The Entrepreneurs – Monocle (21 January 2026)

Episode Summary: How is the sudden global attention on Greenland changing its economy?

This episode of The Entrepreneurs explores the impact of newfound international interest on Greenland’s economy—particularly in tourism—along with a deep dive into the rapidly evolving world of autonomous underwater vehicles in European defence. Hosted by Tom Edwards, the episode features two in-depth interviews: Casper Frank Muller, CEO and co-founder of Greenland-based adventure company Raw Arctic, and Eugene Timiewski, CEO of EuroAtlas, a leader in underwater drone technology.

1. Spotlight on Greenland: Tourism in a Geopolitical Goldfish Bowl

Main Theme

Global attention, spurred by high-profile comments and shifting geopolitics, is rapidly altering Greenland's economic prospects, bringing both opportunities and challenges—especially in tourism. Casper Frank Muller of Raw Arctic shares direct insights from Nuuk, Greenland’s tiny capital.

Key Discussion Points

• Genesis of Raw Arctic and Entrepreneurial Spirit

  • Founded by Casper (innovation/entrepreneurship academic), Isaac (Arctic guide), and Rasmus (boat captain/business expert).
  • Rooted in combining personal passions (e.g., fly fishing) with professional expertise:
    “We got the idea to establish this company called Raw Arctic. And… it was about merging our hobby with our profession.” (Casper, 01:55)

• Tourism: The ‘New Pillar’ of Greenland’s Economy

  • Alongside fisheries and minerals, tourism is emerging as the third major economic sector in Greenland.

  • Market competition is fierce, but global attention provides unique opportunities:
    “I usually say it's really difficult to buy something that you can't see. So that's exactly what we tried to develop and enhance... to sell Greenland.” (Casper, 03:14)

  • Leveraging international media buzz, including a National Geographic campaign:
    “We ran a campaign in National Geographic last year that said, not for sale, open for exploring. So we kind of use this entire media momentum to our advantage.” (Casper, 03:54)

• Trump’s Comments and the Unintended Tourist Boom

  • The catalyst: Donald Trump’s interest in Greenland in global headlines.

  • Resulted in a spike of international curiosity and inbound inquiries:

    “When a guy like Donald Trump ... starts talking about a country that has barely been mentioned in world history, it does something. Greenland was kind of put on the world map.” (Casper, 04:30)

  • Journalistic and tourist interest led to increased business:

    “People wrote to us, hey, I read about you in an article... I want to come visit your country. And that was just brilliant.” (Casper, 04:44)

• Challenges: Double-Edged Sword of Attention and Uncertainty

  • Geopolitical fears also cause hesitation:

    “There’s so much media momentum… but because of what we saw in Venezuela, it just puts a bit more power behind the words of Trump... People decide to kind of pause their bookings.” (Casper, 05:53)

  • Booking rates affected by perceived instability; guests hold off on committing.

• Unique Selling Points of Greenland

  • Remoteness and untouched ecosystems provide rare, authentic experiences:

    “Just imagine we're 56,000 people living on Greenland. We are one third of the United States, square metre wise. Imagine the amount of square metres per person… one of the last untouched ecosystems on earth.” (Casper, 07:59)

  • Wildlife abundance and cultural traditions (self-sourced food) highlight a way of life rare elsewhere.

• Sustainable Growth and Cautious Optimism

  • Greenland must balance growth with preservation:

    “As a Greenlandic tourist destination... the most important aspect is to focus on quality over quantity... We have to do it in a sustainable way.” (Casper, 09:23)

  • Raw Arctic aims to scale by acting as an agent, distributing wealth and opportunities across Greenland’s regions via local guides and partners.

    “We create wealth for everyone. And I think that's really important as of how we want to scale it.” (Casper, 10:35)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Greenland became a new tourist destination. It's trendy again. Who doesn't want to go to Greenland before it's taken over by the US? That's at least the statement that people are stating.” (Casper, 05:27)
• “We all survive and bring out our food... If it's fish or it's birds or it's reindeer or musk ox, you name it, we can get it ourselves. And being able to take a step back into history and explore something that unique, I think that's probably one of the most impressive selling points.” (Casper, 07:59)
• “Tourism has such a big potential for the future because it's actually an industry that preserves culture, it preserves nature. For us to be disturbing the nature will destroy the fundament of our business.” (Casper, 09:47)

2. European Defence: The Underwater Drone Arms Race

Main Theme

Technological innovation is transforming underwater robotics in defence, with autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) like EuroAtlas’ Greyshark leading the charge. The segment explores the pace of development, the inspiration from nature, and the real-world urgency driving the sector.

Key Discussion Points

• EuroAtlas’ Legacy and Growth

  • Originally focused on submarine power electronics, now expanded to power systems for aircraft and land vehicles—plus underwater drones.
  • Recent exponential staff and site growth reflects rapid sector expansion.

    “We are 135 employees. We grew from 55 employees not long ago to 135. And we are aiming to be 150 by the middle of next year.” (Eugene, 13:34)

• Autonomous Underwater Vehicles: From Concept to Reality

  • Decreased size and improved efficiency of computing power and sensors now enable genuine autonomy:

    “We couldn’t do [this] five years ago or even three years ago. Autonomy really means computing power—computing power, sensors, and low power consumption.” (Eugene, 15:06)

  • “Waypoint autonomy” (pre-programmed routes) is giving way to “true autonomy”—vehicles make decisions independently for weeks underwater.

• Greyshark: Range, Endurance, and Speed

  • Developed for long-range, high-endurance missions—often weeks at a time without surfacing or communication.
  • Hydrogen propulsion provides significant advantages:

    “With our advanced propulsion systems using, utilizing hydrogen... we will be in a situation that, like, say, for a reconnaissance mission, our vehicle can be underwater... for many, many, many weeks.” (Eugene, 17:27)

• Innovation Cycle and Technology Arms Race

  • Underwater tech has a slower obsolescence rate than aerial drones, but relentless upgrades are vital:

    “Whenever there's a new sensor which is better, wherever there is a new battery which has more performance... we will implement it immediately... Otherwise you will be out within seconds.” (Eugene, 18:50)

  • The market is an ongoing contest of advancement.

• Engineering Inspiration from Nature

  • Marine biology shapes form and function; partnership with Evologix brings penguin body design influence:

    “You cannot beat 30 million years of evolution... The pinguin shape, what it's based on, is really the perfect shape underwater.” (Eugene, 22:06)

  • Natural shapes boost efficiency—enabling extreme maneuvers, better range, and speed.

• Sense of Responsibility Amid Conflict

  • Beyond innovation, a sense of mission and urgency related to the ongoing Ukraine conflict and escalating global tensions:

    “We are in the middle of a war… our freaking—excuse my French—responsibility to support these brave people as much as we can.” (Eugene, 25:56)

  • The race to develop new capabilities is ongoing and essential for both defense and peace.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “The first dive I think was 21 seconds and everybody was screaming and shouting of joy and wow. The dive, the dive, I mean, it's a joke now. It can do hours and hours and whatever. But that was probably one of the most exciting bits.” (Eugene, 25:40)
• “Our, let's say, aggressors in the world… don’t stop developing attacks, autonomous underwater vehicles, and they probably have something already in the pipeline. So what we are doing is kind of like just counter it. We are in a race. We are in a weapons race. We talked about accelerated technology and that will not stop. So we must not stop.” (Eugene, 28:12)

3. Timestamps for Key Segments

• Greenland Spotlight & Raw Arctic

  • Introduction to episode themes: 00:11–01:01
  • Raw Arctic’s founding and market strategy: 01:55–03:54
  • Impact of global attention (Trump, media): 04:14–05:53
  • Geopolitical uncertainty and bookings: 05:53–07:30
  • What makes Greenland unique: 07:59–09:23
  • Sustainability and future of tourism: 09:23–11:35

• European Defence & EuroAtlas

  • EuroAtlas background: 12:37–14:20
  • Evolution and capabilities of underwater AUVs: 15:06–18:26
  • Deployment cycles and the innovation race: 18:50–21:34
  • Nature-inspired engineering: 22:06–25:18
  • Purpose, war, and responsibility: 25:36–28:12

4. Conclusion

This episode paints a picture of small communities and high-tech firms alike navigating global spotlights and existential uncertainties. Greenland’s tourism entrepreneurs are learning to harness attention for sustainable growth, while European defence innovators are in a relentless technological sprint, driven equally by wonder, ambition, and the grim realities of war.

Both stories underscore how sudden attention—be it from the world’s media or the shifting tides of geopolitics—can offer opportunity and pose challenge in equal measure.

For more on Raw Arctic: [rawarctic.com]
For more on EuroAtlas: [euroatlas.com]
Listen to more Monocle Entrepreneurs episodes at: [monocle.com]