Your first hires will make or break your startup. Here's how to get it right in MENA, from recruiting to contracts to building culture.
Before You Hire: Do You Really Need an Employee?
Alternatives to consider first:
Freelancers:
- Project-based work
- No visa/insurance obligations
- Lower commitment
- Platforms: Upwork, Mostaql (Arabic), Ureed
Contractors:
- Longer-term than freelancers
- Still no employment obligations
- Can work remotely
Agencies:
- For specialized work (design, marketing, dev)
- Higher cost but faster
- No management overhead
When you NEED an employee:
- Core function requiring daily work
- Need long-term commitment and loyalty
- Building institutional knowledge
- Role requires physical presence
- You're ready for management overhead
Your First 3 Hires
Most startups should hire in this order:
Hire 1: Technical Co-founder or Developer (if tech product)
- Can't outsource your core product indefinitely
- Equity + below-market salary acceptable at first
- Look for: Generalist, fast learner, low ego
Hire 2: Sales/Business Development
- Revenue solves many problems
- Founders can't do everything
- Look for: Hunter mentality, hustle, network
Hire 3: Operations/Customer Success
- Customer retention critical
- Founders can't scale customer support
- Look for: Detail-oriented, empathetic, organized
Don't hire yet:
- Marketing (founders should do this initially)
- HR (too early)
- Admin/office manager (automate instead)
- Multiple people in same function
Where to Find Talent in MENA
UAE
Job boards:
- LinkedIn (best for professionals)
- Bayt.com (regional standard)
- Indeed Middle East
- GulfTalent (for senior roles)
Tech-specific:
- AngelList
- YCombinator Work at a Startup
- Remote OK (if open to remote)
Universities:
- American University of Dubai (AUD)
- American University of Sharjah (AUS)
- NYU Abu Dhabi
- Khalifa University
Startup communities:
- Hub71 talent pool
- AstroLabs events
- Startup Grind meetups
Saudi Arabia
Job boards:
- Taqat (government job portal)
- Mihnati
Universities:
- KAUST (King Abdullah University)
- King Saud University
- Effat University
- Saudi Digital Academy (for tech)
Programs:
- Takamul (government salary subsidy for Saudi hires)
- TAQAT (unemployment support with hire incentives)
Egypt
Job boards:
- Wuzzuf (Egypt-specific)
Universities:
- AUC (American University in Cairo)
- GUC (German University in Cairo)
- Cairo University
Why Egypt:
- Large, skilled talent pool
- Lower salaries (30-50% less than Gulf)
- Strong tech education
- Remote work culture
Remote Talent (Beyond MENA)
Where to look:
- Pakistan (strong dev talent, affordable)
- Eastern Europe (high quality, moderate cost)
- Latin America (good timezone overlap with US clients)
Platforms:
- Upwork
- Toptal (vetted, expensive)
- Turing (developers)
- RemoteOK
The Hiring Process
Step 1: Write a Clear Job Description
What to include:
- Company mission (why you exist)
- Role responsibilities (3-5 core tasks)
- Requirements (must-haves only)
- Nice-to-haves (clearly separated)
- Compensation range (be transparent)
- Location/remote policy
- Equity if applicable
What NOT to do:
❌ List 20 requirements
❌ Require 5 years experience for startup role
❌ Copy-paste generic corporate job description
❌ Hide compensation
MENA-specific:
- Specify visa sponsorship status
- Mention if you hire expats or prefer locals
- Language requirements (Arabic and/or English)
Step 2: Screen Candidates
Resume screening (5 mins per resume):
- Relevant experience?
- Can they do the job?
- Red flags (job hopping, gaps)?
- Culture fit potential?
Shortlist 5-10 for first call
Step 3: Initial Call (20-30 mins)
Questions to ask:
- Walk me through your background
- Why are you interested in startups/our company?
- What are you looking for in your next role?
- Salary expectations?
- Notice period?
- Visa status? (if UAE/Saudi)
What you're evaluating:
- Communication skills
- Genuine interest
- Realistic expectations
- Availability
Shortlist 2-3 for deep interviews
Step 4: Deep Interview (60-90 mins)
Structure:
Part 1: Background (15 mins)
- Previous roles and learnings
- Biggest achievement
- Biggest failure and what they learned
Part 2: Technical/Role Assessment (30 mins)
For developer:
- Live coding challenge or take-home project
- System design discussion
- Past project deep dive
For sales:
- Pitch me our product
- Role play: Handle objection
- How would you find first 10 customers?
For operations:
- Process design challenge
- Problem-solving scenario
- Tool proficiency check
Part 3: Culture and Motivation (20 mins)
- Why startups vs corporate?
- How do you handle ambiguity?
- Tell me about a time you disagreed with your manager
- What motivates you?
Part 4: Questions from Candidate (15 mins)
A great candidate asks thoughtful questions.
Red flags:
- No questions (not engaged)
- Only asks about perks/vacation
- Badmouths previous employers
- Can't explain past work clearly
- Unrealistic compensation expectations
Step 5: Reference Checks
Call 2-3 previous managers/colleagues
Questions:
- How did you work together?
- What were their strengths?
- What were areas for improvement?
- Would you hire them again?
- Any advice for managing them?
MENA tip: Reference checks are less common culturally, but do them anyway for senior roles.
Step 6: Make Offer
Verbal offer first:
- Congratulate them
- Recap role and compensation
- Answer any questions
- Set deadline for decision (3-5 days)
Written offer after acceptance:
- Formal offer letter
- Employment contract
- Any other documents
Compensation in MENA
UAE (Dubai/Abu Dhabi)
Junior Developer (0-2 years):
AED 8,000-15,000/month ($2,200-4,100)
Mid Developer (3-5 years):
AED 15,000-25,000/month ($4,100-6,800)
Senior Developer (5+ years):
AED 25,000-40,000/month ($6,800-11,000)
Sales (junior):
AED 8,000-12,000 base + commission
Sales (senior):
AED 15,000-25,000 base + commission
Operations/Customer Success:
AED 8,000-18,000/month
Marketing:
AED 10,000-20,000/month
Saudi Arabia
Salaries similar to UAE but:
- Saudi nationals often expect 20-30% more
- Expats may accept slightly less than UAE
- Saudization requirements affect compensation strategy
Egypt
Much more affordable:
Developer:
EGP 15,000-40,000/month ($300-800)
Sales/Operations:
EGP 10,000-25,000/month ($200-500)
Senior roles:
EGP 40,000-80,000/month ($800-1,600)
Morocco
Similar to Egypt:
MAD 8,000-25,000/month ($800-2,500)
Beyond Base Salary
What else to offer:
Equity:
- First 5 employees: 0.5-2% each
- Next 10 employees: 0.1-0.5% each
- 4-year vesting, 1-year cliff
Benefits (UAE/Saudi):
- Health insurance (mandatory in UAE)
- Annual flight home (for expats)
- 30 days annual leave
- End-of-service gratuity (UAE: 21 days salary per year after 1 year)
Perks:
- Remote/flexible work
- Learning budget
- Gym membership
- Team offsites
- Free lunch/coffee
In early stage, offer:
- Meaningful equity
- Growth opportunity
- Impact
- Learning
Don't try to match Google's salary. You can't. Attract people who want the startup journey.
Employment Contracts
UAE
Contract must include:
- Job title and description
- Salary and benefits
- Working hours
- Leave entitlement
- Notice period
- End-of-service gratuity terms
Types:
- Limited contract: Fixed term (1-3 years), auto-renews
- Unlimited contract: No fixed end date
Notice period:
- Minimum 30 days
- 90 days common for senior roles
Probation:
- 6 months maximum
- Can terminate with 14 days notice during probation
Must be in:
- Arabic (legally binding)
- English translation for employee's understanding
Register through:
- MOHRE (Ministry of Human Resources) system
Saudi Arabia
Similar to UAE with differences:
Saudization:
- Track Saudi vs expat ratio
- Register all contracts in Qiwa
- GOSI contributions mandatory
Probation:
- 90 days standard
- Can extend to 180 days with agreement
Notice:
- 60 days standard
Egypt
More flexible:
- Simpler labor law
- Probation: 3 months
- Notice: 30-60 days
- No gratuity requirements
Common Contract Mistakes
❌ Using template from wrong country
Each country has specific requirements
❌ Unclear job description
Makes it hard to terminate for cause
❌ Missing non-compete/IP clauses
Critical for startups
❌ Not registering with authorities
Illegal and creates liability
❌ No probation period
Makes it much harder to let someone go
Onboarding Your First Employee
Before Day 1:
- Equipment ready (laptop, phone, etc.)
- Email and accounts set up
- Welcome package/swag
- First week schedule
Day 1:
- Office tour / virtual intro
- Meet the team
- Set up equipment
- Review company mission and values
- Go through first week plan
Week 1:
- Deep dive on role and expectations
- Introduce to key stakeholders
- Assign first project (small, achievable)
- Daily check-ins
Month 1:
- Weekly 1-on-1s
- Review progress
- Gather feedback
- Adjust as needed
Month 3 (End of Probation):
- Formal review
- Decide to continue or not
- If continuing: Set goals for next quarter
Managing in MENA: Cultural Considerations
Hierarchy:
- More respect for seniority/age than Western markets
- Titles matter (even at startups)
- Direct criticism can be taken personally
Communication:
- Arabs tend to be more indirect
- Relationship-building is important
- Face-to-face matters more than email
Working hours:
- UAE/Saudi: Sunday-Thursday workweek
- Friday-Saturday weekend
- Ramadan: Reduced hours (6 hours/day legally in UAE/Saudi)
Diversity:
- Multi-national teams common in Gulf
- Language barriers can exist
- Different work cultures (Egyptian vs Pakistani vs Western expat)
Managing across cultures:
- Be clear and explicit (don't assume)
- Over-communicate
- Written + verbal communication
- Regular 1-on-1s
- Celebrate diversity
When to Fire Someone
Fire fast if:
- Values misalignment
- Dishonesty
- Consistent underperformance after feedback
- Toxic behavior
How to fire in UAE:
- During probation: 14 days notice
- After probation: Follow contract (30-90 days)
- Pay notice period or salary in lieu
- Pay end-of-service gratuity
- Cancel visa
- Provide flight home (if sponsored by you)
How to fire in Saudi:
- Similar process
- Register termination in Qiwa
- Pay all dues
- Cancel Iqama
Documentation:
- Written warnings (if performance issue)
- Documentation of issues
- Termination letter
- Settlement statement
The conversation:
- Private, respectful
- Be direct but kind
- "This isn't working out"
- Don't sugarcoat
- Explain next steps (severance, benefits, etc.)
Building Culture with Your First Hires
Your first 5 employees set the culture.
What to establish early:
- Core values (3-5 max)
- How you communicate (Slack? Email? WhatsApp?)
- Meeting cadence (daily standups? weekly all-hands?)
- Decision-making process
- How you celebrate wins
- How you handle failures
Culture mistakes:
❌ Trying to copy Google/Facebook
❌ Too many meetings
❌ No clear values
❌ Founder not modeling desired behavior
❌ Hiring for skills over values fit
The Bottom Line
Your first hires are critical:
- Hire slowly, fire fast
- Look for generalists early on
- Values fit > skills (skills can be taught)
- Over-communicate expectations
- Pay fairly but not excessively
- Offer equity and growth opportunity
- Build culture intentionally from day 1
In MENA, talent is available. But great talent is selective. Sell your vision, be transparent, and treat people well.
