UAE Startups Urged to Cut Non-Core Costs While Protecting Revenue Engines in Cash Crunch

UAE startups are being urged to prioritise cuts to “non-core burn” while protecting the parts of the business that generate revenue, a founder-led advisory published by Bazaar Times says. Faizan Mandavia, Founder and Group CEO of FAM Group, and Ayshwarya Chari, Co‑founder of Dubai-based 1115inc, advise early, surgical cost discipline that preserves the revenue engine, delivery quality and financial visibility rather than broad, emotional reductions that can hollow out a company.

“They cut too late or too emotionally,” Mandavia warns, framing late reactions as a primary reason startups undermine their own survival.

What to protect and what to trim

Mandavia draws a clear line between costs that sustain a business and those that merely maintain comfort or perceived momentum. He lists three untouchable areas that founders should avoid cutting:

• Revenue engine — sales capability and client relationships
• Delivery quality — the work that keeps clients paying and referring
• Financial visibility — reporting, controls and decision clarity

By contrast, Mandavia says non-core burn commonly includes marketing spend without measurable outcomes, under‑utilised tools and subscriptions, and premature scaling such as hiring ahead of need or upgrading office space. In tight cash conditions, brand campaigns or experimental ads that can’t be directly tied to customers, conversions or retention “stop being an investment and start becoming a cost buffer that drains runway,” he argues.

Practical cost tactics recommended in the piece focus on preserving capability rather than simply lowering headcount. Mandavia suggests alternatives to layoffs including shifting compensation toward performance‑linked pay, building multi‑hat roles, pausing hiring and redeploying internal capacity, and outsourcing or fractionalising non‑core roles.

“Both, but sequence matters,” Mandavia says on the common debate between cutting costs and pushing growth — meaning startups should first stabilise cash flow and extend runway, then refocus energy on aggressive revenue generation once the base is secure.

Efficiency, not just cuts

Beyond headline savings, Mandavia highlights hidden inefficiencies as a reliable source of runway extension. “The most effective move I’ve seen: Cutting ‘busy work’ disguised as operations,” he says, pointing to duplicated reporting, follow‑ups and internal coordination that add cost and slow decisions without improving revenue. Simplifying workflows and removing redundant layers can lower headcount pressure, speed up decisions and reduce costs without impairing delivery.

Chari complements this advice by urging a diagnostic first step: look inward before cutting, auditing spend and activity to identify under‑used subscriptions, unclear ROI and internal friction that can be fixed without damaging the business’s core.

Outlook: The guidance is straightforward — act early, prioritise the systems that keep customers and cash coming in, and treat cost control as a strategic, staged process rather than an emergency reflex. For UAE startups facing a cash crunch, the prescription is selective austerity paired with operational clarity, so runway is extended without dismantling the revenue engines needed to recover growth.