By the age of 30, Mohammad Sheikh Suliman achieved everything that aspiring entrepreneurs can hope for – an impressive portfolio, several successful start-ups, and enough wealth to begin investing into others businesses.
But, rather than being content with his level of success and resting on his laurels, Mohammad reached for more: in 2016, he turned his attention to horse training and founded the now-exclusive Arabian horse stud Al Sheikh.
Mohammad’s story with entrepreneurship and business began as early as high school – apparently, he already founded his first start-up before finishing his high school education. By the time he graduated from Tel Aviv University – Israel’s largest higher education facility – with a degree in Business Administration and Management, he was the founder and co-founder of several successful companies.
Shortly after finishing his degree, Mohammad had already made a name for himself as a real estate entrepreneur. Soon, his innovative and passionate approach to business led to him being in a position to help others do the same. He began his activities as an angel investor – providing capital for start-ups at early enough stages that traditional investors wouldn’t risk investing into. Over the period of a few years, Mohammad invested over $7 million into more than 40 companies – mostly start-ups, from a range of industries including healthcare, IT, and real estate.
In 2016, Mohammad’s long-standing passion for Arabian horses turned into a business. He founded the Al Sheikh Horse Stud – an exclusive equine centre, setting the highest standards for breeding and welfare of Arabian horses. It wasn’t long before Al Sheikh became the leader in its field – the stud won its first silver medal in the first year of operation. Altogether, over the four years that it has been active, Al Sheikh and the four horses that have been competing in championships have collected almost 30 medals, most of them silver and gold.
Mohammad isn’t just responsible for the business side of the stud – he is also an experienced breeder and a qualified horse trainer. Not everyone is aware that Arabian horse breeding is not all about the bloodline, or the animal’s appearance – the behavioural traits and movement are also important, and that’s where training comes in. Judges at championships and shows certainly take the horses physical features into account, but they also evaluate the animal’s intelligence, elegance, and confidence, among other characteristics. Mohammad is an expert at not only selecting the right horses to breed, but also ensuring that their behaviour reflects their noble bloodlines.
Mohammad’s story is the best example of how there’s always more success to reach for an there’s always more to be achieved. While he could easily have remained content with what he had already achieved and enjoy his success, he chose to make his passion into part of his job instead – looking for a new challenge and, as the many medals and awards prove, be successful.
To find out more about the Al Sheikh, visit the stud’s official website and Instagram – and don’t forget to check out Mohammad’s personal Instagram, too.
