Dubai: Meet 20-year-old expat who dropped out of school to run successful sneaker marketplace

When Adnaan Jassat first decided to leave high school to pursue his passions for a sneaker business venture, he faced a healthy dose of scepticism.

His parents did not like the idea of him dropping out in the 11th grade so close to graduating, though his intense conviction was enough to garner their full support.

His ‘friends’ were less than encouraging. ‘‘They would say, “How are you going to achieve this, you’ve just left school, it’ll be too difficult for you,’’’ recalls the South African expat.

Though demotivating at the time, Adnaan eventually turned the negativity from his peers into pride. He never allowed them to crush his dreams.

A sneakerhead through and through, Adnaan had been collecting sneakers since he was 14. As his collection grew, he realised that the pairs that really caught his eye were completely out of his budget.

“The ones I wanted cost anywhere from Dh2,000 to Dh,5000.”

It was then that he realised that he could capitalise on his industry knowledge to fuel his hobby as a collector, aspiring to afford the more premium sneakers. At only 15 or 16 years old, Adnaan’s business-savviness was beginning to blossom, as he would resell the sneakers within his circle of friends.

First, he would research the most in-demand, rare sneakers that would fetch a decent profit. Then came the gruelling part, waiting for hours in line outside stores to get his hands on the shoes.

‘‘I was the type of guy who’d wait days if I needed to,” Adnaan said. Through this process, he became inherently more ingrained in the sneaker culture and informed of the market.

Eventually it dawned on the footwear fanatic that what he had initially considered just a hustle, had potential to be something big.

“I looked at sneaker websites and companies in America and the UK and thought-- these are billion-dollar companies and all they sell are sneakers,” he recollects.

Adnaan knew right then that he wanted to aim high. His business instincts and deep knowledge of sneakers in the Middle East revealed a new opportunity. Gathering what he needed, he expanded his network, connected with key sellers, and started a website with a team of developers, building on his reputation as a sneaker reseller.

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