Orion Expedition Cruises’ founder Sarina Bratton’s provides life-changing moments for travellers

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Startup Month


Sarina Bratton is an entrepreneur by definition – her drive for business success and her hard-work ethic are just two of her many inspiring traits.

“Orion Expedition Cruises is the second cruise startup I have created. After a visit to the Kimberley on a friend’s super yacht, the beauty, the remoteness, the pristine wilderness and the challenging operational environment it offered, intrigued me.”

Sarina wanted all her family and friends to experience this unique destination. It didn’t take long for her to realise that she needed a specialised, small ship to operate in this region.

“Being able to provide ‘life changing’ moments for our guests is such a rewarding aspect of the business. “We take guests where big ships are unable to travel, plus there is no comfortable air or land alternative apart from chartering your own light plane or chartering your own boat. I also love to provide our staff with the opportunity to grow and expand their careers. Often times I will ‘stretch’ people to give them that opportunity to take the next step.”

Orion, a spacious, purpose-built expedition ship is designed to explore locations that larger ships cannot contemplate, and offers guests attentive five-star service on-board. Just 100 guests are cared for by 75 professional crew.

Three things Sarina wishes she had been told before she started in business:

  1. Never have a shareholder who has control over a major asset of the company.
  2. Ensure you have the right mix of shareholders. This can change at different stages of the company’s development.
  3. Allow more time than you expect in your launch business plan.

Sarina recommends that the main skills and expertise for starting a business are passion and commitment to your vision.

Sarina Bratton’s advice for starting a business:

  1. Be very clear about what is unique about your business. Why will people want to purchase your product instead of a competitors’?
  2. It’s all about revenue – focus on driving the sales hard from day one.
  3. Be prepared to work the hardest you have ever worked for the first three years.

About the Author

HerBusiness (formerly Australian Businesswomen’s Network) is a membership community that provides education, training, resources, mentoring and support for women business owners.