Never invest more than you can afford to lose, says serial entrepreneur

Meet 34-year-old Emirati who launched five diverse businesses

When it comes to handling money and investments, Ahmed Al Fahim, a 34-year-old Emirati serial businessman, believes in taking well-calculated risks. This was his approach right from when he began his first venture, an events management agency, which he started in 2016.

“Never invest more than you can afford to lose because if you invest more, you risk significant losses,” said Al Fahim, an Abu Dhabi-born serial entrepreneur who since then also launched an electric scooter company and a coffee brand.

He revealed how he learnt his initial investment strategies by watching how his father traded stocks over the phone. His father ran a construction company and a recruitment agency specialising in the oil and gas industry.

Budgeting spending, saving for future from a young age

“My father would take me and my older sister Hamda to his office to observe how he worked. I would receive Dh200 a week as pocket money early on and learnt to save, plan, and budget. It was exhilarating as I could spend that at an arcade or cinema. However, I managed to budget a spending allowance and save for my future investments,” said Al Fahim.

“Then, upon graduation, I received a cash gift of Dh36,729 [$10,000] for graduating with a scholarship in the US. I was looking at my options to invest in stocks, and a friend recommended investing in tech giant Apple stocks. Five years later, I managed to make ten times the return. It was a crucial decision because, eventually, it was the critical funding source for my first firm in 2016.”

After launching his first venture, Al Fahim went on to start five other ventures across diverse sectors. Later, in 2018, he launched a food truck booking company in Abu Dhabi which provides spaces or spots to popular food and beverage (F&B) businesses in the UAE.

“As a community-based entrepreneur, I have always believed in disruptive solutions to solve social problems. Hence, a food truck booking company was born out of a need to cost-effectively serve the community,” he added. Al Fahim, who worked for two years in tourism in Abu Dhabi and a decade at a government office before becoming a serial entrepreneur, funded his business initially with savings and investments from friends and family.

“Due to a sizeable market of food patrons to showcase in the region, we garnered interest from friends and family to invest in the company, leading to our first food truck park. This was followed by Series A funding from Abu Dhabi-based business Al Fahim Group.”

“In 2019, at our first food truck park, we collaborated with different F&B start-ups to understand their pain points and partnered with them. Over the past three years, we gradually expanded to over seven locations across Abu Dhabi and Al Ain,” he added.

As a community-based entrepreneur, I have believed in disruptive solutions to solve social problems. A food truck booking company was born out of a need to cost-effectively serve the community.”

Ahmed Al Fahim | Businessman