A letter from Boris

My most embarrassing possession is probably the nose hair clipper. I own one. I hide it from my family and only use it when I'm sure they're not around. If you told me as a teenager that one day I would own and use one, I wouldn't have believed you. But here we are. 

The weird thing about facial hair (let's keep it decent and stick only to whatever happens above the neckline) is that one day, you're fine. Then, the next, it seems like all your hair has received a bodywide memo that now is an excellent time to venture out and discover the world.

A few hairs in your eyebrows suddenly feel the urge to turn 90 degrees from where they are supposed to go and start sticking right out. I don't know the function of hair on your ear, apart from the tiny internal ones that vibrate with sound, which allows you to hear stuff. But I don't think that black curly one on my earlobe helps me hear anything. It’s just there, blowing in the wind like a weather vane, adding nothing to my life except unwanted attention. And attention it gets. I know because I notice them in other people.

I used to have one shareholder with disturbingly white nose hair protruding from one nostril. I knew, and I know he knew because whenever we had a particularly hairy issue (oh yeah, I went there) to discuss, he would stare at the ceiling and play with it. Twirl it between his fingers as if he were shaping his moustache. I don't think any of his advice ever reached me, as I was completely transfixed on the one hair, using all my willpower to stop myself from jumping over the table, grabbing him in a chokehold, and pulling that hair right out of him. 

That one shareholder wasn't much help to me as an advisor then, but he did inspire me to set aside my pride and order the infamous nose hair clipper. It came in a small black velvet pouch, which made it seem even more like an erotic device needing discretion. Now, I use it regularly, and afterward, I admire my full Brazilian hairless nostrils in my enlarging hand mirror.

It's amazing how fast life comes at you. One day, you're a carefree teenager; the next, you're a responsible adult with a nose hair clipper. In The Dark Knight, there's the famous line, "You either die a hero or you live long enough to become the villain." I think many companies would do well to have it visibly printed somewhere to remind themselves how easy it is to constantly let things slide, take that shortcut, and make a deal that isn't in line with your values. 

It takes constant attention to be good and to focus on your values. If you don't, you do become the villain, and maybe not officially and legally, but even if just for yourself. As life goes on, you change and become the man who uses a nose hair clipper, and if you don't pay close attention, eventually, you might take the next step and end up the villain.

Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten Founder, TNW

What else we’re writing about

☢️ ITER, set to be the world’s largest experimental fusion reactor, has been delayed yet again. The €25bn megaproject will only switch on in 2034, and start producing energy in 2039. That’s almost a decade later than originally planned. Thirty-five nations including the UK, US, China, and Russia launched ITER in 2006 to demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion power. But startups may end up beating them to it.

⛵ A tiny autonomous sailboat is charting a new course for marine science. UK startup Oshen wants to democratise ocean research by building small solar-powered “seaborn satellites” that sail around the ocean gathering data. The little robots could make marine data acquisition more accessible than ever before.

🇪🇺 The EU has confirmed huge new tariffs for EVs imported from China. From Friday, provisional charges of between 17.4% and 37.6% will be imposed on the vehicles. Beijing may also impose retaliatory measures. Nonetheless, the EU argues that the intervention is essential. So, why is the EU imposing the new tariffs?

🛸 A new EU project plans to expand adventures in the cosmos with a suitably space-age technology: lasers. The INPHOMIR initiative is developing the lasers to enhance spacecraft sensors. By emitting tiny pulses of light, the devices could improve the precision of satellite navigation.

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