What’s a guiding principle that informs the way you build and run your business?
One of our core values at Cozero is radical candor. It is the idea that the willingness to repeatedly enter uncomfortable situations to speak the truth benefits everyone in the long run. We believe that in order to grow and improve as an organization, we need to create an environment where our team is not afraid to challenge processes and decisions. Making this a core value guides us in difficult situations when it’s not clear which road to take.
What's the biggest insight you've learned in the last few years?
I’ve realized that a surprising number of companies don’t think about sustainability strategically. It remains an operational task for many. We discovered that without a strategic alignment, sustainability efforts are likely to face resistance and fail to achieve meaningful impact. To master the sustainability transformation successfully, companies need to start viewing sustainability performance as essential to economic success and ensuring environmental strategies are practical, realistic, and aligned with business goals.
What motivated you to become an entrepreneur?
Before founding Cozero, I worked at an early-stage venture capital fund. Working with a social startup supporting local coffee farmers and their families sparked my interest in impact-driven ventures. Seeing the growing need to align sustainability with financial goals made me realize the potential of using accounting principles for carbon management, and pushed me to start Cozero with my cofounders Fabian and Tiago.
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Here’s More, From Other Founders Around the World
What’s an important guiding principle that informs the way you build and run your business?
One of our core values is experimentation. Rather than get stuck in arguing about what solution may best solve a problem or play to our ego, we focus on the smallest step we could possibly take to learn whether that’s true. It moves our minds away from thinking too big without sweating the small stuff and from getting stuck in discussions rather than actually doing something to understand the possible solutions better.
What should leaders understand about their own role and responsibility?
Your own time and energy is the most precious resource you have. Use it wisely, and learn what gives you energy, and what saps you. In the early years of building something, you need to throw a huge amount of time at it - and do many things you perhaps don’t like doing. But as you scale, it’s vital to take a step back and build a business that can grow rapidly beyond the time you put into it.
What shift in perspective has allowed you to see things differently?
It may sound simple, but realizing and truly understanding that we are all different and driven by different things has made a significant impact on me. This insight has changed the way I approach relationships and leadership.
What's a mistake that you're happy you've made?
I'm happy I chose a highly regulated market, even though it was tough. It taught me a lot about patience, attention to detail, and the importance of doing things right. These lessons have made me better at what I do.