The v-entrepreneurs is
a community of changemakers using
business to build a better future
for people, the planet, and animals.

Who are we?

The vegan entrepreneurs network is dedicated to people who are hungry for change. We are a community of passionate vegan entrepreneurs, investors, and people with an entrepreneurial mindset wanting to challenge the status quo across all industries ripe for plant-based disruption.

Open Source: We build a strong grassroots network of vegan entrepreneurs in Europe. Through the network, we have insights about the current developments and latest innovations in the plant-based market. We are happy to provide you with further information and to share our knowledge with you. Moreover, everyone part of the network can start a vegan entrepreneur’s meetup in their own city. Just let us know and we will help you with the set up and promote the event in our network.

Our approach

Live events: We organize regular networking events for current and aspiring entrepreneurs, as well as anyone interested in vegan entrepreneurship. Our events spark conversations, boost entrepreneurial energy, and connect you with fellow doers and dreamers. We regularly invite speakers to share their expertise, answer your questions, and provide insights into the vegan and alternative protein industry.

Supportive network: Our network supports a new generation of entrepreneurs driven by passion and purpose for a plant-based future. We welcome bold ideas, courageous minds, and a commitment to quality. The network consists of people from a wide range of fields, from founders to investors, researchers, established companies, and the philanthropic sector. We connect the right people, fostering supportive relationships that help ideas grow. Tell us who or what you’re looking for, and we’ll do our best to find the perfect match.

The Founders

Sisters Franziska and Mirjam Walser started the v-entrepreneurs as small meetups in Switzerland. The positive spirit was contagious, and the initiative quickly grew into an international network when Mirjam moved to Berlin. Currently, we have local chapters in six more countries: Germany, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Austria, and the US.

Franziska Walser
Mirjam Walser vegan

Chapter
Leaders

Berlin: Mirjam Walser and Danielle Keller

Switzerland: Franziska Walser and Anna Baubin

The Netherlands:
Stephan Stegemann

San Francisco: Jennifer Estevez

The Netherlands: Willem Blom

Barcelona: Holly Barber

France: Astrid Prévost

Vienna: Nadja Hennig

At the heart and lifeblood of the v-entrepreneurs network are our live events, where we meet in person to build deep connections that foster courage, growth, and collaboration. Each event is organized locally by our chapter leaders. Want to host an event yourself? Get in touch! Below are some ideas and pictures from past gatherings.

Our Events

  • plant-based vegan mirjam walser

    The state of the plant-based industry - with Veganz founder Jan Bredack

  • How to build and launch a successful digital marketing campaign! - with Gareth Robinson

  • Food tasting and feedback for a food startup before launch

  • Lunch + Meet. One of the first gatherings in Zurich

  • Pitch your startup!

  • Growth hacks – what can we learn from mainstream startups?

  • Starting a plant-based food business: what to know, challenges, and pitfalls

  • PR for vegan businesses - with Vegconomist founder Peter Link

  • After-work food and drinks with vegan entrepreneurs

  • Discover winning investor pitches from plant-based startup founders – with KitchenTown

  • Co-founder speed dating - find team members for your vegan business

  • Community gathering - good food and pitches

  • Launch event in Rotterdam/NL, with Franziska, Willem and Mirjam

  • One of our favourite team members, Bambi!

  • Listen to inspiring founders’ stories and grow your network with fellow vegan entrepreneurs.

  • Launch event in Düsseldorf/DE

  • Mirjam Walser vegan alt-protein

    The core of the v-entrepreneurs: listening, learning, connecting, and getting inspired.

  • Zoom gathering with chapter leaders and volunteers

  • How to prepare a winning pitch – with TryFoods founder Jörn Gutowski

  • Vegan Fine Food Mini-Market! A special startup christmas edition

  • All about branding & food packaging with Cheese the Queen

Beginnings and Endings

It all began in Zurich in 2015, at the world’s first event for vegan startups: the Plant Based Innovation Lab. Over one intense weekend, people with a shared dream came together to create business ideas that could change the world. The energy was electric, the conversations endless. And when the startup weekend was over, one thing was clear: nobody wanted this connection to end.

Sisters Franziska and Mirjam Walser kept this spirit alive by organizing gatherings and small events in Zurich. Back then, the vegan startup scene was just emerging! It was intimate, powerful, and full of people passionate about plant-based innovations, alternative proteins, and ethical entrepreneurship. When Mirjam moved to Berlin, she carried the idea with her, while Franziska kept growing the network in Zurich and Bern.

Soon, monthly gatherings took place with inspiring talks, lively discussions, and a growing sense of community. Friends brought friends, and before long, chapters popped up elsewhere. Willem in the Netherlands gathered a team with Stephan and Richard, and the movement spread. San Francisco, Barcelona, Paris, Vienna — all run by local volunteers who believed in the mission.

Then came 2020. Overnight, COVID-19 made in-person events impossible. We moved online, but chapter leaders, all entrepreneurs themselves, faced challenges in their own businesses. Some adapted, others closed — and the network itself entered a new chapter. We realized that running it purely on volunteer energy was no longer sustainable.

Instead of holding on, we let the network evolve naturally. Other organizations began supporting vegan entrepreneurs, and we were happy to see the spirit live on in new forms. Today, the community thrives as a 3,500+ member group on LinkedIn — still connecting, sharing, and collaborating.

For all of us, the v-entrepreneurs network was an unforgettable journey of inspiration, growth, and deep human connection. And it continues to ripple out. Out of this network, Mirjam founded the Vegan Business School, supporting people at the earliest stage of their vegan business journey — keeping the mission alive, one new founder at a time.

Join the LinkedIn group here.

The best way to predict the future is to create it. So let’s get together and create the plant-based future!