Earth

Not a lot of people master the art of storytelling. We didn't, until we started working with a storytelling coach after coming back from Londolozi. Even then, we still have a long way to go! The ability to relay a message authentically is one of most powerful skills you can have. As a founder, you need to be able to get investors, customers, employees excited enough to want to join you for the journey. How do you do that? Sure, you can show them a powerpoint with numbers. But it's the story you tell that makes the biggest difference. This doesn't mean you have to mimic someone else's way of talking. There are many different ways of being a good storyteller: maybe you're funny, maybe you're serious, maybe you're vulnerable. Try out different things and see what works for you - but invest time in practising this skill and really sharpening it

We always tell our founders to find their 'wild self' or 'inner self' - but what does it actually mean? For us, it means that it's totally okay to be different. 'Weird' is actually how we WANT to show up in the world - we're not interested in fitting in 🤷♂️ For other founders, it will mean different things. But the point is: put in the time to try and find that inner self and truly channel it in the way you present yourself and in the decisions you make.

Last summer, we spent five days at the Londolozi Game Reserve in South Africa - a very special place focused on nature preservation, education - and preserving the ancient art of tracking. We went together with a small group of friends, locked away our phones, aligned our sleep schedule with the circadian rhythm, and immersed ourselves in nature - learning the basics of tracking from two master trackers and how this skill (or call it an art form) can be a guiding life philosophy, following one’s own track toward purpose, and making a difference. It changed our personal lives, how we view the entrepreneurial journey, and our approach to Earth. Read about our time at Londolozi below! 👇

ICYMI: 4 reasons we're optimistic about climate change 🧡 To read our full thoughts, click the link below 👇

How we're applying the theory of Active Hope to Earth 🌎 Rather than getting caught up in doom and gloom, we're choosing to lean into solutions and use the skills and resources we have to help founders take meaningful steps towards fighting our climate crisis .

We fucked up royally. And to some extent, we deserve it. But things will turn around. I know because we see so many entrepreneurs and ideas around us fighting to fix the climate crisis. Those ideas will work. Those moonshots will work. There's something that annoys me though... In 20-30 years, there'll be people who look back on climate change and say "it wasn't AS bad as everyone said it would be". It reminds of Y2K. The “world was about to end” because of software bugs that would turn the year from “99” to “00” (a simplified explanation) and a lot of our software systems were going to break. The majority of people didn’t take it seriously. When the catastrophe didn’t happen as advertised, skeptics thought they were proven right. In reality, Y2K didn't happen as expected engineers - like us at SAP! - worked hard to make sure it didn’t.

"We're climate optimists. Let us preface this by saying that we’re neither naive nor stupid. Just optimistic and full of active hope. We realize we’re up against huge challenges in the climate fight, from humanity’s rabid appetite for oil and gas, to the less globalist, more nationalist movements that have gained momentum in recent times. But there’s a concept called Active Hope, coined by Joanna Macey, and it’s a worldview that we try to practice everyday. It’s about building the resilience and creative power to face the mess that we’re in because what’s at stake is so much larger than our personal wins and losses. It’s easy to fall into despair as a global community about the state of our planet and the home we’re leaving the next generation, but while we may not have all the answers, Active Hope is about leaning into the belief that you can help. You just have to identify what direction you’d like to see change in, what your individual contribution to this positive change will be, and let that guide your actions. Our Active Hope isn’t blind. Here are some of the reasons we’re optimistic about the climate..." For the reasons powering our climate optimism, read below 👇

You might have noticed we've mentioned "copiloting the plane" a lot lately. What does this mean? When shit hits the fan, you need perspective from someone who's already walked in your shoes. You need someone to help you fly the plane. To give you directions if you get lost, point out the warning lights, prepare for you things you might not see on the horizon. For the founders we work with, we want to be that copilot.

Starting a company is hectic. In the early days, your funding could come from anywhere — venture funds, loans, your own bank account or maxing out the credit cards. (We’ve been through all of these!).  One thing we always tell founders raising money is to be very picky about where that money comes from. If your company and vision are going to stay the course, you need to do your homework on who the right investor for you is. Although it's a subjective question – different investors are well-suited towards different people and different companies – there are MANY objective green and red flags to look out for.  We wrote down a few thoughts on how to pick the right investor for you, based on our experience raising capital for our own companies over the last 20 years, supporting our portfolio in fundraising, and providing capital ourselves. Find our thoughts below!

What’s the story behind Atem? Alexandre and Christoph came from two completely different backgrounds. Alex founded a design & development agency, and Christophe co-founded two music streaming services. Around the time of the pandemic, they both felt they wanted to work on something with more impact, more purpose. After a chance meeting at an adventure resilience challenge, Atem began.