Currently...

I help run Dehouche, a travel company based in Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires that I co-founded with old friend Henry Madden back in 2003.

We had been looking into starting a business together in Shanghai and Hong Kong, very much more in line with our backgrounds in recruitment and banking, but had to cancel a round of meetings in Hong Kong when the SARS virus took off and so with the time already booked off work we took a trip to Brazil instead and got stuck into hiring light aircraft and jeeps and found some amazing places, boutique hotels and luxury villas.

We realised these were exactly the sort of places our friends and family back in the UK would die for and on the last night of the trip on Ipanema beach we made up our minds to scrap the ‘Asia idea’ and move to Brazil to start a luxury bespoke travel company. In retrospect this was very much helped by a strong caipirinha and a fabulous sunset, but it still sounded good the next morning.

Three months later we had moved to Brazil. We were researching the whole continent for the next 12 months, seeking out the hidden gem locations that had the x-factor, befriending locals - be they a fisherman or an owner of a farm etc. These local characters would help bring the best of the location alive for clients – and by mid 2004 we were operational.

Today we have a team of 14 people in our Rio office (the Buenos Aires office opens shortly). My role has changed a lot since the early days and the day to day running of the company is now handled by my wife, the logistics by our operations manager, the sales by our team of destination experts, and so my time is spent on quality control and refining our product and streamlining our service.

Before I escaped...

When I left university in 1998 I set up a small telecoms company in London. This lasted only a year before we realised we had been crowded out by the big players. Lessons learnt and with tail firmly between my legs, I joined the recruitment firm Walker Hamill in their banking division.

This was a good, fun place to work and I stayed for 4 years becoming a manager, but once you reach a few goals and achieve your fast car etc., I did start to question if it was a career to pursue into my 30’s. I decided I wanted a bit more excitement and creativity and so took the plunge to quit and move to Brazil. Henry and I convinced ourselves that we had little to lose... I think we were right.

My moment of truth...

I think there were two moments of truth. The first we now refer to as the "Oslo Accord" - Henry and I met up for a weekend of brainstorming in Oslo and by the Sunday had agreed to quit our comfortable jobs and form a start up. The second moment was on Ipanema beach as described above.

Planning for it...

Once we decided to sell up and move to Brazil there was only so much planning we could do. In the end we just did it.

The worst and best bits...

Worst: There were lots of difficulties inherent in turning up in Sao Paulo with all your belongings in the world in one large bag and setting up a business from scratch. Also hard was spending the first 18 months on the other side of the world before a trip home was even contemplated; this was pre-skype and so contact with friends and family was sporadic, especially from the Amazon!

Best: The best side was making it happen and watching the business grow.

Best advice...

Friends and family saying ‘go for it!’

I really think this is sound advice and at the risk of sounding like an advert for trainers, I would say "Just do it" to anyone thinking seriously about quitting a job/lifestyle they are less-than-enamoured with and who have a dream to do something different.

You have to ask yourself what is the worst that can happen - for me it was that I fail and have to start again, and that was not a good reason for not attempting it.

Useful resources and information...

I found Alain de Botton's http://www.amazon.co.uk/Art-Travel-Alain-Botton/dp/0140276629/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308588216&sr=8-1" rel="nofollow">“The Art of Travel” an interesting read and very much in line with our feeling at Dehouche - that what makes a truly luxurious and enjoyable holiday is a collection of unique small experiences which add up to transform simple travel into a remarkable holiday with memories to treasure.

The actual travel itself should be just as enjoyable as the location you are heading to – we often send luggage by jeep and the clients by speedboat or helicopter or on horseback - transfers from A to B should be fun not a mundane and unavoidable chore.

And once at a location our clients should have the information and tools at their finger tips to be able to immerse into a location and fully experience the best of it.