2025 in Reflection, Welcoming 2026
Entrepreneurship on My Own Terms: One Year Later
When I wrote about entrepreneurship on my own terms in April for World Autism Acceptance Day, it was a statement about identity, choice, and the freedom to shape how I work and build. I wasn’t trying to score wins or tick boxes. I was setting a direction rooted in integrity, clarity, and autonomy.
Looking back now, as 2025 ended and 2026 begins, I realise the real thread of the year wasn’t output. It was alignment; between what I build, why I build it, and who I am while building it.
What 2025 Was Really About
2025 wasn’t dramatic. It wasn’t about explosive growth or sharp pivots. It was quieter than that, but far more foundational.
It was about choosing depth over breadth.
Experimenting and building at my own pace.
Getting comfortable with steady, measured progress.
Trusting my internal compass more than external pressure.
Being okay with myself, my needs, and my ambitions.
Less noise. More intention.
That orientation matters, because it sets the tone for what comes next. In 2026, I want to keep building from that place, not faster, but calmer. Not more reactive, but more resilient.
Where 2025 Forced Honest Reflection
That doesn’t mean everything went smoothly. The harder moments were the most revealing.
Overcommitment early in the year
Trying to do too many things, especially things misaligned with what truly mattered, drained energy unnecessarily. It taught me that saying yes too often is rarely a sign of ambition. More often, it’s a lack of clarity.
Pressure from outside timelines
There’s a subtle weight in trying to keep up with other people’s pace. This year was partly about learning to let that go. In 2026, I want to make decisions based on readiness and alignment, not urgency or comparison.
Rushing outcomes instead of grounding fundamentals
Fast results feel good. Strong foundations feel sustainable. 2025 reminded me which one actually lasts.
Neglecting health as a silent cost
This year made it very clear that health isn’t something you can defer without consequences. I was ill several times, including one serious episode that put me in hospital for a week. It forced a reset I hadn’t chosen. Energy, focus, and resilience all depend on physical and mental health, and no amount of motivation compensates when that foundation cracks. In 2026, nurturing health isn’t an optimisation goal. It’s a prerequisite.
What 2025 Looked Like for Onepilot
Alignment doesn’t mean the absence of results. It means results that come from clarity rather than chaos.
2025 was a strong year for Onepilot, one I’m proud of, not just because of the numbers, but because of how they were achieved.
We crossed €30M in ARR with a healthy margin structure and strong retention. We welcomed 70 new customers, expanded further beyond Europe, and supported clients in over 20 languages. More than 12 million interactions were handled over the year, with quality scores consistently above 89%.
We also shipped. A lot.
Six major products launched, over 3 million AI-driven interactions delivered, and continued investment in systems designed to scale without breaking.
Behind much of this shipping was a deeper shift. Over several months, I designed and built an entire AI platform for Onepilot in my role as CIO. Not a prototype anymore, but a fully operational system, onboarding clients, running in production, and forming the backbone of what comes next.
I’ll be honest about one thing: I built large parts of it alone. Fast. Deep. In a mode where I thrive. I don’t regret that. It was the right way to get it off the ground.
But it also showed me the limits of isolation. Next time, I want to build more with the team. More shared context, more feedback, more collective ownership. Some of my favourite moments this year weren’t technical at all: they were our leadership days, the moments of alignment where we slowed down, talked honestly, and made sure we were moving in the same direction. That’s something I want to intentionally protect and amplify in 2026.
Externally, the company was recognised more than ever, with seven awards, including client-driven ones, and listings among the fastest-growing startups in Europe. These aren’t goals in themselves, but they are signals. They tell us the work resonates.
Most importantly, none of this came at the cost of the team. We grew to 110 employees across 15 nationalities, with real attention paid to balance, diversity, and sustainability. That matters more to me than any single metric.
Staying Grounded in a Noisy World
2025 didn’t happen in a vacuum.
It unfolded against a backdrop of accelerating AI hype, constant announcements, shifting narratives, and a world that often felt unstable. Technologically, everything seemed possible overnight. Politically and geopolitically, the opposite was true: uncertainty, fragmentation, and short-termism.
In that environment, it became tempting to react. To chase momentum. To build louder instead of better.
I chose the opposite.
Not because I’m distant from AI. Quite the contrary. I spent part of the year working deeply on it, designing systems, shipping them into production, and living with their real-world constraints. I believe AI is genuinely transformative, and I’m excited by what it enables.
But that proximity also makes the noise harder to ignore.
There’s a growing gap between what sounds impressive and what actually works. Between demos and durable systems. Between narrative velocity and operational reality.
Transformation without grounding tends to collapse under its own weight. The more noise there is, the more discipline it takes to stay focused on fundamentals: reliability, usefulness, human impact, and time horizons that extend beyond the next announcement or funding cycle.
So I leaned into pragmatism. Into building things that made sense, solved concrete problems, and could survive contact with reality. Embracing AI fully, while remaining deeply sceptical of hype for its own sake.
Holding both at once felt uncomfortable at times. But it also felt necessary.
A Personal Parallel: Learning to Run (Properly)
On a completely different front, 2025 was also the year I started running.
Before that, I barely exercised. No routine, no structure. Running began almost accidentally and quickly became my thing. I love the solitude, the rhythm, the mental clarity. Time alone, but never empty.
Like many beginners, I overdid it.
Too much volume, too quickly, too little patience, which led to a heel stress fracture and an enforced pause of 4 months. Frustrating at the time, obvious in hindsight. Enthusiasm without balance eventually breaks.
Since then, I’ve approached it differently. I now run between 20 and 40 km per week depending on the phase. I’ve started racing. I’m learning how to train, how to recover, how to listen. Progress is slower, but it’s real. And it lasts.
What surprised me most is how closely this mirrored the rest of the year. Running taught me physically what 2025 taught me professionally:
Consistency beats intensity.
Rest is part of progress, not a failure.
Structure enables freedom.
In 2026, I want to take this further: joining a club, adding a competitive dimension, committing to disciplined training and strength work. Not to chase records obsessively, but to explore potential with patience. To see what happens when effort is sustained, not rushed.
Attention, Energy, and Relationships
One of the quieter lessons of 2025 was about attention.
Between work, screens, and constant background noise, it’s easy to feel busy without feeling present. In 2026, I want to reclaim some of that space: less mindless scrolling, fewer default distractions, more intentional focus. Reading more. Being bored sometimes. Letting ideas breathe. I'll also incorporate meditation and yoga into my routine to stay grounded and support my mental health.
The same applies to relationships. This past year was demanding, and not just professionally. In 2026, I want to create space for quality social time, fewer but deeper connections, and to truly reconnect with the people who matter most, especially my partner. Not drifting. Not postponing conversations. Choosing clarity and honesty, even when it’s uncomfortable.
What I’m Carrying Into 2026
I’m not making resolutions. I’m carrying principles. Principles scale better than habits.
Clarity before speed
Every decision should have a reason. Speed without clarity is just noise.
Energy as a finite resource
Protect it. Nurture it. Spend it deliberately, whether at work, in training, or with people.
Rhythm over extremes
Work hard, rest properly, reflect honestly.
So 2026 won’t be about doing more.
It will be about doing better, with intention, steadiness, and fewer unnecessary distractions.
Closing
When I look back at 2025, the common thread is clear.
Whether it was building Onepilot, writing, learning how to run without breaking myself, or learning when to slow down and involve others, the lesson was the same: alignment creates momentum. Not overnight, but over time.
2026 doesn’t feel like a reset. It feels like a continuation, with better balance, clearer boundaries, deeper collaboration, and a stronger trust in steady progress.
And that feels like exactly the right place to be.
