Why kustik —and what that has to do with *me*
Good conversations are important to me.
Not small talk, but genuine, attentive conversations. The kind where you understand each other—not just acoustically, but on a human level.
But I am severely hard of hearing. Since birth.
Actually, I have no idea what hearing means. I don't know what stereo is. I can't tell which direction my children are calling me from. I don't recognize the voices of people calling me. I don't know how birds chirp in spring. I can only see a theater. The same goes for the radio.
I only hear explicitly. Face-to-face. With full attention and a hearing aid. And even then, only with one ear and with over 60% loss.
My audiogram: 100% hearing loss on the left and 68% on the right
Many people are surprised when I say that I also appreciate my hearing loss. Because it has given me something I wouldn't want to trade: it has taught me to understand with my eyes and my mind. Because I can't trust my ears.
That's why I see what many overlook.
How someone moves. How they look, sit, stand. Calmness, tension, tiredness. I see how people react to spaces—often before they realize it themselves.
As someone with hearing loss, good rooms have always been important to me.
I started my entrepreneurial career at the age of 16. At 21, I had my first office and employees. To date, I have founded nine companies— kustik the ninth.
I have set up many workspaces. I know the questions: location, lighting, budget, lease term. And I know the disappointment when spaces work but don't have the desired effect.
Of course, acoustics has always been an issue for me. But a difficult one to solve.
Until I was in Amsterdam in 2019. I wanted to evaluate new offices for our company, foryouandyourcustomers. I visited four buildings belonging to three tenants. All of them were large, empty spaces—and all of them had excellent acoustics.
I was surprised. I saw: it was on the ceiling. A fluffy, matte surface, calm, inconspicuous—but effective.
That's how I got to know Acosorb and its founder, Caspar ter Bille. And I knew right away that this solution was missing in Switzerland.
In 2021, I found my new workspace—great location, great potential, acoustically disastrous. With Acosorb's highly absorbent ceiling, it became a space where I could work, talk, and listen.
And: I understood people. I saw how comfortable they felt. I knew: This works.
In 2023, I built my own home—with a cellulose acoustic ceiling, of course. And I looked for a supplier in Switzerland. There wasn't one.
So I started the company with two friends kustik in partnership with Acosorb, with the following attitude:
Spaces should facilitate conversation. So should our company.
Spaces should be built for people first—not primarily for profit. The same goes for our company.
kustik not a business idea, but a consequence.
Good spaces are created because those involved want them to be. The same goes for good conversations.
Today, kustik is kustik days old and thriving.
I would like to thank the team, the clients, and the many friends and colleagues both on and off the construction site for their fantastic cooperation. Thank you also for the many good conversations—it's a pleasure!
Ideas for good conversations:
How does your behavior change when you are heard?
How do you show that you understand someone?
What does successful work mean to you?
These questions are inspired by personalities from the fields of architecture, acoustics, sustainability, art, and philosophy and come from our card set "100 good questions for 200 good conversations."