At the age of 55, you find yourself contemplating the twilight years that lie ahead. I would say that I am genuinely pleased with my life. I had a delightful childhood, met the love of my life, and embraced various changes in my professional journey that allowed me to explore, learn, and tackle exciting challenges, all of which have brought me significant satisfaction.
As I continue to age year by year, reaching the milestone of being over 50, I've found myself reflecting more on the second half of my life that has just begun. Which seems to be passing by at an increasingly rapid pace.
From an early stage in our relationship, my wife and I agreed that having children wasn't part of our plan. We cherish our independence and often find ourselves deeply engaged in our careers, so we believe it would be unfair for a child to grow up with parents who are frequently preoccupied.
Cats&Dogs bv, the company I started with a professional partner in 1989, had become my plan for the future. You could say that we always treated this as a kind of our child. It was something that should take care of us in our old days.
Two years back, around 2023, we acknowledged that although we had made considerable progress with the company, we had reached a point where further growth would entail taking on more risks and potentially investing more through loans or our capital.
It was certainly an option, but our experiences in the business landscape required us to be pragmatic. We were optimistic about our potential, yet reaching the next level signifies enhanced power and opportunities that extend beyond what midsized companies can offer. We explored possibilities to collaborate with a larger entity, but the challenge was to find a partner that aligned with the values we cherish at CatsDogs.
After engaging with a selection of candidates, we successfully identified a partner that aligns with our strategic objectives in multiple dimensions. Chris Debyser, the managing director of Conxion, articulated his vision for collaboration. He proposed that Cats&Dogs operate as a Conxion-powered affiliate, advocating for us to maintain our current operational strategies while embracing the potential for growth within a larger business framework.
And here we stand! My business partner and I have teamed up with Chris, the directors of Cats&Dogs, and our team is now energized by Conxion. We are ready to tackle future projects on a larger scale. Safe-Connect brings valuable experience in Security and Cloud computing, while SoHo-Manager aims to enhance Odoo projects as a software solution for businesses searching for integrated applications on a single platform.
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