Unicorn Currencies’ Post

https://lnkd.in/dXBuSMDe WHERE IT ALL STARTED In 2021, Eve Mignot, Stefano Abedum de Lima Hanzawa, and I (Lukas Lauber) embarked on a journey fueled by curiosity and a desire to make a meaningful impact. We took part in Sustainable Hospitality Challenge, a contest that tasked us with envisioning the landscape of the industry in 2050. As classic Gen Z'ers, we did what comes naturally — we scoured the internet, hoping to uncover a magical search result that could reveal the future in all its certainty. But as it turned out, the future remains a mystery to us all. Undeterred, we pivoted our approach. Rather than futilely searching for answers about the world of tomorrow, we shifted our focus to what we wanted that world to look like. And thus began our journey of envisioning and planning to create the world we dream of inhabiting. That is how we came across communal living and cooperative housing, and ever since we have not stopped talking about it. In the blog post attached, you will find our winning investor's deck and business pitch from the Arabian Hospitality Investment Conference in 2021. We invite you to have a look and join us on our chase for the utopia. #communalliving #cohousing #cooperativehousing #SHC #SHC2024 #SustainableHospitality

🧚 The tale of #failingforward and #invescreation This week, the German Tourism Day took place in Hamburg, and Sascha Lobo delivered a keynote that left a mark. He introduced terms that could be translated as #failingforward and #invescreation, rallying for a new approach to innovation and failure culture in tourism. My feed is now filled with these terms - fresh, engaging, and calling for a bold shift in mindset to tackle today’s challenges. 🤔 But let’s take a step back. These narratives, as compelling as they are, feel familiar. For years, we’ve been hearing similar ideas under different labels: be fast and fresh, a first mover, early adopter, change maker. The essence is the same - push forward, innovate quickly, stay ahead of the curve. It’s inspiring, yes, but it raises a critical question: ❓ Are we truly addressing the root of our challenges, or are we simply accelerating the same reactive patterns? In tourism, speed is the norm - quick reactions, fast integrations, and effective communication. A new trend emerges, and we pivot swiftly. A funding opportunity arises, and we adapt immediately. Once the dust settles, the circus moves on to the next topic. This cycle of constant reaction has become second nature - intuitive, automatic, and unexamined. Here lies the paradox. By focusing on #failingforward and #invescreation, we risk reinforcing the very culture we’re trying to change. The call to innovate quickly and embrace failure, while noble in intent, risks perpetuating a system where we’re always reacting, never reflecting. Instead of thinking deeply and strategically, we address one hot topic after another, solving problems in isolation, mostly without considering the bigger picture. 🥵 What’s missing is the space - and the will - to think slowly. Slow thinking, as Daniel Kahneman describes, requires cognitive effort, attention, and time. It’s challenging, but it’s the only way to build truly holistic and sustainable strategies. This means moving beyond linear, singular projects or solutions and embracing complexity. It means creating frameworks that account for interdependencies and long-term goals, rather than chasing the next source of attention or funding. Ironically, to truly fail forward or invescreate, we must resist the urge to move too quickly. We need to slow down, listen more attentively, and think expansively. Only then can we design a space of possibilities - a spectrum of developments ensuring our decisions are grounded in a broader vision. 🚥 Yes, we can still act decisively and move quickly when needed. But without the foundation of slow, deliberate thinking, those actions risk being shortsighted and disconnected. So, perhaps it’s time to rethink the narrative. Instead of calling for faster innovation and bold risk-taking, let’s call for the courage to pause, reflect, and think deeply. 🪧 Because real change doesn’t come from racing forward - it comes from knowing where we’re going. #rethink #tourism #dtt24

This last post before the holidays is very close to my heart. I wanted to reflect on these past two years, during which I’ve been leading Emerging Group on my own. When I founded this company in 2001, I never imagined it would become such a central part of my life. Over the past 20+ years, it’s sparked nearly every human emotion and experience: rudeness, betrayal, failure, audacity, creativity, joy, and success. I haven’t named everything—#entrepreneurship is far from a smooth ride. But, looking back, if I had to do it all over again, of course, I’d approach things differently. I can’t say I have no regrets. But today, when I look at what I’ve accomplished, it feels so rewarding. As we say in French: "ça valait le coup"—it was worth it.. I’ve poured all my energy, courage, and above all, my determination into these 2 years transition. In a period where nothing is certain, and everything is potential yet hypothetical, I’ve stepped out of my comfort zone of staying behind the scenes to get to the front, bringing my expertise and convictions. In 2025, Emerging will move into new offices, expand its team, and continue to focus on its mission.The first step in this journey is the launch of the "Excellence in Employability" #qualitylabel, which is kicking off now, along with new products and services aimed at empowering all kind of educational institutions around the globe: large or small, young or old, specialized or generalist. So, I wanted to take a moment to wish you all wonderful holidays and set a date for next year—2025—where we'll continue this exciting journey 💫

Have you heard? Our Talking Point for the year is all about Impact! 🌎 Come along on our journey to create positive change. Hear what IMEX Frankfurt speaker, Mike Ford, founder of Grateful Lemon had to say about Impact when we spoke to him: ''On a personal level, impact is about how one or two small habit changes can make big, long term difference to your life - more energy and greater wellbeing, for starters.  On a professional level, impact is about creating enough contagious energy to change behaviours within your wider community.'' https://lnkd.in/gnJtMeFZ #Impact #IMEX24

The Amadeus #TTIT research (Travel Technology Investment Trends) benchmarks investment intentions & tech priorities for 8 travel sectors, revealing a strong appetite for investment in 2024. https://ow.ly/KA7l30sB2Na #AmadeusTechTrends2024

Os passos que damos para atingir os nossos objetivos✨ The steps we take are to achieve our goals 💫

What are the SME projects behind this social innovation program, proudly supported by Amadeus? Learn more about how these new #Travel4Impact participants are making travel a force for good: https://ow.ly/SW1030sGVb2 #TravelForGood

🇮🇸 I went to Iceland and all you got was this post. 🇮🇸 Last week, I went to Iceland Innovation Week to participate in a panel debate on why startups should focus on building the B Corp mindset into their business. There are several different reasons to why people fall in love with B Corp, and I believe you can gather them into 3 reasons: The Mission Lock 🔒 Mission Lock means formally and legally committing to serving all stakeholders. And it sends out a strong signal internally and externally. By doing Mission Lock you are making sure that stakeholder interest is at the highest governing body of the company with an obligation to aligning long-term interests and deliver significant positive impact for people and the planet. The B Corp Movement 🌊 B Corp is founded as a movement towards a new capitalistic paradigm. And you cannot create a new capitalistic paradigm alone. And thus, B Corps collectively raise their voice, collaborate, inspire each other, and partner up to drive their responsibility even further. The B Corp Certification 📈 This is probably also the most well-known part of the B Corp world: The B Corp certification. While the certification is a value stamp to provide evidence for living up to high standards within social and environmental performance, I am actually much more in love with the B Impact Assessment. The B Impact Assessment is a free, online measurement and management impact performance platform that guides a company towards a more responsible business conduct.  Basically it provides a company with a recipe on how to structure policies, practices, outputs and outcomes in a way that provides value for alle stakeholders. Did I mention it was free? Together with me on stage was Michael J. Wiatr from LastObject, Ólöf Inga Stefansdottir from 66°North and Rakel Eva Sævarsdóttir who provided great inputs to how becoming and being a B Corp looks like in practice. Thank you for a nice conversation about – in my opinion – one of the most important topics in the world: How companies can help the world progress towards an equitable, regenerative, and inclusive for all people and the planet. The picture is taken at Gullfoss, a waterfall in Iceland, where a B Corp logo suddenly appeared in the mist of the water. That must have been a sign 🌿 B Lab Nordics B Lab Europe #bcorp #bthechange

One of my resolutions when I turned 40 was to measure my next ten years based on my growth as a person and a professional year on year. As I shut shop for this year, here are some reflections and a note of gratitude. 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤: Close to 80% of my work this year brought a nature and climate lens to impact. I had a chance to work on energy access, decarbonisation, circularity, land restoration, open networks for sustainability, water conservation across different countries. From collaboratives to conversations like #NodeZero that consciously challenged traditional formats. I continue to learn so much from Madhav Pai, Jennifer Layke, Bharath Jairaj, Pawan Mulukutla, sujith nair, Jagdeesh Puppala and countless folks who bring no-holds-barred ambition with a deep commitment to partnerships 𝐏𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐬: Through Sattva Knowledge Institute and with clients, I continued to learn what it takes to build public goods that drive ecosystem level change. This year went beyond the Why, to the What and How. I understood the power and pain of use cases that translate the power of infrastructure to impact. There have as many misses as hits. And my greatest learning - and agenda for next year - is to design for simplicity, for it is the form of highest sophistication. 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥: I have truly believed that ideas, especially that don't carry the burden of credit, travel faster than any other form of influence on the system. #DecodingImpact, my podcast, brings both learning (from my guests) and love (from the select set of listeners). Having our ecosystem maturity framework published in the Stanford Social Innovation Review was a way to take the framework to a global audience. I loved speaking at academic institutions including University of Geneva, CEPT University (and a few more on the way). I hope to be more intentional about framing ideas and making them travel in 2025. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: A classmate of mine remarked that those that aren't good at any sports are the ones that pick up running. In my case, it is spot on. What started as a pre-requisite for a trek has become an enduring hobby. By the time this year is over, I would have run 850 kms, finished five half-marathons and run in 17 cities this year. I run knowing I will never be the best at it (or even in the top 10%). But the sheer (irrational) joy of watching the rhythm of my feet and listening to my breath, while running to nowhere makes me feel more alive. So it is only appropriate that I end this year with a picture of me running a half marathon in the middle of a road at 1:00 am at night, trying to get to the finish line before the 2 hour mark. Thank you for being part of my journey. 2024 feels like part I (of a really long movie). I hope to come back after a brief break to see what Part II holds for me, and for us.

After a few (maybe too) serious posts, I thought a light-hearted and heart-warming post to start the workweek was in order... 💗 "Capitalism with a conscience", that's my mantra. I'm a proud capitalist, but my belief system extends beyond profit. I also champion the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiative, kickstarted by my former client, BlackRock, years ago. My heart resonates most with the “Social” part of ESG, as causes near and dear to me include advocating for children, standing up for social justice, and promoting quality education. I also believe that Travel & Tourism isn't just fun - it can be a force for good. So, when a business school comrade introduced me to an inspiring initiative by Expedia, I had to share. A shining example in the Pacific Northwest, where companies are not just making money but making a difference. Explore more about Expedia's initiative here - https://lnkd.in/g3uB83ge Who else is leveraging capitalism for positive change? Let's talk, share your stories!