We discuss travel, design, entrepreneurship and hometowns with Greenbox, our design agency.

Coming up with the concept of nemo was one thing, but putting it into practice was an entirely different challenge. James and I were sitting on what we thought was a killer idea but did not know how to execute it with limited experience in the world of design and technology.

Following a number of meetings and calls with agencies in London, it was clear that we either needed to raise a load of cash extremely quickly or dial down our idea a bit to deliver it in the time frame we wanted to. Slightly deflated, we decided to think outside the box a bit and look abroad. Enter Greenbox Designs, an agency based in Cape Town and headed up by the infectious Simon Carter.

After a one hour call, we knew we were onto a winner and Simon’s approach fitted ours perfectly. Following a recent trip out to Cape Town, we sat down with Simon and had a chat about all things Nemo, Greenbox, entrepreneurship, travel and his wonderful home city of Cape Town.

Tom: It was great to hang out in the ‘Mother City’ with you guys, tell us a bit about why you think this is one of the world’s greatest urban areas?

Simon: Even being from Cape Town we often have to pinch ourselves at how lucky we are to live here. Sure, like anywhere there are problems but if you love nature and the city Cape Town really does strike the perfect balance.

In the summer, a quick hike up lions head as we did with you guys is so easy to do before work or even a surf or sea kayak.

We are also spoiled for choice when it comes to options for eating out, and there’s lot’s of great stuff to do in the city. Not to mention all the day trips. Within an hour you can be on an empty beach or in a national park!

Do you have any tips for our readers travelling to the city for the first time?

Definitely. I would say that a lot of people come and get absorbed in the ‘must-do’ things like table mountain and the waterfront. While these are definitely great things to see don’t be afraid to rent a car and get out to the coastal areas around Pringle Bay & Gordon’s Bay. There are some mind-blowing beaches, national parks and hikes that you can do all in very close proximity.

You are travel man yourself, was it this that originally attracted you to the Nemo project?

We have always loved designing and building travel websites. It’s also the type of thing where a website is truly useful. Being a traveller myself I love to get stuck into planning and spend hours on websites ensuring that we are going to the right places and getting the absolute best. What I love about Nemo is that the trips aren’t your run of the mill package holiday. There are so many itineraries in there that I would love to do, in very adventurous locations.

I have always loved the idea, and so stoked to be part of the project.

It has been a pleasure working with you guys, tell us a bit more about the team and how you tackle projects?

Myself & Dave have worked together for around 8 years, and we really enjoy following a consultative process that involves the client at every step to ensure we understand the most we possibly can about their business & it’s objectives. From there we work on everything from UX to rollout taking all the necessary steps along the way through our own team and our professional network here in CT. We work with some amazing people and love our studio and the vibe in it.

We spoke a bit about work-life balance, how do you go about trying to nail this?

Sometimes it can be tricky when things get crazy, but it’s so important to just get out there and do something to clear your head. Whether it be a surf/hike or swim.

Where’s next on your travel hit list and what attracts you to a new destination?

To be honest, Nemo actually has inspired me to check out Ethiopia! I found myself looking at flights the other day and am very keen on the idea. I think that culturally it just looks like nowhere else in Africa. Also, our favourite little Ethiopian restaurant on the same street as our studio has already wet my palette and the food is amazing!