From first land sheep to cash cow

Not everyone knows Marco Scheel by name, but almost everyone in the industry knows that we can't all develop the next dating app with a latte macchiato - we have to get hands-on. An entertaining founder talk including critical follow-up questions.

In a fascinating YouTube video, Marco Scheel takes us into the exciting world of Nordwolle GmbH, a company that has already been featured in an NDR documentary. In PitchLab, Marco Scheel shares the impressive story of Nordwolle's origins and reveals the beginnings, challenges and key turning points that have made the company what it is today. It becomes particularly clear how his passion for sustainability and quality has been instrumental in shaping Nordwolle.

As Scheel had a great desire for textiles made from Pomeranian sheep's wool, but was unable to find any suppliers, he spent his evenings studying the very old subject of wool processing. He taught himself how to spin, embroider and crochet and made his first hats and socks. He became more and more convinced of wool clothing and now wanted to use weaving and fulling as a processing method. He found a few companies in Germany that were still doing this on a small scale. After a personal visit to a spinning and weaving mill, he quickly bought several hundred kilos of Pomeranian sheep wool and had it processed into the first Nordwolle loden.

The Pomeranian sheep is an endangered breed of livestock whose wool was destroyed in the past, partly because it can only be dyed and processed to a limited extent. Another important aspect of Nordwolle Rügen's philosophy is its refusal to import expensive wool from New Zealand. The company is convinced that German raw materials are just as suitable for textile production and that it makes no sense to destroy them. Instead, Nordwolle relies on local resources and thus not only supports the local economy, but also contributes to the sustainability of the industry.

In addition, the company is actively involved in the preservation of ancient breeds of country sheep, some of which are kept on pasture all year round. These sheep are able to survive without South American concentrated feed and make an invaluable contribution to the preservation of biodiversity and landscape conservation. Nordwolle Rügen therefore not only produces high-quality textiles, but is also committed to the preservation of nature and culture in Germany.

Pitchlab format

The PITCHLAB is a remarkable format that regularly offers founders, entrepreneurs and visionaries a platform to share their experiences and ideas in compact 15-minute presentations. With a clear mission to promote exchange and inspiration in the world of start-ups and entrepreneurship, PITCHLAB brings together people who want to share their stories of building and philosophizing their businesses. Not only the successes, but also the challenges and obstacles along the way are highlighted in detail. PITCHLAB is the result of a dedicated initiative of freelancers and self-employed people in collaboration with digitization centers and is organized and produced by a passionate volunteer team. Further information and the team can be found on the Pitchlab website.