Ned Lamont thought he would be a pioneer when he set off earlier this month on his first trip to Iran, but the Connecticut businessman and former politician discovered otherwise when he walked into the Parzian Azadi Hotel in north Tehran.

“I thought we would be like Livingstone,” Lamont told Al-Monitor, referring to the famous 19th century explorer of Africa. But “everybody is already in Iran. There were groups from 20 different countries.”

The founder and chairman of Campus Televideo, which provides video and data services to US colleges, and a former candidate for the US Senate and governor of Connecticut, Lamont joined 21 other Americans in early April for a journey organized by the Young President's Organization and World President's Organization — groups that connect CEOs from around the world.

The trip combined stops at tourist sites in Shiraz, Efahan, Qom and Tehran with pep talks from Iranian officials and business consultants. The Americans’ takeaway: Iranians are anticipating that nuclear-related sanctions will be lifted soon and foreign companies should get ready now to invest and trade with Iran again.