The Long Game: Mark Sabbagh on Being a Lifelong Learner

Mark Sabbagh doesn't wait. As founder, investor, and CEO leading the trading and appliance group at Diamond Trading Group, and most recently advising Bazzar.ai on resale strategy, his career is built on moving fast in markets that won't hold still. At Business Today's 51st International Conference, he talked students through what that actually looks like: the gut calls, the pressure, the loneliness, and the long view that holds it all together.

Daily, Sabbagh describes his core responsibility simply: finding opportunity. "Being that we are a trading business, we've got to constantly be looking for new vendors, new customers, new products, new partnerships," he explains. Much of his time is spent engaging with potential partners across global markets, where the pace leaves little room to deliberate. "You've got to go with your gut," he says. "You can't really sit and dwell on decisions for very long, especially in our business, where it's very fast-paced."

That urgency is matched by an equally clear-eyed patience. Sabbagh is careful not to frame quick instincts as a cure-all as the environment is too volatile for that. Recent tariff changes have introduced serious headwinds, pushing appliance prices up 15 to 20 percent and squeezing already-thin margins. "The world is always changing. Every day is a new day." But he's seen disruption before. "We've been through COVID, tariff shocks, container shocks, market cycles come and go." What carries him through is a refusal to let short-term noise set the agenda. "I have a 15 or 20-year timeline. I know I'm going to see a lot more challenges along the way."

What Sabbagh is perhaps least guarded about is the personal cost of that conviction. "Being an entrepreneur is a very lonely place," he admits. Ideas get dismissed, often by people close to you. "People think you're crazy. They told me I was handling too much three years ago, two years ago–but you figure it out." Structure, discipline, and belief, he says, are what keep the internal momentum going when external validation doesn't come.

For students in the room, his message was simple: "Learn. Learn as much as you can." The doubt won't stop once you leave campus. "People aren't going to believe you along the way. You have to really stick with your conviction." From someone who built a trading business by trusting his instincts through multiple market shocks, it didn't sound like advice. It sounded like the only way he knows how to operate.

Mark Sabbagh wears many hats: founder, investor, and CEO. During his seminar at Business Today’s 51st International Conference, he explained his experience leading the trading and appliance group at Diamond Trading Group and, most recently, advising Bazzar.ai on resale strategy. On a day-to-day basis, Sabbagh describes his core responsibility simply: finding opportunity. “Being that we are a trading business, we’ve got to constantly be looking for new vendors, new customers, new products, new partnerships,” he explains.

Much of his time is spent engaging with potential partners across global markets, where decision-making is critical. “You’ve got to go with your gut,” Sabbagh says. “You can’t really sit and dwell on decisions for very long, especially in our business, where it’s very fast-paced.”

Although quick decision-making can foster growth, Sabbagh is careful not to frame it as a given. “The world is always changing,” he notes. “Every day is a new day.” Recent tariff changes have introduced new challenges, for example, how “appliance prices are going up 15 to 20 percent.” He explains that development is squeezing already-thin margins and putting additional pressure on consumers whose everyday expenses continue to rise. Still, he remains resolute. “We’ve been through COVID, tariff shocks, container shocks—market cycles come and go.” Patience, he says, is key. “I have a 15 or 20-year timeline. I know I’m going to see a lot more challenges along the way.”

Despite his outward success, Sabbagh is open about the personal toll of entrepreneurship. “Being an entrepreneur is a very lonely place,” he admits. Ideas are often met with skepticism, even from those closest to you. “People think you’re crazy. They told me I was handling too much three years ago, two years ago — but you figure it out.” Structure, discipline, and belief, he says, are what allow his internal momentum to persevere.

For students and young professionals, Sabbagh’s advice is clear: “Learn. Learn as much as you can.” Doubt from others is inevitable. “People aren’t going to believe you along the way,” he says. “You have to really stick with your conviction.”