Marius van Bergen is an entrepreneur who foresaw the massive impact that the internet would have on the way people communicate as early as the 1990s. He speaks Chinese and was the first foreigner to open an office in the High-tech Industrial Development Zone of Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province, home to nearly 100 million people. In spite of the current state of international affairs and the difficult relations between China and the west, Marius believes Web3 can empower and unite an increasing number of individuals, wherever they are geographically located
What was your journey like to get where you are?
I left the stability of a good-paying university job behind to start Chinglish.com. We developed a bilingual platform based on language automation tools with the goal of building a community for the hundreds of millions of people studying Chinese and English. It was a bumpy ride and the venture didn’t make it. On the flip side, the relationships we built along the way have grown stronger over time. The COBstr venture still relies on these networks today, not in the least those in China.
In a simpler phrase, what is your company exactly doing?
COBstr is leveraging sustainable and robust LED technology to display an NFT on the wheel of a bicycle. We do this with LED spokes that turn around fast enough to produce a visual image. Combined with Dutch bicycle expertise and an app to send NFTs (or QR codes or advertisements) to a bicycle wheel, we are building infrastructure for Web3. This will provide a new means of self-expression, as well as a platform for gaming and branding concepts. Most people own a bicycle. In the Netherlands most even have two. Katie Melua sings there are nine million bicycles in Beijing. That’s a fact. Bicycles being ubiquitous, it is no surprise that several companies are developing ride-to-earn software. Building a hardware-software combination the way COBstr envisions it is an even bigger challenge.
What about Metaverse are you most excited for in the future?
To some people, the notion of the Metaverse is quite disheartening, even dystopian. We prefer focussing on the positive aspects of “Das Ding an sich.” Who did not enjoy learning to ride a bicycle as a child? It is reminiscent of the innocence and happy times. We all know that biking outdoors is good for our health. It puts us in a better mood. Digital twins and phygital ecosystems are becoming a reality. Like using VR and AR tools, riding a bicycle is an experience. We want to add a level of fun to this experience and make it future-proof. What we are excited about are the rising opportunities that Web3 offers to creators and the movement toward decentralization.
Why should we be paying attention to the Metaverse?
Love it or hate it, as long as there is a business model, the Metaverse is here to stay, and it is going to play a significant role in the lives of many of us. We should reflect on this phenomenon because there are moral and ethical implications for human beings. This does not mean we will all be switching to virtual lives and become transhuman overnight. Nonetheless, starting to think about this new reality will make it easier to come to terms with the changes that are happening around us. In the meantime, COBstr will keep on riding and blaze its trail. We will be waiting at the crossroads. In a fresh state of mind. Without headset but on a bicycle. With a super cool NFT. And a red face and contented smile from exercising. The journey has begun.
