The perhaps greatest achievement of information technology is its ability to enable coordination and cooperation of globally distributed groups of people. It's darkest hour came when people learned these same technologies they had come to rely upon had been turned against them as tools of control. Kolab started in 2001 with the goal to revert that trend. Its design principles included a strong requirement for Free Software and Open Standards, security oriented architecture, decentralisation, and end-to-end encryption. Kolab Systems CEO Georg Greve will take you on a journey of where and why Kolab started, the lessons learned, and how Kolab can enable you in taking back control over your own personal information.