Mohammed Thaha: "Be stubborn about the problem you want to solve, but flexible about how you solve it"

Mohammed Thaha is the Founder & CEO of UMMA, an operational services ecosystem being built out of Saudi Arabia. His career has been in operations, logistics, delivery, fulfillment, and technical support — experience gathered at Talabat, Noon, and Aramex, and today at Johnson Health Tech, where he works while building UMMA alongside his job.

The idea took roughly four years of research, criticism, and refinement before it became a company. UMMA now has an MVP, a defined Phase 1, and a long-term roadmap, and is at the pre-seed stage looking for investors and strategic partners.

The name carries the whole thesis. "A mother takes care of her family," Thaha says. "When someone needs something, she finds a way to help, solve the problem and support them. That became the philosophy behind UMMA."

What follows is his interview, in his own words.

Please introduce yourself and tell us about your background.

My name is Mohammed Thaha, Founder and CEO of UMMA. My professional experience has been built around operations, logistics, delivery, fulfillment, technology support and customer-focused businesses. I have worked with organizations including Talabat, Noon, and Aramex — gaining practical experience in how technology, people, operations and customer expectations connect.

I currently work with Johnson Health Tech while building UMMA alongside my career.

For approximately four years, I have researched, challenged and refined the idea that became UMMA. Despite doubts and discouragement from others, I continued learning and improving the concept.

Today, UMMA has an MVP, a defined Phase 1 and a long-term roadmap. We are currently at the pre-seed stage, looking for investors and strategic partners to help us move toward execution and growth.

What inspired you to start UMMA?

The inspiration behind UMMA comes from what a mother represents. A mother takes care of her family. When someone needs something, she finds a way to help, solve the problem and support them.

That became the philosophy behind UMMA. I wanted to create a platform that gives people the feeling: "If I need something, I can Ask UMMA."

UMMA is designed to connect people with the right service, product, business, professional or trusted partner through one connected ecosystem.

The idea went through approximately four years of research and refinement. Every question and criticism helped me strengthen the concept.

What problem does UMMA solve for its customers?

UMMA addresses the problem of fragmented everyday services. People often use different platforms for food, groceries, deliveries, shopping, technicians, home assistance, business errands and other needs.

UMMA aims to simplify this experience by connecting customers with the appropriate service, product, business or trusted partner through one ecosystem. Our goal is to reduce the distance between "I need something" and "It's taken care of."

We also see opportunities to support businesses with corporate deliveries, procurement, document collection, business errands, urgent fulfillment and other operational requirements.

What challenges did you face during the early stages of the business?

One of the biggest challenges was continuing to believe in the idea when others felt it was too ambitious. I also had to develop UMMA while continuing my professional career, balancing work, responsibilities, research, planning and resources.

The biggest lesson was that a big vision needs a focused starting point. We do not need to build everything on day one. We need to build the foundation, launch, learn from customers and partners, validate the model, improve and then expand.

What makes UMMA different from other companies in the industry?

We do not see UMMA as a single-service company. We see it as an operational ecosystem with multiple interconnected services and business verticals.

Phase 1 establishes the foundation through on-demand purchasing and delivery, urgent fulfillment, personalized surprise deliveries, technical and home assistance and corporate operational services.

Future phases can introduce additional services using the same platform, customer base, partner network, technology and operational infrastructure.

Our philosophy is: one ecosystem, multiple possibilities, limitless scale.

What has been your biggest achievement so far?

My biggest achievement is taking an idea I spent approximately four years researching and refining and turning it into a tangible business opportunity.

Today, UMMA has an MVP, a defined Phase 1, an operational direction and a long-term roadmap. We are now at the pre-seed stage, looking for the right investment, partnerships and relationships to move into real-world execution.

There is still a long road ahead — but seeing the idea become tangible is incredibly meaningful.

What lessons have you learned as an entrepreneur?

I have learned that people's doubts do not automatically mean your idea is wrong. Criticism can reveal weaknesses that need to be fixed, while sometimes people simply cannot see the opportunity yet.

Be stubborn about the problem you want to solve but flexible about how you solve it.

Entrepreneurship is not about proving everyone wrong. It is about proving the idea right through execution, customers, results, learning and persistence.

What are your future goals and vision for the company?

Our long-term vision is to build UMMA into a large, scalable operational ecosystem born in Saudi Arabia and capable of expanding across the region and beyond. Our immediate focus is to establish and prove Phase 1 before expanding into additional services and verticals.

Ultimately, we want people to stop asking "Which app do I need for this?" and simply think: "I need something. I'll Ask UMMA."

We are currently at the pre-seed stage, looking for investors and strategic partners who believe in this opportunity and can help us build the next stage.

What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs?

Do not let someone else's lack of belief become the limit of your ambition. At the same time, listen to criticism. Research, test, learn and improve.

You do not need every answer before you begin. You need enough clarity to take the next step and the discipline to keep moving.

Believe in the vision, validate it in the real world and have the patience to keep building.

Where can people learn more about UMMA and connect with you?

Website: ask-umma.com — under development.

Temporary website: thaha.netlify.app

UMMA on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/http-thaha.netlify.app

Mohammed Thaha on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mohammed-thaha-jamal-mohamed-57445494

UMMA is looking for investors, strategic partners, businesses, service providers and people who believe in building something meaningful from Saudi Arabia.

"For us, UMMA is not simply another application," Thaha says. "It is a vision that has taken approximately four years of research, persistence and refinement to reach this stage. The next chapter is about execution, partnerships, investment, customers and real-world results."

Need anything? Ask UMMA. One platform. Limitless scale.

This interview is part of our Founder Feature series. To submit a founder for consideration, visit Submit a Story. For more founder stories, see our interviews section.