(They say curiosity killed the cat. This one got smarter.)
When I graduated from university in 2016, I did not set out with a five-year plan or a corporate ladder in mind. I started with something much simpler. A love for stories and a hunger to learn.
That first role at Libri–Bookline, Hungary’s largest book retailer, felt like a natural beginning. I had spent my life reading, so working with books was both familiar and inspiring. It was more than a first job. It was a training ground. I learned how marketing really works in practice, how customer experience shapes loyalty, and how operations run when you are serving people at scale.
Books were still at the center, but I started to see the bigger picture. Every campaign told a story. Every decision left an impact on how people experienced the brand. I realised that storytelling and business were not separate skills. They could work together.
The slight shift to digital
As my career developed, I felt the pull toward the digital space. It was a world where creativity and technology constantly collided, and where the pace of change demanded both quick thinking and long-term vision. I joined Amplifon first, a company dedicated to improving hearing care worldwide.
At Amplifon, my focus was on building stronger connections between people and the solutions that could change their daily lives. Hearing loss is often invisible, and the journey to getting help can be deeply personal. My role involved more than just creating marketing campaigns. It meant understanding the emotional side of healthcare, shaping messages that built trust, and delivering them across multiple channels in a way that felt human, not corporate. I worked closely with cross-functional teams to improve the customer journey, from the very first point of contact to the moment a client stepped into a clinic.
Later, I joined MSD, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, where the stakes felt even higher. Here, digital strategy was not just about brand awareness or customer engagement. It was about making critical healthcare information accessible to the people who needed it most. I led projects that streamlined how information reached doctors, patients, and caregivers, making it easier for them to make informed decisions.
At MSD, I also learned how to navigate the complexity of working within a global organisation while tailoring strategies to local markets. I collaborated with medical experts, marketers, data analysts, and regulatory teams, each bringing a unique perspective but all working toward the same goal: better healthcare outcomes.
Both experiences reinforced the same lesson. In digital strategy, tools and platforms matter, but people matter more. Technology is only as powerful as the empathy behind it. Whether it was helping someone hear their grandchild’s voice for the first time or giving a patient the information they needed to start treatment, the work had real impact. And that is what keeps me in the game.
I feel like I cannot be grateful enough for these opportunities. Working alongside some of the most talented and passionate people I have ever met has left a lasting mark on me. It was not just about the projects or the results. It was about the generosity of colleagues who shared their knowledge, challenged my thinking, and pushed me to grow in ways I did not expect. A special thank you for Kinga Kawaa, Katalin Stiegler and Soma Karpati.
Freelancing alongside the corporate path
In 2017, I took on my first freelance project. It was small, but it gave me a sense of creative freedom that I could not ignore. One project became another, and before long freelancing became a steady companion to my full-time career.
Freelancing felt like stepping into a completely different world compared to the corporate environment. In the office, processes are established, resources are available, and teams are built to support a shared vision. There is structure, stability, and the comfort of knowing that you are part of a larger machine. Freelancing is the opposite. You are the entire machine. There is no IT department to fix your laptop when it crashes in the middle of a deadline. No legal team to approve the contract you just drafted. No colleague down the hall to brainstorm with when you hit a creative wall. You learn to wear every hat. Strategist. Designer. Project manager. Negotiator. Accountant.
This difference taught me a kind of resourcefulness that corporate life rarely demands. It also sharpened my decision making. In freelancing, every choice has an immediate consequence, good or bad. If you misjudge a budget, it comes out of your pocket. If you communicate poorly, the relationship suffers instantly. The feedback loop is shorter, and the accountability is absolute. Yet freelancing also gave me the space to experiment in ways that corporate roles often cannot. I could test new tools, try unconventional ideas, and adapt instantly without waiting for layers of approval. I worked with clients from industries I had never touched before, which broadened my understanding of how strategy works in different contexts.
Perhaps the biggest difference is the closeness to the work. In freelancing, you often see the direct impact of what you do. You hand over a campaign and watch the client’s excitement. You help define a brand voice and hear it come to life in their first public launch. These moments are immediate and personal in a way that large scale corporate achievements rarely are.
Balancing both worlds has been one of the most rewarding parts of my career. The corporate side taught me scale, process, and the power of collaboration. Freelancing taught me independence, agility, and the art of building something from scratch. Together, they have made me a more complete professional and a more adaptable human being.
What these all mean for me
They say curiosity killed the cat. In my case, curiosity built the career, paid for the flights, and kept the ideas flowing. Every role, every project, every client was an experiment. Some worked. Some did not. But each one made me sharper. From bookshelves to digital platforms, from corporate offices to solo client meetings, the core has remained the same. I work at the intersection of purpose, performance, and curiosity. And like any cat worth its whiskers, I plan to keep exploring.
