Video: How is Dubai's Smash Room making so much money?

• The Smash Room

First of its kind in the UAE, The Smash Room, is celebrating the completion of a successful first year in business and will mark the occasion with the very first and exciting Epic Smash - an event where guests can smash big-ticket items such as washing machines, refrigerators and cars.

The Smash Room, a startup that was funded with the help of close friends and family, has already hosted over 6,000 people in just under a year; and it only took 10 months for the founders, Ibrahim Abudyak, a serial entrepreneur, and Hiba Balfaqih, a psychologist, to break even.

The homegrown leisure space was born as a result of a tragedy Hiba experienced. In search of a coping mechanism, The Smash Room was created and has now grown into a successful startup and a benchmark for upcoming new businesses; proving that there is a market for out-of-the-box business ideas that don’t conform to societal norms.

Over the past 1 year, The Smash Room has had visitors from all walks of life; from people who are stressed because of their day-to-day lives to people who just want to indulge in an alternative fun activity. According to the co-founder, Ibrahim, most people choose the Two 2 Tango package, which is only priced at AED 399 and accommodates 2 people in one room and includes 30 glasses and 2 electronic items.

In addition to providing a safe haven for customers to de-stress and indulge in harmless fun, The Smash Room also gives back through their partnership with Melltoo and Emirates Red Crescent. Proceeds from add-on items such as office printers and other electronics are donated to help feed refugees.

The Smash Room is also actively doing their best to reduce e-waste in the country. According to Ibrahim, “more than 7,000 items, which were smashed, have been recycled – which include a wide array of items, such as DVDs, printers and TVs”.

After experiencing huge success in the UAE, specifically Dubai, The Smash Room founders feel that this idea will also be a big hit in other parts of the MENA region; the team has already devised plans of expanding through franchising and other means within their radius.

Arabian Business editors Shayan Shakeel and Bernd Debusmann discuss the business model of the therapeutic Smash Room on Inside AB.

This article was first published on Arabian Business. Watch the video at https://www.arabianbusiness.com/video/414778-video-how-is-dubais-smash-room-making-so-much-money.