Or to be exact: we were Berliner. After two exciting weeks in the German capital city with the whole full-time team, we are now back in Zurich, inspired by what we have seen and energized by the people we met.

Here are some of the coolest businesses, projects, ideas and people we came across:

A start-up: Niiu

Niiu is personalized newspaper, printed and delivered to your home every morning. You can choose the topics you want to read about and the sources from a wide range of traditional media and blogs. Isn’t that cool? We joined their first year anniversary party and enjoyed meeting their founding team. Niiu has international expansion plans but is unfortunately only available in Berlin at the moment.

A social enterprise: x-runner

x-runner is a portable toilet specifically designed for the private households in poor urban areas, where the population does not own the land, lives in small, crowded spaces, and where a sewage system is non-existent. Once full, it can be converted into a rollable device, which will then be brought to a nearby collection point – usually a public toilet – where the feces can be dumped. The collection point will has a bio-digester where the feces will be processed and turned into methane gas. The x-runner user can benefit from the gas by using it for cooking and for lighting.

An incubator: betapitch

Sandboxer Hans Raffauf wants to help entrepreneurs convert their ideas into tangible results. He has started betapitch, a platform that strives to meet the requirements of independent, creative professionals by providing them with a collaborative workspace and the services of an incubator (network of investors, mentors and other services targeted to young companies). betapitch is located at Betahaus, a large coworking space in the center of Berlin, which was also our temporary office during our two-week stay.

A Sandboxer: Sebastian Christ

Sebastian Christ is a journalist, working on a compilation of short stories about the war in Afghanistan. He went to Afghanistan twice and is currently preparing a third expedition. In his words: “if you travel Afghanistan, you won’t witness a scenery that could be described with the words we are used to hear when we talk about ‘war’. [...] Often, the war in Afghanistan has no sound or smell. Even more often there is no frontline. But in some way the enemy is always around you, 24 hours a day. And that is exactly what I am writing about. If you think of Afghanistan, forget the pictures you have seen in Apocalypse Now. It is about the sound of silence and all the things that happen in the short moments when it is getting loud.” We had a great working session – and an amazing brunch – at Sebastian’s tower house in East Berlin and very much enjoyed the good discussions and his communicative laugh.

We hope to be back soon!

GEOLOCATOR (new!)

The Geolocator is a great tool to meet fellow Sandboxers when on the way. It also gives some statistics about our travel habits: ever wondered how many kilometers Sandboxers travel every year?

INTRODUCTION CONCIERGE (new!)

Feeling lonely in a new city? Looking for someone with specific knowledge in the Sandbox network? Our Introduction Concierge will do everything in his power to answer your request.

COWORKING (new!)

Are you looking for a temporary office somewhere? Maybe a Sandboxer can help! Check out this map, and if you have a free space in your own office, don’t hesitate to leave a comment.

RESOURCES (new!)

Access a great list of resources selected by the community and by the Sandbox team. Learn about academia, business & career, starting up, how to find employees, innovation, leadership, networking and others.

IDEAS (new!)

Access a stream of fresh ideas and discussions by fellow Sandboxers. Ask your questions, help other members, or post your craziest ideas and the most inspiring links you come across!

COUCHSURFING

Are you traveling and are looking for a place to stay? Do you have a
couch or a spare bed that could be used by fellow Sandboxers
visiting your city? Try Sandbox Couchsurfing!

AMBASSADORS

The Ambassadors are the core of our offline network. They are among the best connected people in the network, organize local events and are your main point of contact in all the cities where we are represented.

Antoine is a Co-Founder and the CEO of Sandbox. He is flying to Berlin tomorrow morning where he will attend the Palomar5 final Summit, together with a dozen other Sandboxers from all around.