Today, with the start of the Odyssey, we bring together our crew for the first time.

We have decided to call them hetaîroi, following the name of participants in the ancient Greek traditional structure of the hetairía.

The hetairía was a club of people sharing the same interests, be it political, philosophical, or military, and the same ideal values. Each member had to swear to uphold the values of the hetairía, which came together regularly to discuss and learn, read and develop. It was a bond closer than family, with betrayal not being taken lightly, where high-risk topics were discussed, alliances took place, and interests were refined.

But besides the more traditional bonds, in the hetairía also took place a unique form of rivalry, between the hetaîroi themselves; as united in their beliefs and interests as they were, competition was seen as a driving force for improvement, and was generally a founding part of the relationships inside of the hetairía, where participants in the meetings competed for the best speech or story, detailing their ideas and convictions.

This form of competition was sane, and characterised a reality of the hetairía being the place where participants could not only come together to grow, but also confront themselves with one another. The success of each was celebrated, as it meant the success of the hetairía, but members kept each other from growing too arrogant in their conquests, grounding them when needed with a reproach.

United on the outside, competing on the inside, this social structure was where, for long times, changes affecting the whole Hellenic world took shape, with their execution planned.

As we set sail to venture into the sea, we envision our crew to form an hetairía. A place of communion, where the growth of each is accelerated through competition, but marked by a supportive environment of people with the same interest in achieving great things. A place where discussion, testing ideas, and sharing new views is the norm to build a lasting vehicle for change, the same change that hetairías shaped thousands of years ago to impact their surroundings.

Because, as we sail gigantic waves, face unseen difficulties, and fight through the process of creating a lasting business, we asked ourselves: with whom could we trust to do it if not with our hetaîroi?