From saving lunch money to profitable UAE startup at age 25: A Kuwaiti's tale

Dubai: At 25, Abbas Al-Hazeem, a Kuwaiti entrepreneur raised in Dubai, is proving that success in the UAE starts with discipline, vision, and the right mindset.

His story — from saving school lunch money to launching a profitable media agency — shows how smart financial habits can grow into business success.

As a student, Abbas was already thinking like an entrepreneur. While classmates spent their pocket money on snacks, he saved his. “I’d bring my lunch from home and use my money to buy small items to resell at school,” he says. “That’s how I learned to grow what I had.”

Those small lessons in saving and reinvesting shaped his approach to work and life. After gaining experience in technical services and operations between Dubai and Kuwait, Abbas noticed a clear market gap in storytelling-based marketing — where creativity connects brand stories with real audiences.

In April 2024, Abbas founded On The Way Media Agency, investing Dh 128,555 ($35,000) of his own savings. The funds covered branding, licenses, and setup costs. “Trade license registration, visa processing, and equipment were important,” he says, “but I invested more in people than machines. Skilled talent gives better returns than hardware.”

The strategy worked. Within months, the company achieved a 60 percent profit margin thanks to lean operations and focused spending. “We reinvested every dirham to expand services into AI-driven content and music production,” Abbas says. “Scaling smart matters more than scaling fast.”

Before starting his firm, Abbas worked at his family’s business, Intercoil International, and later in distribution and logistics across the UAE and Kuwait. That experience taught him structure; Dubai’s pace taught him adaptability.

“Dubai keeps you sharp,” he says. “It’s competitive but full of opportunity. The city rewards strategy and innovation.” His multicultural background helped him merge technical expertise with creative leadership — shaping a company that balances artistic storytelling with strong financial principles.

Abbas treats savings as a monthly bill. “I automatically set aside a portion of income,” he says. “I started small, then diversified into assets and funds to spread risk.” He believes in holding smaller stakes in multiple ventures rather than betting on one. “Owning ten percent in ten businesses is better than a hundred percent in one,” he says.

His investments now include real estate, long-term funds, and emerging AI startups. He also maintains an emergency buffer of six to twelve months of expenses to protect the company from client payment delays. “Revenue means nothing if you can’t pay your team on time,” he says. “Cash flow is survival.”

Abbas’s financial discipline came from hard lessons. In his earlier technical services venture, he overstocked inventory, draining his cash reserves. “That nearly ended the business,” he admits. “Now I focus on balance — creativity with control, ambition with budgeting.”

He also avoids aggressive expansion. “We landed large deals early on, but I resisted over-hiring. Every expense has to clearly improve productivity or revenue. That discipline keeps us stable.”

Despite long hours, Abbas has learned to value balance. “I was shy at first,” he says. “Running my own company built my confidence.” His downtime includes reading, gym sessions, padel, and family weekends — essential, he says, to staying grounded.

The early months were tough: no salary, long nights, and constant reinvestment. “I doubted myself often,” he says. “But I kept pushing through. True resilience means moving forward even when things feel uncertain.”

“Entrepreneurship is unpredictable,” Abbas says. “But if you stay disciplined, transparent, and adaptable — the UAE gives you all the tools to succeed.”