Meeting Ali, a Banker Entrepreneur

Meeting Ali was an exciting opportunity not only because he is a UAE national with his bachelor’s education in Boston, but also because he is a part-time entrepreneur and a full-time banker. Walking from the parking lot towards the back door of his office, I was immediately reminded of the Duck Tour on Charles River by the full cover of an amphibious bus on Dubai Creek. Al’s business is called Wonder Bus Tour.

His voice was very soft and his hands were always on his laps—nowhere close to a banker, nor an entrepreneur. His marketing manager, a big white man in black suit sitting three feet away, was a sharp contrast to Ali in his traditional white dishdasha—no sign of Americanization. “There are a lot of hours after my banking job 7:30am-2:30pm that I can work on Wonder Bus, and plus weekends… My bank job allows me to support myself without putting any salary burden on the start-up.” Leveraging his finance skill, Ali arranged the 2nd round financing all by himself. Banker Entrepreneur Ali got his perfect match.

I left my banking career in New York because my director and I both believe that MIT Sloan is the place to nurture my entrepreneurial spirit. Nonetheless, I failed on my first attempt. Laughably, I was worried about no financing, and couldn’t resist other temptations. Ali failed several entrepreneurial endeavors as well but this time he succeeded in Wonder Bus. I admire his conviction, which was almost buried in his banker’s job and soft voice. Ali is also an achieved branch manager for the local bank.

Meeting Ali is not a mere case interview behind hundreds of pages that I studied, but a lesson from a real-life entrepreneur: One’s conviction can drive him to integrate different parts of his experience for the Wonder.