Love where we're going.

In 2010, I was introduced to the GetYourGuide founders Tao and Johannes at ITB Berlin. We had a couple of beers and they explained why their 1 year old company was better than the incumbents in the tours industry (our API Wouter, you can personalize your pre-trip emails!). Next month they put their money where their mouth was in an AB test and Isango was out. EasyToBook became one of the first OTA partners of GetYourGuide and won 3 email marketing awards! (thanks to Ematters' great work on personalizing the pretrip email with a plethora of APIs )

Fast forward 10 years and many stints later. I receive an inMail from Stephen Collopy if I'm interested to talk about a role at GetYourGuide. Small world. I met up with their CMO Emil, co-founder Martin and paid search PM (at the time) Paul and we agreed on a freelance assignment, working part time for GetYourGuide and part-time with OnModus. As we kicked off our partnership and got to know one another, part time became full time and more managerial duties were handed over such as people management. H2 was an amazing run, the team restructured their process, platform and people, growth accelerated. I had one extra happy customer, yet not so much time for other clients.

During Christmas, under the aurora borealis, I am counting my blessings. Family is doing well. I'm having a blast with GetYourGuide, 2 days from home, 3 days a week in Berlin. I start wondering where to find another assignment like this closer to home, as the end date of May arrives. One with an A-players that inspire me with their grit and creativity. A company with a culture that is set up for joint success and personal growth. An exec team with vision and humbleness. On a mission to change the way people experience the world. It dawned on me that this match is too good to end prematurely...

Week later I share my thoughts with the CEO and CMO:

The challenges we're facing fuel me with energy, I will not easily find this feeling of dedication and belonging closer to home. 

The positive feedback from colleagues, convinced me to stay. (of which Alex Chen and Paul Bertin at the winter party were probably the tipping point). Lastly, my wife fully supports me being in Berlin on a regular basis moving forward, if we would come to an agreement. Luckily, my suggestion to join full-time was welcomed with open arms. Johannes' reply is one of those emails you save for darker days.

Then the largest disruption in travel history happened.

Instead of saving cost on a freelancer, Emil quickly made sure I wasn't going anywhere in order to help guide the ship through this storm. Through a company wide Wave Strategy, we were able to keep the whole team together and come out even stronger. The last weeks we are seeing travel returning with the speed the virus came, logarithmically. And as of today, I can share my joy for officially joining this amazing team at GetYourGuide as VP Performance Marketing. Thank you for this opportunity of a lifetime.