Filip Geuens is a seasoned business transformation consultant and manager. With over three decades of experience, he specializes in developing revenue strategies, leading sales and marketing operations, solving complex business challenges and change management.
Living in Vienna and working in CEE and CIS in the 1990s showed him that large-scale societal change is possible. Filip founded Business Aligner in 2000, laying the foundation for WAEG, a Salesforce.com Platinum partner that was acquired by IBM. His recent work includes revenue strategy overhauls and strategic planning. Most recently he worked for Fairtrade Belgium, and is currently busy with the launch of Zeedling.
A neurodivergent thinker known for his out-of-the-box creative problem-solving, authentic leadership style, and ability to drive measurable results, Filip combines strategic thinking with hands-on execution. With extensive international experience across European markets, Filip brings both global perspective and purpose-driven leadership to his work. His deep interest in making the world a better place with Zeedling is driven by the business insights he gained over time, as well as his belief that meaningful human connections appear when people act together to solve their very concrete local issues.
What inspired you to create Zeedling, and how did the idea first take root?
The inspiration behind Zeedling comes from a tapestry of personal experiences and inherited stories. My ancestors were farmers, the last generation of people who lived as their ancestors lived 500 years and longer before. Deeply connected to the land and nature. Who have seen bicycles appear on the street, and cars. Or machines that improved productivity during harvest, electricity, better medical care, democracy, the fall of the Austrian Hungarian Empire … Some of them lived through the traumas of World War I and II, carrying silent wounds that shaped the generations that followed.
As a teenager, I visited the Soviet Union and both West and East Berlin in the 1980s—experiences that left me with a lasting awareness of history’s weight and the fragility of freedom. I was raised Catholic, and while I’ve approached its teachings with trial and error, the call to live a good life has always stayed with me.
I’ve always had a sensitivity that helps me feel the energy of a place, sense the undercurrents, and read between the lines. My love for people, my fascination with history, and my belief that everything is connected all fed into this direction.
Then came a moment when technology evolved enough to make those invisible connections visible—and actionable. In 2003, I developed my first app using web technology to inspire change across large groups. It worked well. Since then, I’ve simply followed the path that was given to me.
But more recently, a deeper urgency awoke in me. The pandemic, the erosion of democracy, the destruction of our only planet, and the unraveling of societies as well as too many individuals. All of it shook me. It made me realize: we can’t wait for change to happen. We need to grow it ourselves. Change that leads to better connections between people. Whereby connections create the courage needed to continue to act. With trial and error.
Zeedling positions itself as a space for sensemaking rooted in regeneration and community—how do you define “sensemaking” in this context?
Our societies are complex. In complex systems for example, cause and effect are only clear in hindsight. You can’t engineer solutions in a linear way. Instead, change emerges through safe-to-fail experiments, the observation of patterns, and continuous adaptation.
This inherent complexity can make regeneration and community-building feel overwhelming or out of reach. People often struggle to see where to begin, what works, and how to make a difference that truly matters.
That’s where sensemaking comes in.
Zeedling is a space that supports people in navigating complexity by helping them connect the dots rather than prescribing fixed answers. It empowers local experimentation, amplifies emergent successes, and fosters communities that learn and evolve together.
Sensemaking, in this context, means helping people find clarity in a chaotic world, and a sense of meaningfulness in their lives. Zeedling invites them to see patterns, share insights, and feel grounded in the knowledge that they’re not alone, and that their actions can contribute to real change.
You describe Zeedling as the “Tripadvisor of sustainability.” What does that mean in practice, and how does the app help users discover and act on local opportunities?
Zeedling can be described as the “Tripadvisor for sustainability” because it serves as a dynamic platform where individuals can discover, engage with, and contribute to sustainable initiatives, much like how Tripadvisor connects travelers with destinations and experiences.
What kind of actions or initiatives do you see gaining the most traction on the platform so far?
Zeedling embodies the principles of brand activism as articulated by Kotler and Sarkar, and is promoting community-driven initiatives that align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By facilitating these grassroots initiatives, Zeedling empowers individuals, citizens, members of organisations and communities to actively participate in creating a more sustainable, regenerative and equitable world.
How do you ensure inclusivity across cultures, generations, and socioeconomic backgrounds in a global platform like Zeedling?
Zeedling ensures inclusivity across cultures, generations, and socioeconomic backgrounds through a multifaceted approach of
- Transparency and Accountability: By requiring users to operate under real identities, Zeedling fosters a community built on trust and genuine engagement.
- Commitment to Shared Values: All participants are encouraged to sign the Zeedling Charter, which outlines principles of equity, sustainability, and mutual respect, ensuring a unified commitment to inclusivity.
- Culture of Kindness: Kindness is central to Zeedling’s ethos, promoting empathy, active listening, and mutual support, which are essential for bridging cultural and generational divides.
- Accessible Design: The platform is designed to be user-friendly and accessible, accommodating various languages and ensuring usability across different devices and connectivity levels, thereby addressing socioeconomic disparities.
- Community-Led Initiatives: Zeedling empowers local communities to lead initiatives, ensuring that actions are culturally relevant and resonate across different age groups and social backgrounds.
Through these strategies supported by micro learning and workshops, Zeedling cultivates an inclusive environment where diverse voices are heard, respected, and empowered to contribute to sustainable and regenerative change.
In a world filled with eco-anxiety and burnout, how does Zeedling help people move from despair to action—and connection?
In a world increasingly affected by eco-anxiety and burnout, Zeedling offers a supportive platform that transforms feelings of despair into meaningful action and connection.
From Eco-Anxiety to Empowered Action: Zeedling recognizes that eco-anxiety—characterized by feelings of helplessness and overwhelm in the face of environmental crises—is a common experience. To address this, the platform provides a space where individuals can engage in tangible, community-driven sustainability initiatives, helping to restore a sense of agency and purpose.
Building Connections Through Shared Values: By encouraging users to participate under their real identities and sign the Zeedling Charter, the platform fosters a community grounded in trust, kindness, and shared commitment to sustainability. This approach nurtures authentic connections across diverse cultures, generations, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
Encouraging Localized, Sustainable Actions: Zeedling empowers users to initiate and participate in local projects such as community gardens, repair cafés, and educational workshops. These initiatives not only contribute to environmental well-being but also strengthen community bonds and provide a sense of accomplishment.
Aligning with Global Sustainability Goals: The platform’s initiatives are aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ensuring that individual and community actions contribute to broader global efforts for a sustainable future.
Through these strategies, Zeedling transforms eco-anxiety into proactive engagement, fostering resilience and a collective sense of purpose in addressing environmental challenges.
What’s your long-term vision for Zeedling? How do you see it evolving over the next 5 years?
In five years from now Zeedling has a spontaneous brand awareness of 80% in countries where it is active in, and it is recognised as one of the important and most ethical social media tools that is restoring social fabric, inducing local change in sustainability and regeneration. And became a lobby force that realises country wide and supranational changes to spread the idea of, and restore the Common Good.
Good luck!
INTERVIEW by Christian Sarkar