What does it take to create a successful start-up? This International Women’s Day we find out from the female entrepreneurs leading by example.

Petra Hajdu-Pásztor, founder of CLICKnCRUISE, and alumna of Bachelor’s in Applied Economics at Corvinus University of Budapest. Images provided by the interviewee.

This International Women’s Day, we at BlueSky Thinking are celebrating the inspiring female entrepreneurs who have used their business school education to create their own career paths.

Drawing on what they’ve learned through business education, and their professional lives following graduation, they share their advice for other women aspiring to follow in their footsteps, sharing their ideas, inspirations and ambitions for the future.  

As an entrepreneur, it’s important to build a professional network, shares Petra Hajdu-Pásztor, founder of CLICKnCRUISE, and alumna of Bachelor’s in Applied Economics at Corvinus University of Budapest.

“This can be a very lonely profession, and it’s hard to carry the CEO and company head roles on your own,” she says. “In a like-minded community, you can share problems, and it’s reassuring to see that others also have difficult moments sometimes.”

She shares her story below…

Please introduce yourself to our readers – who are you and what is your job role?

I am Petra Hajdu-Pásztor, the founder & CEO of CLICKnCRUISE, a fully online cruise booking platform tailored for the new generation of cruisers.

What does your start-up do?

CLICKnCRUISE helps the cruise industry attract more digital natives to their ships and contribute to building the new generation of cruisers. Our digital booking and comparison tool makes it quick and easy to book. At the same time, our cruise expert team is ready to jump in and help with any questions, therefore we are the best of both worlds: startup and expert agency.

Tell us about your background – where did you grow up

I was born in Satu Mare (Szatmárnémeti) in Transylvania, Romania, as part of the Hungarian minority. I completed secondary school in Gy?r, Hungary, and then graduated from Corvinus University of Budapest.

What were your early career ambitions and experiences? How have they contributed to where you find yourself now?

Before entering the cruise industry, I also tried my hand in a completely different field. I worked in merchandising in the fashion industry in London for four years. Although fashion genuinely interested me, that experience helped me realise what direction I didn’t want to pursue. Working in a country other than the one I had previously lived in also gave me the confidence that I can adapt and find my way in unfamiliar situations.

Through a personal connection, I attended a cruise conference in the UK, where I had the chance to board a cruise ship and listen to a presentation on the industry. For me, it was like someone switched on the light. I knew I wanted to work in cruising and tourism.

Later, I moved to Budapest for a job opportunity in the field, which eventually led me to establish my own company here.

What was the reason you decided to go to business school? What was it about your school and programme that encouraged you to enrol?

At first, I didn’t really know what field I wanted to pursue, but I was good at maths and languages. I was advised that, in that case, it made sense to choose an economics-related path. The first time I applied to Corvinus for the Business Administration and Management programme, I missed the cut-off by just two points. I didn’t want to go to another university offering the same course – I had my heart set on Corvinus.

In the meantime, I started a humanities degree in parallel, but I realised that what truly interested me was classical economics. So, a year later, I applied to the Applied Economics programme at Corvinus, and that turned out to be a perfect fit for me.

What was the most valuable take-away from your studies?

I was finding my way at Corvinus, and I was given the space to do that. I really appreciated the openness and the breadth of knowledge you could gain through the wide range of electives, from law to the health industry. What had the biggest impact on me, though, was my experience studying abroad. In my second year, I went to London (UCL) through the Erasmus programme. I improved my English a great deal and experienced what it’s like to manage on your own in a big, unfamiliar world.

As Steve Jobs put it: “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.” If it hadn’t been for Corvinus, there wouldn’t have been a study period in London. Without London, there wouldn’t have been a job there, or the circle of friends I built, and one of them invited me to a cruise conference. Without that conference, I might never have discovered how strongly I’m drawn to cruise and tourism. And without a job opportunity in Budapest, I wouldn’t have moved to Hungary, and if I hadn’t been in Budapest, I’m not sure I would have started my start-up.

What inspired you to start your business?

I became an entrepreneur by accident. I came across a problem that bothered me so much I felt I had to solve it. I found it unbelievable that in 2021, you still had to show up in person to book a cruise, and then flip through printed catalogues to choose from.

Later on, during a leadership training programme, it turned out that on a scale of 1 to 10, my entrepreneurial attitude is a 10. It would have been useful to know that earlier. But as far as I understand, Corvinus has since introduced several personalised career support options that help students with their professional development and clarify their career goals.

How did your business school/education support you in realising your entrepreneurial ambitions?

I still build on what I learnt there to this day, and I have “aha” moments almost every week. Just recently, for example, I picked up my legendary Business Economics textbook (ed. Attila Chikán), and as a practising company director, I now read certain chapters with completely different eyes, or I find myself recalling examples about leadership styles from my Leadership and Organisation course.

Before making decisions, I also tend to jot down a quick SWOT analysis, which I learnt at university. And looking back, I sometimes regret realising a bit late that if I had paid closer attention in the finance-related classes, I would have learnt some lessons with less risk and far less stress.

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced in the early stages of building your business, and how did you overcome them?

The biggest challenge for me is getting HR right. As a 12-person start-up, it’s harder to present ourselves as an attractive employer in a competitive labour market. Our solution has been twofold: on the one hand, we work with a recruitment agency to find candidates; on the other, we’re building a company where the people who work here are happy to recommend us within the industry and say it’s a good place to work.

“Colleagues wanted more in-person connections, so we moved away from fully remote work and adopted a hybrid model.”

We also ran an anonymous employee satisfaction survey, and we take the findings seriously. For example, it became clear that colleagues wanted more in-person connections, so we moved away from fully remote work and adopted a hybrid model.

As a female entrepreneur, have you encountered any obstacles or biases in your entrepreneurial journey? How did you navigate them?

Yes – I have encountered prejudice. I do feel like in some cases people negotiated with me differently, not only because of my gender but also because I’m young. I’ve noticed that my achievements help reduce this prejudice in these business relationships. 

What advice would you give to other women who are considering starting their own businesses? Is there anything you wished someone had told you as you began your entrepreneurial journey?

Be part of an entrepreneurial community, whether it’s specifically for start-ups or for entrepreneurs more broadly. Attend business breakfasts and networking events, and experience that you’re not alone as a company leader. This can be a very lonely profession, and it’s hard to carry the CEO and company head roles on your own. In a like-minded community, you can share problems, and it’s reassuring to see that others also have difficult moments sometimes. You can also get advice and build professional connections you might not have been able to otherwise. You can share your own stories, mistakes, and failures, learn where others went wrong, and share the weight of your leadership responsibilities.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

I hope that by then we will be close to the company’s exit. It’s no secret that we are building the company to sell it, which is also the classic path for a start-up. After that, I would like to reinvest the knowledge I’ve gained back into the start-up ecosystem and support entrepreneurs like myself, possibly at the university level as well. Also, I plan to continue my own education, perhaps with an MBA or a PhD programme.

Find out more about Petra via LinkedIn and her work via CLICKnCRUISE’s website.

Interested in this series? Keep reading…