Five Minutes With Mustafa Khawaja
Mustafa Khawaja is the leading man in the dynamic duo made up of himself and his amazing wife, Sara Al Madani. If you live in the GCC region you must be living under a rock if you haven’t heard of Sara. She has been a social media goddess for years but more important is the message she shares— she is a rock of positivity to all who need it. Mustafa shares the same values across his social media accounts as well. Positive, hard-working, entrepreneurs; they are in this world to make a mark, together.
Many have questions. Who is this Pakistani-American man who has married the Emirati woman? They chose to keep their relationship under wraps until time for the wedding and now that we all know, the world is buzzing with questions. I sat down with Mustafa (or Stafa) Khawaja to get some of these questions answered for you. From what we see on social media Mustafa is an American businessman who puts family first. How he has to time to post on socials, we have no idea; as it seems he is running from meeting to meeting, country to country so when we ran past an hour interview I was surprised but grateful for the time we were able to sit and talk.
Claire Blumenthal: Thank you so much for making time to speak to me today.
Mustafa Khawaja: It’s my pleasure.
CB: Quick rundown businesswise— How many companies do you actually own?
MK: I own Sparta Nutrition and Khawaja Holdings which has invested in 50 companies so far, and now my wife and I have started a few more companies in Dubai. We are very excited.
CB: Tell me about Sparta.
MK: It’s one of the fastest-growing brands in the country in the USA. We’ve been rated in the top-three three years in a row. I started the brand with my younger brother because we wanted full transparency in the industry. For example, when you buy a vitamin or a supplement these days, everything is hidden behind proprietary blends, so what that means is that you don’t really know what you’re putting into your body. Our philosophy is your body is the most important thing in the world, so you should know what you’re putting into it. Every single label now has every single formula for full disclosure. Another area of importance is the psychology of marketing. So, each label kind of reminds you of that flavor that we have on the product. So it’s like nostalgic flavors. And it reminds you of your favorite cereals when you were a kid or your childhood candies. We're very excited to be partnering up with cereal and candy brands so that Sparta Nutrition flavours match those flavours trademarked by these companies. Now as adults we can taste the same candies we had as kids but in a healthy way. Our products are still very low in sugar, low calories, but you still get that same taste and flavors from your favorite childhood candies.
CB: What university did you go to and how did you get into the world of stocks and equity?
MK: So, my main company is my private equity, it’s called Khawaja Holdings. I’ve always been a fan of stocks and private equity, that’s what I went to college for. I did a Masters program in New York City in conjunction with Columbia. I worked on Wall Street from the ages of 18-21. I started as an intern and worked my way up. I’ve always had a love for numbers. I had a couple of successful companies that I started at age 17, sold my first one at 23 and used that money to start my private equity.
CB: What are the similarities between yours and Sara’s work ethics?
MK: We both started companies very young and we’re both hard workers who live our personal and business lives with passion.
CB: One of the newest companies you’ve set up in recent months with Sara is Proposal Cupids. How did that come around? Are you just trying to spread the love?
MK: Well, we always want to spread love and positivity but there is actually a deficit in the market here for planning proposals. When I was planning on proposing to Sara I had a really hard time finding help. And I needed help because I was going to do this long distance. What I did find didn’t have anywhere near what I needed, no packages, it all sounded boring. I ended up bringing things I had bought from Amazon over from the US in my suitcases.
CB: How did you and Sara meet?
MK: Instagram, actually. She was doing some really cool things and I sent her a message and the rest is history.
CB: You’re both known hustlers— how do you make the time for each other?
MK: I think when you truly care about someone, you make time. Even though we live 7500 miles away from each other, we’ll still just take a last-minute flight to go see each other. As you know, I’ve been here for a few weeks. My travel plans have been pushed off and pushed off some more even though I have meetings elsewhere just because I think your wife and your relationship and your family is the most important thing in the world. It always will be. Money comes and goes, meetings come and go, but I think that you should always hold on to those that matter. We’re both really good at doing that. So now even when we’re married and I’m going back to the States, five days later she misses me too much and she'll fly to New York to see me for a day or two. I’m truly blessed. Not blessed because of the business stuff, but blessed because I found somebody that understands me and my life, but also cares about me the way I care about her.
CB: In the past how have women reacted to your life of business and travel?
MK: I travel probably once a week. And when you’re travelling that much, you know I feel like sometimes that lifestyle makes your significant other insecure. They’re like, Am I not good enough? Why is he traveling so much? And they’re just not understanding it. Because a lot of women, want a guy that’s rich, but they want him to do a 9-5. Like he comes home, puts the phone to the side, and everything is about her. But unfortunately, that’s not how life works. And success to me is somebody who works 24/7. You have to. Because your business is like a child, it constantly needs that attention. It needs that effort and that focus. And, you know, even if you get that focus off for a little bit, I feel like sometimes it really messes it all up. I’m really good at micromanaging now, I never used to delegate, but now I got better at delegating because you have to.
CB: What are your views on travel?
MK: If you can, do it! A lot of people are stuck inside their little communities, their little towns, and I wish they would travel the world, because it matures you. When you see all these different cultures and religions and these day to day activities that everybody’s doing, it truly shows you and makes you understand the meaning of life.
CB: I understand you come from humble beginnings, you don’t come from a “jet setters” type of mindset.
MK: My father went from one of the poorest parts of Pakistan, he went to America and he was a janitor for a few years, and he worked his way up in that company and he was a biochemist for 35 years. He retired from that company, and he did a lot of good things while he was there. I mean, essentially men and women with the American Dream in their sights sacrifice their lives. He sacrificed every day for his 5 children, so they could go through the American school system, to have a chance at that American dream, to live that American dream. And you know, that’s why to this day if you ask me; What’s my biggest motivation, I’d say it’s myself, and my family. And, it’s the most important thing in the world. In Islam, there is a saying. “If you do good by your parents, G-d will give you ten times more.” So if I can help anybody with anything, it’s a 100% gain for me.
CB: Are you part of the 5 AM Club?
MK: To be honest, in America, I only sleep 3 to 4 hours a day and just work. But in Dubai, I feel I’ve been sleeping a little bit more. Maybe it’s because I don’t have that strict schedule there that I do back home. I love waking up early, and just drinking my coffee, and then scanning my emails and stuff. So, I love waking up at 5, 6, just for that one to two hours just doing your thing, sitting down by yourself, and then it gets hectic from there, right, because you go to your office, you have all your employees who need you.
CB: In terms of business, what do you like about Dubai?
MK: There’s just so much opportunity.
The way I see it, the States is 5-10 years ahead of any other market, whether it comes to business, or just tech or anything like that, business-wise. So, if I can bring that 5-10 years of expertise that I have that this market doesn’t have yet, then I feel like there’s so much opportunity for somebody like me. So that’s why I’m excited to bring some of my companies out here, I’m excited to start new companies out here that I know that I’ve invested in, that are doing well in the States, but there’s nobody doing those here. You know, the proposal thing is just something that our love story’s inspired, it’s helping people, it’s shifting the mindset for a lot of people here, for women and men, that I think the proposal thing is not to make a lot of money, but it’s just to make that dream come true.
Your proposal is intimate. Your wedding, not so much, because weddings are not really for the couple, it’s more for the guests, and the family members, but your proposal, when that man asks the woman to marry him, it’s the most romantic time in your relationship, that memory lasts forever. And if we can help you make it better, if we can help you capture it, if we can make it more romantic, and make that dream come true, then that’s the reason why we’re doing it. So, that’s exciting and we’re working on a bunch of other projects, too.
CB: From your Instagram stories I’ve learned you guys are really big supporters of the idea to manifest anything you want.
MK: So it’s important to write down your goals, and your dreams, and then sometimes you just read it every day and you talk to yourself about it, and you read it to yourself, you look in the mirror, and you’re manifesting that dream, and you’re telling yourself that, this is your goals, whether it’s your quarterly goals, or your yearly goals, or your 5-year plan, or your 10-year plan. Try waking up every morning, half an hour before you usually do, and just look at that vision board. It will motivate the hell out of you. It will inspire you. We shouldn’t look to people to motivate us and inspire us, we need to do that to ourselves.
CB: What do you do in your spare time?
MK: To be honest, in my spare time, I do like to smoke shisha. But more importantly is spending available time with my family.
CB: What is your biggest fear?
MK: My biggest fear in life is regret. I have to give everything I do 100%.
CB: What would you like to be remembered for?
MK: I would like to be remembered for me.
CB: What does that mean?
MK: A lot of people, they’re all about looks, and glamour, and the facades, and the luxury products and the glitz and glamour, but I don’t want to be known for that. I want to be known for a person who has a big heart, is family-oriented, and humble. I want to be remembered as someone who actually wants to make a positive change in other people’s lives.
CB: What’s one place you’d like to visit that you haven’t yet.
MK: I’ve always wanted to do a European tour between like, Budapest, Vienna, and Prague.
CB: What does luxury mean to you?
MK: Luxury is anything that makes me happy.
CB: What does being a gentleman mean to you?
MK: Being a gentleman, for me, is somebody who respects the values of somebody. Like for me, the way that I was raised is, my father used to get mad at me if I didn’t open the door for my sisters. The sort of words that you use with your mother and your sisters; that to me is what a gentleman is. And I think the definition of a gentleman or the way that you understand what a gentleman is, it’s the way you've been raised. You know, my father still, to this day, he buys my mom flowers once a week. He’s like, dancing for her, singing for her, you know?
CB: That’s so sweet.
MK: He’s very cute, and romantic. And I think that’s the reason why I’m good to all women around me, not just my wife or my sisters, or just regular women too, you know, strangers. And that’s why I think it’s so important in this day and age to raise your children, your sons, to be gentlemen. But, children are led by example, and so if you’re acting like a gentleman right now, like I am to my wife, you know, and she has a son, and he’s going to want to be a gentleman too, you know. To everybody around him when he grows up, too. So, I think it’s very important.
CB: What’s on your desk?
MK: A lot of papers, probably in a mess.
CB: What is your last meal on Earth?
MK: I love American Chinese food. I love, like that traditional shrimp lo-mein, you know, that really American, like really salty, Chinese food. That’s what I like.
CB: Okay. Who’s your ideal dinner guest?
MK: I’ll take Sara. You know, it’s hard to just have a private dinner with your wife.
CB: By the way, loved your pearls at the wedding. I can’t not mention them.
MK: Very Bollywood. I loved it. I wish I could wear them every day.
CB: Why can’t you? I think that everyone should just wear what they feel amazing in every single day. We don’t need an occasion.
MK: You know what’s crazy is, the way that I dressed at my wedding, it is my fashion sense. I still will always wear coats that have the statement buttons. Very traditional and ethnic. That’s who I am. But again, my wife always thinks that I look like I’m about to buy a building or something.
CB: Who is your favorite artist?
MK: Rumi. I love poetry and my religion so it’s a great mix for me.
CB: How often do you go to Pakistan?
MK: The last time I went, I was 12.
CB: Well, that’s all the time we have for now and I am so happy we finally had the chance to chat and get to know one another and hopefully we can do it again soon.
MK: Thank you, me too.
