To describe Impact and Sustainability Tech entrepreneur Alessa Berg as multi-faceted is an understatement. This free-spirited millennial started her first business at age 11, began focusing on neuroscience in high school while working as a windsurf and snowboard instructor in her spare time. She’s also been in web3, investing in blockchain and biotech since graduating from Oxford university in 2012.
Switzerland-born Alessa, who describes herself as ‘an explorer by nature, pioneer by choice,’ established Top Tier Impact (TTI) in 2019. This members-only global ecosystem encompasses 600+ impact and sustainability leaders, entrepreneurs and investors across more than 45 countries.
As its Founder and CEO, Alessa explains TTI’s mission is ‘to focus on solving the critical issues of our time’ by accelerating the adoption of impact and positive technologies in business and society.
TTI’s investment activities span across climate tech, food and agriculture, psychedelics, renewable energy, mental health, biotech, circular economy and web3 for impact.
Aside from its active private member network, TTI comprises several units. These include an advisory consulting business focused on climate risk scenario planning and Environment, Social and Governance (ESG), a policy unit focusing on net-zero energy transition issues, and an impact investing unit.
Passionate about ‘creating a cooler global paradigm for our planet,’ Alessa’s company also launched TTI Global Impact Awards last year. Dubbed the ‘Oscars of impact and sustainability,’ the award celebrates startup entrepreneurs building a better world.
She obviously loves her fellow adventurers in the TTI community, fondly calling them the ‘crazy ones’ who dare to build the future while staying intensely present and embrace uncertainty in the name of impact’ on Instagram.
As an investor and advisor, Alessa’s thought leadership ‘sits at the intersection of positive impact and emerging technologies.’
Zurich, Switzerland Education needed for technological adoption With a bachelor’s from Zurich University and MSc degree from the University of Oxford, her academic background in governance design and earlier career included products at early stage technology startups, working in private equity at Blackstone and in venture capital at Mosaic Ventures.
Stating ‘there’s always a different solution, a new way of looking at things, an alternate universe,’ Alessa views the Metaverse as a ‘convergence of our physical and digital lives, which creates a merged reality where we can work, play, learn, socialize and transact.’
It’s been amazing, she remarks, to experience the growth of web3 and especially the blockchain sector since she ‘first got sucked into web3.’
“We’re now in a whole different world, where DeFi applications and NFTs have provided massive, tangible value.” She envisages DAOs exploding within a metaverse environment, adding ‘they’ll enable us to design the real world structures and companies of the future.’
As for Metaverse opportunities, Alessa foresees education and business will lead the world. On a personal note, she’s particularly excited about edutainment and fitness, quipping she loves some Metaverse games with an active physical component.
Alessa is upbeat that the Metaverse can enhance the way we live our lives in the real world. remarking that ‘technology is neutral, it’s up to us to use it in a positive way.’
“The Metaverse doesn’t have to mean we are less present in the real world. On the contrary, it can make us more empathic, informed and present than ever before.
Aside from the need to create better User Experience Design (UX) and User Interface Design (UI), education has always been a big barrier for mainstream adoption.
“It always comes down to the same principle: helping people get comfortable and familiar enough with the technology, so they’ll actually use it.”
With her conviction that ‘web3 is one of the key enablers of this new paradigm,’ Alessa suggests real technological adoption requires many different stakeholders to exchange knowledge, invest and run businesses differently. Her face lights up about web3 and the Metaverse in future because ‘the whole world’s paying attention now.’
“Now it’s no longer a niche, but something everybody wants to be part of. The status quo is clearly no longer an option, and we need to evolve the way we live on this planet.”
Aside from growing her international business, Alessa loves windsurfing, snowboarding and writing inspiring poems which she shares on Instagram. A fearless risk taker when it aligns with her passion and purpose, her own online post suggests what inspires her: “I don’t chase highs, I am the high. And so are you.”
ALESSA BERG’S METAVERSE & WEB 3 TIPS AND RESOURCES
Website: toptierimpact.com
