My Dubai Salary: ‘I'm 26 and earn around Dh18,000 a month at a start-up’

Rise in company’s equity value after stock buyback has given Aditya Gupta financial freedom to start his own business

Aditya Gupta, operations manager at a UAE-based start-up, took a lower salary for higher equity in the company. Photo: Alaan

Aditya Gupta left his role at investment bank Goldman Sachs in Bangalore, India, three years ago to join an early-stage start-up called Alaan, a corporate card and spending management platform in the UAE.

He willingly took a lower salary for higher equity and that has paid off handsomely.

In the company’s recent Series A employee stock buyback plan (Esop), Mr Gupta's equity was valued at about 15 times what it was three years ago. Now the Indian professional, 26, says he has the financial freedom to start his own company, with a buffer of five years to build the venture.

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“This buyback validated my belief in equity as more than just ‘on paper’ value," says Mr Gupta, who moved to Dubai in 2023. "It has provided me with a substantial financial cushion, effectively removing the primary barrier to starting my own venture."

He plans to pursue his entrepreneurial goals, without the immediate need for external financing to lift his venture off the ground. “I plan to launch my company soon, which will focus on solving problems related to documentation, legal processes and administrative tasks within fast-growing companies," he says.

The aim is to create a platform that can automate workflows and organise documents that at present are managed inefficiently.

"The goal is to provide a solution that streamlines these processes, saving time and money for businesses without requiring them to change existing habits,” he tells The National.

Mr Gupta, who earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from Christ University in Bangalore, capital of the southern state of Karnataka, now lives in Arjan in Dubai.

What was your first job and salary?

My first job was at Goldman Sachs as a franchise manager on the equities desk in the global markets team in Bangalore. Over my tenure, my salary ranged between 580,000 Indian rupees to 700,000 ($6,540 to $7,900) a year towards the time I exited the company.

Tell us about your current role. What is your salary now?

I work in the operations team at Alaan. I started as a founder’s associate and was the first non-tech hire in the team. Moving to Dubai came with its perks as my earnings jumped to Dh150,000 per year ($40,844) in the early days. It has grown to nearly Dh220,000 per year in two years.

Do you manage to save?

Yes, I save and would attribute the growth in my savings mainly to consistency. Every month since I started earning, I’ve put a sum away and increased it over time.

What asset classes do you invest in?

I usually follow a split between equity and fixed income. But being younger, the majority of my investment is channelled towards equity. After coming to Dubai, I started to invest in cryptocurrencies. I allocate around 5 per cent of my portfolio to cryptos, with the goal to 'hold on for dear life'.

Have you purchased property?

Not yet, but I plan to do so soon as I’m in a position to. At the moment, my goal is to maintain a fund to support my future company-building plans, so a big chunk of my money is dedicated towards that.

Do you have any debt?

In my earlier days, I fell into a terrible debt spiral but was lucky enough to be able to pull myself out of it. It’s a scary spot to be in and I’d always caution discipline to anyone before taking on debt, be it in any form. Today, I’m completely debt-free and it is a liberating feeling to not have that burden on my shoulders.

Growing up, were you taught how to handle your finances?

I’ve been fortunate to have had an environment where I was taught the value of money, not just for saving but also how to utilise it to improve the quality of my life. This began with tracking every single unit of money spent since the day I started earning. This is my practice even today and would recommend everyone to follow it.

What are your major monthly expenses?

My major expenses are on house rent and spending on my car along with its maintenance, as that’s something I’ve always had a passion for. No better place than Dubai to indulge in it.

How do you budget your salary every month?

It always starts with putting away money for non-negotiable investments (around 33 per cent), followed by fixed expenses (rent, car, living, etc), which make up another 33 per cent. The remaining is for an occasional indulgence, such as travel, social outings and shopping.

Have you started saving for retirement?

When I started earning, I created a 99-year investment plan-based fund, into which I put small amounts every month and then forget about it. I haven’t started to think about retirement as I’m in my risk-taking peak time, but this fund goes a long way, when and if needed.

Aditya Gupta spends some of his disposable income on travel and counts seeing the Northern Lights in Iceland and a road trip in New Zealand as highlights. Photo: Alaan

Do you have an emergency fund?

This fund that I’ve been saving every month is my emergency fund. I haven’t checked its value in a long time as it might distract me.

What do you spend your disposable income on?

On travel. I’ve been fortunate enough to take time to see the world. With the UAE being so central on the map, it has made travel a lot easier, allowing me to travel to more than 30 countries in the past three years. The highlight was seeing the Northern Lights in Iceland and a 10-day road trip across New Zealand.

Do you worry about money?

The fear came a few times during tight months when I didn’t think I’d be able to make any payments towards the funds I’d created. But I found a way to meet my commitments.

What are your money-saving hacks to offset inflation?

Increase your equity split and keep bare minimum in your principal bank account. Don’t let money sit idle. Invest all the time, no matter how small.

What are your financial goals?

My only goal now is to build a profitable business. My aim is to make my business earn $1 billion in revenue.

What is your idea of financial freedom?

The day I own my time is when I’m financially free. I don’t have to sell my time for money, but what I have is working 24/7 to give me enough returns to live and enjoy life. Now, this number always varies with scenarios and hence I’m in a phase right now to dedicate 100 per cent of my time to build a business, which would eventually lead me to this goal.

The biggest chunk of my new-found financial freedom and runway for the better part of the next decade has come from the Esop buyback during Series A.

Do you earn passive income?

I’ve tried to experiment with it but it needed a fixed capital investment: real estate in most cases. Until two years ago, I used to write business articles for a publication in India. This used to be my only source of passive income.

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