Success and fulfillment are not always the same

Success and fulfillment are not always the same thing.

How we survived COVID.

Looking back at Cruisewatch, we had built a good business. We were selling travel, growing the company and doing many things right. But if I'm honest, a lot of it wasn't really our DNA. We were successful enough to keep going, but not focused enough to become exceptional.

Then COVID hit.

Like many companies, we suddenly had to rethink everything. Looking back, I'm grateful we had shareholders who believed in the team more than the business model. They understood something I've come to believe myself: especially in young companies, the business idea will probably change. The people matter more.

So we started again.

Not by asking "How do we save the old business?" but by asking "What will the world need in five years - and what can we become the best at?"

We spent weeks discussing long-term trends instead of short-term opportunities. We became convinced that AI would fundamentally change how companies understand customer interactions and that text and speech would become one of the richest sources of business intelligence. That wasn't the easiest path, especially coming from travel. But it felt like the right one.

We started with the travel industry because that's where our experience was. From day one, however, we built the company with the ambition to solve the same problem across industries.

Looking back, I don't think COVID changed our company.

It forced us to discover who we really wanted to become.

Have you ever realised that something can be successful – but still not be the right path?

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