Founder · Speaker · Writer
From a garage in
Los Angeles to a
villa in central Italy.
I’m Michael Kovnick. I built Cyberspace HQ, one of the early internet companies, then walked away from tech entirely to start Culture Discovery Vacations, now one of the largest small-group tour operators in Europe, built to give more to the places it visits than it takes.
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Years building CDV
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Countries, two continents
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Guest spend kept local
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Local partner retention
Three ways to work together
Whichever brought you here, I'd love to talk.
“I've spent my life chasing what's missing, first in software, now in travel. The garage taught me how to build. Italy taught me why.”
- Michael Kovnick
The short version
Two lives, one throughline
At 19 I left the Hollywood Hills for a small apartment in Italy. Years later I built Cyberspace HQ out of my garage, one of the earliest internet companies. We won Best of eBusiness at Comdex, survived the dot-com crash, and settled a run of lawsuits that bled us dry. Then I burned out. I sold it all and started renting apartments to Americans who wanted the Italy beyond the tourist trail... almost as a joke. That joke is now Culture Discovery Vacations: one of the largest small-group tour operators in Europe, running across eight countries and built so the places we visit keep more than they give up.
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