About Us⁽⁰¹⁾

Neel Khokhani is an entrepreneur and long-term investor whose path reflects a steady refinement of judgment, from learning how businesses work to learning how capital compounds.

Operational Entrepreneurship and Learning Business Reality

Neel began close to operations, building businesses directly and discovering early that reality is the most effective teacher. The founding of Soar Aviation in 2019 marked this phase. Starting with a single aircraft, the business was structured around prepaid demand and internal cashflow, allowing economics to be proven before scale. The platform expanded to a fleet of 55aircraft, and Neel later sold a 50 percent stake at a $65 million enterprise valuation.

The enduring lesson from this period was simple: unit economics determine outcomes, cashflow funds growth, and complexity carries a cost that compounds quietly over time.

Transition to Capital Allocation and Structural Optimization

As Neel’s role shifted from operating to allocating Capital, his perspective widened. Following Soar Aviation, he concentrated roughly half of his personal net worth into Stratton Car Finance, acquiring approximately one third ownership. The work became less about execution and more about structure, focus, and incentives. Simplifying the business proved more valuable than expanding it.

During this period, Stratton grew revenue from approximately $45 million to $82 million. Neel was instrumental in separating its non-core car buying and selling arm, Carconnect, which was independently capitalised at a $45 million enterprise valuation. Stratton was ultimately exited at a $121 million enterprise valuation.

The lesson here was restraint: returns often come from reducing friction and misallocation rather than increasing activity.

Long-Term Ownership and Patient Accumulation

Neel’s evolution into a long-term owner is most clearly expressed through his investment in IREN (formerly Iris Energy), an Australian-founded data centre operator with assets across Texas and British Columbia. He began building his position during a period of severe market dislocation, when the company was deeply out of favour. Accumulating ownership patiently over time, he became one of the company’s largest shareholders.

As IREN scaled its infrastructure and strengthened its balance sheet, the business compounded materially. Neel realised part of his position as the company matured while remaining a long-term shareholder. The lesson reinforced was one of temperament: progress is uneven, conviction is tested in discomfort, and patience is often the scarcest asset.

Building Durable Long-Term Assets

Today, based in the Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Neel focuses on owning and building durable, asset-backed businesses with long horizons. He is the founder of Vachi Storage, a self-storage platform in Dubai designed around conservative capital structures, operational efficiency, and steady compounding.

Cumulative Learning

Across each stage, the learning has been cumulative rather than episodic. Operating taught him how businesses fail and succeed. Capital allocation taught him where effort matters most. Long-term ownership taught him when to step aside and let time do the work.