Be vulnerable. A speech: a personal reflection on 15 years of sustainable entrepreneurship.
How things change, and how far we’ve come. I wrote this speech 5 years ago, for Except’s 15th anniversary, and it still holds true for today. My personal reflection on what it takes to work a lifetime in securing the future of our society. Be vulnerable.
15 years.
There you are,
Writing your speech late at night, forced to stretch your eyes over what is by now half of my conscious life
and having to somehow summarize it.
15 years.
What tremendous things we have learned.
How many people’s lives we’ve touched, inspired, set off in new directions.
What countless challenges we have conquered.
What amazing change we’ve been part of.
How did this ever get to be?
What happened 15 years ago?
15 years ago I went to the Chamber of Commerce in Delft.
I sat in the chair, waiting for my appointment
thinking about what this little enterprise might become one day
deciding if really it should be called Except or ‘totally awesome rocketships’ or something
I remember the chair, the desk, the monochrome screen the name got typed into
I was 19 years old
A year before I had been released from a decade of being locked up in a situation I had no control over
In which the people I cared about around me were sad and hurt all the time
With my new freedom I wanted to dedicate my life to improving the life of others
And not just a few people, but many people. Millions of people. Billions, if I had a choice.
The word sustainability, nobody knew yet
But there was this idea in my head
That I wanted to do something else with my life than contribute to the ever increasing pile of stuff around us
not the next mobile phone
not the next model car
not the next television show, hamburger recipe or business plan
but working on, what we now call, the foundations of our society
I believed that with science, design and entrepreneurship
we could do better than we were doing
to use the coming challenges as fuel for fantastic projects that redefine who we are as people
towards each other, for ourselves, for loved ones and those we’ll never meet
to pry open a coming age where we have mastered learning from history.
So that’s why I was there, in that green chair, to set up this company
scared, excited, full of hope, energy, dreams and ideas.
From its first year in office, in a little room in the attic of a house in Delft
and each subsequent year after that
trying to go from ideas to a vision, from passion to a fundamental new reality
to things that actually make a difference
to people
to your family, friends, people in your city, people in your country, in the world
something that, if at all possible, makes that essential difference
that makes people’s lives a more painless, hopeful and inspired one
with a future to look forward to.
And that I did, working on things ranging from algae farms in Australia and vertical agriculture in china
self sufficient city designs
supply chain revolutions for multinationals
policy and analysis tools to accelerate climate change adaptation
it wasn’t long before i discovered that that this cannot be done alone
not one person can do these things
it requires a team
so -people person that I am- (laughter)
got it into my stupid head
to transition Except into a collective of social entrepreneurs
where equally spirited people come and work together
to make that difference
to boost that transition
and to have a fantastic time doing it
to transition the way we live, work, grow our food, play, invent and explore
to ways where we can enjoy this, while also giving others that chance
to that majority of people that do not share our luck of being born in such abundance
and make that abundance available to all.
Like everyone who tries to change the world
of course I was told it could not be done
and people still do
they tell you you’re unrealistic, or one of the seemingly worst things you can be, said with a scornful tone… ‘an idealist’
I’m not sure if I am idealist, but I rather tried than stood idly by.
So what has 15 years of doing things that can’t be done brought?
over 300 projects
on 4 continents
13 countries
with 50 client and partner organizations
with the collective of ideas, people, visions, and passions contributed by hundreds of people
that, together, have touched thousands of people around the world.
Our world has been screaming for new perspectives.
In the last 15 years, from 9/11, Google, the housing bubble, the banking crisis, climate change, biodiversity catastrophy,
all of this has changed us, who we are, and forced us into constant transition
confronting us with our own failures
finding out the harsh reality of the practice of innovation
that the majority of your projects will fail
and through these countless failures
dusting off and trying again
never letting go, not for a moment
and continue to learn and try.
From these sometimes hopeless situations,
to the many successes we’ve been able to celebrate
all have shaped us into the first generation of professional transition experts
of sustainability innovators
and I am so happy with these amazing people we have been doing this
that I have been lucky enough to be able to team up with over these years
they taught me so much of what I know today.
One of those things i have learned in all these years working with all these inspired people
that the most vital part of being truly alive
and to be able to do the seemingly impossible
is to be vulnerable.
With your entire being, everything that you are.
It requires every part of yourself
to entirely open up and share your innermost precious hopes and dreams
to put it out there, in front of everyone to see, with your entire heart
where, yes, you can be shot down, derided, ridiculed, taken advantage of even
but that’s the only way you can truly connect.
That if you dare to step out, and say what you truly want, truly feel, truly believe in
without any reservation
is the only way you can meet someone else who will say ‘yes, i want this too!’
and hell yeah, we’re going to do this together, no matter how hard it is
going through thick and thin to make it work
because that’s what it needs
because this is real, this is true, this is the source of the meaning of being alive
this is the only way can change ourselves and the world around us
and make the most out of what life has to give us.
Looking onto the next 15 years
we have built the foundation strong
with this year alone 4 new companies created, and two new foundations
and ever more people joining us
looking towards realizing projects in Asia, America, and Europe
I look forward to accelerating the impact we have on the lives of others
How we’re going to revolutionize the way we grow our food, build our cities, travel, learn, live, work and play
to materialize all those things we’ve been setting up in the last 15 years
roll them out, ship ’em out the door, go make a change
I look forward to years of joy, learning, friendship, challenges and those famous SiD ‘eureka’ moments
A time period that continues to be full of transitions
And that Except will remain fluid, dynamic, exciting, turbulent… and above all, vulnerable.
I raise my glass to the next 15 years
from that little green chair in the chamber of commerce in Delft
to a true cooperative of brilliant minds
to all of us us who made this happen
and will make this happen
my eternal gratitude goes to those who keep putting in their love, energy, passion and talent
and to stand beside each other, be vulnerable, be beautiful, be critical, be Except
and make a difference
together
in vulnerability.