Behind Hoxton: From sleeping on air beds to managing billions.
The story of Chris Ball, Managing Partner of Hoxton Capital sounds like a Dubai dream (that started in Abu Dhabi ;)).
But as you know, behind every success is some crazy story and ride full of struggles, pain and mistakes.
Chris was extremely open about his whole journey, that started as an Accountant at KPMG. Fast forward 20 years and he’s managing almost $2 billion in assets with his advisory & fintech company.
There is one sentence Chris said a lot during our interview “If others could do it, why couldn’t I?”.
Continue reading to learn how he did it.
What context do I need to know about you to understand the Chris Ball sitting next to me today?
I was born in Watford, UK, to a working-class family. My mother worked as a typist and later became a teacher, while my father was a panel beater turned insurance assessor. Their career changes taught me the value of hard work and that it’s possible to switch career paths regardless of age.
Though I never excelled at school, I found subjects I enjoyed - economics, business studies, and pure maths. This led me to accounting, inspired by a visit to KPMG's offices in London. Getting accepted to KPMG felt like a huge accomplishment, but after a couple of months, I realized it wasn't that exciting. Seeing people making big money pushed me forward.
Are you a born entrepreneur?
I've always had an entrepreneurial spirit. From the age of 11, I was washing cars, delivering papers, and constantly coming up with ideas to earn money.
At KPMG, I quickly realized corporate life wasn't for me. I started a side business doing tax returns, managing about a hundred returns a year for small business owners. It wasn’t scalable, but I enjoyed the hustle.
Years later, my wife really pushed me to start Hoxton. I remember the day I handed in my resignation; without her support, I might still be there today.
What brought you to the Middle East in 2014?
My friend’s dad, who owned deVere Group, approached me about moving to Abu Dhabi. It was a big leap, but since I wasn't enjoying my job at KPMG, I decided to give it a try.
The start was far from what I expected. A villa in the middle of nowhere in Abu Dhabi with no proper equipment. In the first week, I received a book full of numbers to cold call and sell to. I thought, "What **** have I got myself into?"
But seeing others around me succeeding, I stuck to it. If they could do it, why couldn’t I? I stayed for seven years and eventually led the expansion to Qatar as the Area Manager.
The finance advisory/fintech industry seems pretty crowded. What do you think about that, and how is Hoxton different?
Competition in the finance and fintech industry is intense, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It pushes everyone to innovate and improve. A problem in the GCC is that advisors take huge upfront fees and don’t really take care of the customer long-term. Our Western-trained advisors focus on providing value through long-term relationships. We charge an upfront fee and then an ongoing management fee, incentivizing us to provide good ongoing advice, not just sell something and move on.
Additionally, we focus on technology with our integrated fintech platform that helps you track your portfolio across many different assets - banks, stocks, crypto, real estate, etc.
How did you get your first 100 customers?
Mainly through cold calls, which work like magic if done well. It’s about making the other person comfortable and genuinely interested in your service. Now we’re more sophisticated, holding seminars, and generating leads from ads, but cold calling still has its role.
By the end of this year, we aim to have $2 billion in assets, and by the end of 2027, we want to reach $5 billion in assets.
What were the biggest mistakes on your journey so far?
Bad hiring for sure. The most expensive hires we’ve made didn’t work out. Or hiring a whole team of interns but not having the right support for them. Waiting too long to let go of someone who doesn’t fit in.
The lesson I’ve learned is not to make hiring decisions alone - always have different perspectives.
What would you like to tell founders who are just starting?
Persistence is key. Success comes from consistently showing up every day. You need to find things that motivate you. For me, a big part of it was always about money - not just for its own sake, but for the security it provides. If someone else can do it, why can’t I?
But overall, I realized I don’t need much. I had kids when I was 24, twins, and I didn’t have much money. I was afraid my card would bounce when shopping for groceries. We were living in a tiny apartment in Abu Dhabi, sleeping on air beds.
This experience helped me realize that having lots of things isn’t what’s important. If you keep pushing and showing up, you can achieve a lot.
Thank you Chris for sharing your story, was really inspiring.
See you next Saturday,
Kristina
🔗 Connect with me on LinkedIn - Kristina Melsova.
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