A case of who dares wins

The Life: Back in late 2008, most people were desperately trying to hold onto their jobs. Everyone but Mazen Khanafer, that is, who gave up his to pursue a long-held ambition.

Mazen Khanafer, the founder and managing director of Shift, says he learnt quickly how to deal with people. Ravindranath K / The National

At the height of the banking crisis in late 2008, when most people were desperately clinging to their jobs, Mazen Khanafer left his.

The former senior financial analyst, who was just 24 at the time, saw the downturn as the perfect opportunity to fulfil an entrepreneurial ambition.

"I just decided that it was about time I left my professional career and start my own thing," he says.

"For me it was the right time to get in, because competition was really low," says the founder and managing director of Shift, a consumer electronics accessories distributor in Dubai that represents four brands, including one that makes exotic cases for mobile phones.

He saw his chance in the mobile industry when he read an article about a US-based company.

"Case-Mate was still pretty new back then. They were still thinking inside the box, but one day they decided to think outside of the box and create this case for the old [BlackBerry] Bold 9000.

"It was like reptile green and crocodile brown," he says. "When I saw it, I thought 'this might sell here'."

And he spent the next two weeks "stalking" the company until he finally tracked down the right person, who happened to be passing through Dubai. "He said 'listen, we have almost signed with someone, so I'm not sure. Maybe it's not worth it'."

After persuading the Case-Mate executive to hear him out, Mr Khanafer told him that he was willing to commit to US$500,000 (Dh1.8 million) worth of stock in the first year to become the company's exclusive distributor in the Middle East and Africa.

"I took him around and showed him what we can do with the retailers, and he said 'I feel like giving you a chance'," Mr Khanafer says.

"'So you're not established; the other guys are established, but I like your drive. I like the fact that you want to invest into it. I like the fact that you are ready to commit to these minimums, and I want to try it with you and I'm ready to help you'."

Mr Khanafer placed his first order for $50,000 worth of mobile-phone cases, which sold out as soon as it came in.

Within six months he was able to repay a Dh500,000 loan he received from his father.

But there were some challenges. Being just 24 when he started the business meant that he was younger than his marketing and sales managers. But he quickly learnt how to deal with people.

"If you go to somebody and say I want to sell you this, how much am I supposed to sell you it for? It was challenging … It was a learning process," says Mr Khanafer.

Almost three years on, Case-Mate is in more than 300 stores in the UAE.

Shift is also in talks with Samsung Electronics about distributing the company's accessories in the Emirates.

"Why did we succeed? We took a product that was a higher price than any of our competitors. It was different, it was of better quality, it was stylish and it was daring," says Mr Khanafer. "We took a risk and retailers liked us. They wanted to try and experiment, just like us."