In our recent podcast, we had the pleasure of speaking with Iwein Fuld, founder of Squads.com, a platform that enables the formation of international freelance cross-functional teams. Iwein is not just a tech entrepreneur — he’s also deeply engaged in regenerative agriculture, embodying a vision of entrepreneurship that goes far beyond the conventional metrics of success.

Before founding Squads, Iwein worked with major consulting firms like Capgemini and Accenture, and played a role in scaling businesses such as SpringSource (now part of VMware) and Xebia, a renowned software company. Today, he focuses on building distributed teams and communities that can create long-term value — not just for shareholders, but for society and the planet.

The topic of our conversation with Iwein was regenerative entrepreneurship — a powerful alternative to the extractive models that dominate the tech and startup landscape.

Over the past few decades, the tech industry has transformed our lives. From the rise of the internet to platforms like Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, we’ve seen the creation of convenience, scale, unicorns — and billionaires. 

But this same wave of innovation has also brought unintended consequences: shrinking attention spans, instant gratification, social fragmentation, and a profound disconnect from our natural world.

Parents today are lost — unsure whether their children study online or are drawn into dangerous conversations with strangers on social media. Meanwhile, as a society, we chase fantasy goals like colonizing Mars, while we remain unable to contain wildfires in Los Angeles — the global tech capital.

It took billions of years for Earth to become a life-sustaining planet, and yet in a matter of decades, we seem determined to destroy it.

This conversation with Iwein emerged from that concern — and from a hope. A hope that every individual can take meaningful action, no matter how small, to heal the systems we are part of. Regenerative entrepreneurship offers a framework for exactly that.

What follows is a candid and inspiring conversation with Iwein Fuld, formatted in a clean Q&A style — a deep dive into how we can move beyond unicorns, and build businesses that help the planet, communities, and ourselves thrive.

On the State of Tech and the Rise of Regenerative Thinking

Q: Welcome, Iwein. Let’s begin by understanding this intriguing term — regenerative entrepreneurship. What is it all about?

A: Yeah. So, I don’t know if everybody is aware of what regenerative agriculture is. I think that’s important to understand first.

Regenerative agriculture is a form of agriculture that actively helps natural systems restore themselves. Right now, more than half of all habitable land is used for agriculture. Since we only have one planet, what we do in agriculture massively influences the livability of Earth. Regenerative practices aim to create ecosystems where all living beings can thrive.

Similarly, regenerative business isn’t just about being ethical or sustainable — it’s about actively making the world a better place. Not just minimizing harm, but doing more good.

Whether it’s reconnecting people to local communities, promoting healthy lifestyles, or enabling sustainable living through tech, regenerative entrepreneurship is about creating long-term positive impact.

On Why This Matters Now

Q: Why do you think regenerative entrepreneurship is even more relevant today?

A: I’ve had a reasonably long career chasing the capitalist dream — you know, the millionaire goal. Pretty early on, I got disillusioned by capitalism. It’s a game that optimizes for profit and extraction, and unfortunately, harm.

So I started searching for meaning. That led me to change my LinkedIn title to “regenerative entrepreneur” — and I discovered others were doing this too. It’s really about recognizing the unhappiness that capitalism creates — the social disconnect, the environmental destruction, and the hate spread on corporate-controlled platforms.

If we don’t hit the brakes, we’ll end up with a broken world and a lot of unhappy people. I found hope in the concept of solar punk — a future where tech and nature coexist, where people share food and build communities. That’s the future I want to help build.

Rethinking What Entrepreneurs Should Aim For

Q: Entrepreneurs often aim to build something disruptive. But isn’t there a case to be made for simply solving local or social problems?

A: Absolutely. I once had a mentor who told me every human decision is driven by fear or greed. I think he was wrong. A lot of what we do is also driven by compassion, love, and creativity.

That scarcity mindset — the idea that we need to take from others to win — leads people to believe they have to do something no one has ever done before. But actually, there’s a surplus of good things around us. The radiant sunlight we get gives us 10,000 times the energy we need as a species!

If you just look around and solve simple problems simply, you can have a healthy, happy, and meaningful business. You don’t need to build a unicorn to do something good.

On Real-World Examples of Regeneration

Q: Could you give us an example?

A: Yeah, the example that comes to mind is Ethan and the Sustainable Schools Network. It’s a network of schools teaching kids — even in urban areas — regenerative agriculture and sustainable practices. It’s incredibly creative and teaches innovation from an early age.

They’ve even grown coffee on a plot and sent it to the Netherlands. I’m about to drink that coffee — and that makes me very happy! It’s not a unicorn success, but it’s a win-win-win: kids are learning, Ethan is earning, and I get my sustainable coffee.

On Regenerative vs. Sustainable vs. Ethical

Q: How does regenerative entrepreneurship differ from sustainable or ethical entrepreneurship?

A: Good question. Ethical and sustainable practices aim to do less harm. Regenerative practices aim to do more good.

There’s a popular saying that you should think seven generations ahead. I try to think beyond my own lifetime — to build something bigger than myself. Planting a tree is regenerative. Raking in ad revenue? Not so much.

For example, feeding hungry children through an NGO is ethical. But teaching those children to grow food and sustain themselves — that’s regenerative.

What Squads.com is Doing

Q: What is Squads.com doing in this direction?

A: Squads is a community of freelancers. In the early days, none of us had money — we just had to pay rent. But over time, people started saying, “We want to do something meaningful.”

So we pooled together some earnings and started a small investment vehicle: the Squads Fund. We only invest in regenerative businesses.

One example: Farm to Home. They help people get fresh produce from local farms — reducing transport emissions and supporting local agriculture.

Another one is BOAS — they’re tackling fast fashion waste by reselling unused clothing. Forty percent of clothing produced globally is never worn! BOAS is reducing waste and creating real impact. They're also a “profit for good” business, so 90% of their profits go to saving lives.

On Investing in Regenerative Ventures Through Squads Fund

Q: Can others invest in the Squads Fund?

A: Right now, it’s invite-only because we don’t want to become a Ponzi scheme. But we’re looking for impact investors — people who want to improve the world and get reasonable returns.

We sit between donation-driven impact funds and hyper-growth venture capital. The future of investing, I believe, lies in syndicates of people who know and trust each other — making decisions together.

If anyone is interested, I’d love to talk.

On Tech’s Role in Today’s Crises

Q: You mentioned tech has caused a lot of problems. Any specific examples?

A: Oh, plenty. I have kids — I just need to observe their tech use to see the damage.

We’re facing biodiversity loss, climate catastrophes, and what’s now called a polycrisis and/or meta-crisis. Many of the manifestations of these crises are rooted in unchecked tech capitalism.

In the Netherlands, for example, we’ve all been exposed to PFAS — toxic chemicals used in pans, raincoats, tents — created for convenience and profit, but with devastating long-term consequences.

Nobody stopped to ask: what will this do to people?

On the Cultural Shift (Or Lack of It)

Q: Are people actually moving toward regenerative entrepreneurship?

A: It depends on your zoom level.

If you look at global news or corporate media, it looks grim — authoritarianism, greed, environmental collapse. But locally? When I speak to people one-on-one — I see hope. I see consciousness rising.

People are waking up and taking action. I just don’t know which trend will win yet.

On Billionaires and Ethics

Q: Is it ethical to be a billionaire?

A: No. Simply, no.

I once calculated that if no one earned more than €750,000/year or owned €75 million, and the rest of the money went to ending poverty, there would be no poor people in the world.

So being a billionaire is logically unethical and obviously harmful. Once you have enough, why keep hoarding?

On What Holds Us Back

Q: Why don’t more people think regeneratively?

A: Fear.

People fear losing comfort. That fear can easily morph into greed.

That’s why I’m a big fan of universal basic income. If everyone had food, shelter, and safety, research shows people would naturally innovate and do meaningful work.

We need to recognize and resist that subtle slide from survival to rent-seeking greed.

On Culture, Media, and Role Models

Q: Do you think the media shapes our distorted definitions of success?

A: Absolutely. We glorify billionaires, not people doing meaningful work.

We need to tell more stories about people making a difference — not just making money. Stories like yours, Shri, about your father dedicating 18 years to land reform in India. That’s the kind of madness we need — the kind that uplifts communities.

Final Thoughts

Q: What message would you give budding entrepreneurs?

A: I don’t want to patronize, but here’s my honest advice:

Seek long-term, meaningful results that benefit everyone — including your grandchildren. Don’t fall into the trap of chasing infinite money.

Build something that matters.

✉️ Interested in building or supporting regenerative ventures? Reach out to Iwein and the team at https://mas.to/@squads