Sustainable entrepreneurship: Paulina Teuscher – buying her future at 23

Women receive significantly lower pensions than men, with some studies estimating the difference to be as much as 40 per cent. Paulina Teuscher was in her early 20s and in the middle of her commercial training in marketing at the advertising agency Scholz & Friends when she began to wonder: could employment alone give her the security she was looking for? ‘What happens if I get sick? Will I still be able to pay my rent? And what about when I get older? It was clear to me: I want to try to build up my assets early on,’ she recalls. And then there was also her dream of becoming an entrepreneur and starting her own business.

Paulina Teuscher listened to podcasts, read everything she could about investments and decided to become an entrepreneur while she was still in training. Her interest in architecture and interior design quickly drew her to real estate. Paulina Teuscher wanted to design and invest. But where would she get the capital? ‘I saved every penny from my full-time job and got a loan from the bank,’ she explains. At just 23 years old, she bought her first flat in Bremen, renovated it and rented it out.

‘The income enabled me to finance my studies at Leuphana. I know many people think that environmental science and renting have little to do with each other. But I can make a sustainable impact, and that's important to me,’ says Paulina Teuscher. She now owns a second flat, this time in Lüneburg: ‘Both are furnished with second-hand furniture and supplied with green electricity,’ explains the Hamburg native, who is also committed to sustainable renovation.

Leuphana's unique study model also enabled Paulina Teuscher to acquire knowledge in economics: ‘I studied digital business as a minor. The programme allowed me to expand my knowledge of economics, which is also useful when starting a business.’

On her own Instagram channel, @immoparity, she shares her experiences to inspire young women in particular to invest in real estate: ‘Go for it! Finance and real estate are not just for men,’ she urges. Nevertheless, Paulina Teuscher admits that it is not always easy: "As a landlord, you have to stand up for yourself, set boundaries and always be available. I have become more resilient and have learned to have difficult conversations. Unfortunately, female landlords are less respected than men. When you are young like me, it becomes even more difficult."

But the Hamburg native loves the diverse challenges and sustainable entrepreneurship:  While studying at Leuphana, she was involved in a research project to build a social innovation community for almost a year. At the age of 24, she founded her first impact start-up, PARU. In just one and a half years, she and her team developed the product, launched a successful crowdfunding campaign and received awards worth over €50,000.

At the same time, she gave courses for FLINTA* at Leuphana on financial independence: ‘We need sustainable transformation – and for that we need people with backbone who are also willing to take responsibility for financial issues,’ says Paulina Teuscher. For her, entrepreneurial spirit, financial independence and sustainability are not contradictions, but ways to achieve long-term impact: ‘I want to inspire others to take control of their own future – especially women.’