Founders Valley: 100 days, 10 countries, 1 different person.
After 18 years in management, I longed for new impressions in 2017. Fittingly, exactly then came an interesting request from the broadcaster “Deutsche Welle” for the “Founders Valley” format. The idea was simple: travel 100 days through 10 countries in Asia and in each country one of the 17 UN sustainability goals as a thematic hook for meetings with entrepreneurs.
From today's perspective, I can say that it was both good and naive to simply agree. Because the experiences were extreme. Maybe even the most extreme ones in my life so far. For better or for worse. Because in every country there were innumerable reasons to lose hope in humanity and the future of the planet.
But in every country, to the same extent, there were plenty of reasons for hope. In the form of founders who take on the challenges of their country and thus also the UN sustainability goals.
This entrepreneurial spirit has inspired me to subordinate all of my entrepreneurial activities to a simple mission: Build something the planet needs.
Watch all the episodes of „Founders Valley“:
Episode 1: Mongolia
In the first episode I meet inspiring founders who benefit from global markets and want to make their dreams come true.
Episode 2: Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of the most expensive cities in the world and I have been researching what future solutions for increasingly dense cities could look like.
Episode 3: Taiwan
Taiwan got rich from electrical engineering, and I speak to founders about the positive and negative effects of technology.
Episode 4: Malaysia
This episode is about the increasing energy demand in Malaysia and the urge of young founders for alternatives.
Episode 5: Singapur
What does the future of medicine look like? Looking for visionary answers, I meet entrepreneurs in Singapore.
Episode 6: Indonesia
Indonesia is not growing enough to feed the exploding population. But a few young and innovative founders have solutions to the problem.
Episode 7: Bangladesh
In one of the poorest countries in the world I encounter brutal working conditions and optimistic founders who want to advance their country.
Episode 8: Indonesia
In Bali I am learning a lot about the value and the struggle for water on this beautiful Indonesian island.
Episode 9: India
In a country that is drowning in plastic waste, I meet visionary founders who are tackling the waste crisis and want to fight for a clean India.
Episode 10: India
In this episode I meet entrepreneurs who have developed visionary ideas for combating climate change in response to global warming.
My favorite place: Outside
Building something new takes energy. I like to recover in nature. While surfing, paragliding or just doing nothing.
