Esteban Silva is a biologist and entrepreneur born and raised in Pigüé, a small town near Patagonia, Argentina. While studying biology at university, he was also a professional basketball player, an experience that shaped his discipline, resilience, and long-term mindset. Towards the end of his academic training, Esteban discovered entrepreneurship as a powerful career path to create real-world impact as a biologist. During that process, he became aware of the severe environmental pollution caused by petrochemical textile dyes in his hometown, where textile dyeing is a core industrial activity. What initially appeared to be a local issue soon revealed itself as a global challenge, and that realization led Esteban to found Protiva, a platform developing sustainable, bio-based colorants designed for integration into global textile supply chains.