Pangolia / Hepper

At 19 years old, Simon Treulle heard about an SEO conference happening in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Rather than dismiss the idea as impractical, he made a bold decision: he bought a plane ticket and left his home city in Denmark to immerse himself in a community of entrepreneurs. This single decision to prioritize being around the right people would become foundational to his eventual success.

In Chiang Mai, Simon found himself surrounded by mentors and friends who weren't afraid to give him tough love. Early in his time there, he was invited to a Korean barbecue with two of his good friends. What should have been a casual meal turned into a critical business intervention. "They pretty much grilled me on my business," Simon recalls. "Because my business was pretty much failing at that point."

Simon's friends didn't sugarcoat the problems—they confronted him directly about his strategy. "They were like, 'Hey, why are you overpaying for content? Or why are you doing it this way?'" The feedback was hard to hear. Simon had already spent a couple of years working on online marketing and content strategies, and being told his approach wasn't the path to success was difficult to swallow. "I was super overwhelmed," he admits. "I've been working for a couple of years on this online marketing and content stuff and here I am sort of being told that what I do is not really the way to get success with it."

Despite the sting of the criticism, Simon listened. The mentorship and accountability from his Chiang Mai circle proved instrumental to his growth. Today, Simon has built a team of over a hundred people and operates multiple successful businesses including Pangolia (a digital media site) and Hepper (an e-commerce pet furniture brand). He attributes much of this success not to a single breakthrough idea or tactic, but to the decision he made at 19 to surround himself with people who could challenge him and push him toward better strategies.