Wild Eye: How one safari business stopped guessing, started growing, and found confidence in the process.

Andrew Beck and his partners Jono Buffey and Gerry van der Walt had spent years building a successful travel business, Wild Eye, rooted in their passion for nature and photography. But 13 years in, despite strong revenue and global clientele, the business was feeling stuck. Direction was unclear. And profits, despite strong revenues, were elusive.

“We were chasing top-line sales, patting ourselves on the back,” Andrew recalls, “but we had no real idea what our profitability was.”

“We also needed a more structured approach to decision making” says Andrew. “My co-founders and I knew we had many opportunities. We each had strong but differing views about which ones to pursue and which ones to let go”.

That’s when Wild Eye partnered with a Grow coach.

The first year of coaching, Andrew says, was like starring in an episode of Hoarders. “Our coach walked into the mess that was our house. Financial confusion, scattered strategy, unclear values! Our coach helped us to start sorting it all out, organize it and clean it up.”

They started from scratch by mapping out a long-term vision – a destination for where they wanted the business to be in 10 years time. Then they implementing a structured approach for defining strategic priorities and executing consistently using OKR’s (Objectives and Key Results). They introduced a cadence of regular, focused meetings to keep the team on track to execute on these priorities. 

As an example, they completely overhauled the financial system, upgrading from an entry level package on Sage to Sage Intacct, for clearer reporting. The benefits were huge. Andrew comments on how their coach helped shape their thinking, “She helped us go from acting on gut feel to making decisions based on real data.”

Even with clear goals now in place, people were still frustrated. The team was battling with getting clarity as to who needs to do what. Andrew’s coach commented, “reporting lines were unclear and the way the business operated was unclear”. To overcome this challenge, tools like the RACI framework helped the team assign roles clearly, solve problems faster, and streamline execution. Using the RACI Matrix they defined for each activity in the business who is Responsible, Accountable, should be Consulted and Informed.  “It’s allowed us to sort through clutter ourselves, and keep each other honest.”

But it wasn’t just about new tools, it was about building trust and accountability through the right dialogue as a team. “Even when our coach saw the answer, she wouldn’t just give it to us. She’d ask the right questions, so we worked through it, deepening our insight and understanding of the problem and potential answers, and aligning as a team.”

Wild Eye was known for its photographic safaris, but that niche, while reputable, was limited and high-risk. Some of their original offerings had emotional ties and although these offerings were past their prime, they would be hard to let go of. There were also lots of new potential offerings, but they were tackled in an unstructured, adhoc way and it was a struggle to align the team around these new offerings to get solid traction. Together with their coach, the team took a hard look at their product offerings.

“We realized we were trying to be too many things: travel, photography, equipment sales. We narrowed our focus and shifted toward experiential travel,” says Andrew. Photography remains a key strength, but now it’s just one of several curated experiences. 

This shift didn’t just expand their market. It diversified risk, improved profitability, and helped clarify their brand. A rebrand and new website soon followed.

“We’re still sorting through the product ‘boxes’ in the metaphorical house,” Andrew says, “but we’ve come a long way from running the business on the back of a cigarette box.”

Andrew, a trained field guide with a master’s in ecology, had never run a business of this size. “Our coach became a sounding board. Sometimes you just need someone in your corner to say, ‘You’re on the right track.’ That gave me confidence.”

Her travel industry experience was a bonus. “It made a huge difference to have a coach who actually understood our world,” says Andrew. “She’s on the rollercoaster with me, helping me up when I’m feeling a little queezy,” he laughs.

One surprise win? Core values.

“Honestly, we’d always thought of values as these fluffy things you stick on the wall,” Andrew admits. “But when we ran our first team climate survey, values were the one area our team called out. That was a wake-up call.” 

The team got to work, defining their values, integrating them into day-to-day practices, and workshopping one value a month with the whole company. “They’re not just sitting in a drawer. They’re shaping how we show up.”

Andrew concedes, “We’d been running the business for 13 years and never really seen the need for that fluffy stuff. Now we recognize how important values are to shaping the culture we want in our company. “

With clearer financials, tighter operations, and a focused leadership structure, Wild Eye is now seeing consistent, healthy growth. “Last year we tackled big strategic priorities using the OKR framework: rebranding, marketing overhaul and financial cleanup. This year, it’s about deepening and refining.”

They’ve adopted a rhythm of Monday catchups, Friday wins, Tuesday senior scrums, monthly management and finance reviews, and quarterly strategy sessions with their coach. A formal board is in the works to provide strategic oversight.

In the first year, they tackled massive, chunky OKRs in the process of “cleaning out the house”. This year it’s even more focused.

Andrew shared, “We used to be reactionary, but now we’ve set a direction and we’re consistent. Last year I used an analogy saying ‘we’re going to Cape Town’.  This year I asked everyone ‘Where do think we’re going this year?’ and there was all sorts of responses. I said no, no, we’re still going to Cape Town! And that’s good because we’re continuing in that direction and now we’re going to be more fuel efficient and looking not just at the top line but at what’s happening in the business and looking at the bottom line as well.” 

He concludes, “That consistent direction gives the team confidence. They can get behind it.”

Andrew shares, “I think we’re in a space where we’re becoming a lot more efficient, a lot more focused, and that means that we’re going to see those rewards, you know, in the longer term as well”.

Of the value of a Grow business coach, Andrew says “there’s a lot of software out there which allows you to manage your OKRs and your workflows and all that sort of stuff, but I think what Grow has, and you should always keep, is that personal element, working with my coach and talking through certain things with her, you really feel like she’s part of that roller coaster that I’m on.”

The biggest shift? Andrew’s mindset.

“I used to question my thinking. Now, with Grow’s coaching, I feel equipped to lead. We’re no longer just reacting, we’re making deliberate decisions, with structure and purpose.” 

“I’d far rather be a small giant than a chaotic, sprawling mess,” Andrew reflects. “And with Grow’s help, we’re building a business that’s true to that.”