How UAE family offices and advisers can refer US companies to SourceX

Can UAE-based advisers and family offices refer US companies?

Yes. Anyone can join the program from a supported country, and the UAE has three groups with real access to US businesses: family offices and sponsors that deploy capital into US companies, advisers who serve them, and US expat executives who still know owners and CEOs at home. You make the introduction; SourceX runs qualification, inventory, buyer review, contracting and delivery.

The company introduced must be a US business with 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), several years of documented operations, rights to license its records and an authorized sponsor.

Who in the UAE has the right relationships?

A minority investor rarely controls the decision. The company's authorized sponsor, the owner, CEO, CFO or authorized representative, has to want the conversation. Your standing as an investor or adviser gets you the meeting; it does not replace their approval.

The SPONSOR check for investor-led introductions

Run these five questions before suggesting anything to a portfolio company.

• Stake and standing: do you hold a position or relationship strong enough to raise a new idea with management?
• Permission: does your investment agreement, board role or confidentiality duty allow you to make an introduction and receive a reward?
• Operating history: has the company documented several years of operations, including archived systems?
• Records rights: did the company itself create the records, and do client and employee terms allow licensing?
• Open sponsor: will management consider an exclusive, time-limited AI-training license for a single payment?

If you sit on the board, a reward for introducing the company may create a conflict of interest. Raise it with your co-investors and counsel first, and consider letting the company apply directly at sourcex.si/apply after reading the who qualifies page.

What about US citizens living in the UAE?

A US citizen living abroad is generally still a US person for tax purposes, which changes the paperwork compared with a non-US partner; the IRS says US persons use Form W-9 rather than a W-8 form. The details depend on your residency, entity and other income, so speak to a US-qualified tax adviser before registering. The IRS explains in Publication 515 that withholding on payments to foreign persons depends on the type of income and the status of the payee, which is why payee status comes first.

UAE corporate tax and VAT are separate questions. Whether a reward is taxable income for you or your company, whether VAT applies and when you must register are matters for the Federal Tax Authority's current guidance and a local adviser. This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm with your own counsel, tax adviser or professional body before acting.

How does the introduction work?

You never export, upload or describe confidential records.

1. Register and copy your link, or give only basic fit information through the referral form.
2. The sponsor applies at sourcex.si/apply with your referral code attached.
3. SourceX qualifies the company on size, history, breadth of systems and rights.
4. The company completes the data inventory and agrees one all-in price and terms; any de-identification requirements are agreed with the company before work begins.
5. Buyers review the offer and typically respond within about two weeks once the company is deal-ready.
6. The company signs, delivers and is paid; your reward becomes payable once SourceX receives its fee.

What should you say to a portfolio CEO?

The introduction email builder can adapt this for an investor or an adviser voice.

What does a good introduction look like in practice?

Illustrative: a Dubai family office holds a minority stake in a US logistics software company that has run for nine years and keeps tickets, deal histories and engineering reviews across a dozen systems. The investment head does not ask for any records. She tells the CEO about the program in one paragraph, shares the referral link, and lets the CEO read SourceX's own materials before deciding whether to apply. Everything after that happens between the company and SourceX.

Three habits make this work. Keep the first message short and factual. Never describe or request confidential material. Record the date of the introduction, so attribution is clear if a second referrer appears later.

Which situations should you leave alone?

• The business is below the 50+ full-time employee baseline at peak.
• Its records mostly belong to customers, as at an outsourcer or agency, without their consent.
• The records are largely consumer personal data or health data without a clear basis.
• A court, trustee or lender controls the assets and has not been involved.
• Your agreement with the company or co-investors forbids receiving a fee connected to it.

When should you raise it with a US executive?

How are partner rewards paid?

Partners earn 25% of the eligible platform fees SourceX actually collects from the referred company's licensing deals, capped at $100,000 cumulative per referred company. The reward becomes payable only after the buyer pays and SourceX receives its fee, and no reward is guaranteed. It is a share of SourceX's fee and is never deducted from what the company receives. See the referral earnings calculator and the program terms.

Neighbouring guides cover the Singapore and Canadian situations. Non-US entities can start with the W-8BEN-E guide for advisory firms.

Next step

Pick one US business where you hold a real relationship and run the check above. If it passes, register as a partner and make the introduction.