Ali Abussaud, CEO and founder of Hala Capital: Each week, My Morning Routine explores how a successful member of the community starts their day — and tosses in a couple of random business questions just for fun. Our guest this week is Ali Abussaud (LinkedIn), CEO and founder of venture capital firm Hala Capital, formerly Hala Ventures. Edited excerpts from our conversation:

My name is Ali Abussaud, founder and CEO at Hala Capital. I started my career back in 2004, working in corporate and institutional banking across different regional banks, mostly in Saudi Arabia. Afterward, I left the banking sector and founded my first business, Financial Horizon Group, a consulting group that provided financial, management, and other advisory services. My late father was highly supportive from the first day. He explained to me the right steps, what the journey will look like, and laid out the dos and don’ts. It was very helpful.

I was wearing so many hats, and that humbled me. When I was working in banking, I thought that I could do anything. But the first time I was in the office of my own company, I couldn’t help but wonder: “What’s next? What can I do?” It took me some time to get the hang of it, because we didn’t have a brand yet; you only have experience and your personal network.

Later on in 2014, I started investment activities. My partner and I established a corporate fund, started investment activities, and started looking into VC investment. We were one of the first VC investors in Saudi and one of the earliest in MENA. After that, we founded Hala Ventures — now called Hala Capital — in 2018.

We had both a vision and a dream — to become a true investment company, a proper capital house offering different products and expanding beyond a single sector into a recognized regional player. We were known mainly as a VC, but that wasn’t enough, since venture capital focuses only on early stages. There’s still much to do in later stages, like promoting growth, pre-IPO funding, and bridging the gap in lending.

We began rebranding a year ago, working on governance and filing with the Capital Market Authority. We chose to do everything internally — from the business plan to policies and procedures — which was a challenging but rewarding journey. Our goal is to expand into late-stage and private equity, working with established, often family-owned companies that are planning to go public or those we could convince to go public.

We are launching a private credit fund to lend directly to mid-cap and larger businesses. The banking sector is being selective in lending to businesses and lacks flexibility. Our new fund will mostly focus on asset-backed businesses in Saudi Arabia and offer a broader range of products, such as VC, private equity, private credit, and other alternatives. We are also launching a technology VC fund, focused on fintech, AI, and logistics across the MENA region.

Saudi has been quite active when it comes to venture capital, and that trend has been significantly on the up. The Kingdom may have entered the market later than other MENA countries, around 2018-2019, but now it’s home to great activities, and many entrepreneurs are relocating or setting up main offices here.

The biggest shifts are in sectors like fintech, which still has major gaps to fill, and AI, where Saudi is positioning itself as a global hub. AI is not an easy market, as you need to bring something to the table that is truly different, and we’re seeing startups claiming to be AI companies while simply using third-party models. I wouldn’t call them AI companies unless they have their own model. It’s similar to when everyone used to label themselves as Web3 a few years ago without really offering anything new.

For startups, we focus on three criteria: team, team, and team. There has to be a minimum of two co-founders with great synergy, and it’s critical that the team already has sufficient experience in the field they are in. We spend enough time with team members to associate with them, not only on a business level but also on a personal level. If possible, we’ll try to meet with them outside of work to see how they handle money and family relations. Sometimes we do something similar to psychometric testing. We often use these kinds of assessments in recruitment, and I believe the same approach applies when identifying the right team for a startup.

Second, we identify the product — does it fill a gap in the market, and how big is that gap? Many founders imagine problems that don’t exist or are too niche. We look for startups tackling genuine, large-scale issues in sizable markets, with the right execution to match.

We also consider location strategy. If a startup is based in a market that isn’t suitable — due to regulation, currency, or growth limitations — we encourage them to relocate part of their operations. For example, a company might keep its technical team in Egypt, where talent is excellent, but move one co-founder to Saudi Arabia or another GCC market to access clients and investors.

My house is around 40 minutes from my office, and I enjoy the commute while listening to podcasts or audiobooks. I don’t take calls or have company in the car, because it will disturb my routine. I listen to many business podcasts and try to keep them diverse, not just related to investment or VC, but also to topics that will develop soft skills. I mostly listen to 20VC, Acquired, and the Arabic podcast Sawalif Business.

Once I arrive at the office, I start by checking on the news before moving on to emails, internal and external meetings, and team follow-ups. I go to the gym for about an hour immediately after work.

Balancing business and personal life isn’t easy. I’m a workaholic — my mind is always active, even when I’m home or trying to relax. I rarely take vacations, but I make sure to socialize and recharge by spending weekends in Bahrain, going out with friends, or spending time with my wife. That helps me reset and keep my energy up, along with the gym, of course.

One book I really love is The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham. I first listened to it years ago, and I’m planning to revisit it now with more experience. It makes you rethink how you do business. I especially like the concept of “Mr. Market,” which Graham uses to illustrate the market’s volatility and irrationality. The key lesson is to stay calm, not let emotions drive your decisions, always distinguish between a stock’s price and its true value, and not let Mr. Market beat you. It’s a heavy book, but I highly recommend it.

Networking is one of the most underestimated skills — some people probably don’t have it, some are afraid of it, and some just underestimate it, thinking they don’t have time for it. But in most sectors — not just investment — unless you really keep up with having the right network and associate yourself with the right people, successful people, you won’t succeed.

Another thing I’d stress is humility. Being humble is being generous when it comes to giving advice and mentoring other people when there’s nothing in return. I believe that good deeds pay back and that a small piece of advice can sometimes change people’s lives.

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