Already the successful founder and CEO of Native, an all-natural deodorant brand, Moiz Ali seeks to pass on his success to new start-ups. To do so, Moiz and his brother Suleman formed Ali Capital, a venture capital firm that bolsters innovative new software and tech start-ups which focus on a variety of fields, from virtual reality to e-commerce.
Suleman Ali, a former Microsoft employee who left to pursue his own passions, has met similar independent success. Since leaving the tech giant, he has steered the production of multiple successful mobile games.
Suleman and Moiz Ali join forces after successful independent careers
Moiz learned a lot from his entrepreneur parents. They inspired him to eventually switch from law to business. After Harvard Law School and a 2.5 year stint in the law field, Moiz co-founded Caskers, a craft spirit e-commerce business. Afterwards, he decided to improve upon a product that most use every single day – deodorant.
“I had been using Axe deodorant my entire life,” he says, “…And I’d always be like, ‘I can not pronounce a single one of these ingredients, and this is going to be on my body all day. What are they putting in this?’” Since its inception, “Native has become one of the fastest growing consumer packaged goods enterprises in the US.”
For his part, Suleman Ali started off as a Microsoft employee. But he soon left the tech giant to become his own boss. The first app he made, Superlatives, found a lot of popularity on Facebook.
“I was focused on sort of my own values, doing something that I was proud of…” Suleman compares, saying that at Microsoft, he was focused on impressing someone else and not himself. He continued building and selling companies, including a newsletter business, TinyCo, a mobile game called Tap Resort, and Family Guy and Marvel themed games. In addition, he collaborated on Native, his brother’s deodorant business.
Entrepreneurship runs in the Ali brothers’ veins
“My parents are really funny,” says Suleman Ali. “No matter what business me or my brothers start [they] are really dismissive about it… until we sell the business.” But the brothers came by their entrepreneurial spirit honestly. Their parents, also entrepreneurs, taught Moiz “ a lot about work ethics and business – how to market products, how to negotiate with vendors, and everything about the supply chain.”
“I think my brother had the faith,” says Suleman about the inception of Native. “I didn’t have faith in the business, but I had the faith in him. And I’d say the sort of greatest joy of my career has been working with him and seeing him succeed and helping Native succeed.”
Following the positive experience working together, the brothers then founded Ali Capital. Now, they work side by side.
Ali Capital invests in everything from virtual reality to e-commerce
Ali Capital combines Suleiman’s tech savviness and Moiz’s business sense. Their current personal and professional investment portfolio includes some recognizable names, including Uber, Reddit, and Causebox. The company seeks to support individuals and startups in various fields. These include e-commerce, “industries historically untouched by software,” virtual reality, and “software that changes the way people work,” among many others.
Currently, Ali Capital is in its early stages as a venture capital firm, actively seeking new investments. Moiz recalls the experience raising money for Native as stressful, because initially the company struggled to get significant investments.
“I wish Silicon Valley didn’t glorify those massive fundraising rounds as much as they do,” Moiz says, “People don’t respect how much one person can do.” Ali Capital invests in companies precisely with the mentality of funding people with innovative ideas and potential.
Find out more at Ali Capital’s site here.
