A conversation with Hector Hughes, co-founder of Unplugged
🎥 Watch the full conversation on YouTube
Introduction
Some sessions give you tips. This one gave us space.
We sat down with Hector Hughes, co-founder of Unplugged, a company helping people take three-day digital detoxes in off-grid cabins. What started as a response to burnout has become a quiet but growing business that encourages presence over performance.
Hector talked about what it’s really like to build something that matters. Not the highlight reel. The actual experience. The doubt, the calm, the messy middle.
This conversation wasn’t about making millions. It was about staying in the game and finding meaning in the work along the way.
Who is Hector Hughes?
A few years ago, Hector was burnt out, over-connected, and ready for a reset. After taking a break in a monastery (yes, really), he came back with a new sense of what mattered.
Unplugged started with one cabin, one email list, and one big idea:
Maybe we all need a bit of space to remember who we are.
Hector didn’t come from a hospitality background. Or a branding one. He just knew what burnout felt like, and what helped. So he built that thing for others.
Key learnings from the session
1. Staying in business is harder than starting one
Starting is exciting. Staying is where the work is. There were moments when bookings didn’t come. Others when demand was high but operations were tough.
The challenge wasn’t just growth , it was choosing the right kind of growth.
2. You don’t need to wait until it’s perfect
The first version of Unplugged was scrappy. The cabins weren’t always quite ready. The emails weren’t refined. But they shipped it anyway.
And they learned quickly because they were close to the customer.
3. Not everything has to scale
This line came up a few times:
“Just because something works, doesn’t mean you need to do more of it.”
Some things are allowed to stay small, or specific, or handmade.
Saying no is just as important as saying yes.
4. Your values show up in the small stuff
How you respond to emails. How you build your team? How you deal with a burst pipe or a bad day.
For Unplugged, care isn’t just in the brand, it’s in the day-to-day choices.
5. A team that cares makes all the difference
Hector spoke about the people behind Unplugged with so much respect. Not just because they’re talented, but because they’re kind.
Shared values, clear communication, and space to breathe, that’s what keeps them going.
Favourite moments
A few quotes that stayed with us:
“We didn’t know what we were doing , but we cared deeply.”
“Staying in business is about learning how to keep showing up.”
“It’s okay to do less. But make it matter more.”
Conclusion
If you’re building something that doesn’t always feel easy or certain, you’re not alone.
This session was a quiet reminder that the goal isn’t to explode overnight.
The goal is to keep going.
To care.
To stay close to the reason you started.