Not every entrepreneur wants to be in the spotlight. Some prefer to focus on their work, build meaningful relationships, and let the results speak for themselves. Bassel Makarem has always leaned towards the latter.
A private person by nature, Makarem has never been particularly comfortable with personal publicity. His focus has remained on building businesses, maintaining relationships, and finding ways to move forward in an industry that rarely stands still. That approach has shaped his journey from establishing Media Mak in the UAE in 2012 to developing Qouponi, a platform focused on coupons and affiliate marketing.
His story is less about seeking recognition and more about the experiences that come with building something from the ground up, learning through difficult decisions, and finding new opportunities in a changing market.
Starting From Scratch With Media Mak
When Makarem established Media Mak in 2012, the business began with outdoor advertising. Entering the market meant building credibility, developing client relationships, and demonstrating that the company could deliver on its commitments.
Starting from scratch came with its share of uncertainty. Establishing a business requires more than an idea or a willingness to take a risk. It involves winning people’s confidence, managing expectations, and making decisions without always knowing how things will turn out.
For Makarem, much of the experience came through doing the work itself. Every relationship, business commitment, and challenge contributed to his understanding of what it takes to sustain a company over time.
Building Media Mak was not simply about getting a business started. It was about keeping it moving, adapting to circumstances, and maintaining the relationships on which the business depended.
Over the years, one lesson became particularly important to him: trust takes time to build, and protecting it requires consistent effort. Commercial opportunities may come and go, but a damaged relationship or lost credibility can have consequences that extend far beyond a single transaction.
That understanding continues to influence how he approaches business today.
Learning to Adapt as Advertising Changed
The advertising industry that Makarem entered in 2012 has continued to evolve. Outdoor media remains a valuable way for brands to establish visibility, but digital platforms have changed how businesses reach consumers, measure engagement, and evaluate the impact of their marketing investments.
Makarem’s experience expanded alongside these changes, taking him from outdoor advertising into digital media and performance marketing. This progression gave him a broader perspective on how brands connect with audiences and how marketing strategies must respond to changing consumer behaviour.
Moving into new areas of the industry also meant recognising that experience alone is not enough. What works in one market or at one stage of a business may not necessarily work in another. Staying relevant requires a willingness to question established approaches, understand new models, and make room for different opportunities.
For Makarem, this evolution has been a natural part of running a business. His experience with Media Mak provided a foundation, but it did not mean that the company or its approach had to remain unchanged.
The ability to adapt while retaining the principles that matter most has become an important part of his professional outlook.
The Decisions Behind Building a Business
Entrepreneurship is often described in terms of growth, expansion, and successful ventures. The less visible part is the decision-making that happens along the way: deciding whom to work with, which opportunities deserve attention, and when a particular direction is no longer right.
Makarem’s experience has reinforced the importance of making those decisions carefully.
He places considerable value on relationships, but he also recognises that maintaining a relationship should not mean pursuing every opportunity at any cost. Partnerships need to make sense, commitments need to be realistic, and business decisions need to protect the company’s long-term interests.
Learning when to move forward and when to step away is part of that process. Not every opportunity will deliver what it promises, and not every partnership will be suitable. Sometimes, saying no is necessary to protect the business and the principles on which it was built.
These lessons have helped shape Makarem’s approach to business over the years. They also reflect a preference for substance over appearances. Rather than placing personal visibility at the centre of his work, he has chosen to concentrate on the business itself and the relationships that help it grow.
For him, credibility is built through actions over time, not simply through what a person says about their achievements.
Qouponi: Applying Experience to a New Opportunity
Qouponi marks a new chapter in Makarem’s entrepreneurial journey. Focused on coupons and affiliate marketing, the platform represents an opportunity to apply his experience in advertising and performance marketing to a different part of the digital economy.
The idea builds on a familiar business question: how can brands reach the right consumers while creating value from their marketing efforts?
Coupon and affiliate marketing offer one way to approach that challenge by connecting businesses with consumers through offers, incentives, and performance-based partnerships. Success in this space depends on understanding what motivates customers, developing reliable commercial relationships, and building a model that works for the businesses and partners involved.
Makarem’s background gives him experience to draw upon, particularly in understanding brands, client expectations, and the importance of trust. At the same time, Qouponi presents a distinct set of opportunities and challenges that require their own strategy, execution, and continued learning.
Developing a new platform is not simply an extension of running an established advertising business. It requires attention to a different marketplace, an understanding of its participants, and a clear approach to building sustainable growth.
That is what makes Qouponi an important next step for Makarem: it allows him to take lessons from his earlier experience and apply them to a business with its own direction and potential.
Two Businesses, One Long-Term Vision
Today, Makarem’s focus is on continuing to develop Media Mak while growing Qouponi. Although the businesses operate in different areas of marketing, they are connected by a shared understanding of how brands, consumers, and commercial relationships interact.
Media Mak represents years of experience in advertising, client relationships, and adapting to changes in the industry. Qouponi builds on that foundation while exploring the opportunities offered by coupons, affiliate marketing, and performance-driven digital business.
His longer-term ambition is to expand across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, developing both businesses in ways that respond to the needs of an evolving market.
Achieving that vision will require different approaches for each venture. Media Mak must continue to build on its experience while remaining responsive to changes in advertising. Qouponi must establish its position in a competitive digital environment and develop partnerships that support sustainable growth.
The opportunity lies in allowing the two businesses to complement one another without losing sight of their individual strengths. Experience gained through one venture can inform decisions in the other, while each business develops according to its own market and objectives.
For Makarem, the priority is not simply to expand for the sake of expansion. It is to build businesses that can develop over time, create genuine commercial value, and maintain the trust of the people and organisations they work with.
Letting the Work Speak for Itself
Makarem’s preference for privacy offers a different perspective on entrepreneurship in an era when founders are often encouraged to build public profiles alongside their companies.
He has never felt the need to share every achievement or put himself at the centre of the story. He would rather concentrate on the work, maintain meaningful relationships, and allow the businesses he builds to represent his efforts.
That does not mean avoiding ambition or looking away from growth. It means approaching both on his own terms, with greater emphasis on the substance of the work than on personal visibility.
As Media Mak continues to develop and Qouponi enters its next phase of growth, the two businesses reflect different stages of the same entrepreneurial journey: one shaped by years of experience in advertising, the other by the willingness to explore new possibilities in digital marketing.
Makarem’s focus remains on bringing those experiences together, strengthening both businesses, and pursuing opportunities across the GCC. The industries may continue to change, but his priorities remain consistent: make thoughtful decisions, build relationships on trust, adapt when necessary, and stay focused on what is worth building.
For someone who has always preferred to keep a low profile, the most meaningful measure of progress may be found not in how much attention he receives, but in how far the businesses he has built can go.
Connect with Bassel Makarem on LinkedIn to follow his professional journey and developments across Media Mak and Qouponi.
You might also like – UAE Startup Founders Building Solutions for Tomorrow
