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How Abdul Al-Asaad of Basic Capital is Building a New 401(k)

How Abdul Al-Asaad of Basic Capital is Building a New 401(k)

A conversation with the co-founder and CEO of Basic Capital

Erika Braza & Justin Gordon
May 18, 2025

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Abdul Al-Asaad co-founded Basic Capital and just came out of stealth in 2025, but the idea had been taking shape long before that.

On his days working at Goldman Sachs he experienced firsthand a vicious cycle—investors are expected to deliver growth, but they often lack the means to even get started.

The turning point was when Abdul realized he couldn’t even afford a share of Tesla; he learned then that “it takes money to make money”.

And while everyone was focusing on the key factors of financial literacy and access to the market, no-one was focusing on giving investors the basic capital to start with.

Abdul identified a gap in the market. Lived it, more like. And later capitalized it into a very promising system that’s sure to be explored more deeply.

Listen to Abdul’s interview on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.

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Build from personal pain and conviction. Abdul created Basic Capital based on a problem he personally experienced: having financial literacy and access, but not enough capital to actually invest. This lived insight not only gave him deep conviction and clarity of purpose, but it also revealed a market gap ready to be tapped.
Don’t wait for market validation; create your own market instead. When Goldman Sachs told him the TAM was zero, Abdul didn’t pivot—he doubled down. Incumbents look for existing pools of profit; founders create new ones. Basic Capital is a classic example of category creation: financing investing rather than consumption.
Take asymmetric bets on exposure. From applying to just one business school (HBS) to printing a custom pitch deck for Bill Ackman and hand-delivering it at a talk, Abdul repeatedly took high-effort, high-upside swings. These moves aren’t scalable, but they are often what early success depends on.
Work with the constraints you have, not the ones you wish you had. As an immigrant without a financial safety net, Abdul used business school not just for the degree, but as a de-risked way to incubate his idea. He didn’t have the privilege to “explore” full-time, so he manufactured his own on-ramp.
Persistence matters more than polish in the early days. With no technical background or network, Abdul still managed to find his co-founder after a full year of cold outreach. He didn’t know who the “right” engineers were; he just knew he needed one. So he out-hustled most people to make it happen.
Conviction is contagious, but it has to start with you. Before they had customers or investors, Abdul had to convince just one person: his co-founder. That first “yes” from Anjan Karanam was the spark. Founders often wait for traction, but belief starts by enrolling one person at a time.
You don’t need credentials, just relentless curiosity. Abdul and Anjan had no background in ERISA, tax law, or securities. They learned everything from scratch, one cold DM and Google search at a time. Most people stop when they feel out of their depth. Passionate founders don’t.
Abdul sees building a company like building a religion: once you truly convince one person, others start to follow faster. For months, nothing happened for Basic Capital. Then everything did. When a key investor said yes, it was like a domino effect.
Breakthrough ideas often sound backward at first. Most retirement plans are built slowly over time. Abdul flipped it: front-load the savings and pay it off over decades. Big ideas often look weird early. That’s why they work.