Forging New Paths: How 22-Year-Old Adnaan Jassat Built ThrillerME Into a Multimillion-Dollar UAE Success Jassat was only 17 years old when he dropped out of school to launch sneaker and streetwear marketplace ThrillerME. But what started out purely from a place of personal interest has today grown into a booming business with a roster of well-known clients such as Jason Derulo.

In 2017, renowned entrepreneur Richard Branson said the following words in an interview: "entrepreneurial drive beats a fancy degree anytime." A couple of years later, in a blog post, he shared that he had dropped out of school at the age of 16 "when it became clear that my school couldn't teach me what I needed to learn." Now, while the discourse on whether educational qualifications matter more than skill sets, or vice versa, is one for the ages –and perhaps more relevant now than ever– the almost 22-year-old entrepreneur Adnaan Jassat is certainly in favor of the notion that Branson and other famous "drop-out" entrepreneurs have expressed. "Growing up, I always had a disinterest in school," Jassat says. "Something about the idea of, for example, learning business from someone who'd never been in business astounded me. With the free time I had, I spent it in books, learning from the most successful people and thinkers in the world. People like Peter Thiel, Simon Sinek, Gary Vaynerchuck and Mark Cuban. One notable thing that I took away from all their literature was that if you want to find something you love, do what you hate. It made me realise that starting and growing companies is tough, and that it only gets tougher. So your WHY needs to be there, or else you're better off not even trying."

Jassat's "why" stemmed from quite a straightforward space: his innate love for sneakers, which began at the tender age of 14. However, the rare, high-end brands he wanted to add to his collection were beyond the teenager's finances at the time– which is when he came up with the idea to resell the pairs he already owned to fulfil his hopes of owning a pristine, luxury collection for himself. But it was around the same time that Jassat –a native South African who grew up in the UAE– also observed that the Middle East's sneaker market was underserved and saw an opportunity to cater to this niche market. And so, in 2020, soon after he'd turned 17, Jassat decided to drop out of high school to launch ThrillerME as an online marketplace to buy and sell exclusive sneakers, streetwear, accessories, collectibles and watches.

The underlying goal was simple: if you see your favourite athlete, musician, or artist wearing a particular brand or model, chances are you can find similar authentic pieces on ThrillerME. Indeed, ThrillerME has become something of a trusted avenue for pop culture merch buyers by addressing a significant challenge in the region: counterfeit products. Jassat has ensured this by implementing a dedicated team to ensure the authenticity of items sold on the platform in a transparent manner– a process that has allowed its customers to rest assured that the items they buy on the platform are 100% original.

"We chose the name Thriller because it has a nature of receptivity," Jassat says. "Instead of projecting our name onto users, we love when the same name means something special to everyone. I've had people come to me and say it means they get a 'thrill' when buying on the platform, and I've heard others say it's because we sell products that are exciting. In the end, it's a name that is used in the collectible culture world, that symbolises the unique and exciting market we serve."

While that may well be true, the startup's name has also been reflective of Jassat's own entrepreneurial journey. By 2022, just under two years after the brand's launch, it was announced that ThrillerME had gained a US$8 million evaluation. Today, under Adnaan's leadership, the platform has expanded across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, and Bahrain—with over 55,000 users, 10,000 sellers, and around 120,000 items listed. And along the way, the platform has also garnered a roster of well-known clients including American singer Jason Derulo, Palestinian-American entrepreneur Fadie Musallet, and American rapper and songwriter Offset. "I'd like to consider myself as one of the leading figures of the viral culture boom," Jassat declares.

^{Image courtesy ThrillerME}

As Jassat gears up to continue growing ThrillerME, there is of course the lingering notion of how pop culture by its very nature is ever-changing. How then does the young entrepreneur hope to maintain his own unique vision in the midst of an ever-evolving industry? "It all comes down to the team you have around you," Jassat says. "I am very fortunate to have a team that not only is the best at what they do, but one that is passionate about it! It's only when you truly care about your product and your customers that you can then envisage where the trends are heading, and if you're lucky, make some waves of your own."