ENTREPRENEURSHIP

My Top 3 Blue Economy Tips for Startups

What helped me most upon starting my own world-changing business?

The Blue Economy is a book written by renowned entrepreneur Gunter Pauli in 2009. The subtitle is ‘10 Years, 100 Innovations, 100 Million Jobs’. And it has inspired millions of people worldwide to start all kinds of businesses.

Gunter is nicknamed ‘the Steve Jobs of sustainability’. For me, he was the sun spark I needed to take hold of my life and do something purposeful with my business talents.

So if you have a sense of purpose (Millennials and Zoomers are said to have it more than the Babyboomers) and you want to be an entrepreneur, you’re in the right place at the right time.

We, in the international Blue Economy network, are convinced that entrepreneurs will change the world by changing the rules of the game.

So now, in my stories, I give you insights into the new business models, innovations, and economic drivers. And lots of other need-to-knows to align the economy, ecology, and the human spirit. Your startup can change the world too!

The sky is blue, the oceans are blue and the world as seen from the universe is blue too. And we just have to surf the waves of change to create our impactful businesses and earn a living.

Top 3 Tips

Since 2013, I have been studying the Blue Economy and other related holistic changemakers, such as The Natural Step and the Doughnut Economy. In 2014 I became a full-time entrepreneur myself and never looked back.

So, what are the top 3 Blue Economy principles that I use in my business?

1. Innovation and Social Capital

The first principle I use very often. It encompasses all for me.

The Blue Economy respond to basic needs of all with what you have, introducing innovations inspired by nature, generating multiple benefits, including jobs and social capital, offering more with less. — The Blue Economy

So, how do I use this?

• I have created a strong why for my business and a long term vision
• I build my business model with synergy. Building value upon value upon value with all that I create and more
• I collaborate fiercely with entrepreneurs that have the same mindset as I have, but have different talents. We unleash more synergy with diversity this way
• I have decided I want to stay a freelancer, so I don’t create jobs myself. But I do help other entrepreneurs to create jobs and I create loads of social capital by connecting honestly in the fields of my business
• I always innovate with Gaia. Using scientific insights from chaos theory, Gaia theory, (quantum) physics, biology, and nature’s chemistry

2. Design and Technology

These two principles I use often too.

“Natural systems cascade nutrients, matter and energy — waste does not exist. Any by-product is the source for a new product.” And “Nature evolved from a few species to a rich biodiversity. Wealth means diversity. Industrial standardization is the contrary.” — The Blue Economy

Waste does not exist, so we design our waste carefully into our business models as well. Waste can be anything. Waste can be material stuff but also immaterial stuff like stories and talents.

In Blue Economy, we create value with all waste.

In our current ways of working, people limit themselves in everything they do. They are reductionist. In Blue Economy thinking we unleash abundance. We restore ecosystems and then design new economic ways with everything nature has to offer.

Diversity is a great asset to innovation. There are so many new things that need to be invented so we can create economies that stay within planetary boundaries. And if we just look at how we’ve always done stuff, we’ll never get there. So we need to embrace the artist's mind.

We need to think across boundaries and turn worldviews upside down.

So much fun to do and so inspiring for our businesses!

3. Adapt and Be Resilient

Gunter compares humans often to panda bears. We only have taste for one kind of food, bamboo. And if the bamboo goes extinct, we won’t survive either. He wants us to be cockroaches. Alert to what’s locally available. And using it to create value. Adapting all the time. Being resilient. Survivors.

“In nature the constant is change. Innovations take place in every moment.” — The Blue Economy

Well, what better proof for this fact than the current COVID crisis?

Many businesses and many sectors have to re-invent themselves completely. And although some people are still thinking we will get back to normal soon enough, I don’t think so. We will have a new normal in which we connect globally, but act locally.

So, I build my physical products business model locally. Embedded in local ecosystems and adapted to local culture. And I connect with people globally and inspire them with my stories and my talks.

To create nature-based solutions with benefits for people and the environment. Design and technology. In cities and rural areas. There’s unlimited potential!

I use local, abundantly available materials to create the physical aspects of my business. And I build social capital like there’s no tomorrow. Connecting in an honest and inclusive way. Telling the stories that matter.

Award-Winning Entrepreneurs

There are many award-winning start-ups in our Blue Economy network. Have a look at some inspiring examples:

• Dycle, changing the business case of diapers
• Ekofungi, Future of Hope and Rotterzwam, changing the world with mushrooms
• Blue City, changing the world with entrepreneurial labs, architecture, and collaborations
• Straw by Straw, changing the world of plastic waste
• Paper on the Rocks, changing the world with stone paper
• Dutch Harvest, changing the world with industrial hemp
• Novamont, changing the world with biochemistry
• The Seaweed Company, changing the world with seaweed

A full map of Blue Economy inspired enterprises that ZERI has actually been involved in (new ones are started every day, so the map is always a little outdated) can be found on the website.

And then there are many more entrepreneurs inspired by Blue Economy. But started without ZERI involvement. They’re not on the map, but I see new ones being founded every day as well…

The Wave of Change

Well, if you want to be part of the wave of change, you are very welcome to join the movement. Open to everybody, all around the world. Just start connecting and find your own unique role. Being an entrepreneur for the common good, learning, and building your own impactful business.

And if you want to connect, you can always find me somewhere in nature, figuring out how I can use her vast wisdom for my business. Or on LinkedIn, Twitter, and my website.