The Waterbear Network

One of the major privileges of being an entrepreneur is to be able to bring people together. I, for the better part of the last two plus years, have been able to do just that. In fact, sometimes I feel like it’s all I do: I puzzle pieces together, bring people together to create something new, something of value to more. 

It’s taken a while - and lots of trials, errors and failures, and then more failures - but through Primal Soles, we have been able to bring ideas to life. What started out as “just another” ordinary student project during my MBA at SDA Bocconi turned out to be one of the Financial Times’ top student-led projects of 2023 with an impact on society and the environment. It brought my absurd idea to the world stage in Davos. 

Today, we have had the privilege to connect InTent for Change, the impact accelerator set up by André Hoffmann and backer of Primal Soles, with The Waterbear Network, the largest platform for impact documentaries. This too did not come easy. 

Back in January, during the annual World Economic Forum held in Davos, we stumbled upon the Climate Hub - a kilometer by walk or so from the SDG Tent where we were guests for the week. My brother and I decided to take the walk through the snow, arduous as it was, yet faster than all the high-level delegates waiting in traffic in their luxury cars with heating (and no splash of melted snow all over your white pants). 

As we were about to leave the Climate Hub, we noticed this poster about the screening of Life on Our Planet and a Q&A afterwards with someone from their team. However exhausted we were - it was the last hour of the last day, day five - we decided to wait another hour for the screening. Jer disappeared into the cinema to sleep while I kept myself alive with whatever I could eat and drink, a skill I mastered having been to Davos the year prior. Very necessary. 

And so the last episode of Life on Our Planet - our favorite Netflix series and a must-read by David Attenborough - was screened in front of our eyes, in Davos, during the WEF, after I gave two speeches on two consequent days, and Jer had just spent his first experience in Davos, a full five days. The film was epic. If we weren’t already inspired to the max this was sure to elevate it to another level. 

As I did every day, as well as in the event just prior to the screening - sitting next to Mirjam Staub-Bisang, Switzerland’s CEO of BlackRock who called me the “marketing expert” at the table after coining the term “pain in the pocket”, I continued my streak of using my voice and started off the Q&A. It became clear that the host, Jonnie Hughes, was no ordinary host. He is the co-producer and co-author of Life on Our Planet together with David Attenborough. He is also a very humble, genius and good person. He also liked our documentary. And so he introduced me to Ellen Windemuth, founder of The Waterbear Network, a platform I had never heard of prior to attending this, what turned out to be life-changing, screening. 

Now, six months later, we are streaming on the world’s number one platform for impact documentaries. You can find the faces of my brother and I on the homepage, right next to Greta Thunberg. It’s all still pretty unreal. Meanwhile, we have plans to expand on our collaboration between InTent and Waterbear and make a series of impact entrepreneurs, starting with our pilot documentary: One Step at a Time. 

Many times in life we just do what’s expected of us. That what is regular. That was is familiar. That what is normal. But our “normal” way of life is flawed. Sure, we can live our lives the way we do. Maybe even buy a pair of Veja’s or some other “sustainable” product to feel good, to follow the crowd, and to, maybe, just maybe, reduce your own negative impact on this planet. But it is the crazy ones, the abnormal ones, the entrepreneurs that put it all on the line, that risk their normal lives to do the extraordinary. We are the ones that risk no income, no pension, no 9-5 security and consistency and - perhaps hardest of all - the mental sanity that is needed to resist all the scared people around us telling us we’re crazy, telling us “that will never work”. 

We, this special group of crazy entrepreneurs, are at the tip of the spear of change. We have always been and always will be the ones risking ourselves towards a better future for all. It’s not much, but combined we have the power to change the world. I, for being able to do this and for being part of this group, feel infinitely privileged. I hold a big debt to all the people that have been with me along the way - from my family and friends to my suppliers, customers, partners, investors and, how can I not forget to mention, all the people that doubted me. I thank you infinitely. Now enjoy the show while we work on tomorrow’s change.