Founder story
It started with two neighbors and a long walk on a sunny day with the dogs. It was one of those days when you don't feel like returning to your desk or your everyday job. But this time, it was different, and one big question came up:
That question was the beginning of Balean, forming the basis for many more conversations…
Do you believe in our
cause?
Make your impact now.
We're Sander and Bart, friends, neighbors, and two people who couldn't stop thinking about the state of the world, and the potential for positive impact. Especially for our oceans.
Like so many of you, we felt that quiet restlessness. That voice inside saying: There has to be more we can do?
Bart Oor
Photo: Eastcoast of Denmark
Sander Brienen
Photo: Baltic sea, Hiddensee, Germany
For Sander, the seed was planted many years ago: In need of a well-deserved break, he packed his bags and spent three months travelling through Australia and New Zealand. What he found left a lasting impression: the vibrant colors of the Great Barrier Reef, the stillness of Milford Sound, and the beauty and fragility of nature. The ocean, in all its power and silence, gave him space to breathe at the time, and although years later… It ignited the spark for impact.
"That trip made a deep impression on me," Sander says. "Back then, I was mostly just in awe. The beauty, the scale, the silence of it all. I didn't fully grasp what it meant at the time, but it stuck with me. Years later, that's what made me start thinking: what can we do to take better care of something so fragile, and so essential?"
Bart had always been fascinated by the vastness of the ocean, how it stabilizes our planet's climate, supports life, and holds more mystery than we've ever explored. But as he learned more, one feeling kept growing: urgency. If the ocean is essential to life on Earth, why aren't we treating it that way?
"I couldn't wrap my head around it," Bart says. "We know so little about the ocean, and yet we depend on it for so much. What could we do to rebalance our relationship with the ocean?"
In 2023, those questions turned into action.
"We started reaching out: To scientists, innovators, local heroes, anyone cleaning beaches, organizations restoring coral reefs, and people everywhere building a better future for our seas. What we found was a global wave of impact… thousands of people, organizations, and initiatives around the world, working on positive ocean impact. But there is also a common struggle: lack of visibility, support, and connection."
"Technology, people, and ideas are there. What if we could build something that brings all these efforts together? Something that connects, empowers, and amplifies?" we pondered.
Those personal reflections led to a shared realization: that the ocean needs more than admiration, it needs action. And action comes from connection. Thus, the collective connection and action platform Balean was born.
"We quit our jobs. Invested our savings. Registered Stichting Balean in 2024." Bart recalls, "We built partnerships with research institutes, gathered a team of believers, volunteers, interns, and professionals, and started building a platform for ocean impact."
Today, we're getting ready to launch the first version of the Balean platform In October 2025,, co-created with a pioneering group of early adopters. It's our way of giving back: To the ocean, and to the global community fighting to protect it.