Latest news with #MySwimPro
Business Mayor
23-05-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
This is the 'hardest thing' about being your own boss, says CEO whose company brought in $2.5 million in 2024
In 2016, just a year after its launch, MySwimPro earned Apple's App of the Year designation in the watch category. Fares Ksebati, the app's co-founder and CEO, says that while there was no monetary price for that honor, 'it gave us a lot of momentum.' Nearly a decade later, things are going swimmingly for Ksebati and the company: MySwimPro brought in over $2.5 million in revenue in 2024 and counts over 15,000 active paid subscribers as of March 2025. Running the company has been an opportunity for Ksebati to share his passion for swimming with thousands of athletes around the world while taking home a salary of $240,000 plus bonuses and profit sharing in 2025. The Detroit native says being an entrepreneur has taught him a lot about himself and 'what's possible in the world.' If he worked a regular 9 to 5, he thinks he'd feel stifled creatively and would miss out on opportunities to build something that has a tangible impact on people's lives. The freedom of being his own boss has come with one drawback, however: 'The hardest thing in entrepreneurship is focus,' Ksebati says. 'This is something that I've struggled with in the past because I have so many ideas of things that I want to pursue.' Here's his best advice for other budding entrepreneurs. 'You have to stay focused' Despite the urge to build another business, Ksebati acknowledges that the continued success of MySwimPro relies on him remaining dedicated to the company, rather than trying to start a new venture. 'If you want to make progress, you have to stay focused on one thing,' he says. 'I do want to create another company and move on and do other things. But for right now I'm really happy.' His outlook is similar to advice career experts and business icons like Warren Buffett have given about finding success. At the 2025 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder Meeting, Buffett told the audience that focusing on your passions and interests will bring you more success than pouring effort into pastimes that don't excite you. 'If my ambition had been to become a ventriloquist or whatever it might have been, it wouldn't have worked,' Buffett said. 'I just spent hours and hours and hours on investing.' Ksebati does dedicate time to his side hustles, though. He has written several books and continues creating videos for his personal YouTube channel along with MySwimPro's channel, which give him a creative outlet that isn't as time-intensive as running a whole other business. 'You need to take action' Confidence is also a key factor in building a successful business, Ksebati says. Back in 2014, he was training a triathlete who wanted a personalized swim workout to take with her on a work trip. That gave him the idea for what would become MySwimPro, and he didn't hesitate to go out and build it. These days Ksebati often receives pitches from aspiring entrepreneurs. But he says many of those folks are 'looking for reassurance or confidence' from him, when they should try to be more proactive. 'If you have an idea, you need to take action,' he says. 'The reality is you are in control, and you need to go out and talk to [prospective] customers, validate your idea and actually make something happen. The first step is the hardest step.' Even if you're worried you're not equipped with every last skill you'll need to run a successful business, you're better off getting things moving and acting on your idea than waiting around until things are perfect, Ksebati says. 'I think as you build something, as you create and [become] an entrepreneur, you are building these tools and skills and confidence to bring your vision to reality.' Want a new career that's higher-paying, more flexible or fulfilling? Take CNBC's new online course Make a Powerful Career Change and Land a Job You Love . Expert instructors will teach you strategies to network successfully, revamp your resume and confidently transition into your dream career. Plus, sign up for CNBC Make It's newsletter to get tips and tricks for success at work, with money and in life. READ SOURCE
CNBC
16-05-2025
- Business
- CNBC
This is the 'hardest thing' about being your own boss, says CEO whose company brought in $2.5 million in 2024
In 2016, just a year after its launch, MySwimPro earned Apple's App of the Year designation in the watch category. Fares Ksebati, the app's co-founder and CEO, says that while there was no monetary price for that honor, "it gave us a lot of momentum." Nearly a decade later, things are going swimmingly for Ksebati and the company: MySwimPro brought in over $2.5 million in revenue in 2024 and counts over 15,000 active paid subscribers as of March 2025. Running the company has been an opportunity for Ksebati to share his passion for swimming with thousands of athletes around the world while taking home a salary of $240,000 plus bonuses and profit sharing in 2025. The Detroit native says being an entrepreneur has taught him a lot about himself and "what's possible in the world." If he worked a regular 9 to 5, he thinks he'd feel stifled creatively and would miss out on opportunities to build something that has a tangible impact on people's lives. The freedom of being his own boss has come with one drawback, however: "The hardest thing in entrepreneurship is focus," Ksebati says. "This is something that I've struggled with in the past because I have so many ideas of things that I want to pursue." Here's his best advice for other budding entrepreneurs. Despite the urge to build another business, Ksebati acknowledges that the continued success of MySwimPro relies on him remaining dedicated to the company, rather than trying to start a new venture. "If you want to make progress, you have to stay focused on one thing," he says. "I do want to create another company and move on and do other things. But for right now I'm really happy." His outlook is similar to advice career experts and business icons like Warren Buffett have given about finding success. At the 2025 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder Meeting, Buffett told the audience that focusing on your passions and interests will bring you more success than pouring effort into pastimes that don't excite you. "If my ambition had been to become a ventriloquist or whatever it might have been, it wouldn't have worked," Buffett said. "I just spent hours and hours and hours on investing." Ksebati does dedicate time to his side hustles, though. He has written several books and continues creating videos for his personal YouTube channel along with MySwimPro's channel, which give him a creative outlet that isn't as time-intensive as running a whole other business. Confidence is also a key factor in building a successful business, Ksebati says. Back in 2014, he was training a triathlete who wanted a personalized swim workout to take with her on a work trip. That gave him the idea for what would become MySwimPro, and he didn't hesitate to go out and build it. These days Ksebati often receives pitches from aspiring entrepreneurs. But he says many of those folks are "looking for reassurance or confidence" from him, when they should try to be more proactive. "If you have an idea, you need to take action," he says. "The reality is you are in control, and you need to go out and talk to [prospective] customers, validate your idea and actually make something happen. The first step is the hardest step." Even if you're worried you're not equipped with every last skill you'll need to run a successful business, you're better off getting things moving and acting on your idea than waiting around until things are perfect, Ksebati says. "I think as you build something, as you create and [become] an entrepreneur, you are building these tools and skills and confidence to bring your vision to reality."
CNBC
12-05-2025
- Business
- CNBC
33-year-old says he's 'set for life' on a $240,000 salary in Dubai: 'I just fell in love with the energy'
Growing up near Lake Michigan meant swimming was expected, Fares Ksebati says. The Detroit native learned to swim when he was 5 years old, though his parents — who immigrated from Syria — didn't know how themselves. "I fell in love with the water right away," the 33-year-old tells CNBC Make It. "I really enjoy being in this environment where you can feel free and weightless and just be in the sun." Ksebati started swimming competitively in elementary school and continued through college and after. At 17, he started coaching other swimmers. But he never expected swimming to play such a significant role in his career. That changed around 2014, when a woman Ksebati coached asked him to develop a training plan she could use in hotel pools while traveling for work. The inquiry sparked the idea for MySwimPro, a swim workout app Ksebati co-founded in 2015. The app took off. In 2024 the company brought in $2.5 million in gross revenue from subscriptions, premium one-on-one coaching and weeklong swim retreats where Ksebati and other coaches train members at luxury resorts in global destinations like Egypt, Turkey and Thailand. In 2025, Ksebati will take home a base salary of $240,000 as CEO, plus a bonus, profit share and earnings from brand deals and book sales. He expects to bring in a total of around $400,000, he says. He enjoyed Dubai back in 2021 when he first visited, and spent more and more time there each year before buying an apartment there in February 2025. "You have people literally from all over the world, all walks of life, people who come from wealth, people who are just getting started and making a name for themselves," he says. "I think for me to be surrounded by this diversity of perspective is what's the most empowering." Here's a look at how Ksebati grew MySwimPro, as well as what it's like splitting his time between his parents' home in Detroit and his apartment in Dubai. Just a year after it launched, MySwimPro earned Apple's App of the Year accolade in the Watch category. The award didn't come with any money, but it "gave us a lot of momentum," Ksebati says. The business boomed in the first few years, notching a thousand downloads a day by 2019. But when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, it destroyed much of that early growth. "All pools closed and our business starts falling off a cliff," Ksebati says. Paid subscriptions dropped by nearly 30% between 2019 and 2020. Ksebati and his team had to innovate. They added at-home workouts to the app and Ksebati live-streamed swimming-specific workouts viewers could do at home without a pool. Within the next couple of years, the company bounced back to pre-pandemic active paid subscriber counts and added another 50% on top. It has over 15,000 active paid subscribers as of March 2025. "I think it just goes to show by staying consistent, having a positive mindset and working through the challenges, you can continue to progress despite insurmountable challenges," Ksebati says. The company turned a profit in 2018 and 2019, but the pandemic set it back financially. After restructuring, MySwimPro broke even in 2024, and Ksebati says it's on track to return to profitability this year. The company has six full-time employees and works with several part-time contractors and agencies. Ksebati works around 40 to 60 hours a week creating content, working on his book or doing other projects for MySwimPro. He is "always plugged into our business, from almost the moment I wake up to when I go to sleep," he says. Ksebati's income allows him to do virtually whatever he wants, he says, even in a place like Dubai with its reputation for luxury. He first visited Dubai in 2021 and spent an increasing amount of time there each year, so he finally bought an apartment in February for $1.3 million dirham, or about $354,000. "Every single year I just fell in love with the energy, the forward-thinking mindset," he says. "It really is a city of innovation." Dubai offers high-quality experiences across a wide range of income levels, Ksebati says. So while he often splurges on travel, sometimes taking multiple trips a month, his typical spending is fairly tame. "I live relatively frugally given the amount of income that I have," he says. "And I sort of want to keep it that way. I don't really want to have a certain level of lifestyle inflation." Here's how he spent his money living in Dubai in March 2025: Despite the upfront costs, including a $142,000 down payment, buying an apartment has decreased Ksebati's monthly expenses. His mortgage costs come out to about $1,750 a month, whereas he previously paid between $2,700 and $4,000 a month for Airbnbs in Dubai. He plans to rent out the space while he's in Detroit for additional income. Ksebati regularly spends on travel, both for work and fun, but he spent more than usual on food in March because he was going out for Ramadan iftars — meals to break daily fasting during the holy month, often with friends and family. The bulk of his income goes toward saving and investing. He didn't have a strong foundation of financial knowledge growing up, Ksebati says, so he's taken time to learn about investing in the last few years. He's been aggressively buying into stocks and index funds, and aims to invest around $15,000 a month. Ksebati owns over half of MySwimPro and has over $870,000 invested between his retirement and brokerage accounts. He has around $14,000 in cash in his savings account. "You could look at it on paper and be like, I'm kind of set for life," he says. "But I [have] a bit more of an entrepreneurial mindset …. I have to hold myself back from too many ideas [for] building out other businesses just because there are only so many hours in the day." Ksebati plans to continue splitting his time between Dubai and Detroit, although he can see himself spending more time in Dubai in the future. For now though, "I'm really happy with the mix that I have where I'm able to travel — I'm very mobile," he says. Ksebati wants to maintain that mobility in the future, which may mean adding a few homes in different parts of the world to his budding real estate portfolio, he says. As for MySwimPro, he hopes the company will continue to be a brand that "empowers people to swim for life" and use new technologies to further improve swimmers' experiences in the water. "If I'm always able to provide and give to the world and create impact and share knowledge, then I'll be happy," he says. "And so for right now, I feel that I'm doing that and as long as I continue on that path, I think I'll be in a good spot."
CNBC
12-05-2025
- Business
- CNBC
How this 33-year-old CEO lives part-time in Dubai and is on track to make $400K this year
Fares Ksebati, 33, splits his time between Michigan and Dubai, where he runs MySwimPro, the world's leading swim training app. Born to Syrian immigrant parents, Fares turned a simple coaching request into a global fitness business with over 2.5 million downloads and $10 million in revenue. Last year, he made $273,000 and expects to earn over $400,000 this year. This story is part of CNBC Make It's Millennial Money series, which details how people around the world earn, spend and save their money.
