Expert insights from Aboudi Al-Qattan, Principal at DASH Ventures, on the strategies to stand out in the startup world, entice investors, and achieve strategic growth.
In an exclusive article published by Middle East, international media franchise, Aboudi Al-Qattan, Principal of DASH Ventures, offers valuable insights for founders seeking to build, scale, and fund their startups in today's competitive market. These insights form part of the VC Voices series, which provides practical advice for startups from venture capitalists in the MENA region.
After a pause on new investments for 18 months, Al-Qattan's strategy continues to focus on backing businesses that make the backbone of the economy more efficient. He is particularly excited about business-to-business (B2B) infrastructure across emerging markets, as these startups fill gaps where traditional institutions often fall short.
In this specific article, Al-Qattan emphasizes the importance of understanding whether a business truly needs venture capital, knowing numbers, and benchmarking when raising funds. He advises founders to cast a wide net, but stay intentional when speaking to investors, prioritizing alignment and strategic value.
The top three key factors Al-Qattan suggests founders consider when preparing to raise their first round of funding are:
- Founder–market fit: Founders should deeply understand the problem they are solving, ideally from personal experience or long-term obsession, not just spotting a trend. This demonstrated conviction and context-specific insight is crucial.
- Massive, tangible market upside: The opportunity must have credible venture-scale potential, with a real, sizable market that supports outsized returns, rather than theoretical total addressable market numbers.
- Intentional investor alignment: While founders should engage with many investors to gather feedback and sharpen their pitch, they must prioritize investors who add strategic value, understand the market, and are desirable long-term partners on the cap table.
Al-Qattan also encourages founders to know their story, including why they are the right person for the problem and why the opportunity is venture-scale. He emphasizes the importance of being humble yet confident, striking a delicate balance that resonates with investors.
Lastly, Al-Qattan advises founders not to view every "no" as a final decision. Instead, he suggests maintaining respectful and constructive conversations, and providing regular, thoughtful updates to keep the door open.
With these insights, founders can approach the challenging process of building standout startups, raising funds, and scaling smart with a more informed and strategic mindset.
- Aboudi Al-Qattan, who is a Principal at DASH Ventures, suggests that founders consider the fit between their skills and the market they aim to serve, emphasizing the importance of understanding the problem from a personal perspective.
- Al-Qattan's strategy for investment involves focusing on companies that make the economy more efficient, particularly those in the business-to-business (B2B) sector across emerging markets.
- When raising funds, Al-Qattan advises startups to carefully evaluate their specific market potential, looking for opportunities that have real, sizable markets with venture-scale growth potential.
- Founders seeking to engage with investors, according to Al-Qattan's insights, should be strategic in their approach, prioritizing alignments that offer strategic value and long-term partnership benefits.
- Al-Qattan encourages founders to be storytellers, articulating their unique qualifications for the problem at hand and why the opportunity represents a venture-scale investment.
- Founders are urged by Al-Qattan to remain humble yet confident during their fundraising efforts, striking a balance that appeals to potential investors.
- In the competitive startup landscape, Al-Qattan suggests founders view rejections as opportunities to improve their pitch and maintain open lines of respectful communication with investors.
- By adopting a more informed and strategic approach to building their startups, raising funds, and scaling, founders can increase their chances of success in today's market, leveraging insights from venture capitalists like Al-Qattan in the MENA region.
