Ghana and the First Business, Age 16
Seven years ago, at 16, I spent three weeks in the heart of Ghana living in the middle of nowhere. It stripped away comfort and replaced it with perspective. I realized early that opportunity rarely appears neatly packaged. You create it by moving first. Around the same time I started my first business reselling PlayStation 4 consoles. The principles were identical to those I rely on today: listen carefully, understand value, and always prioritise the client experience.
How I Found the Yacht Industry, Late 2021
At the end of 2021, as I looked for an internship during university, my journey took an unexpected turn. The plan was automotive. Over twenty applications later, silence. Frustrated but stubborn, I opened an old university Excel file listing potential companies. One name stood out: SuperYachtTimes. I had no plan. No background in yachting. I thought: Cars aren’t working… Let’s take it to another level. I sent to the founder and two days later we spoke on the phone. Two weeks later, I was having breakfast with their Commercial Director in Barcelona. Looking back, it felt like small pieces falling into place before I fully understood what I was stepping into.
But once the door opened, I went all in.
I started as a marketing intern and rapidly transitioned into sales within weeks. I openly expressed long-term ambitions early by using these exact words: “I see a future at the company”. I unlocked real responsibility fast, a strategy that turned a 6-month internship into a full-time role in the luxury yacht industry. I learned something crucial: opportunity often appears when ambition is communicated clearly and backed by action.
I secured a yacht charter role at MY OCEAN after applying to three companies and receiving three offers. The process required relentless follow-up, me spending all the money I had saved to move to Dubai for 3 months, and the bold decision to work 40+ hours a week while simultaneously completing my thesis, failing my first graduation attempt before pushing through to earn my degree. But I had something more valuable than comfort: momentum.
Again, I made my ambitions clear: I wasn’t there temporarily. I wanted to grow with the company long term. And again, responsibility arrived immediately. Within two months at MY OCEAN, I was managing live yacht charters solo while the CEO was in Bali and the MD was offline in Africa. That sink-or-swim environment built the resilience and trust that led to my promotion to Operations Executive, overseeing the full 360 of yacht sales, charter, and management.
As the company expanded, I specialised fully in retail charter brokerage. Since then, I’ve delivered charters worldwide. Indonesia, Croatia, the Mediterranean and beyond on yachts ranging from 30 to 90 metres. Every charter refined the same core principles: understand people, anticipate needs, communicate clearly, and deliver relentlessly. Today, I continue that same journey with Seven Yachts. Many clients returned. Others referred friends.
Almost every conversation I have, whether at an industry event, over dinner, in a meeting, or simply meeting someone new. Eventually arrives at the same question:
How did you get into yachting? And what does it take?
Getting into yacht brokerage looks different for everyone. Yachting from the outside it appears unattainable, reserved for those with connections or luck. In reality, the barrier is rarely talent.
It is clarity. Most people simply never receive the guidance needed to translate ambition into opportunity.
The more these questions came in, the more I realised there is a real demand for honest, practical guidance on breaking into yachting. Not polished corporate advice, but real experience from someone who has lived it. Very few people in this industry are willing to open up publicly, and I want to be one of them.
I will hold your hand to a point. But the practical work is on you. Make mistakes, figure things out, fall flat on your face if you have to, because that is how real learning happens. The interactive sessions in this academy are built exactly for that.
My role today is simply a continuation of my own journey. To help shape a new generation entering yachting with clarity and confidence rather than coincidence. If you have the passion, this academy gives you the handles to make it happen.
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