Founders stories; 10 lessons I learned from starting a community and a business in our first year at Dream Life Getaway

Dream Life Getaway is officially 1 year (and 1 month) old !!

Starting the Dream Life Getaway community was one of the most exciting and thrilling adventures I ever started, which says a lot for a girl who took multiple travel gap years and had gone on quite some side quests! I started the DLG journey with a whole lot of passion, excitement, and honestly some naivety. Our first year has been quite a rollercoaster ride filled with joy, but also plenty of unexpected hurdles, and most importantly, countless lessons that have shaped the way I now approach community-building.

When I launched Dream Life Getaway, I had a vision: a vibrant, welcoming space where like-minded women could come together in cool places in the world, share their stories, and support each other in their journey toward their dream lives. But what we didn’t fully anticipate were the lessons we would learn along the way.

Here are a few of the key lessons that helped us evolve and grow this year (some we are still learning ;));

1. A business is not a community, and a community is not a business

When I first launched Dream Life Getaway, I thought a business and a community could be the same thing. But quickly, I realized they’re actually very different. A business needs structure and revenue, and heck yes, even profit, while a community is about connection, belonging, and shared experiences. They can absolutely coexist, and I believe they should. People want community-driven, ethical, caring businesses and building a community with a brand does exactly that. 

But here’s the thing: if you focus too much on the business side, you might win in numbers, profits, efficiency, growth metrics, but lose sight of the people who make your brand. You risk losing touch with your community, the personal stories, and the connections that make the brand feel authentic. 

On the other hand, if you focus too much on the community side, you might end up prioritizing the experience and the people over everything else. You (uhum, me—Mascha, I did that!) might spend too much on things like expensive, custom merch (like those cute DLG hoodies that we all love wearing around the bonfire. I mean, the idea of us all cozying up in matching hoodies with the girls is cute, but I don’t ever want to look at those bills ever again). It’s easy to get carried away with things like this. Setting prices low to make everyone feel included and part of something special might be great for community-building, but it can quickly drain resources and turn your business into an NGO. 

It’s a fine balance and it’s the purpose behind both that makes them thrive. A strong purpose fuels the heart of a community and gives direction to a business. Our community has been the driving force behind our growth, and our purpose is what keeps us going through the ups and downs of running a business. It’s a constant balancing act, but when both grow with purpose, I genuinely believe they’ll flourish together.

2.  Like-minded people are out there !!

You might not find them in your hometown, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. They’re everywhere, you just have to go out and find them. Whether it’s on social media, at events, or in the places you least expect, your girls are out there waiting for you to show up. The fact that I met girls from over 30+ different countries this year, women who I’ve gotten to share amazing conversations with, danced with, laughed with and genuinely felt so inspired through is a testimonial in itself. They’re everywhere, you just need to go find them. 

3. The environment does matter :)

A monk won’t thrive in an office in NYC. A CEO won’t thrive in a monastery in the mountains of Nepal. Your environment does make a difference. We thrive in environments that fuel us, where we feel inspired, energized, and electric. That's why we travel to these incredible places with our like-minded girls. Being in the right environment has made all the difference for me and I want others to experience that too. 

4. Building your own thing? Not everyone might get it

You’re going to get a lot of blank stares and “what do you mean you’re doing that?” questions from people who don’t understand what you’re building. And that’s okay. They don’t have to get it. Your vision is yours alone, and it’s going to take time to bring others along on the journey. Don’t let the lack of understanding slow you down, choose your authentic path!

5. Going viral doesn’t mean immediate success

We had a reel hit 3.4 million views in our first month!! Sounds amazing, right? And then another one with 1.1 million views! But here’s the kicker: those viral moments didn’t translate directly into more people joining our trips or our community. The moral of the story here is going viral isn’t the be-all and end-all. Sure, it feels great, and at the time I thought this meant we had made it,  but true success comes from sustained effort, connection, and building trust over time, not a quick viral hit. (Also our 3.4 million view reel went full-blown viral in India, unfortunately the girls who have joined past trips are not currently living in India, so this didn’t translate in bookings what so ever.)

6. You can’t do it all, delegate and build a team you trust !

I wish I could be in multiple places at once, living off endless energy and checking off every task on my to-do list. But guess what? I can't. So, I had to build a team. Not just because it was needed, but because it gave me space to rest, to breathe, and to let DLG grow in ways I couldn’t do alone. The people who get what you’re building and genuinely want to help are worth it, BIG BIG shoutout to our hosts, partners & interns! <3

7. You’ll never feel “ready” to take the next step, but you gotta do it anyway

Launching Sri Lanka was still so scary. You’d think that after having successfully launched and experienced 8 Morocco girls’ trips and after having spent a month in Sri Lanka, it would feel easy. But nope. The nerves were there, maybe even more so than in Morocco. There were higher expectations this time, people had an incredible experience in Morocco and I want to give them the same experience in Sri Lanka. ‘Are people even interested in flying this far?’ ‘Is the price fair?’ So many questions and to be honest, there’s always going to be something that makes you feel unprepared, but it doesn’t matter. The only way through is to just do it ! Nike was right after all.

8. Startups and communities are born and die every single day. The first year of business will test your commitment in ways you never imagined

It’s like this unspoken rule, everyone tells you it's going to be hard, but you don’t really understand it until you’re in the thick of it. The constant ‘being on’ because work never stops, the Saturday early mornings working, the late nights working, the emotional rollercoaster of not attaching yourself worth to your productivity, to bookings or to the numbers on social media. It’s not just about work, it’s about everything else that comes with it: questioning if you’re good enough, wondering if this is worth it, wondering if people are getting it. But if you’re in it for the long haul, it’s what strengthens you and your brand (or I hope so ;)).

9. Merch and shipping are incredibly expensive (lol, no other way to put it)

Okay, let’s talk about the merch. I thought it would be a fun and cool way to bring our community feel alive. And it has been, in so many ways !! Seeing our girls wear Dream Life Getaway T-shirts around the breakfast table in Morocco and getting photos of girls gifting their moms and brothers DLG hoodies after the trip, or seeing my parents, my sister, my boyfriend and best friends in the DLG merch, I’d say it’s worth every penny. But wow, the production and shipping costs got me a little shocked! Choosing colors, designs, prints, fabrics, details such as which silver knob you want to attach to the neckline holes in the hoodie. It's a whole other ball game. Definitely something we’re reconsidering if we keep scaling. But at the end of the day, this merch brought me so much joy.

10. Stop waiting for validation from others. Trust your vision

You don’t need anyone’s approval to follow your dream. We all want to feel validated, to have people tell us that what we’re doing is “good” or “right.” But honestly? You need to trust yourself more than anyone else does. Trust that your vision is worth pursuing, even if others don’t understand it yet !!

As I reflect on this past year, I’m filled with gratitude for the lessons learned, the challenges overcome, and the incredible people I’ve met along the way. Building Dream Life Getaway has been an emotional, exhausting, and wildly rewarding journey, one that’s far from perfect but always evolving. Every mistake, every triumph, and every little win has been part of a much bigger picture. And if there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that this is just the beginning. Here’s to many more years of growth, community, and living the dream!