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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What do you wish you had known 10 years ago?
I always thought that my life can be balanced between personal, business, health, family, finances and love. In that sense how much energy I put in and get back. But with the years, I learned that life is imbalanced by nature. It's still a goal for me and I believe if all parts are some kind of balanced, this speaks of a highly valuable life, but accepting that there will always be a certain imbalance, helped me a lot.
What's the biggest insight you learned in recent years?
It’s always a good idea to be connected to your product – even if you have to deal with high-level topics, always remember the things you offer.
What personal habit helped you accelerate your personal growth?
In one of the hardest times of my life so far, I started journaling for 1-2h on Sundays. Not digital, but with paper and pen. Always answering the same questions related to self, social life and work. This brutally honest and regular reflection once a week helped me identify problems early and iterate fast.
When times are tough, who or what is an anchor for you?
My co-founders are my anchor in work-related topics. Having an environment where failure is welcomed with a helping hand and where weakness is valued as openness, once you are down those people will drag you up.