Our goal is to find solutions for the decentralised and highly modular work environment of the future. Through investments, consulting and by incubating amazing companies, we participate in the creation of products that empower creative people to concentrate on their ideas. We believe this is possible by providing the tools necessary to optimise their workflows and connect them with the right people and service providers so software, machines or other people can take care of the stuff that gets in the way. The ultimate long term vision is to cultivate a portfolio of interoperable tools that give freelancers, start-ups and small businesses better possibilities than what is currently available in closed environments within big businesses, while also offering established companies the advantages of opening up and optimising their inter-company processes. This mix will allow anyone to go from an idea to a business at an accelerated pace without sacrificing flexibility and innovative potential.

This level of sophistication coupled with fluid networks and transorganizational services will drive a new generation of companies that will fundamentally define the future of work. Creativity is the ultimate resource and our focus is to build the environment to exploit it.

Starting in 2016, 533 focuses on projects that decentralise vital infrastructure creating smart systems that aims to be a model for a sustainable society. We believe that a diverse pool of happy independent people will deliver the results to compete in a highly automated world.

Our Story

In the year 2000, Ricardo Ferrer Rivero founded the 533design collective in Caracas, Venezuela to better serve his freelance clients. This lead, at the age of 18, to the incorporation of the 533 Group, C.A., his first company. Shortly thereafter he moved to Hannover, Germany to pursue his studies in Business Informatics. Inspired by the writings of Ricardo Semler, he experimented with the design of an utopian company by trying to answer the question: "What kind of company would I like to work for for the rest of my life?". Different criteria had to be met; the intention was to create a platform where freedom and flexibility were valued above all, and to address the problem of staying innovative while growing as a company. In order to realise this vision, he created an ambitious plan and founded 533 Group GmbH in 2008 with Christoph Zimmermann as Managing Director, after recieving funding from family and friends.