‘Perseverance is key, everything else is an obstacle keeping you from objectives’ – CEO Alan Darmanin

Alan Darmanin, CEO at ISB Technologies, has affirmed the importance of persevering towards one’s goals in the business world, stating that failing to do so can serve as a significant obstacle.

Mr Darmanin is a seasoned technology consultant who focuses on property technology (proptech) and freight technology (freighttech) and has served as CEO at IT services company ISB Technologies for more than 10 years.

In a long social media post on Wednesday, he reflected on a personal story to stress the power of perseverance.

Around three years ago, he visited Dubai for the first time and immediately fell in love with the city, its people, architecture, vibes, and the overall Dubai brand.

“I immediately felt the tremendous opportunity of taking our proptech to Dubai everywhere I looked around the city,” Mr Darmanin said.

However, he noticed one issue, as he was told several times by a number of people that this was “impossible.” The main argument behind this is that the major tech players in the industry have been around for many years, have become well established, and have substantial marketing budgets.

“In fairness, all of that is true and won’t blame anyone who’d pack up and retreat in the face of that reality. I, for one, chose not to,” Mr Darmanin stated.

During the past three years, he has had to embark on numerous trips back and forth, holding hundreds of online meetings, many hours studying the market, and also a “slice of humble pie to learn and absorb the feedback of many influential people in the UAE real estate market.”

“It also took a fair share of rejection, no-shows, and many disheartening actions that I chose to consciously ignore,” he added.

“Perseverance is key. Everything else is an obstacle between you and your objectives,” Mr Darmanin stressed. In ISB Technologies’ case, this is the aim to be the leading proptech provider for real estate agencies in the Middle East. While he acknowledged that it is certainly not there yet, the company has come a long way in the right direction over the years, and now also has a portfolio of real estate agencies who are using its services.

“Being described as ‘world-class’ three times in one week by well-respected individuals makes the entire journey all worthwhile,” Mr Darmanin remarked, before adding that the company is seeking to continue growing further.