Why I Do What I Do
I used to think entrepreneurship was the only way to
build true wealth. In banking, there was always a ceiling, but if you owned something, if you built it yourself, the potential felt limitless. That was my starting point: achievement as a pathway to freedom.
But over time, the companies, the success, the accumulation, none of it quieted the deeper questions
Why don’t I feel at home in my body? Why does success still feel so fragile? Why am I constantly trying to prove my worth?
It took me a long time to realise that what I was chasing (status, validation, significance) wasn’t solving the problem. It was covering it up. And when that illusion finally cracked, what remained was the truth: no external win can resolve an internal wound.
That’s when my motivation shifted. I still love building ventures, ideas communities and treatment programmes. However, I’m driven by something else today: the need to create work that is grounded, meaningful, and responsive to real human needs. I want to work on things that matter, with people I trust, and in ways that leave something of value behind for clients, for teams, and for the world we’re shaping together.
A Different Kind of Clinic
At Paracelsus Recovery, I’ve had the rare opportunity to help build a clinic that reflects this philosophy. We treat one person at a time, not because it’s efficient but because it’s right. We create the conditions in which people can meet themselves, not as problems to be fixed, but as human beings who are suffering and searching.
Over the years, I’ve come to see how deeply mental health is marginalised by wealth. We assume that success is protective. Often, it’s isolating. It covers pain in performance and buries trauma beneath competence. That’s why our work is about more than treatment. It’s about dignity. About creating spaces where pain can be seen, heard, and held without judgement.
Together with my parents, we pioneered the 360° model. This is a radically holistic approach to care that’s now considered best practice around the world. But we made a deliberate choice not to expand. Growth, for us, isn’t about scale. It’s about staying close to the work, to the people, and to what really matters.
It Hasn’t Been a Straight Road
None of this came easily. In 2021, at the height of the pandemic, Paracelsus Recovery was on the brink of collapse. We had a six-figure monthly burn, borders were closed, and I was legally supposed to declare insolvency. But I couldn’t. This place wasn’t just a business, but something I believed in. Eventually, the world reopened, and we found a way through.
But the cost was real. That moment marked the beginning of my own burnout, something I didn’t fully admit until it knocked me off course the following year. That experience changed how I lead, how I live, and how I relate to others, especially those carrying more than they’re allowed to show.
I’ve faced betrayal too, including a partner who tried to force me out of my own company. And like many founders, I’ve launched ventures that didn’t survive. But every failure taught me more than any MBA ever could. The goal was never to avoid failure, it was to let it refine me, not define me.
The Real Measure of Wealth
Today, alongside Paracelsus Recovery, I lead the Swiss Clinics Group and remain active in start-ups and real estate through Panacea Capital. I’ve founded and co-founded ventures across different sectors all rooted in one core belief:
When you do the right things, with the right people, for the right reasons, success stops being something you chase, and starts becoming a natural byproduct you create.
Because of this, I’ve realised that real success has very little to do with material wealth. I’ve had the houses, the cars, the watches. They’re enjoyable, but fleeting. What lasts is something else entirely.
My greatest luxury now is time. Time with my son, time to walk the dog, make music, sit still. Time to be human.
These lessons continue to shape how I live and lead. And in the right settings, when there’s space for honesty and nuance, I’ve found they often resonate with others navigating similar questions.
So if this speaks to something in you, whether you’re leading, struggling, building, or just curious, conversations. Because if my journey has taught me anything, it’s that that’s where real change begins.
