Jaad Hamadi walks into the room with the kind of quiet confidence that says, I’ve been through some things, and I figured them out. Second-generation immigrant, born and raised in Abu Dhabi, a city that grew alongside him. His father landed in the UAE 43 years ago, when the country was mostly sand and opportunity. “Back then, McDonald’s was considered fine dining,” Jaad jokes, setting the tone for the kind of candid, no-BS conversation that follows.
The Early Hustle
Jaad wasn’t born into wealth. He was the youngest in a working-class family, and from the start, he knew he had to break the cycle. “When you’re young, time is your biggest asset. Once you get older, responsibilities start chasing you—marriage, kids, bills… next thing you know, you’re stuck in the system.” Instead of waiting for life to happen to him, Jaad started experimenting.
His first taste of business came in university, running small ventures to make sure he had a financial runway post-graduation. “I wasn’t interested in just making money—I was obsessed with the freedom money gave me. I didn’t want to depend on a job, a boss, or a system that could pull the rug from under me any day.”
He launched an Instagram-based bracelet business before social media marketing was even a thing. “Everyone was still figuring out how to use Instagram. I saw the followers, I saw the attention, and I thought, Why not turn this into cash?” The business took off, proving two things:
1. He knew how to sell.
2. He knew how to make people trust him.
Both skills would come in handy when he stumbled upon a technology that would change his life.
The Lightbulb Moment
Jaad’s big break wasn’t planned. He saw a video of smart glass technology—glass that could switch from transparent to opaque with the push of a button—and couldn’t believe it wasn’t everywhere. “I thought, Why isn’t this in every house, office, car, and yacht?” The answer: it was too expensive, and if it broke, you had to replace the entire glass panel.
So he did what any mad scientist entrepreneur would do—he figured out how to turn it into a film that could be applied to existing glass. The game had changed. Suddenly, privacy wasn’t just for high-end hotels; it was for anyone who wanted instant, futuristic control over their space. And as a bonus? His version blocked 98% of harmful UV rays and even doubled as a projection screen.
Jaad wasn’t just selling a product; he was introducing an entire market to something they didn’t even know they needed.
Forbes 30 Under 30 & The Bigger Picture
Landing on Forbes 30 Under 30 wasn’t just a personal win—it was a family one. “For me, it was like an entrepreneur’s degree you can’t buy,” he says. “Seeing my parents’ reaction, knowing they could finally say our kid made it—that was the real award.”
With his company now operating in nine countries and employing 70+ people in the UAE alone, Jaad has little time for self-congratulation. “I don’t think about myself too much. I think about the people who rely on me—the employees, their families, the clients. As long as I’m building something that helps people, that’s what drives me.”
Resilience, Risk, and Rolling the Dice
So how does a young entrepreneur get people to trust him with massive contracts when he has no track record? Simple: relentless persistence and a bit of blind faith. “I needed a product that would sell itself. But I also needed people to believe in it—and in me. The first few years were all about proving myself in a market that didn’t even exist yet.”
Convincing clients to ditch curtains and blinds for high-tech glass film wasn’t easy. Neither was getting major hotels to gamble on his technology for hundreds of rooms at a time. “I had to convince people that this was the future. And if something went wrong, I had to guarantee I could fix it. No safety net, no excuses.”
Looking back, he credits his resilience to one thing: his spiritual journey. “Nothing happens by accident. If something tough is in front of you, it’s because God put it there for a reason. You just have to get through it.”
What’s Next?
With his technology already at its prime form, Jaad’s focus now is on scaling, refining, and keeping ahead of the curve. “We’ve cracked privacy, we’ve cracked UV protection, and we’ve cracked projection. Now, it’s about making sure it gets into as many hands as possible.”
But if history has shown anything, it’s that Jaad Hamadi doesn’t stop at one success. He’s already built a business where none existed. The only question is—what will he disrupt next?
YOU CAN FOLLOW HIM ON @JAD_HAMADEH_ / @HDSMARTGLASS
