Vivek Anand Oberoi is a co-founder at Solitario.
The UAE’s fast property development cycle offers a window into the power of storytelling to lift sales beyond the usual financial metrics. Through cross-border partnerships, I have watched projects succeed not just based on location or square footage, but because buyers are purchasing meaning, heritage and association. It’s an inclusive narrative that promotes stakeholdership based on financial interests, economic stability and a robust regulatory framework.
For the American ultra-luxury market, this may represent a shift toward a greater recognition that investors make emotional decisions first and financial ones second. I know, because I’ve stood on both sides of the velvet ropes. As a 15-year-old, I would gaze up at heritage hotels in Mumbai and feel like I was watching a celebrity. It was the epitome of everything I thought was truly opulent.
As an actor who has crossed over into business, that emotional connection has become a competitive advantage. From my experience, here are the three components of narrative that can help developers command premium pricing and faster sales than those relying solely on numbers, decks and projections.
1. The story should come before the spreadsheet.
With one of our branded residence projects, our approach was to open with a narrative that emphasized heritage, design integrity and emotional clarity. Competitive benchmarks still mattered, but we knew they were not the first point of buyer engagement.
The name of the development (and our partner), Taj, already carried deep cultural and emotional resonance. Our role was to reframe what Taj could mean in a new geography. By fusing that legacy with our technology in the ultra-luxury space, we offered buyers a chance to become part of a historic shared identity.
So, my advice is simple: Start with clarity of purpose. The numbers will follow.
When it comes to identifying powerful stories, start by asking what moves you, not just what sells. The most compelling narratives aren’t manufactured in boardrooms; they’re rooted in lived emotion, in memory, in mission. What’s the “why” behind your work that would still make sense even if no one applauded it?
That’s usually where the heartbeat of your brand lives. Test that story by sharing it with people who have no stake: friends, team members, even your kids. If it lands there, it will likely resonate with buyers, too.
2. Trust is currency.
I’ve found that in high-stakes real estate, reputation often outpaces capital. When you lead a project involving commitments of around $300 million, financials alone don’t create momentum. At that scale, trust and credibility become the real currency. These are built through consistency, alignment and discipline.
When we began building in the UAE, most broker houses didn’t prioritize our projects. That changed the moment we partnered with a well-known luxury hotel company. The weight of their legacy, combined with our approach to ultra-luxury, brought instant credibility. Brokers who once declined started calling. Global hospitality and luxury brands followed. Rather than through marketing, we built trust through alignment and real performance.
The only caveat here is that I already had a platform from my previous career, but access didn’t equal leverage. As an actor who was also a general partner for a real estate fund, I made a conscious effort to integrate my track record, philanthropic work and partnerships into a coherent story—one that put a premium on people and shared values.
For leaders looking to build this kind of capital, two principles are nonnegotiable. First, make consistency your strategy. Instead of pivoting your persona to match the room, let your values lead in every meeting, pitch and post. Second, treat every deal like a long game to earn repeat trust. Trust doesn’t scale quickly, but once built, it compounds.
3. Cultural resonance is essential.
One of the main lessons international investors can take from the cultural sensitivity required in Gulf and West Asian markets is the absolute necessity of understanding the local narrative before attempting to add to it.
In Ras Al Khaimah (RAK), we saw this firsthand. Apart from signaling an intention to align with the region’s reputation for hospitality, we also recognized a broader shift underway: The destination was steadily drawing comparisons to Las Vegas, so we acted early and with purpose. Along the way, we brought in various global names. Now we’re one of the largest private developers in RAK, and we could not have gained that kind of institutional trust without building in a way that honors the cultural and emotional fabric of the place.
For developers looking to build in markets with deep cultural contexts, finding a heritage partner with brand value and global recall is an important first step toward integrating into the local context. But name recognition is not enough. Whether working independently or with a local partner, your values need to translate across borders through a story that continues to resonate.
If you’re trying to learn about a new market, start by listening before leading. Study the local rituals, language, economic triggers and historical memory. Spend time with people. What you overlook in haste will eventually show up in your results.
And when it comes to partnerships, don’t chase brand equity alone. Look for alignment in values, not just valuation. If your shared purpose can’t be clearly expressed, you’re not ready to build together. Respect is the foundation; resonance is the bridge.
Profit is for a quarter. Purpose is for life.
Numbers convince, but in the highest-stakes segments, where trust, brand and perception carry so much weight, they often follow the narrative. In mature markets like the United States, this approach may find a natural home.
Real estate at this level is never just transactional. An end-user looks for somewhere they can visualize themselves thriving, and an investor looks for confidence in the environment. Both are placing trust that’s earned through clarity, consistency and the ability to deliver something that feels both personal and enduring. Remember, it’s not the pitch deck that gets you the second meeting, but the story that makes people believe.
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