How this entrepreneur built a platform that connects hosts and renters seamlessly
Omar founded Urent in Dubai, UAE in February 2019, and it has grown to employ more than 100 people and disrupt the car rental industry since its inception. Urent is a P2P car-sharing platform that allows users to list their vehicles for rent, setting their own prices, availability, rules and limits. For renters, the app allows them to interact with the vehicle owners before allowing them too book and have their chosen vehicle delivered to their doorstep.
Here are 5 takeaways from this remarkable entrepreneur who generously shared his key leadership lessons:
1. Build the service or product that you wish you could use
Urent is a rare example of immediate market fit, and according to Omar, that’s because he trusted his gut. “All I did for research to build this business was build the service that I wished existed throughout my career.”
2. Entrepreneurship is a willingness to throw yourself into the newer markets
There can be a lot of discomfort in being an entrepreneur. The thing that you do the best at is the thing you will do three percent of the time. The other 97 percent of your time is spent doing things that you have never trained for or that you might not feel confident in. For example, if you’re a builder who buys his own plot, picking a good locality, building the house, designing the decor, it’s all just because you’re a builder. But as a new entrepreneur, you need to learn to take ownership of those things.
3. You need a unique idea to be successful
Omar gives this advice to anyone who asks about their startups. “If you don’t have one unique idea, don’t try to raise money. You do not have momentum, you just have an idea. Seventy percent of businesses never get to $1 million in revenue because they’re already working in crowded markets, but that is the best proof that you have a real business. Now if you ever get to a million, congratulations. You have truly cracked the code on something, and that is a tremendous milestone.”
4. A CEO’s job is to tell the truth
Omar says that telling the truth means doing so consistently and calmly, even if it feels confrontational. It’s important to give constructive feedback the moment after something difficult happens. Telling the truth is explaining to someone what level they are really at, and how far away they are from the next level.
5. Price is just a lever of opportunity
Most entrepreneurs Omar talks with are undercharging for their product. They are afraid to ask for full value, and they don’t understand their customers’ price insensitivity. Omar believes it comes down to confidence: “It is an insecurity that they have on if what they built is good enough. They don’t have the perspective. Believe in yourself.”
With multiple Award wins for being a top-rated CEO, Omar Al Ashi has created an accessible and powerful roadmap for hosts and renters through Urent to comfortably rent a car and in affordable rates.
Follow Omar Al Ashi on Instagram @omar.alashi and Urent @urent
Written in partnership with Grandiose Media
