Entrepreneur-investor endeavours to make a ripple in UAE scale-ups

Mohamad Ballout, the chief executive of Ripples Capital, mentors firms on how to upscale. Reem Mohammed / The National

Parents often claim they see something of themselves in their children. And Mohamad Ballout, a Dubai entrepreneur and investor, hints at a similar feeling for the businesses he puts his cash and experience into.

“I have two hats,” says the chief executive of Ripples Capital, which invests in potential scale-ups. “Being just an investor bores me, and being just an entrepreneur has the stress back. I love the thrill, but I also love the investment.”

Luckily, Mr Ballout can afford to do both having made his fortune with BMB, the ingredients and confectionery business he began with his brother in Sharjah and exited as a 1,200-employee factory in Dubai Investment Park.

At 29, he’s youthful like the entrepreneurs he funds, but with the wisdom and fiscal clout of someone who experienced the ride of a major scale-up.

“We’re a venture studio; we roll out brands, co-found with other entrepreneurs, some our ideas, some theirs, and we incubate them in Media City,” he says of Ripples Capital. “At heart, I always want to be an entrepreneur, to be involved in taking an idea, bringing it to life, seeing it scale-up.”

Apt then that Ripples Capital sponsored a recent Dubai scale-up event. Hosted by Endeavor UAE, the regional branch of the North American non-profit accelerator, it aimed to address challenges and opportunities presented to entrepreneurs transitioning from start-up to scale-up.

Mr Ballout, from Lebanon, first became involved with Endeavor UAE two years ago when he was still heading up BMB.

“From access to mentors, to setting up an advisory board, setting up workshops in key places we felt we were weak … it was an amazing experience,” says Dubai-born Mr Ballout. “We ended up hiring a CEO who used to be one of our Endeavor mentors.”

“A lot of investors started being interested in us. And I was at a crossroads. I loved the thrill of setting up a business, putting it on another level. Something in me was ready to do it again.”

Ripples’ second arm is now direct investment in companies. “There’s a healthcare business in the UK we’re looking at, a few in the food space in Dubai. We’re not buying lots of businesses, just the amount we can feel we can add value to, that can scale up.”

And Mr Ballout urges firms looking to scale up to seek insight and advice as he did. While he mentors on how to upscale, he also continues to learn from Endeavor’s network of mentors, partners and investors.

Noor Shawwa, Endeavor UAE managing director, says it typically takes on “high potential” businesses with minimum US$2 million revenue, operating for at least two years, to help with the growing pains.

“If you ask entrepreneurs they’ll probably tell you there’s not enough money now. If you ask investors they‘ll say there’s enough money; there aren’t enough qualified entrepreneurs for the money. Both sides are right,” he says of one “pain”.

“A lot of time is [spent] making sure entrepreneurs are aware of what they need to do to take it to the next level. When there’s promise and attraction, investors will go there.”

But, Mr Shawwa says, an entrepreneur must recognise when they need help.

“They need to be able to take feedback. At the beginning it’s about prioritising what they need to do. The second part is advice on how they do it and support.”

At Endeavor’s Scale-up UAE 2017 event last month, Ihsan Jawad, Endeavor mentor and managing partner of Middle East Venture Partners, discussed “managing through tough times”. He urged entrepreneurs to balance their vision with advice received.

“The art of this game is when do you listen and when do you go with gut feeling,” says Mr Jawad, whose portfolio includes the “Spotify for the ME” company Anghami.

“Sometimes the entrepreneur knows better than us – they have that vision,” he says. “The models are changing all the time, but you need to keep the conversation going.”

He also says a key to battling through economic blips is to take punches and emerge stronger, but always enjoy the business.

“We put a lot of attachment on people who have passion,” he adds. “Sometimes when you are down the only thing that keeps you going is you like what you do.”

Some businesses thrive because of harsher times, however, such as the two-for-one dining and activities app The Entertainer.

Chairman and founder Donna Benton urges entrepreneurs to avoid complacency, however.

“I’m a believer you have to work like you’re No 2 to keep No 1. Never think you’re better than anyone else. Where there’s a problem there’s always a solution. It’s not the tough time, it’s how you solve the tough time,” she says.

One solution, perhaps surprisingly, can be recruitment.

Aly Rahimtoola, managing director of beauty brand Herbal Essentials, urges rising companies to exploit the challenging climate to snap up executives offloaded by corporations.

“As an early stage, young business, use this as a hiring opportunity to attract top talent,” he adds. “We are, to an extent, as good as the team we build around us. If they have belief in the brand, the story, you can get through anything.”

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