Your Coach: Mirjam Walser

I founded my first social business in 2013 while I was still a student. It focused on food waste and didn’t last long, but little did I know that it would be the starting point of a never-ending journey into the world of social business and entrepreneurship.

When I became vegan shortly after, I realized I wanted to bring the energy and power I had experienced in the social business world to veganism. This inspired me to organize the first startup event for vegan businesses in 2015, called the Plant-Based Innovation Lab. From that event, a network for vegan entrepreneurs emerged, which I ran with great joy and passion for many years, hosting events in various cities across Europe.

Along the way, I also co-founded the Singa Factory in 2016 in Switzerland, an accelerator program for refugees. Once this program was successfully up and running, I returned to my vegan business path.

In 2018, I became the co-founder of Faloa, an online store for high-end vegan fashion. This startup taught me invaluable lessons about the dos and especially the don'ts of business creation.

All of these experiences ultimately led me to establish the Vegan Business School in 2022.

Alongside my work as a coach, I also share my ideas and perspectives as a columnist and speaker, primarily across German-speaking regions.

My journey of empowering plant-based entrepreneurs began in 2015 with the Plant Based Innovation Lab, a startup event I co-organized with a group of visionary vegans. That experience sparked my passion for bringing like-minded changemakers together. Since then, I have been creating spaces and opportunities for vegans and entrepreneurs to connect, inspire one another, and build a better world, one business at a time.

I am a multi-passionate individual and entrepreneur, as one of my role models, Marie Forleo, describes it. Embracing my unique combination of interests comes naturally to me.

That is why, alongside my focus on vegan businesses and the alternative protein space, I am also deeply engaged in the topic of AI and animals. After being selected for the AIxAnimals fellowship by Sentient Futures, I now speak on public stages about what AI means for animals and why this topic matters far beyond the animal advocacy space.

An equally important part of my life is mindfulness. I am a trained mindfulness teacher and regularly offer meditation sessions for the vegan Hive community, integrating this work into how I think, work, and support others.

I became vegan in 2013 and have been committed ever since to being a positive force for the vegan movement. Ethically motivated, I embrace the vegan lifestyle in all its aspects.

The reason I became vegan was my wonderful bunny, Kilijh. Through Kilijh, I understood for the first time that every animal has a unique character, feels pain, and experiences joy. This realization helped me bridge the gap to other animals such as cows and chickens, and to start seeing them as individuals.

My business allows me to work independently from anywhere in the world, although I tend to stay close to what I love most: the mountains. In 2023, I started to embrace a more flexible, location-independent lifestyle, spending half of the year in Berlin and the other half somewhere in the mountains in Europe, where I follow my passion for skiing.

The mountains are where I truly recharge and where my best ideas come to life. For me, they are simply magical. And of course, my two dogs accompany me on this adventure.