In January 2003 I arrived in Thailand for a three month volunteer experience combining teaching and elephant conservation.  My original plan was simply to enjoy a career break before returning home, but I quickly fell completely in love with Thailand and everything about the lifestyle here – the people, culture, environment, everything really!  When my three months was up I had the opportunity to extend my stay to six months, but when that was up I still wasn’t ready to go back. I was starting to entertain the thought that maybe I could make Thailand my new home.

I suppose that I set up Starfish to give me a reason to stay in Thailand.  I wanted to continue to help the communities that I had been working with and I knew that there was a need for a locally run, truly grassroots organisation.  Indeed for the next five or six years that’s precisely what Starfish was – a lifestyle business with a local focus, supporting communities in and around Surin.

Around 2008 I decided to expand the scope of Starfish to include tours, to spread my coverage across Thailand and switch to a business to business model.  Happily, the plan worked and by 2010 Starfish had grown by 1000% and quadrupled its staff, opened a head office in Bangkok and added a second regional team in Sangklaburi.

Since then the business has gone from strength to strength.  We have worked hard to maintain strong links with local communities while delivering high service levels, like our corporate cousins, to partners and customers alike.

Moving forward our original unofficial motto of “do good, feel good” continues to be an integral part of our business ethos.  I want our staff and customers to have great fun experiences whilst having a positive impact on communities and a minimal impact on the environment.  Today our links with local communities have never been stronger, our reach is expanding across the region and we continue to grow with success.

In 2017, to better serve our clients, we rebranded to become Path DMC, which more accurately reflects our company ethos, philosophy and service levels.  

Path’s commitment to great customer service means that I can regularly be found out in the field on reconnaissance trips, connecting with local communities.  My passion for travel means that I love researching new opportunities, and I want to have 100% confidence in the product, location or activity before promoting it to partners.  Moreover I feel compelled to go through every detail with a prospective new supplier. I always like to ask tons of questions and this first-hand knowledge is invaluable when promoting it later to partners or potential partners, but just as importantly it may lead to improvements or new opportunities.  This hand-on approach pays dividends and adds an incredible amount of value to what we do.