Alan Frei

Alan Frei
Born 27 March 1982
Nationality Swiss
Occupation entrepreneur, economist
Known for minimalist lifestyle
Website alanfrei.com

Alan Frei (born 27 March 1982) is a Swiss entrepreneur and economist known for his minimalist lifestyle. After receiving a bachelor's degree from the University of Zurich (UZH), he founded several companies, including Nachhilfeportal.de and the e-commerce shops Amorana and LOOKSofLOVE, and was the managing director of the University of Zurich start-up center. In 2015, he began to receive press attention for his radically minimalist lifestyle, having reduced his personal possessions to around 150 items.

Biography

Frei was born in Switzerland on 27 March 1982.[1] In 2004 he studied at Nanjing Normal University in China, and in 2004-2007 he studied finance at the University of Zurich, receiving a bachelor's degree.[2] After graduation, he founded several companies, most notably the tutoring site Nachhilfeportal.de.[3]

Frei returned to the University of Zurich in 2012, serving as managing director of the UZH Startup Center for the next two years. In 2014, he co-founded the e-commerce site Amorana; Amorana acquired the lingerie seller Looks of Love the following year.[2]

Minimalism

In 2014, inspired by minimalists such as Andrew Hyde and so-called "homeless billionaire" Nicolas Berggruen, Frei at first began moving unneeded possessions to bags in his basement. After realizing how few of these things he missed, he set a goal of reducing his possessions drastically, not counting consumables.[1]

Frei proceeded to give away the majority of his possessions, including his furniture; guests seeing his home for the first time would often ask if he had just moved.[1][4] He digitized his music, paperwork, and family photos.[5][4] Ultimately he reduced his personal possessions to around 150 items.[1][6]

Frei said of his lifestyle that "The less I have, the freer I am in the head",[lower-alpha 1] allowing him to focus on experiences rather than belongings. He considered his minimalism a personal choice and not necessarily an example to others.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Nicole Hättenschwiler. "Platz fürs echte Leben". Coopzeitung. 01.03.16. Accessed 21.4.16.
  2. 1 2 Alanfrei.com. Accessed 21.4.16.
  3. ↑ Nachhilfeportal home page. Accessed 21.04.16.
  4. 1 2 Irène Schäppi. "Weg ist das Ziel". 20 min. 19.03.15. Accessed 21.4.16.
  5. ↑ Claudia Imfeld. "Suffizienz: Weniger ist mehr ". Beobachter. 07.02.14. Accessed 21.4.16.
  6. ↑ Szczesniak, Paulina. "Ich habe mich entmaterialisiert". Tages Anzeiger. 28.05.15.

Notes

  1. ↑ <<Je weniger ich habe, desto freier bin ich im Kopf>>

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, April 28, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.