Consider the UAE camel. This desert mammal might not be the most attractive creature. But a camel is built to last. Unlike other animals, camels can withstand extreme changes in body temperature and water consumption. You probably picture camels in the scorching, dry desert — but they can also survive in frigid mountain climates. Why is it? Camels evolved to be resilient, so they can adapt to conditions that would kill other animals. I love to use camels as a metaphor for ent

Start Ups, it is time to step into the shoes of an Family Office in the UAE to stand out from the crowd, pitch with confidence, and close the deal to fund your business. [Family Office 1] Prepare Like You Mean It “I’m busy on deals to support social enterprises that are primed to scale their impact. I don’t have time for entrepreneurs who clearly don’t fit into the scope of investments or our family holdings industries or who ask me questions about information they can easily

This is not the first time we have seen an economic downturn hit our startup community in the UAE, but each downturn has its own unique characteristics – and no one really knows just how long it will last. Elon Musk predicts that this downturn will be 12 to 24 months, which is just perfect for a UAE family office or VC seeking to double or quadruple returns to LPs above what they would otherwise be. While there is uncertainty, there is also near certainty of a few things. N

While you may feel ready to field any question investors throw at you by a UAE Family Office, you should carefully think through and practice your responses. More often than not, it's the obvious questions founders fall down on because they think them through superficially. 1. What do your customers need and how do you know for sure? It isn't enough to tell investors there's a need for your product; you need hard facts and real-world examples to prove it. Often, Founders skip

Everyone starting a new business understands the basic concept of profits. If you are making more than you are spending, the difference is your profit and the bigger the difference, the more money you make. The most important question is, how do you run a profitable business? First and foremost, a profitable business sells a product that people need, use and pay for. If you are starting a new venture, this is probably all that you are thinking about, turning your vision into

UAE Family Offices turn down 99% of the companies they’re introduced to. Most of those don’t make it to a face to face meeting. If you’ve made it to an in-person meeting, here are the numbers you need to know to get a Family Group here in the UAE excited: The Basics Customers — In most cases there’s a collection of important numbers reflecting your customer base: site traffic, downloads, signups, free trials, paid pilots, current subscribers — the list goes on. You should kno

You might think it’s easy to raise money, but the reality is it’s really, really hard to raise money. As a investor in the UAE, you are constantly meeting with founders pitching their company to you. For every 100 face to face meetings you take with a founder, you might invest in one company. The most common reason an investor doesn’t invest is likely because the pitch is really bad or just mediocre. Let’s say that 80% of what you see. So the 20% of the founders that are good

It is incredibly important to understand the incentives of investors when you are raising money. This used to be fairly easy - but not in the UAE. The UAE looks different now. There are a lot of different types of startup investors, each with a different approach to investing and different incentives for doing so. While they’d all prefer not to lose money, the differences in how their incentives and expectations are structured are critical in understanding how to decide wheth

Raising Capital right now in the UAE is 100% a game of outliers — it’s extreme competition. 1. Plan to Contact at Least 50 Investors locally You’ll end up only having serious conversations with five, if that. Also, make sure this list is targeted and they invest in your sector. If you’re a biotech company, maybe a Construction or Real Estate Family Office investor isn’t the best bet. Do not spray and pray. 2. Relationship Building Is Crucial – Start Early If you’re looking to

Target the Right Investors: The ideal match is where both the investment focus of investors and your company’s corporate strategies align, 97% of the Middle East is run by family businesses, it is easy via website to see these business verticals. Pre-meeting intelligence on investors’ general knowledge of the company and industry, historical ownership details such as cost basis in your company or your peers, and recent holdings activity, alongside points of considerations pri

Understanding the family office perspective on venture fund investing: Having covered the emerging venture landscape for many years now, it’s abundantly clear that family office capital remains the dominant capital source for emerging venture funds — in my network in 2021 I spoke with over 100 first time venture funds, an average of 70% of capital closed came from family offices (the exceptions are spin-out managers, which often attract institutional LP capital at Fund 1). Th