User:PulseSocials/sandbox

Mehdi Cherif is a Dubai-based, Tunisian-born entrepreneur who is passionate about Music, Tech, Media, and the Arts. Mehdi is also an early metaverse champion. He has a successful record across Emerging and FinTech markets, Music Technologies, Intellectual Properties, Sound Branding, and Content Management.

Mehdi is the co-founder and CEO of Groove Master LLC and has held numerous CEO and founder positions for various companies. Mehdi's unique vision for music has made him a principal thought leader in the industry.

Early Life and Education
Mehdi studied at Berklee College in UAE, solidifying music as a foundational element in his life. Aside from his love of music, he would also include sports and business as key activities he looks forward to each day. As a leader, Mehdi believes that all opinions matter. "There are no stupid questions, only stupid answers", a mantra he brings to all his businesses, all-the-while encouraging everyone involved to be interconnected and able to express themselves; "Be creative, be nuts, go crazy!"

Mehdi's career branched out quickly from humble beginnings, from stocking shelves at Virgin Megastore to becoming a leading global tech industry luminary.

Music Industry
Mehdi started his music and business journey in Tunisia – his country of birth - as an Events Coordinator for Black Box Events.Two years later, he moved to Dubai and became a Store Manager for Cherif Fine Arts. Wanting to pursue his passion for music, he soon moved to Virgin Megastore to work as a Sales Associate in the Music section. Within just one year, he rose to become the Regional Senior Buyer for International Music in the MENA region.

He then became a freelance content creator and content management advisor for several prominent global companies namely, Huawei, Samsung Electronics, beIN Media Group, Habari GT in Nigeria, and a lot more.

Groove Master
In the early 2000s, when physical sales for music were dropping, where file-sharing, swapping, and often the stealing of music were abundant, the world finally rejected the humble CD and turned to digital and, ultimately streaming.

Having initially conceptualised in-house content management for use within Virgin, Mehdi soon realised that the same methodical approach to music could apply to all types of brands. Furthermore, he realised it could apply across multiple locations dependent on mood, brand or other socio-demographic needs. From this approach, Mehdi created Groove Master: a B2B streaming interface committed to creating bespoke soundtracks for brands and their locations, facilitating the same for the likes of Carrefour, Nike, Paris Gallery, Brands for Less and countless others.

Presently, he is connected to three music-focused businesses. He is a Partner/Board Member/Strategic Advisor for TBE Entertainment (link), Co-Founder/Executive Director of Tangou Digital and Founder of GrooveMasterME.

With experience in tech and analysis of the current state of the streaming climate, Mehdi was in the perfect position to see the direction that music and tech inevitably had to take. He thought of creating a metaverse platform using blockchain, a new technology, which is where the idea of Pulse World was born.

Pulse World
Pulse World, formerly Pulse/Pulse Music, was founded in 2021. Mehdi and his team's primary goal is to build a revolutionary metaverse that gives people limitless possibilities in the virtual world. It is a universe where DeFi, GameFi, SocialFi, Web3, NFT's, and other benefits of blockchain technology could be presented to its users.

Mehdi's work at Pulse World is a vital part of the blockchain and metaverse revolution in the Middle East. He was hand-picked as a speaker at a Binance event in July 2021, a speaker at the recent Metavision 2022  for Khaleej Times, as well as Arte Talks presented by Crypto Oasis in September 2022. He was also featured in the Gulf Business Crypto (GB Crypto) magazine, which was launched at Gitex Global, the region's largest technology event, on October 10, 2022.

Achievements
September 23, 2022 - Web3 Startup of the Year Award (Pulse Music) presented by GB Tech Web3 Awards

October 2022 - Disruptor of the Year Winner presented by L'Officiel Web 3 Evolve

November 10, 2022 - Most Influential Young Leaders 2022-23 Awards presented by AsiaOne Magazine