Graduate of the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Ilie Preda, founder of AdeonaCamps, is an unconventional entrepreneur fascinated by mountains, karate, people, and the philosophy behind every kind of ascent. At just 19 years old, he founded the Ochiul Muntelui Mountain Tourism Student Club. He never practiced in the field he originally studied, choosing instead to build his own vision of mountain tourism from a young age while continuing to climb some of the world’s great mountain ranges: the Tatras, the Alps, the Andes, and the Himalayas. Yet the ascent that matters most is undoubtedly AdeonaCamps. Even today, after 25 years, he remains actively involved in organizing mountain camps and excursions for children, playing a significant role in the development of adventure tourism in Romania.

He believes entrepreneurship is much like high-altitude expeditions. There are no guaranteed recipes for success, no certainties—perhaps only the beauty of each unique story. Attitude determines altitude!

C&B: How would you describe yourself in a single sentence that would capture the attention of someone who doesn’t know you?

Ilie: In the autumn of 2016, I decided to share lesser-known aspects of my life with people. Four years later, after repeatedly revisiting and rewriting entire chapters, a book emerged about a man who is always climbing, searching for a summit that does not exist—a Sisyphean effort whose ending remains uncertain.

On the Other Side brings together the years spent in the karate dojo, the mountains I have climbed, the entrepreneurial projects I have built, and the people who, in one way or another, influenced my transformation.

Even today, I firmly believe these worlds complement one another naturally because, at their core, they all require hard work, humility, determination, and respect.

C&B: Looking back, what has been the “red thread” guiding your professional journey?

Ilie: Avoiding a theoretical answer, I would rather highlight five personal moments that significantly contributed to my professional path and likely shaped me into who I am today:

1. Founding a karate club for children at just 18 years old, together with a close friend who was equally fearless.
2. Deciding to establish the Ochiul Muntelui Mountain Tourism Student Club in Cluj. It was an extraordinary opportunity and my first encounter with what I would later understand as leadership.
3. Choosing to resign from what was then a very well-paid job after learning the basics of sales and deciding to follow my own dream.
4. Signing the first long-term contract and building the first dedicated location for AdeonaCamps camps.
5. Stepping away from the operational side of the business and delegating decision-making.

If I were to draw a common thread, I would say: vision, motivation, attitude, learning, values, and hard work.

Exactly in that order.

C&B: What was a difficult moment or failure that truly changed you?

Ilie: I believe people stubbornly refuse to learn much in the absence of pain.

Each of us evolves through the accumulation of experiences over time, but meaningful change only occurs when we are pushed beyond our limits.

For me, the critical moment came in 2021, immediately after the pandemic, when it became clear that my heart condition was far more complex than I had believed. Three medical interventions quickly pulled me into a new reality that was difficult to accept.

I was forced to understand that the mountains would remain the same without me and that the only true profit is life itself and my family. No one can stay at the summit forever.

C&B: What courageous—or counterintuitive—decision significantly influenced your trajectory?

Ilie: It happened in 2009, the year my daughter was born and also the year the global economic crisis was causing dramatic effects across every industry.

At that time, I signed a 15-year contract for a mountain lodge in the Retezat Mountains, a property requiring extensive renovations and a substantial budget.

It seemed crazy, but I took the risk and borrowed the money needed to start the investment, surprising everyone around me—including my own family.

It worked. From that year on, AdeonaCamps began a steadily upward journey.

There was very little time before the start of the summer season, and what followed felt worthy of a Hollywood movie. I described the episode in detail in the book I mentioned earlier. In short, our first guests had already left Timișoara while we were still landscaping the property.

Romania’s road infrastructure unexpectedly helped us. The group was delayed, and the extra two hours we gained before their arrival meant flowers throughout the courtyard and the smell of fresh paint everywhere.

Today, I remember those times fondly, especially since Lolaia remains part of the Adeona portfolio—a place very close to my heart.

C&B: How have you changed over time as a leader and professional?

Ilie: I believe the passing years and especially the health issues I mentioned earlier taught me to slow down.

Deadline-driven projects and an endless list of achievements—if I may put quotation marks around the word—come with a price, one paid first by the leader and later by the team.

I have come to the conclusion that the process is more important than the numbers, even if this somehow contradicts entrepreneurial thinking and is therefore difficult to accept.

It wasn’t easy for me, but I believe I eventually understood that in life—and therefore in business—everything should be measured, yet time is the most important resource. All other resources will naturally align afterward.

C&B: What do you think the people who work closely with you would say about you beyond your public image?

Ilie: I don’t have a professionally crafted public image. Some say that is not something to be proud of and that an entrepreneur or leader should embody the image of their business.

I don’t feel the need to be at the center of attention, although I have often found myself in that position and managed reasonably well.

In fact, I do not believe I deliver what is popular today—inflated numbers, clichés, and glitter—but rather a certain spirit of humility, perhaps even an excessive one, which I cultivated through mountain climbing and years spent in the dojo.

To answer the question, I would like to believe that I inspire the people around me, even if I am often challenging.

C&B: What truly differentiates the way you build or lead?

Ilie: I believe there have been two completely different stages in my evolution.

The first was before the age of 45, when deadline-driven projects were the norm. The second began with my health issues.

As I mentioned earlier, every action comes with a cost. When that cost is no longer measured in money but in days spent in a hospital, decisions become self-evident.

As for my leadership style, I genuinely believe organizational culture is what people do when the leader is not present—not what they say they do, but what they actually do.

For this reason, I have avoided controlling people and invested heavily in trust. The real battle was against inherited prejudices and my own fears.

Sometimes I was wrong. Sometimes I made poor choices. But that is part of the game.

I do not hide the fact that there were occasions—few, fortunately—when my perspective was completely mistaken and I treated valuable people unfairly. That too is part of my evolution, even if it is less comfortable to acknowledge.

C&B: How has the current context—technology, AI, and the economy—changed the way you work?

Ilie: A large part of AdeonaCamps’ activity takes place in nature, in the mountains, or on sports fields.

Apart from the inevitable business tools used for communication, promotion, and marketing, we are only minimally affected by technological transformations.

I could say that the current context dramatically influences the behavior of our customers, and that behavior, in turn, transforms us and the way we operate. However, that is a much broader discussion than the space here allows.

C&B: Is there a habit or routine that has significantly influenced your performance?

Ilie: First of all, I believe I should define what performance means to me in business: I managed to build a model organization in a niche field without resources, relevant information, or established examples to follow.

Today, Adeona’s impact is significant, confirmed by the tens of thousands of students who have participated in our programs over the years. For most entrepreneurs, performance is measured through revenue, number of employees, or profit.

My main routine is organization. I do not start projects until I know exactly what steps need to be taken and what scenarios might arise.

At the beginning of each year, I create a rigorous plan that includes personal goals, new projects, ongoing projects, development initiatives, and investments.

All of these are anchored in a calendar and supported by separate budgets.

This does not mean such planning guarantees success, but it certainly provides a mirror that accurately reflects reality.

It helps that I can break down long-term objectives into smaller ones and track their achievement in detail without excessive effort.

I believe we should make a habit of taking one small step every day toward the summit we are trying to reach.

Long-term results do not come from spectacular leaps but from small, consistent, repeated achievements that accumulate quietly until they become a difficult-to-match advantage.

Real progress appears when you do those “small things” even on the days when you don’t feel like it.

Rhythm beats intensity, and consistency becomes a multiplier of results.

This is the formula through which strong careers, resilient businesses, and highly capable people are built.

C&B: What principles guide your most important decisions?

Ilie: It is a complex question with many possible answers. I will try to limit myself to five principles derived from five questions that I consider essential:

1. Why am I doing this? Is it important for me or for the business? How clear is the objective?
2. What resources does the project require? Time, energy, and money—in that order.
3. What are the possible scenarios? What is the downside risk for me or for potential partners?
4. Who are the partners and people involved? Do we share the same values, standards, and expectations?
5. Have enough days passed since I formulated my answers? Are those answers still valid? If yes, the project is probably viable.

I can honestly say that whenever I failed to answer one of these questions rationally and allowed emotions to dominate the analysis process—or avoided or vaguely answered one of them—I encountered problems in managing the project, some of them quite serious.

C&B: How do you see your industry evolving over the next three to five years?

Ilie: I believe there will be substantial transformations.

I expect a restructuring and resizing of the market, a clearer specialization by activity type—mountain camps, seaside camps, educational camps, sports camps, and so on—and, not least, a forced professionalization of the sector.

By that, I mean well-defined processes and standards established by the key players in the market.

C&B: What role do you intend to play in that evolution?

Ilie: AdeonaCamps is approaching the end of a stage marked by numerous organizational transformations.

It is time to consolidate the final conclusions and balance the elements that still do not function exactly as we would like within the systems we have built.

Once this process is completed, we will move toward an accelerated franchising strategy.

Franchising itself requires professionalism, processes, standards, evaluation methods, and more.

C&B: What practical advice would you give someone who wants to build something meaningful today?

Ilie: I will be as concise as possible and limit myself to five essential questions:

1. Are you sure your dream or project is not just a passing trend or temporary whim? What will it look like years from now?
2. Can you create transformation, progress, or meaningful impact in your chosen field?
3. Do you have the necessary resources? What is their source?
4. Who will accompany you on this journey?
5. Who do you want to become by the end of it?

If the answers satisfy you, it is time to act.

If, after many years, you remain relevant, you probably answered those questions correctly.

If you need to constantly praise yourself on social media, you may be making money—I cannot say—but it is certain that you have not built anything truly meaningful.

C&B: What is an uncomfortable truth about your industry that few people talk about?

Ilie: Unfortunately, the children’s camp market—the market in which we also operate—is undergoing continuous transformation, and not necessarily in a positive direction. This is only my personal opinion and should be treated as such.

Behavioral patterns are changing at an astonishing speed from one generation to the next.

Social media and the isolation of young people are part of this irreversible process. The confusion between reality and the virtual world seems to be becoming acceptable.

Mountains, nature, and sports of any kind all require a certain level of physical effort.

What is sad is that fewer and fewer children are willing to make the effort necessary to experience the joy of a hike in nature or a ball game with friends. Instant gratification is only one click away.

The real issue is this: parents are part of this transformation as well.

The mountains are a way of life, and I believe each of us has a responsibility to bring them, in one form or another, into our children’s lives.

But perhaps that is a conversation for another time.

Ilie Preda’s story proves that authentic performance is built over time through discipline, patience, and the ability to remain true to one’s values. From mountain expeditions to the development of AdeonaCamps, every stage of his journey reflects the power of consistency and trust-based leadership.

The post Ilie Preda, AdeonaCamps: “Attitude determines altitude. In business, just like in the mountains, every summit has its lessons” appeared first on careers-business.com.

Cosmin Mihăiță is an entrepreneur who transformed his love for football and writing into a marketing agency that tells the beautiful stories of our athletes. Brand Goal was behind the communications for the Golden Generation’s farewell match on May 25, 2024 — an event that broke the attendance record at the National Arena, created waves of emotion beyond imagination, and reached over 12 million Romanians through content created over 7 months. Gică Popescu, Ianis Hagi, Bogdan Stelea, and Ciprian Tătărușanu are among the big names of clients turned lifelong friends through collaboration with Brand Goal.

C&B: How would you describe yourself in a single sentence that would make those who don’t know you curious?
Cosmin Mihăiță: I grew up with Hagi and Popescu, I started loving football thanks to the Golden Generation, and decades later I became part of their team at one of the biggest events in Romania’s history. And although it didn’t seem like a plan, every step I took in my life and in my 15-year career brought me closer to the moment I met my idols and turned them into friends.

C&B: If we were to look at the narrative thread of your career or business, what were the key moments that defined you?
Cosmin Mihăiță: The moments that brought me to where I am now as an entrepreneur happened while I was still an employee. I had three jobs before going on my own, each lasting exactly four years: ProTV (where I was an editor and sports producer) laid the foundation and transformed my passion for football into images; the marketing and communication agency (Making Of & First Content Studio) where I worked afterwards made me realize this was the direction I wanted; and the French real estate group Catinvest, where I was marketing director for four malls, gave me the courage to become an entrepreneur and follow my dream. I returned to sports and built my own agency, and since 2022 I’ve been congratulating myself every day for this decision.

C&B: What has been the most difficult moment so far in your journey, and how did you overcome it?
Cosmin Mihăiță: I read a lot about entrepreneurship and everything that comes with it before I dared to take the leap. I waited long enough—until I was 35—so the difficult moments didn’t feel that difficult anymore, because I already had experience and understood the risks involved. Being sometimes overly optimistic and positive, it’s impossible for me to turn something work-related into a tragedy. There will always be disappointments, tensions, and difficult clients, but the freedom to choose who you work with and the joy of doing only what you love erase any problem and help you get through those tough moments.

C&B: Is there a dream or ambition that has always guided you, no matter the obstacles?
Cosmin Mihăiță: Happiness. I wanted my work to bring me happiness—and I’ve achieved that. I was lucky enough to have only jobs I adored, and I’ve never had a moment where I hated my work, no matter if it meant long hours, sleepless nights for live shows, or events organized in record time. All these jobs led me to the ultimate happiness—having my own business in a field I love and where I see myself for life, having the luxury of making my own schedule, working with and for people like me, while enjoying the results of my work. That’s happiness.

C&B: How did you look at the beginning of your journey, and how do you feel you’ve changed until now?
Cosmin Mihăiță: At the beginning: curious, impatient, enthusiastic, eager to learn every day, and happy.
Now: gray hair, dark circles, and all of the above—but even happier than on day one.

C&B: If we were to meet your team or collaborators, what do you think they would say about you?
Cosmin Mihăiță: They would say it’s obvious from the start how much I love what I do, that I have a talent for bringing people together in beautiful projects and events, that I make friends easily with almost anyone—whether client, collaborator, or supplier—that I put my heart into everything, and that I quickly identify with the client/project so my agency knows exactly how and what to communicate. And so I don’t just say the good things, I think they’d also say I’m a perfectionist even when it’s not necessary, and often on the edge of deadlines with what I/we have to deliver. Sometimes with a bit of adrenaline, but always with success. I think I’ve been chasing this adrenaline since I left TV, where live broadcasts often pushed you to work at the limit, and maybe this pace also comes from the dynamism I’ve absorbed from sports.

C&B: What is the most important decision you’ve made that changed your trajectory?
Cosmin Mihăiță: Although I didn’t realize it at the time, because I couldn’t imagine life without television and was devastated when I had to leave ProTV in 2014 due to restructuring, the shift from TV to marketing and communication proved decisive. I ended up working at an agency where I realized there was something even more beautiful than television: social media. I was among the first managing celebrity accounts, had the honor of growing Gheorghe Hagi’s official page to 1,000,000 fans, was project manager in award-winning campaigns nationally and even at Digi Day Awards in London – Eu Sunt 12, the phenomenon platform created for Romanian supporters – and met people who inspire me to this day and became lifelong friends. ProTV was an extraordinary period, a career start I never dared dream of and created the perfect background for everything that followed. Although I was “infected” with TV and could have continued at another sports channel, I decided to go for a somehow similar but totally new field. I believe the decision to make that “shift” from TV to an agency was the defining moment for me. Probably if I had continued in television, I wouldn’t be an entrepreneur today.

C&B: How did you build your leadership style or decision-making process? Was it natural or learned?
Cosmin Mihăiță: It’s something I’m still learning. Being very passionate about football and wearing the captain’s armband for my professional and amateur teams for years, I had an early idea about leadership associating it with sports and figures like Michael Jordan, but I didn’t transfer it beyond the field. I was inspired by bosses I had in my three jobs and learned from their good qualities to help me manage relationships with my team. It definitely wasn’t a natural process and I’m still not the leader I want to be, but podcasts and books by Gary Vee, Simon Sinek, and Mark Manson help me. You can’t become the leader or person you want overnight, but if you can be 1% better every day, “compound interest” will do the rest. And most importantly, along the journey don’t forget to have fun and be kind to others.

C&B: What do you think differentiates your business or professional approach from the rest of the industry?
Cosmin Mihăiță: I’d start by saying I have experience in all roles within the ecosystem we operate in because I had the chance to see the business from every angle: as a journalist, as an agency person, and also from the client side. I understand very well what each party aims for, what deliverables the client wants, and what content has value to be picked up by the press. I’d continue with creativity, openness, know-how, and connections. I’m not saying only Brand Goal ticks all these boxes, but we’re definitely among the few that have them all.

C&B: What does a typical day look like for you now, and which moments give you the most satisfaction?
Cosmin Mihăiță: I like waking up and making my to-do list for the day—I have an obsession (read “pleasure”) for lists, notes, agendas, reminders and feel that only this way can I start my day well by putting the chaos in my head onto paper or phone. Not having a physical office and working remotely means my days are very different. I like to schedule shoots, meetings, and calls as close as possible to each other to feel I have a truly full day when I leave the door.
I don’t mind having a day full of meetings and shoots from 9 AM to 9 PM because I know I’ve arranged it so the next day I can compensate by staying home, spending time with family, and working from home if needed. That’s the greatest advantage of our field—we can work anytime, anywhere.
When you do what you love, every task brings satisfaction, but if I had to make a top list, it would be events, filming, and meetings at the top. When I’m surrounded by athletes, collaborators, press, and we’re in the middle of action (competition, conference, photo shoot), that’s when I feel best. The hours I spend alone in front of the laptop I’d put at the bottom of the list, although they’re not bad either because writing has always been my favorite and a common thread in my 15-year career so far (12 years as employee, 3 as agency owner).

C&B: What values or principles guide you in what you do, and how do you apply them daily?
Cosmin Mihăiță: Friendship, optimism, and a sense of humor. These may not sound like business values, but they are human values I inherited from my father. I lost my father in 2014, but I carry him every day through the way I approach life and have dedicated a special project to him now in its 11th edition—an annual sports event in his memory, about which I could write pages in an interview like this. I believe these values I grew up with have guided me on the best path in life and brought me everything I have now—from family and friends to projects and passions. First, I was a person, then a colleague, teammate, friend, husband, or entrepreneur.

C&B: How did the idea come to open this business and to give it this name?
Cosmin Mihăiță: When I was at my last job as marketing director at Catinvest, many people close to me told me to return to sports and start my own agency because that’s my calling and I seemed best suited for a business that combines two of my favorite activities: football and writing. I was content, still liked what I did, but didn’t feel fulfilled, and if I didn’t take this step, I would always wonder “what if?” Without any plan or backup, from a purely emotional decision, I gathered courage and resigned, and on the day I turned 35 I woke up an entrepreneur. It was the most beautiful feeling and I still feel it every morning, three years later. The name came naturally—I wanted something that combined communication/branding with an element that suggests sport (GOAL), while keeping the meaning of purpose and mission. Brand Goal still doesn’t have a website, we’ve been found through many other methods and channels so far, but we have an Instagram account @brandgoal.ro, where we share how we play sports marketing with Gică Popescu, Ianis Hagi, and other friends with whom we create content and campaigns we’re proud of.

C&B: If you were to send a message to people who follow your example, what would it be?
Cosmin Mihăiță: Find that thing that makes you happy and that can become your lifelong job. Learn about it daily, have the courage to take risks, don’t fear failure, and experiment as much as possible. Surround yourself with people who inspire you and who also love what they do. If the thing you do now doesn’t bother you even when working on a Sunday, at 2 AM, or even on vacation, then you’re lucky: you’ve found it and only need to nurture it. When you do it from the heart and don’t get bored, the potential is huge and you’ll congratulate yourself every day for trying until you succeed.

Cosmin Mihăiță’s story is proof that passion, perseverance, and courage can turn dreams into reality.

The post Interview with Cosmin Mihăiță – How Brand Goal Transformed the Golden Generation’s Story appeared first on careers-business.com.