From broke & broken to building my dream business in 2 years 🔥

Two years ago, I was broke, divorced, and scared.

I’d just been laid off after juggling two full-time roles in a scale-up + a messy divorce. Exhausted and financially stressed, I was staring at a mortgage that felt like a heavy burden. For the first time, I felt real fear about money. I had two options:

1️⃣ Apply for another job
2️⃣ Bet on myself

I chose the leap.

With three friends, we launched a hostel concept. We spent a year pitching landlords and finally secured our first property. I loved pre-opening, building the team, and setting up the tech.

But once open, reality hit: I hated being tied to one property. Housekeeping, facilities, volunteers, guest complaints, (all in German) drained me. We were bootstrapping, couldn’t pay ourselves, and my savings were vanishing. Something had to change.

So I wrote two lists:
✅ Good at: building teams, mentoring, recruiting, onboarding, change & project management, selling
❤️ Loved: hiring & coaching, watching people grow, selling ideas, connecting people

(I could manage hotel openings, motivate staff, juggle endless stakeholders but it drained me emotionally and physically)

I also wanted freedom: to work anywhere with WiFi, and to never compromise health or fitness again.

That clarity changed everything.

I decided to become a recruiter. On paper, I was just an ops guy in his early 30s and got rejected a lot. Some said I “wouldn’t handle the pressure.” But I kept going.

Finally, one company gave me a chance on a commission-only basis. Risky? Yes. But it forced me to hustle.

Within 2 weeks, I got my first client. Early on, I made mistakes, spammy LinkedIn campaigns, got ghosted. Then I got smarter: researched companies, studied their solutions, analyzed teams, and wrote hyper-personalized messages.

It worked. I started in PropTech, moved to ConTech, then Hospitality, and finally went all-in on HotelTech, the industry I love.

But it wasn’t smooth sailing:
❌ First client paid late.
❌ I had to pivot through 3 industries before finding the right blend of niche + passion.
❌ I tore my ACL, had surgery, and lost my 9-yr-old dog Junior in the same month.
❌ I lost half my first stock investments. (Bloody tariffs)
❌ I clashed with my boss.

And yet, here’s what happened on the other side:
💼 I now run my own HotelTech recruitment firm, writing articles, speaking on panels & podcasts.
📈 I learned to hedge investments & the market bounced back.
💍 I married the most extraordinary woman.
💪 I’m financially back on track, just played my first rugby game post-surgery and signed up to crossfit!

There are some key people I’d like to thank:
Kathiusia 💜 | Michael | Mihai | Zoe | Alexander | Christoph | Konstanty

Thank you.

If you’re stuck, burnt out, or scared to leap, remember:

You can rewrite your story. You can lose everything, rebuild, and come out stronger.

It won’t be easy. But it will be worth it.