Intro
Reading time: approx. 15 min. The Progress of Thinking: 7 questions / 49 answer / 1 realization
Thinking informs our actions. It was only when humans, in the Age of Enlightenment, began to think differently about the world and themself, when they freed theirself from the idea of an unalterable destiny, that the French Revolution was able to happen – and bring with it a fundamental change in society.
Only when one has thought of a type of locomotion that was not based on muscle power or wind, the “automobile” – later known as the “car” – could be constructed. Virtually everything that determines our daily actions now is based on the possibility of rethinking the world and on changing our intellectual perspective.
Here are seven personalities from the startup scene who have dedicated themselves to the power of new thinking. Their seven answers to our seven questions show that not only do they reinvent things, they put them in the context of their environment, linking the big picture to concrete action. They have a clear view of the future, while always remembering that progress does not happen in a vacuum – it requires values and convictions to give it direction.
Fazit
REALIZATIONNobody can deny that we are facing some major challenges. Many of the things that we have become accustomed to over the decades are now in question; many of the things that seemed clear and unambiguous have long since become contradictory. And yet it would be wrong to see this lack of orientation as being our destiny. After all, things that seem like a problem from one perspective often unlock opportunities and solutions from a different perspective. The way we perceive and shape the world rests in our hands.
To find the best solutions for the future, we must rely on the power and creativity of new thinking. The startups presented here are excellent examples of this philosophy. They demonstrate that there is always an alternative – that anything can be reworked if we first think about it in a radically different way.
More information:
CELLBRICKS
Individually adapted replacement organs from the 3D printer.
WUSOA
Efficient stirring and mixing of fluids and liquids - based on the principle of duck feet.
PREMIUM
Caffeine-Rich Coke - with anti-quantity discount and successful mission impossible.
EUROPEAN DEMOCRACY LAB
A think tank dedicated to developing innovative ideas for Europe.
MINIMIC
High-resolution microscope, developed by the intuity media lab.
OWNHOME
An open-source Tinyhouse, independent of public water and electricity.
LIVIN HIVE
The world's first mealworm farm for private use.
CELLBRICKS
CELLBRICKSLutz Kloke is a biotechnologist at the Technical University of Berlin, and founder and CEO of Cellbricks – a biotech startup also based in the German capital.
Cellbricks is a startup that has developed a 3D printer for human tissue. Its aim is to use this bioprinter to produce individually adapted artificial organs so that people are no longer dependent on donor organs.
1. What values are most important to you in your company/project?
I think it is important to combine an innovative topic with a wider benefit; to develop an idea that resonates with people; to create a value that goes beyond the pure object itself.
2. Why do you think the topic you’re working on will become relevant on a global scale?
There are more and more people in the world and they are all getting older, so we urgently need new types of therapy. 3D printing opens the possibility of fast, patient-specific therapy. That’s why I’m confident that bioprinting will become a part of everyday medical practice.
3. What does it take to break new ground?
A combination of courage and freedom. From a social point of view, it requires an environment that favors such actions; in other words, a society that is forward-thinking and permits innovation. On an individual level, it takes courage to break new ground and unlock new opportunities.
4. What are the greatest mistakes of our time?
We are relatively “technology-minded” – but not all problems can be solved through planned development of new technology. In many cases, we do not understand the deeper mechanisms of nature yet, or we have only a limited understanding. The idea that our current technical understanding is adequate may be attractive, but it is often mistaken.
5. What makes you happy and what could possibly bring you happiness in the future?
It’s the little things that make life easy to enjoy. Good experiences with the people closest to me make me happiest.
6. What do you think is the biggest opportunity offered by digitalization?
The ability to empower individuals. Digitalization offers a huge toolbox that can help you turn an idea into a reality, unlocking many more opportunities for individuals. It is therefore both an opportunity and a risk.
7. How do you handle setbacks?
Obviously, setbacks don’t make me happy. I probably get as frustrated and annoyed as most people. What helps me the most is tenacity and Oliver Kahn’s mantra “Keep going!”
PREMIUM
PREMIUMUwe Lübbermann is the founder and main moderator of the Premium Collective, as well as a sought-after consultant in the implementation of consensual democratic elements in companies and government organizations.
Premium is a company that does business in a very different way: There are no written contracts, no logo and no boss. It offers an anti-volume discount and everyone involved has a veto right. It may sound self-defeating but it has developed into a very successful beverage manufacturer.
1. What values are most important to you in your company/project?
Equality for everyone. That’s why Premium has no boss – all our decisions are made by consensus. If you take this value seriously, it also means that you have to abandon the idea of making a profit ultimately. After all, a profit can only be generated if you put pressure on suppliers, increase prices for customers or pay employees less.
2. Why do you think the topic you’re working on will become relevant on a global scale?
I want to prove that a different business culture is possible – even with the number one capitalist drink, cola. A business culture that is about moving forward together. These days, some individuals accumulate unlimited resources while others have too little to live on. If we do not develop alternatives now, prosperity, democracy and the entire planet will collapse around us.
3. What does it take to break new ground?
Start. Just start.
4. What are the greatest mistakes of our time?
It is a common misconception that structures based on trust, community and co-determination are less stable than structures based on fixed contracts and hierarchies. I experience a lot more reliability and stability when I work with satisfied partners who collaborate on a voluntary basis and who can have a say at any time. We now have 1,680 partners – and there are no written contracts with any of them. And how many legal disputes do you think we’ve had so far? Not a single one.
5. What makes you happy and what could possibly bring you happiness in the future?
Some time ago, I gave a presentation to the government of the United Arab Emirates about what a better economy might look like. We then played a game of consensus: In a shared house for six people, the rooms are all different: One is cold, the other is small, the third is a connecting room and so on. Now you have to agree who gets which room. They all laughed, of course, and said that in real life they would just buy the whole house. But they understood the idea. And while they were talking, I looked out over Dubai and thought: I’ve been invited here to teach the sheiks about consensual democracy. How cool is that?
6. What do you think is the biggest opportunity offered by digitalization?
The democratization of knowledge, access and information. The ability to find like-minded people and supporters much easier.
7. How do you handle setbacks?
Keep going.
MINIMIC
MINIMICMarkus Turber is the founder and managing director of Intuity Media Lab, where he was responsible for development of the MiniMic.
MiniMic is a high-resolution microscope that can automatically detect diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis. It was developed by Intuity Media Lab.
1. What values are most important to you in your company/project?
The key idea behind Intuity is to provide a wonderful home for extraordinary people like thinkers, inventors, creators – in other words, for innovators from a wide range of disciplines who have a passion for their work and an entrepreneurial spirit. We firmly believe that under these conditions, a new generation of better ideas, products, services and businesses will flourish. And this is necessary! Not just because of climate change, but also for governance of other transformation processes – like digitalization in the life sciences sector or the transition to sustainable agriculture and mobility; we urgently need new visions that will lead us to desirable solutions.
2. Why do you think the topic you’re working on will become relevant on a global scale?
Our invention MiniMic is a relatively cost-effective automatic microscope. It allows users to train and automate analyses using artificial intelligence. For example, the MiniMic is already able to detect malaria and tuberculosis. Some 220 million malaria tests are carried out each year. Rapid diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis could help us to completely eradicate this disease. In reality, it is once again on the rise worldwide and multiresistant germs are becoming a problem.
3. What does it take to break new ground?
A team of people from different disciplines who want to forge a path together – and who are allowed to do this and see it through. We call this a “guiding coalition.” A smart team can set off in the wrong direction and still get to the goal because it learns and can quickly implement what it has learned. But this approach requires a relatively large degree of freedom and good communication.
4. What are the greatest mistakes of our time?
We need to stop trying to meet 21st-century challenges and desires with a 19th-century world view and 20th-century processes. It is becoming increasingly apparent that our current strategies will not work in the long term, for ecological, social and economic reasons.
5. What makes you happy and what could possibly bring you happiness in the future?
My confidence that the future will be a good one by and large, makes me happy. When things are working! And like most people, if my own frame of mind is positive and if the people close to me are doing well.
6. What do you think is the biggest opportunity offered by digitalization?
Despite the enormous concentration of power among digital companies, there is huge potential. The biggest opportunity would be if we could correct questionable developments and establish mechanisms to make this potential available to all regions, citizens and businesses if possible – ideally, this would not just be by the use of / by using pre-built services and apps, but also by enabling people to become competent designers of their own environment.
7. How do you handle setbacks?
I try again. ;-) But seriously: As a designer, it is normal that your counterpart does not always immediately think your ideas and designs are great. My attitude is trying to take criticism seriously and, above all, to be self-critical. I am firmly convinced that it is worthwhile to understand deeper motivations and reasoning. If you realize that you haven’t understood something yet, you just have to go back and look at it again.
WUSOA
WUSOAMartin Falger invented the bionic agitator and is managing director of wusoa GmbH.
The agitator developed by wusoa GmbH requires just 20% of the energy used by state-of-the-art agitators. The trick? The developers were inspired by the flow and displacement behavior of duck feet.
1. What values are most important to you in your company/project?
Creativity, development, honesty, trust, personal growth.
2. Why do you think the topic you’re working on will become relevant on a global scale?
All over the world, more and more value is being placed on energy efficiency, and this is exactly where our bionic agitator comes in. With energy savings of 80% compared to conventional agitator technology, there are huge savings to be made in energy consumption in the food and chemical industry as well as in biogas and wastewater treatment plants. Our product enables us to make a relevant contribution to save resources.
3. What does it take to break new ground?
Courage and belief in change – as well as people to support you.
4. What are the greatest mistakes of our time?
That many people think we can continue as we have always done; the current or rather the imposed concept of democracy; the opinion that industrial agriculture feeds the world and that our education system is good for young people’s futures.
5. What makes you happy and what could possibly bring you happiness in the future?
My own little universe. Living with my partner and our three children in a biosphere reserve. And the moment we can claim that the bionic agitator is successfully positioned in the market.
6. What do you think is the biggest opportunity offered by digitalization?
That it enables rapid change, and (hopefully) a positive one ultimately.
7. How do you handle setbacks?
I am an optimist quintessentially, which makes setbacks less painful. That’s fine for me, but what about other people? In these situations, the immediate project environment but also your family background can be a challenge. You will not unleash your true potential for development until you tackle this with an attitude of understanding.
OWNHOME
OWNHOMEKlemens Jakob is the initiator of OwnHome and lives in one of these small, self-built homes.
ownhome is a tiny house (18 m²) developed on an open-source model, which functions independently of the public water supply, sewage system and power supply.
1. What values are most important to you in your company/project?
Solidarity because we are connected to nature and people, and only together we can shape a future worth living.
Creativity because there is a great deal of creative potential waiting to be used for developing future-proof solutions.
Perception because we are already using our perception to shape the world around us in creative ways.
Creativity because there is a great deal of creative potential waiting to be used for developing future-proof solutions.
Perception because we are already using our perception to shape the world around us in creative ways.
2. Why do you think the topic you’re working on will become relevant on a global scale?
Because resource consumption is already an extremely important issue globally and it is becoming more important every day.
3. What does it take to break new ground?
New values and a new perception. When we view ourselves as a living part of nature, egotism and nature conservation are the same thing. When we perceive ourselves as being connected to the world around us, this world is just as important to us as we are to ourselves.
4. What are the greatest mistakes of our time?
Our greatest mistake is adhering to the principle that “If something is good, then more of it must be better.”
“Time is money” is another great mistake. Because time is life.
And we are wrong to believe that we own things. We own nothing – the things own us.
5. What makes you happy and what could possibly bring you happiness in the future?
Growth ;-) By which I mean human growth, not the material one. When I have an opportunity to experience new things, when I discover new skills and qualities in myself. When I can see the people close to me developing and I can help them realize their potential.
6. What do you think is the biggest opportunity offered by digitalization?
The dissemination of knowledge and experience, and the networking of initiatives.
7. How do you handle setbacks?
Setbacks are only ever setbacks from a certain perspective. I try to turn setbacks into new challenges by changing my point of view.
EUROPEAN DEMOCRACY LAB
EUROPEAN DEMOCRACY LABUlrike Guérot is the founder of the European Democracy Lab in Berlin and Professor for European Politics and the Study of Democracy at the Danube University Krems.
The European Democracy Lab is a think tank established to fundamentally rethink the future of Europe. It pursues a vision of a European republic with regions as its constitutive units, rather than nation states.
1. What values are most important to you in your company/project?
In a very classical sense, the heart of the European republic is the heritage of the European Enlightenment: freedom, equality, fraternity – today, the latter means solidarity. All debates about tolerance, openness, equality, minorities and identities, social justice, etc. can be subsumed under these terms. The European Democracy Lab wants to bring these values into the discourse of European politics: For example, European citizens still do not enjoy equal rights in elections, taxes or social matters. No European democracy and political union can ever work like this.
2. Why do you think the topic you’re working on will become relevant on a global scale?
Because the division of the world into nation states that increasingly compete against each other – over trade, currency and resources – cannot function as the future model of the international world of states in the 21st century. We are witnessing a trend of regionalization and urbanization and must link these smaller units together in a global, decentralized agora.
3. What does it take to break new ground?
A new way of thinking and the courage to see things through, even in the face of resistance. Galileo-style: And yet it moves!
4. What are the greatest mistakes of our time?
The belief that property makes you happy and love causes pain.
5. What makes you happy and what could possibly bring you happiness in the future?
The work we do in the lab is extremely meaningful – we are literally building a new Europe. These ideas really resonate with people and the work makes me very happy, even though everyone involved works a great deal for little money. I believe that there is nothing and nobody that can make happy – you can only be happy, like after reading a good book or enjoying a good yoga session. Happiness comes from within, not from external factors. But I would be delighted to have grandchildren, for example.
6. What do you think is the biggest opportunity offered by digitalization?
Global networking, specifically “people to people” not “state to state” networking, which gives us the opportunity to move one step closer to the world citizenship envisaged by Immanuel Kant as we make our way through the third millennium. But like any technology, digitalization also has its “flip side,” in a similar way to the atomic bomb, where there are still struggles over civilian or military use.
7. How do you handle setbacks?
Get up. Keep going. But if possible, don’t fall into the same trap twice.
LIVINHIVE
LIVIN HIVEKatharina Unger is the founder of LIVIN farms that sells the Hive Explorer mealworm farm that she developed.
Livin Hive is a mealworm farm for private use. Food waste serves as food for the mealworms, which can then be “harvested” themselves as a high-quality protein source.
1. What values are most important to you in your company/project?
“Empowering people to co-create lives that are healthy for the people and sustainable for the planet” – that is our vision. To bring this vision to life, we adhere to the following guiding principle in our mission: “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” (Einstein) We believe in taking radically new approaches to achieve systemic effects through our business. We are not just replacing one protein with another; we are also introducing new systems of production and distribution.
2. Why do you think the topic you’re working on will become relevant on a global scale?
We have already lost 30% of the world’s fertile land area. And the trend is continuing: Climate change and the construction of infrastructure around the world are reducing the land area that we can use to grow food. Simultaneously, organic waste accounts for 8% of global warming. Industrial agriculture is the largest polluter of our oceans and land. We need protein sources that are less dependent on land area and that ideally can also be farmed using waste materials, as it is possible with insects.
3. What does it take to break new ground?
Plenty of courage and a great deal of perseverance. As Edison said: “Success is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.”
4. What are the greatest mistakes of our time?
That we should subdue the planet in order to succeed as a species. This mistake is now catching up with us. If we do not start working together globally with the planet and other creatures very soon, the consequences could be fatal.
5. What makes you happy and what could possibly bring you happiness in the future?
To have a positive global impact on people and the planet, and, hopefully, - making the people around me who are closest to me or work with me, happy.
6. What do you think is the biggest opportunity offered by digitalization?
Global knowledge exchange and creating opportunities for groups and people who have been at a disadvantage so far.
7. How do you handle setbacks?
Learn. Keep going.
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The Progress of Thinking:
Only when one has thought of a type of locomotion that was not based on muscle power or wind, the “automobile” – later known as the “car” – could be constructed. Virtually everything that determines our daily actions now is based on the possibility of rethinking the world and on changing our intellectual perspective.
7 questions – 49 answers
Nobody can deny that we are facing some major challenges.
More information:
CELLBRICKS
1. What values are most important to you in your company/project?
2. Why do you think the topic you’re working on will become relevant on a global scale?
3. What does it take to break new ground?
4. What are the greatest mistakes of our time?
5. What makes you happy and what could possibly bring you happiness in the future?
6. What do you think is the biggest opportunity offered by digitalization?
7. How do you handle setbacks?
PREMIUM
1. What values are most important to you in your company/project?
2. Why do you think the topic you’re working on will become relevant on a global scale?
3. What does it take to break new ground?
5. What makes you happy and what could possibly bring you happiness in the future?
6. What do you think is the biggest opportunity offered by digitalization?
MINIMIC
1. What values are most important to you in your company/project?
2. Why do you think the topic you’re working on will become relevant on a global scale?
4. What are the greatest mistakes of our time?
7. How do you handle setbacks?
WUSOA
1. What values are most important to you in your company/project?
2. Why do you think the topic you’re working on will become relevant on a global scale?
3. What does it take to break new ground?
4. What are the greatest mistakes of our time?
5. What makes you happy and what could possibly bring you happiness in the future?
6. What do you think is the biggest opportunity offered by digitalization?
OWNHOME
1. What values are most important to you in your company/project?
2. Why do you think the topic you’re working on will become relevant on a global scale?
3. What does it take to break new ground?
4. What are the greatest mistakes of our time?
5. What makes you happy and what could possibly bring you happiness in the future?
6. What do you think is the biggest opportunity offered by digitalization?
7. How do you handle setbacks?
EUROPEAN DEMOCRACY LAB
1. What values are most important to you in your company/project?
2. Why do you think the topic you’re working on will become relevant on a global scale?
3. What does it take to break new ground?
4. What are the greatest mistakes of our time?
5. What makes you happy and what could possibly bring you happiness in the future?
6. What do you think is the biggest opportunity offered by digitalization?
7. How do you handle setbacks?
LIVIN HIVE
1. What values are most important to you in your company/project?
2. Why do you think the topic you’re working on will become relevant on a global scale?
4. What are the greatest mistakes of our time?
7. How do you handle setbacks?