Employee #1. Zero to $1.3M monthly revenue to acquisition by PADI
“He was employee n°1 at Diviac and an invaluable contributor to our success. He was involved in all facets of the development and marketing of our startup. He was also my daily sparring partner with regards to our product roadmap and overall strategy.”
Context
Diviac was a dive travel booking startup in Zurich. I joined as the first employee, partnering directly with the CEO to build the product and the business from scratch. The company was later acquired by PADI, the world's largest dive organization, and rebranded to PADI Travel.
Challenge
Everything needed to be built from zero: the product, the marketing, the supplier network, the team. No infrastructure, no revenue, no brand. The travel market is dominated by large OTAs with massive budgets.
Approach
Product and Platform
Defined product strategy alongside the CEO. Co-built the booking platform from concept to launch, contributing to UX/UI and business logic. The platform evolved from the original Diviac logbook to what became PADI Travel.
Supplier and Partner Network
Defined and executed the supplier acquisition strategy, personally closing the first 150 partnerships. Developed a playbook that scaled to 500+ dive center partners. Designed and launched a global partner program with 600+ affiliates and resellers across 40 countries.
Marketing
Gradually launched every marketing channel on my own: SEO, performance marketing, affiliates, lifecycle, events, and PR. Once each channel was profitable, I hired to manage it. All on a $2M annual marketing budget.
CRM and Automation
Selected and implemented Salesforce as the CRM and marketing automation tool. The system was later adopted organization-wide by PADI post-acquisition.
Team and Agencies
Built the marketing team from scratch, half in-office and half remote. Hired and managed agencies to supplement in-house capabilities. Defined team structure, KPIs, and processes. Grew the team to 7.
Board and Investors
Led marketing input for board reporting and investor updates. Supported funding rounds and contributed to the acquisition process by PADI.
Result
Revenue from zero to $1.3M per month. 500+ partner network. 600+ affiliates across 40 countries. Acquired by PADI and rebranded to PADI Travel. Salesforce adopted organization-wide.