George Kozuhovskiy’s story is an inspiring blend of family tradition and innovative business approaches. His great-grandfather was a prominent figure in the transportation sector in Poland, playing a crucial role in developing the railway system. Today, George proudly continues his family’s legacy but on a new level, contributing to the advancement of maritime transport. Excerpts from an interview.
Please share your family’s history and how your great-grandfather influenced your career choice.
My family has always been closely connected to transportation. My great-grandfather was a pioneer in developing the railway system in Poland. He oversaw the construction of railway lines and managed one of the stations, which laid the foundation for the further development of domestic trade and international connections. This story of family pride has always been a source of inspiration for me. I decided to continue the family business but chose maritime transport because I see enormous prospects and potential for innovation in this field.
How did you start your journey in the water transport business?
It all began in 2018 in Venice, Italy. During one of my trips, I noticed how outdated the maritime transport infrastructure was in this historic city and came up with the idea to propose digitising all the docks and launching ticket sales through a mobile app to the Italian government. We signed a contract with the state carrier and began our work in Venice. Since then, we’ve started displaying the real-time location of water buses, provided the option to book private boats, and allowed payments through our app. This was our first successful step. After this launch, we decided to scale our business to the French Riviera and later opened a branch in Florida in the US.
A key moment was meeting Dave Waiser, the CEO of Gett. Through this partnership, we integrated into the Gett Taxi mobile app. Now, in addition to limousines, users could book water transport in cities where our service, Anyships.com, was available. This significantly increased our customer flow, especially in the premium services segment.
Why did you decide to expand your business to the East and choose Dubai?
Dubai is a city with enormous potential, developed infrastructure, and a high volume of tourists. We realised it was the perfect place for further growth. We’ve built a partner network of 120 yachts at owner-direct prices. We aim to set a trend in the market by providing information on actual prices, making the market more transparent and safer for tourists, so they can navigate transparent pricing. Currently, we hold less than 2 per cent of the UAE market, but we have great prospects to capture up to 30 per cent market share.
What are your company’s plans for the near future?
We are actively working on automating our partners’ businesses, implementing online schedules, and want to show tourists the real-time location of vessels. We are also heavily involved in organising industry events and promoting water tourism routes. Our plans include acquiring 100 yachts in various locations around the world, with at least half based in Dubai. After all, it’s the dream of almost anyone to own a yacht in Dubai, or at least take a ride on one.
