About Valon Asani | Love, values and Albanian roots

I’m Valon Asani, a Swiss-Albanian founder living between Zürich and Prishtina. I build companies, read, train and ask questions about the kind of people we become while doing all that.

Be the one starts with how you treat people.

For me, becoming your best self means keeping your word, respecting boundaries, loving without control and taking responsibility when you fall short. Besa is a value I want to live, not a word to display.

Why I built dua.com.

I founded dua.com to help Albanians find connection across borders. In my vision, meaningful relationships can become lasting partnerships and, for those who choose it, families that pass on our language and stories. A living culture needs care from one generation to the next. My work also includes MIK Group, bethe.one and Spotted.

What I stand for—and what I challenge.

I stand for strong families where people feel safe and respected, for the Albanian language and heritage, and for the right of Albanians to live safely in Kosovo and decide their own future. I speak against manipulation, violence, broken promises, cultural shame and empty patriotism that asks for loyalty without practising care.

I also challenge religious or political ideas that demand we abandon our language, culture or one another. I oppose Serbian nationalist claims or actions that deny Kosovo’s self-determination or threaten its people. My criticism is directed at claims, policies and actions; it is never a judgment of Serbs or people of any faith as a whole.

Belonging is more than genetics. Mixed families, adopted children and people who do not have children can all carry Albanian culture forward. The values I choose—besa, hospitality, courage and mutual respect—must leave room for people to choose their own lives.

Where I think out loud.

I write and speak about loving well, living your values and carrying our roots forward. Business, technology, health and life between cultures are part of those questions. These are my experiences and opinions; I check factual claims and leave room to change my mind.

Start with the three themes, explore the writing or join Letters from Valon.