welcoming 5000 attendees and by 2023 the event doubled in size, welcoming roughly 10,000 attendees and became Cyprus’s largest tech gathering. Attendees now represent more than 70 nationalities each year, giving the program a genuinely international character. The ethos remained constant: practical playbooks and rooms full of relevant people who can do business together. The stage has featured leaders shaping their industries, including Elizabeth Yin (Hustle Fund), Ankur Nagpal (Teachable), Bryan Johnson (Blueprint, Kernel), Yuri Gurski (Flo Health), Tony Jamous (Oyster), John Tsioris (InstaShop), Vaibhav Kapoor (Pristyn Care), Jesse Middleton (Flybridge), with regular returns from voices such as Markus Fuhrmann (Delivery Hero), Niklas Jansen (Blinkist), and Jamil Shinawi (AHOY).
After successful editions, the founders chose to build beyond a single annual gathering. They launched Doers United, a private, invitation-driven network that grew city by city through founder dinners, salons, and small-room meetups across Greece, Cyprus, Central Europe and UAE. The Doers Talks pop-up series carried lessons into these hubs and kept the community active year-round, which made Dubai the clear next chapter for the Summit’s expansion.
“We began in 2018 with a small gathering of 300 friends in Limassol who wanted less talk and more execution. That spirit never changed. It grew into a year-round community with Doers United and, today, into Doers Summit, a global platform active across Athens, Limassol, and Dubai. The journey has been simple to describe and hard to do. Curate the room and help people leave with partners and next steps. Dubai is the next chapter in that story, and we are building it with the same intent,” said Stylianos Lambrou, CEO and Co-founder of The Doers Company.
Dubai, the Next Chapter for Doers
Dubai is rapidly strengthening its position as a global hub for technology, entrepreneurship, and innovation.
It serves as a launchpad between East and West and attracts top talent, capital, and ideas. In 2024 it ranked among the world’s top five cities for entrepreneurs, supported by business-friendly policy, modern infrastructure, and access to funding. The UAE startup ecosystem now exceeds $10 billion in value, with Dubai home to roughly 90 percent of the country’s startups. Innovation clusters such as Dubai Internet City and Dubai Silicon Oasis host global leaders like Microsoft and SAP alongside hundreds of fast-growing scaleups. With more than 200 nationalities living and working in the city, Dubai offers a truly global stage for founders, investors, and innovators and the ideal setting for Doers Summit.
“Over the past year we have worked closely with Dubai’s ecosystem, from Dubai Silicon Oasis and Dtec to founders and investors across the city. Bringing our flagship format, Doers Summit, to Dubai was the natural next step. The city has emerged as a startup capital for Asia and the Middle East, where capital, talent, and public-sector vision meet, and we are excited to build with this community,” said Dušan Duffek, Co-founder and Board Member of The Doers Company.
Doers Summit Dubai will gather 3,000 founders, investors, operators, and ecosystem leaders for two days of curated sessions across three stages, featuring 150 speakers from across the region and the world. Confirmed voices include:
- H.E. Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy
- Uri Levine, Co-founder, Waze
- Alisa Adel, Senior Director, Research & Technology, Airbus
- Niklas Jansen, Co-founder, Blinkist
- Nikos Moraitakis, Co-founder and CEO, Workable
- Sacha Drăgic, Founder and Co-CEO, Superbet
- Ameya Prabhu, Founder and CEO, NAFA Capital Group
- Jamil Shinawi, Co-founder and CEO, AHOY
Limited offer for Recursive Readers
Readers of The Recursive can access special discounted Doer tickets for the Dubai edition. All tickets include full access to the two-day program, side events, and both expo zones. The allocation is limited and available on a first-come first-serve basis. The tickets can be redeemed via this link.
