Catherine Heald is the Co-founder and CEO of Remote Lands, an ultra-luxury travel provider to destinations in Asia. Catherine is a serial entrepreneur with a background in software engineering and technology. She founded three notable software companies and had a stint in sales at Apple. Her drive to escape mediocrity and boredom led her to establish Remote Lands, turning her fervent passion for Asian travel into a profession. In addition to her business pursuits, Catherine has enjoyed extraordinary travel experiences throughout Asia, from private lunches with royalty to adventurous treks in challenging terrains.

For travel agency businesses, growth and expansion can occur in various ways. Is there a scenario where one is preferred, and the other is not desired?

According to Catherine Heald, whose brand specializes in luxury travel experiences to Asia, growth is always welcome, but expansion would cost her business its DNA. She wants to bring in more revenue, reach more customers, and add destinations in Asia, but not sacrifice its fundamentals by expanding services to other countries outside Asia. Growth is achieved, Catherine says, by working with travel agents and advisors from multiple continents outside the US, like Europe and South America. She has found that organic growth is better for her brand than obtaining money from outside investors.

On this episode of From Persona to Personal, Roger Hurni sits down with Catherine Heald, Co-founder and CEO of Remote Lands, to chat about effective ways to grow your brand without sacrificing what makes it successful. Catherine shares why accepting money from outside investors has proven less desirable than growing organically. She discusses the pandemic’s effect on her brand and reveals the Asian destinations that are most popular among travelers and which ones have lost their luster.