8 years in - Make the moves you believe in!

"I have something I'm sure you'll be interested in, let me take your mobile number and I'll call you when you're able to speak more freely..." I'd received a call at my desk with a clandestine message; it was a message I'd delivered 100's of times as a Recruiter but received far less regularly. Sally called me back that evening and told me about an incredible opportunity in Cape Town that "would suit me perfectly" - I don't think either of us realised how true that was at the time.

After 4 interviews, including a 2-day trip to South Africa and I'd signed on the dotted line whilst sipping a glass of red at a local wine farm - in case she called my mobile, I had told my manager I was going to France for the weekend: the truth was too unreal to be believed. 2 months later and I touched down in Cape Town more permanently. Today is a special day for me; today marks 8 years since I landed in South Africa from the UK and started working at EarthStream. I told my parents I’d be back in 2 years – sorry mum!

Apart from the mountain, the beaches, and of course, the vineyards all being a stone’s throw away from my new apartment, one of the main reasons I was happy to join a brand new start-up and relocate my entire life – over 7000 miles away from everything I knew – was the chap standing next to me in the photos above; my MD, mentor, and mate Ryan Forbes – who’s guidance and vision have been some of the main drivers to my success here. When asked about my move the answer has always been the same "I wouldn't have moved half way round the world to work for someone I didn't believe in."

The picture at the bottom on the right was taken outside our original office – a hole-in-the-wall type gig above an estate agent on Kloof Street in Cape Town (which had no carpets when I first came down to interview, what was I thinking?!) – I can tell from the suspect Movember Mo’s that it was taken close to my 1st anniversary with the business in 2011. That shoe-box office could only comfortably hold 8 or 9 people and we quickly outgrew and upgraded to corporate offices in Woodstock. Our staff complement ballooned up to 27 people in a the next few months and it seemed like nothing could stop us. Happy times, but would they last?

Bottom left was taken on my 4th anniversary with EarthStream in 2014. Despite the smiles, these were darker days. The global economy was in the midst of recession and the Oil price was plummeting – much of what the business had been built on was falling away and we didn’t know how bad it was going to get. What did we do? Ryan took me for a slap up burger, a couple of beers, and we chatted about the next steps…not long after, we started incubating a new Technology Recruitment business under the EarthStream brand…which went on to become CloudStream.

Fast forward 4 years, and here we are today on my 8th anniversary: CloudStream has become one of the fastest growing Technology Recruitment specialists on the continent, we work in an office on the same street we started on but this one holds 120 people (!), we have 2 additional brands, CyberStream and AutoStream, while EarthStream is back on track and going strong – All operating under the newly incorporated TechStream Global Group!

It hasn’t only been rewarding changes at work, either. From a personal perspective, in the last 4 years Ryan and his wife Jo have become the proud parents of 2 wonderful boys, and I am engaged to be married next year to my beautiful fiancé, Ghislaine!

It's been a wild roller coaster of a ride to get here but my biggest take-away from the journey so far is this: make moves you believe in, with people who believe in you, and you’ll be unstoppable! Cheers for the guidance and support, boss; couldn’t have done it without you and the rest of my incredible TechStream family.

Last but not least; like the fine local red wine I enjoy so much, we're definitely getting better with age!