Dear hustlers, founders, operators and visionaries,
What happens when a particle physicist walks away from one of the world’s most prestigious scientific institutions to build a privacy-first tech company that challenges Big Tech? For Andy Yen, founder of Proton, the answer lies in urgency, values, and a vision for sovereignty.
In this conversation, Andy reflects on his journey from CERN to founding Proton, a company now used by millions to reclaim their digital rights. He opens up about the identity shift from scientist to entrepreneur, the existential stakes of online privacy, and the strategic design behind Proton’s rare nonprofit hybrid structure. Exclusively for our newsletter subscribers, Andy has shared additional insights below.
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How to build when the odds are against you
What you will get out of this episode
In our conversation, Andy shares:
How to navigate the transition from academia to entrepreneurship without losing your core mission
Why long-term trust must be structurally baked into your company - not just promised in branding
How to build a business that stands up to Big Tech monopolies and survives platform capture
Why European tech needs bold policy, confident procurement, and a shift in societal mindset to thrive
and much more!
Our main take away’s
Hard problems are worth pursuing, especially when they matter to society: Andy Yen’s leap from theoretical physics to building Proton wasn't driven by profit, but by a conviction that the future of the internet—and democracy itself—depended on reimagining digital infrastructure around privacy and user control.
Speed matters in startups, urgency is the founder’s core muscle: Coming from science, where discovery is patient and perpetual, Andy had to radically shift gears to survive in the startup world. What made it work? A “maniac sense of urgency” that not only fueled his own pace but inspired his team to embrace momentum as a source of joy, not stress.
