Australian brothers launched a phone-case side hustle to pay university fees; Maison De Sabre clocked $1.7mn in 1st year and $10mn in 2 years

"Keep your vision alive. Always see your dreams through. Persevere, with no doubt of success. Have an infinite goal that grows with you. Make your mark. There are no limits to your legacy."

- Omar & Zane Sabré. Maison De Sabre Founders

Two brothers, Omar and Zane Sabre, had put their entire life savings into their side hustle, which was born out of a family need. Their father was diagnosed with leukaemia, and the family could no longer sustain itself on its existing source of income.


Omar and Zane were looking ahead to their careers in dentistry.

Omar was already working as a dentist in Wellington, New Zealand. Zane was studying dentistry at Griffith University, Queensland, until he found that his parents could no longer afford to pay tuition fees.

The Sabre brothers started a side hustle to generate an alternative income.

Zane recalled his father’s phone call and said, "Because I was from NZ, I couldn't get any government assistance but still had $60,000 a year in fees. So when my dad rang and told us he had leukaemia, everything went downhill."

The Sabre brothers began their side hustle, Maison De Sabre, with a motive to pay Zane’s tuition fees and complete education.

They had little idea that it would grow into something far bigger.

In the end, it was a phone case that changed the course of their lives.

Maison de Sabre made $1.7 million in revenue in its first year and generated $10 million in revenue over the following two years.

Zane told the New Zealand Herald that "we had the idea of producing a high-quality phone case, something that people use and have visible daily, but it took us a year to get to launch.”

The making of Maison De Sabre

Omar and Zane Sabre started with market research and product development. They launched the final product in July 2018.

It did not take long for the business to become a full-time venture rather than a mere side hustle.

We were operating in two different countries using Google Docs and Skype, and every other week I would fly to the Gold Coast because I still had patients to see during the week," Omar said.

"We always knew we wanted to create our own business, and for at least a decade we've been looking at it," said Zane. He further added, ‘Our dad's illness really pushed us to do it earlier than we anticipated, but the risk paid off."

Maison de Sabre was a completely self-funded business. Omar would pay Zane’s university fees and put aside the rest as capital for the business.

"We paid fees for one semester, and all the remaining money went into the business. We really wanted it and needed it to work," Omar Sabre said.

Sabre brothers' business has now expanded to more than 131 countries.

"We took a calculated risk, but we had done market research to make sure people would like what we wanted to produce and what the trends were, and then we nosedived into it."

Maison De Sabre founders claim that the company has grown from a team of three to twenty-five, and their year-on-year growth has skyrocketed to 500%.

They say the key to setting up a successful start-up is to remain passionate. "Passion will keep you driven. There is no better reason to start something than having passion for something that is new," Omar said.

Zane said that one needs passion to succeed in business, as it drives you and helps you execute your strategy.

While writing about its founders, Maison De Sabre website says, "Omar and Zane Sabré launched MAISON de SABRÉ in 2017 as a deeply creative outlet. Inspired by the world’s most exceptional materials, true innovation and exemplary craftsmanship, the brothers are famed for pushing boundaries to redefine contemporary luxury. MAISON de SABRÉ pieces inspire a global community of thought leaders to celebrate the potential within themselves and those around them."