A week with me in the "Atlas Castle" to fund solutions fighting climate change 🌏
Noemie Kempf, tech entrepreneur, angel investor and one of our Atlas Nano Fund Limited Partner share her experience with us in Rocabella for the Atlas investors retreat, 2024 edition.
It’s quite late in the afternoon when I reach the heavy, turquoise gates of the Rocabella castle, 1h away from Nice, in the small town of Le Pradet, on the French Riviera.
Despite the day coming to an end, the heat is strong. The cicadas are still at it: around me, their endless, brutal concerto of screeching feels like a joyful invitation into the days to come.
I fill my lungs with the sweet smell of pine trees, grab my luggage handle, and slowly push the gates.
Despite its surroundings looking like your average neighborhood in the South of France, entering the Rocabella feels like traveling to another planet. A greener, lively, fresher planet - just what I’m hoping to help fight for!
Surprised by the amount of vegetation, I turn my head around, trying to find my way inside the property. Around me stands an ocean of green lushery - umbrella pines, cedar, olive, and fig trees, birds, squirrels… A typical sight for this part of the country. Behind the trees, a small square of blue sparkles, mirroring the sunrays: the ocean itself - or rather, the Mediterranean sea.
A bird calls for its mates. I can’t quite see it, but from its hoarse chant, I’m quite certain it’s a magpie. The noise pulls me out of my reverie. I resume my walk through the verdant settings and follow the path of small pebbles that meanders under my feet.
The end of the trail greets me with a stunning vision: nestled in a forest of lush trees, stands “La Folie”, the castle of Rocabella. Built in the Renaissance style of Roman palazzos, its immaculate white walls offer an astonishing sight. « It’s a good thing I brought my silk scarves and retro sunglasses », I think. The essence of the place feels like an invitation to indulge in some Italian extravaganza!
Upon reaching the front door, I’m met with our host: Djoann Fal, founder of The Atlas Capital, and a close friend. « Let me show you to your room », he says, grabbing my things. I follow him in the maze of the villa, wondering anxiously how ever on earth I’ll find my way back to where I arrived. I smile softly when discovering my room’s name: Méribel, a notorious ski station in the French Alps, which slopes I’ve had the pleasure to ride a few times. A little cold wouldn’t be too bad right now, I think to myself, as Djoann invites me to relax, before meeting him and the other guests for dinner in town.
At 8 o’clock, I join the first guests in the exquisite powder room of the castle, and we hop on cars to indulge in a typical southern meal of seafood down in Toulon’s bustling marina - the event on kicks off tomorrow morning, however some of us have arrived a bit ahead, thanks to the generosity of the castle owner.
The diversity in The Atlas’ community members is so broad, that I feel like I’m on my own little Noah’s Ark. Speaking of, one of the guests is actually Arch Wongchindawest - he starts telling me about his biodiversity safeguard project that relies on crypto, Wildchain. There’s also Raya Ten Chantaramungkorn, an inspiring visionary, who co-founded one of South East Asia’s leading medical platforms, HonestDocs. Antonio Ng, an architect of trade and a seasoned entrepreneur from Hong Kong, has launched his own startup, Formwork IO, and offers construction materials built to optimize carbon sequestration. Yuri Naumov Corbera is also among the guests: a Spanish native with a Russian name, who’s roamed the world for Bouygues Construction, the company for which he works on expanding key accounts and relationships with family offices. After gulping down an indecent amount of mussels, a stroll down Toulon’s pier, and a cocktail, we all go back to Rocabella.
Day 1: Let’s Take a Trip to 2042
I wake up with the cry of seagulls flying by my room’s window. Quick! A coffee, a croissant, and it’s time for the opening welcome speech by Djoann.
20+ guests have arrived by then. We all set a common intention: we’ll enjoy the opportunity of our 2-day stay in this magical place harvests to connect, recharge, renew our commitment to fight climate change and build long-lasting ties.
And suddenly, it’s time for a delicious lunch made of chickpea panisses, deep-fried sunflower petals, summer roasted veggies, and all sorts of delicacies typical from the South of France (if you’re wondering, yes, the French eat virtually non-stop - and when we aren’t eating, we’re talking about food).
After lunch, the afternoon unrolls in the most pleasant of ways: the guests relax and engage in deep conversations around the natural pool, a dark emerald square hidden by a curtain of water plants. Some new guests have arrived: Devin Gilmarting, freshly landed from New York City, has co-founded The Canvas, and transforms vacant spaces into ethical marketplaces for independent creators. John Connor Hammond, a close friend of the pair, has made a name for himself pursuing his creative endeavors as a Producer, Director, and Writer as well as the founder of Studio 181. Arch has been joined by his German partner, Florian Brehm, who now lives in Porto. Nicolas de Greet has driven with his family all the way from Milan, where he now resides, to join our colorful little group. Soaking up in the sun, I observe this disparate crew with a malicious smile. It feels like having our very own little Davos Summit, live from Rocabella, Le Pradet!
Riety Panh, a notorious artist and activist from Thailand, delights us by organizing a watercolor workshop. Despite my obvious lack of talent for painting flowers, I deeply enjoy learning about painting techniques and rock crushing, as we produce our own natural pigments under the benevolent eye of our host!
Before you know it, the clock rings, telling us it’s 6 pm. We all make our way to the Coral Room, whose creamy yellow ceiling is adorned with two giant, bright red lamps in the shape of coral branches. There starts one of the main points of our retreat: our utopian trip into the future, imagining together the Sustainable City of 2042!
Writing has always been my interface of choice when it comes to capturing thoughts and describing what’s going on in the world around me. But a few years ago, I discovered that words also have an amazing impact when they’re wielded to bring new worlds to life.
So, this is what the workshop I’m facilitating aims at: using the power of perspective and fiction, in order to create sustainable futures collectively! For the next hour, participants are invited to imagine in groups, based on current innovations and ‘weak signals’, what the Sustainable City of their dreams could look like.
How can we build these new cities sustainably?
How can we feed them?
How can we power them?
How can we regenerate them?
Four groups are made, each working on one of these burning questions.
Our imaginary trip to 2030 yields promising results and some impressive (or quirky) innovations come to life under our eyes:
Pala Islands, a collective of 72 floating tax-free islands;
Pia, a former zombie town retrofitted into a sustainable city;
Food Swap, an app that triggered dramatic changes to the global food system;
Agritower, the (future) world’s leading vertical farming model.
After this energizing voyage, we all enjoy dînner on the terrace and a private piano-jazz concert by a local musician. The smooth music and the chilled drinks softly bring us all back to very enjoyable present times!
Day 2: Ahoy, sailors! Building ties on an old ship
If the first day was already an exceptional experience, it’s hard to reflect how unique the second was. After breakfast, we all make our way through the lush gardens of the Villa Rocabella, walking all the way down to our host’s private creek.
There, the Jld’a welcomes us: this beautiful ship from the 1920s will be our ride for the entire day! Cédric, our captain, explains the history of the tonnier, turned into a bateau de plaisance in the 1980s by its wealthy owners.
Earlier, Jld’a has also been used to shoot some scenes from this year’s hit movie in France: the Count of Monte Cristo, an adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ world-famous novel.
The day unrolls peacefully, sailing upon the sapphire waters of the Mediterranean. We drop our anchor in a small, secret creek near the peninsula of Giens, a marine protected area, and enjoy snorkeling among the local species of fish, hiding and playing in the underwater forests of seagrass.
After a few hours basking in the sun, we set sail back to the Villa Rocabella. It’s time to meet its owner, sponsor, and our host, Jean-Baptiste Rudelle, who founded Criteo in 2005 and was the first French entrepreneur to list his company on the NASDAQ.
Welcoming us in the living room of the villa, he shares his vision of the future, based on his book, 12 Light-years - a pragmatic yet inspiring journey into the world of tomorrow. Jean-Baptiste also expands on his current projects: managing the NGO Blue (committed to protecting and preserving the oceans), running his Zenon think tank, advocating for gender equality in the workplace, as well as turning the Villa Rocabella into a creative residency for artists. While admiring his energy, enthusiasm, and wit, I wonder if he ever sleeps anymore, but I do not dare ask the question.
After Jean-Baptiste’s eye-opening speech, Atlas investors have the pleasure of discovering the pitches of three exciting startups, which are part of the fund’s portfolio:
Formwork IO: a carbon sequestration project mixing architecture and efficient materials;
The Great Bubble Barrier: a social enterprise on a mission to clean rivers and oceans from plastic pollution with a smart Bubble Barrier technology;
The Canvas: a company transforming spaces into hubs for the future of fashion;
Wildchain: a play-to-impact mobile game letting individuals digitally adopt endangered wildlife and support real-world conservation efforts.
After this busy day, we all enjoy our last dinner together. Riety Panh shares her beautiful artwork - paintings from her trip to Ushuaïa, a few years back. I already feel quite nostalgic: tomorrow, we’ll have to break out of our little bubble!
Day 3: See you next year, my friends
Before parting ways, Djoann has planned a last surprise: a yoga & breathwork class in the grass, in front of the sea. The practice goes smoothly, allowing us all to leave our utopian bubble and anchor ourselves back into the present.
After exchanging contacts, Djoann shares a few final thoughts. This retreat has been all about the power of connections: gathering like-minded people to dream together, share meaningful conversations, collaborate - and enact the change we want to see in the world.
As the car driving me back to Marseille pulls away from the villa, the large gates of Rocabella become smaller and smaller. I push my head against the window to see it one last time before it disappears in a turn of the road. In my hand, my phone starts buzzing - the other attendees have started sharing wishes of farewell, pictures, and contacts.
« So, this is the end of a nice experience, eh? », asks my driver, glancing at my dreamy gaze from his rear-view mirror.
« No », I say softly with a joyful grin. « It’s just the beginning. »
Noemie Kempf
Notes from Atlas Team: The “Atlas Castle” is reserved to existing investors of Atlas Capital’s funds. To learn more about our investing activities and be part of our 2025 retreat, share your interest at team@theatlascapital.com.
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