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.
“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.
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.
Do you want to be featured in My Salary, a weekly column that explores how people around the world manage their earnings? Write to pf@thenationalnews.com to share your story
Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
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Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.6-litre turbo
Transmission: six-speed automatic
Power: 165hp
Torque: 240Nm
Price: From Dh89,000 (Enjoy), Dh99,900 (Innovation)
On sale: Now
Pathaan
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Destroyer
Director: Karyn Kusama
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Toby Kebbell, Sebastian Stan
Rating: 3/5
UAE release: January 31
History's medical milestones
1799 - First small pox vaccine administered
1846 - First public demonstration of anaesthesia in surgery
1861 - Louis Pasteur published his germ theory which proved that bacteria caused diseases
1895 - Discovery of x-rays
1923 - Heart valve surgery performed successfully for first time
1928 - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin
1953 - Structure of DNA discovered
1952 - First organ transplant - a kidney - takes place
1954 - Clinical trials of birth control pill
1979 - MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, scanned used to diagnose illness and injury.
1998 - The first adult live-donor liver transplant is carried out
Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
Profile of Foodics
Founders: Ahmad AlZaini and Mosab AlOthmani
Based: Riyadh
Sector: Software
Employees: 150
Amount raised: $8m through seed and Series A - Series B raise ongoing
Funders: Raed Advanced Investment Co, Al-Riyadh Al Walid Investment Co, 500 Falcons, SWM Investment, AlShoaibah SPV, Faith Capital, Technology Investments Co, Savour Holding, Future Resources, Derayah Custody Co.
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
The specs
Engine: 0.8-litre four cylinder
Power: 70bhp
Torque: 66Nm
Transmission: four-speed manual
Price: $1,075 new in 1967, now valued at $40,000
On sale: Models from 1966 to 1970
Results
5pm: Reem Island – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m; Winner: Farasah, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Musabah Al Muhairi
5.30pm: Sir Baniyas Island – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: SSR Ghazwan, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
6pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Astral Del Sol, Sean Kirrane, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
6.30pm: Al Maryah Island – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Toumadher, Dane O’Neill, Jaber Bittar
7pm: Yas Island – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: AF Mukhrej, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
7.30pm: Saadiyat Island – Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 2,400m; Winner: Celestial Spheres, Gary Sanchez, Ismail Mohammed
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs: 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk
Price, base: Dh399,999
Engine: Supercharged 6.2-litre V8
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 707hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 875Nm @ 4,800rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 16.8L / 100km (estimate)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE%20v%20West%20Indies
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo
Power: 374hp at 5,500-6,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm from 1,900-5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.5L/100km
Price: from Dh285,000
On sale: from January 2022
The biog
Name: Younis Al Balooshi
Nationality: Emirati
Education: Doctorate degree in forensic medicine at the University of Bonn
Hobbies: Drawing and reading books about graphic design
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Herc's Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
Company profile
Name: Steppi
Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic
Launched: February 2020
Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year
Employees: Five
Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai
Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings
Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
