Imagine living half the year cycling the picturesque Tuscan countryside, savoring authentic Italian cuisine, and welcoming travelers to experience the trip of a lifetime—and then spending the remaining months back home in Melbourne, catching up with family, friends, and the city’s vibrant coffee scene. For entrepreneur Nancy De Losa, founder of boutique cycling tour company A’qto, this lifestyle isn’t just wishful thinking; it’s her everyday reality.
Nancy’s deep passion for cycling, travel, and Italian culture became the foundation for her successful boutique cycling business, which she now runs alongside her husband. Driven by their shared love of Italy, they took a leap of faith and purchased a 900-year-old apartment within a historic palazzo in Gaiole in Chianti, Tuscany—a property they carefully restored to create an authentic home base in the heart of wine country. Today, Nancy gracefully navigates the unique challenges and joys of dividing her time between Tuscany’s tranquil hills and Melbourne’s bustling city life, illustrating what’s possible when you blend ambition with adventure.
More importantly, Nancy reveals how adopting a slower-paced, more intentional approach to living—one she learned firsthand from the Italian way of life—has helped her find genuine work-life harmony.
Check out our full interview with Nancy below.
Nancy De Losa, Founder of A’qto
What inspired you to take the leap from a traditional career path to founding A’qto, and how did you manage the transition while maintaining financial security?
Nancy De Losa: I always had an entrepreneurial spirit. I grew up with parents who owned their own business, so I had that modelling. Then, earlier in my career, when working for larger organisations, I’d always seek out start-up-style initiatives or incubator-style projects to be a part of. As my career progressed, I worked alongside some inspiring founders and entrepreneurs across various types of businesses for over 15 years, where I often played a key role in helping translate their vision into a brand and business strategy at the marketing and communications level.
However, it was when I met Damian and we travelled to Italy together that an inner guide or wisdom came to me, saying, “We could build something together here,” and it felt so natural to take the leap. I couldn’t ignore it, even though it felt daunting and came at a time when I was loving my career. Damian had already founded A’qto as a cycling apparel business, so we had a great foundation to build from in terms of brand and an existing client base.
In the early years, I continued consulting to assist through the financial transition and the build phase of our business, particularly as we transitioned it from a cycling apparel business to an Italian cycling tours business. In the process, I bought a property.
Running a business across two continents must present unique challenges. How do you maintain work-life boundaries when your business is so deeply intertwined with your lifestyle?
Nancy De Losa: Maintaining work-life boundaries certainly is one of our biggest challenges, but we are both very mindful of it and aware of what we each need to do to manage these boundaries. It’s important to both of us to have enough time and space to maintain our physical wellbeing—whether that be Damian going for a ride in Italy or a surf or SUP in Australia, and me going for a walk or swim, or doing a session of Pilates or yoga.
We’re also both very focused on our personal development, so allowing time and space for this in our days is important, whether we’re in Australia or Italy.
Can you share the story of purchasing and restoring your 900-year-old apartment in Tuscany? What lessons in patience and perseverance did this teach you?
Nancy De Losa: Purchasing our property in Tuscany was one of those moments along our journey where everything aligned. There’s a famous cycling event in our hometown in Gaiole in Chianti called L’Eroica, which Damian first rode in 2014. This event, and a subsequent blog Damian wrote about the experience, was the catalyst for us starting our cycling tours business in Tuscany, with a tour around L’Eroica as our first tour. After coming here for a few years and using it as our base in between tours, we had established strong relationships and connections with many of the locals.
However, it was only in 2018 that we came to understand the extent of the vision of L’Eroica as an event and as a global brand, and its home in Chianti as a major cycling destination to be further developed, that we realised this was where we wanted to live. We mentioned our intention to buy a property to a friend, and she offered us the chance to buy an apartment with a garden in a 900-year-old palazzo in the centro storico (historic centre) that had been in her family for over 100 years. This is quite rare for Italian families to do, and so at once, we decided this was an opportunity we needed to take up.
The process of purchasing and then restoring our home and garden has certainly been a lesson in patience and perseverance because, in Italy, everything takes time. While at times it can be frustrating, it’s a beautiful reminder that in life, everything actually happens exactly when it’s supposed to. So with that, we remind ourselves to embrace and enjoy the journey.
How has embracing the Italian approach to life influenced your business philosophy and leadership style?
Nancy De Losa: It has mostly taught me to slow down, to sleep on decisions and not make them too quickly, and most of all, to trust my intuition. I think that when we take our time and allow the natural flow of events to unfold, rather than try to force them, we make much better business and life decisions and lead others around us with a greater sense of openness and wisdom.
I’m not sure if it’s age, life experience, living in Italy, or all of the above, but certainly trusting in the flow of life has become a much larger part of how I live, run a business, and lead others around me.
What’s your strategy for building and maintaining client relationships when you’re splitting your time between two countries?
Nancy De Losa: Most of our client relationship management is online, and while I’m a big believer in the value of face-time, I also believe that we can nurture strong personal connections online. I’m not sure that maintaining good client relationships is so much about the method of communication as it is about how you remain open to people and share your views and experiences as part of any interaction.
When we are in Australia, we often enjoy catching up with our highly valued repeat clients, and this is always a great experience—whether that be Damian joining guests for a ride, me sharing a walk or a coffee, or both of us enjoying an aperitivo with a small group. After all, when we’ve spent seven days with like-minded people, year after year, there are always some clients with whom we develop more personal relationships, and we value these greatly.
How do you and your husband navigate being both life and business partners? What boundaries have you set to make this dynamic successful?
Nancy De Losa: We are both very self-aware and know when we need to give each other space. We also both have huge respect for each other—as people and life partners first, and then as business partners—and in this capacity, we respect what we each bring to the relationship and business. We are very different people, and we are constantly learning to appreciate our differences and complementary skills and personalities.
Ultimately, it takes being respectful of each other, and I think we navigate this well. We also both have our own individual interests, and we give each other space to enjoy these.
How do you maintain your mental health and prevent burnout while managing seasonal intensive work periods in Italy?
Nancy De Losa: By creating space for myself. I love to go for big walks in nature, I enjoy morning yoga, and I love to journal. When I’m off tour, I make time to enjoy all of these activities most days. I know that these are my ‘go-tos’ to help me navigate through intensely busy periods, both mentally and physically. They ground me. I also make sure that I eat really well and enjoy very simple, healthy food. After 7–9 days on tour, enjoying the incredible food and wine that we have the opportunity to experience, it’s important for me to strike a balance.
What advice would you give to women entrepreneurs who dream of building a business around their passion but fear it’s not practical?
Nancy De Losa: Follow your heart. I think that so often we are caught up in our heads, and we create limiting beliefs for ourselves that stop us from achieving our dreams. I have learned that when we let go of our limiting beliefs, cultural expectations, and the voices inside our head that tell us it’s not possible (which is not easy, I know), it is incredible to experience what opens up before you. It is about having the courage to take the leap despite the fear, believing in yourself, and following your heart.
Somebody said to me once, “This life we’re living is not a dress rehearsal,” and I live by that. Life is for living.
How has your definition of success evolved since starting A’qto, and how does it differ between your Australian and Italian lifestyles?
Nancy De Losa: I have definitely grown to realise that success is about being mentally and physically healthy. It’s about the quality of our relationships and connections, and it’s about showing up and aiming to be a better person every day. It’s much less about how much and what we have.
Could you share your morning routine in both countries and how it sets the tone for your day?
Nancy De Losa: My morning routine includes a 15–20 minute yoga session followed by a coffee and conversation ritual with Damian. This is definitely my favourite part of the day, as it sets me up with a beautiful sense of self-care and openness, before moving into an hour or so of sharing ideas, reflections, and plans for the day with Damian over delicious coffee.
What’s been your biggest challenge in scaling a boutique travel business while maintaining its intimate, personalized nature?
Nancy De Losa: Maintaining the energy levels to do it all. We need to be very mindful of striking the balance between work and personal life, giving our time to others while preserving our energy for ourselves and each other, balancing rest and activity, and doing enough without doing too much. It is a continuous balancing act.
How do you approach personal growth and professional development while managing such a unique lifestyle business?
Nancy De Losa: Personal growth and development is a natural part of my everyday life. I read a lot, I enjoy professional and personal conversations with a range of different people, I seek out support and guidance from mentors, and I journal. I find that journaling connects me with my inner wisdom, and when combined with the conversations I have daily and the very natural personal growth experienced when living in another country and travelling, it is in this space that I experience my greatest learning.
Looking back, what would you tell your younger self about taking risks and creating a life that aligns with your values?
Nancy De Losa: Listen to your inner wisdom and be brave in following its guidance. Taking risks is never easy, but I absolutely believe that when you find the courage to take action, you are rewarded.
There’s a beautiful quote from Rumi that says, “As you start to walk on the way, the way appears. Clarity doesn’t come before action. It comes from action.”
Lastly, is there a specific mantra, quote, or affirmation that you hold close to your heart?
Nancy De Losa: Fortune favours the brave.
Emily Sprinkle, also known as Emma Loggins, is a designer, marketer, blogger, and speaker. She is the Editor-In-Chief for Women's Business Daily where she pulls from her experience as the CEO and Director of Strategy for Excite Creative Studios, where she specializes in web development, UI/UX design, social media marketing, and overall strategy for her clients.
Emily has also written for CNN, Autotrader, The Guardian, and is also the Editor-In-Chief for the geek lifestyle site FanBolt.com
