Building a successful brand isn't about overnight wins, it's about surviving failures, learning from mistakes, and refusing to give up on yourself.
At the Changemaker's Conference UAE 2025, Charlie Wright, Founder and CEO of Humantra shared an honest account of his journey from two failed businesses to creating a wellness brand that's now stocked right across the UAE. His story is a reminder that setbacks aren't the opposite of success, they're part of it.
5 Key Points
from this session
Passion matters more than you think
Charlie spent five years working for a Swedish lighting manufacturer. He wasn't passionate about lights, but when he realised he was pretty good at something he didn't care about, he asked himself: how good could I be at something I actually love? That question changed everything. Passion isn't a luxury - it's fuel.
Your first business will probably fail
Charlie's first venture was a gaming and esports platform. He spent 45,000 euros on branding before he'd proven the concept. He threw money at problems to feel busy and entrepreneurial but it failed - hard. He ended up borrowing cash on credit cards and hit the darkest point of his life. Failure is part of the process - learn cheap.
Constraints force you to learn everything
After his first failure, Charlie started a contact lens business with 60,000 dirhams. No money to hire experts meant he had to do everything himself: Facebook ads, email marketing, customer service, logistics. He learned 46 different skills. That constraint became his education. When you can't outsource, you become dangerous.
Timing and luck play a bigger role than people admit
Charlie launched his contact lens business right before Covid. Lockdown created a boom in direct-to-consumer ecommerce. He was in the right place at the right time. Humantra launched during a wellness trend surge. Good timing doesn't guarantee success, but it helps. Charlie acknowledges the role of luck in his story.
Never give up on yourself, even when you give up on an idea
Charlie failed twice before Humantra. Both times, he walked away from the business but he never gave up on the belief that he was meant for more. That's the difference: you can quit ideas, just don't quit on yourself.
Charlie's Story
Charlie Wright didn't start Humantra as an overnight success. He started it after two failed businesses, maxed-out credit cards, and some of the hardest days of his life. His story is refreshingly honest about what it actually takes to build something.
Charlie moved to Dubai at 24. He'd started a law degree and realised two weeks in that he didn't want to be a lawyer but he's someone who sees things through, so he finished. That quality would define his entrepreneurial journey. He worked for five years in lighting sales, he wasn't passionate about it, but he was good at it. That's when he asked the question that changed his trajectory: if I'm good at something I don't care about, how good could I be at something I love?
He quit his job with no plan and a bit of savings. His first business was a gaming and esports platform. He thought the first step was spending big on branding. He dropped 45,000 euros on a name and a logo. He admits now it was naive. He threw money at problems to feel productive but the business failed. He maxed out credit cards and stopped seeing friends - it was the hardest point in his life.
But Charlie never gave up on himself. At Christmas 2020, a friend suggested starting a contact lens business. Charlie took a job in customer experience at Careem to save money and rebuild. The job brought him back to ground. He learned humility. He stopped trying to be a visionary and started learning how businesses actually work.
When he launched the contact lens business, he had 60,000 dirhams, no budget for agencies or experts. He taught himself Facebook ads, email marketing, customer success and logistics. He worked 46 different roles. That constraint forced him to become skilled at everything. He learned more in that period than in any formal education.
Right Place, Right Time
Covid hit; ecommerce boomed. The contact lens business grew. Charlie was in the right place at the right time. He acknowledges luck played a par Six months later, he got a call from HDI, a family office in Dubai, they wanted to back him on a new idea. That became Humantra.
Humantra is a wellness and hydration brand. It's now stocked across major retailers in the UAE. Charlie describes it as the combination of every mistake, every dark day, every lesson learned. He's clear that entrepreneurship isn't glamorous, it's the hardest thing he's ever done - but it's also the most rewarding.
His advice to aspiring entrepreneurs: understand that it's going to be difficult, don't romanticise it. You need resilience, resourcefulness and the ability to keep going when everything feels impossible. Charlie is passionate about supporting other entrepreneurs, but he also wants people to know what they're signing up for.
This wasn't a polished success story. It was raw, real and human. Charlie's willingness to talk about failure, mental health struggles and the role of luck made his story more valuable than any glossy brand narrative. Humantra exists because Charlie refused to quit on himself, even when every business idea quit on him.
3 Takeaways
Learn cheap
Don't spend big on branding before proving your concept. Use constraints to force yourself to learn every part of the business
Separate your identity from your business
You can quit an idea without quitting on yourself. Failure is feedback, not a verdict
Entrepreneurship isn't glamorous
Be honest about how hard it is. Success comes from resilience, not inspiration
2 Action Items
to take from this
Validate demand first
If you're starting a business spend time learning the fundamentals before spending money on branding.
Audit your relationship with failure
Are you learning from setbacks or avoiding them? The difference determines whether you grow.
"I've never given up on myself. I might be able to give up on an idea, but I've never given up on myself."
Charlie Wright
