A Dream Ahead of Its Time
The larger our dream grew, the more I began to understand that we were not simply building a company. We were trying to create an entirely new concept. And that was precisely what made the difference. A traditional sales representative sold collections. A traditional wholesaler delivered products. A traditional software company developed programs. We wanted to connect all those worlds. It was unusual. And sometimes it was even difficult to explain.
When visitors asked me exactly what Piramedia was, I often had to smile. There was no simple answer.
"We don't sell software."
"Nor do we sell only ceramic tiles."
"We offer a new way to work together."
At first, people sometimes looked at me in amazement. But after visiting the Pyramid, they began to understand what I meant. We wanted an architect to be able to design a complete project. A dealer to be able to calculate a quote immediately. Manufacturers to be able to present their collections digitally. Customers to be able to see the final result before placing their first order. Every link in the chain had to be connected to all the others.
Today, we call that an integrated solution. In the ceramic industry, such thinking was still almost unknown at the time. I remember long evenings when we discussed questions that almost no one was asking then. Not because there was already a clear demand, but because we believed that need would arise one day. How could thousands of tile references be managed efficiently? How could prices be updated automatically? How could errors in quotes and orders be avoided?
How could photographs, technical data, and prices be brought together in a single system? Those were the questions that occupied our days. Very often, we completely lost track of time. Marco, especially, could become entirely absorbed in his work. I can still see him. Behind his computer. Surrounded by stacks of paper.
When he focused on a problem, everything around him seemed to disappear. His coffee grew cold. His sandwich remained untouched. His thoughts were directed toward one thing alone. Finding the solution. He had not learned that from me. It was simply part of him. He wanted to understand. He wanted to improve. He wanted to create. By then, Cristina knew him well. Sometimes she quietly placed a fresh cup of coffee beside him.
Or she gently reminded him that he had not eaten for hours. Marco barely looked up. He smiled and replied:
"Just five more minutes."
We all knew those five minutes could easily last another hour. They were wonderful moments. Not because everything always worked perfectly. Quite the opposite. In the beginning, many things did not work at all. Some ideas proved impossible to carry out. Others required much more time than we had imagined. There were moments when we had to discard weeks of work and begin again from the start. That was part of the path we had chosen. No one became angry about it.
Every setback ultimately brought us one step closer to a better solution. Perhaps that was our team's greatest strength. We were never afraid of making mistakes. We were only afraid of standing still. When I see today how ordinary digital visualizations, online catalogs, automatic quotes, and virtual presentations have become, I often have to smile. Not because I think we invented all of that.
That would not be true. Technology was developing simultaneously in many places. But I find comfort in knowing that, in our Glass Pyramid in Lummen, we were already dreaming of possibilities that would not become widespread until many years later. When I think about it, I feel no regret over missed opportunities. Quite the opposite. It brings me peace, because it reminds me that one does not need to become famous to be a pioneer.
Sometimes the greatest merit lies simply in having the courage to imagine something that others cannot yet see. And in all honesty, I believe that way of thinking runs like a thread through my entire life. From my first experiments in the world of coffee. Through my years in ceramics. And finally with Piramedia. I was never satisfied with the question:
"How do we do it today?"
My real question was always:
"How will we do it tomorrow?"
Perhaps that is why I sometimes took too many risks. Perhaps it is also why I experienced painful setbacks during certain periods of my life. But if I had the opportunity to live it all again... I would ask exactly the same question. Progress is never born from certainty alone. It begins with someone who finds the courage to question what everyone else takes for granted.
It was in that spirit that Piramedia grew. And that is precisely why, despite everything that would still happen in the years that followed, I remain profoundly grateful that together we had the courage to pursue that dream.