In this episode, I sit down with Sandhya Sriram, CEO of Sprout Agritech, a premier startup accelerator and early-stage investor based in New Zealand. Sandhya—a stem cell scientist and serial entrepreneur turned investor—explains how Sprout leverages heavy New Zealand government backing to radically de-risk pre-seed investments. We discuss their unique funding structure, which pairs private equity with $750k in non-dilutive government match-funding, making New Zealand one of the most capital-efficient ecosystems on the planet. Currently raising a new $55M–$60M NZD fund to expand across the APAC region, Sandhya reveals why they act more like co-founders than traditional VCs, actively handing research scientists their first corporate pilot customers, and why she is aggressively rebranding their thesis away from "Agri-Tech" to "Deep Tech."

Key Facts Sprout Agritech:

• Goal: To act as "smart connected capital" for deep tech innovation across the Agri-Food value chain, bridging the gap between academic research and commercial pilot runs.
• Milestone: Currently raising a new $55M–$60M NZD fund to expand APAC investments, building on a fully deployed $40M fund that saw 14 investments and two exits (including one 8x return).

In this episode, I sit down with David Bassani, Founding Partner of Maia Ventures, an Italy-based VC fund rapidly approaching its €60M hard cap. David details why he believes the Italian ecosystem is severely underfunded despite Agri-Food accounting for 15% of the nation's GDP. He reveals how Maia acts as a powerful bridge, bringing global AgriFoodTech startups to Italian corporates while simultaneously taking localized Italian innovation to the world stage. We also unpack David's highly contrarian strategy: dedicating a specific portion of the portfolio to "traditional" businesses with strong EBITDA (like their sous-vide vegetable company, Capellini) to explicitly target early Private Equity buyouts rather than relying solely on the elusive FMCG corporate acquisition. 🎧 Listen to the full episode to hear how a cold intro from a fellow VC led to their first US investment in the GLP-1 space (Lombos) and why Maia Ventures refuses to fund CapEx projects.

Key Facts Maia Ventures:

• Goal: To invest globally in Seed-stage AgriFoodTech startups focusing on health, efficiency, and resiliency, while acting as a strategic bridge to the Italian corporate and CDMO ecosystem.
• Milestone: Currently managing €55M with a final close of €60M targeted by the end of the year; writing initial checks between €500K and €1.5M.

In this episode, I sit down with Jonas Ahm-Lundgren, Partner at the Footprint Fund, which recently announced the first close of their €76M pre-seed and seed climate tech fund. Jonas breaks down their highly unusual structure—operating a venture fund under the same roof as a major sustainability advisory firm—and how this "army of smart folks" gives them an unfair advantage in corporate networking and due diligence. We dig into their investment in Octarine Bio, detailing how the founders executed a brilliant hard pivot from medical psilocybin to bio-based colorants for textiles and food. Jonas also explains why tackling deeply fragmented, high-pollution markets like textile dyeing requires a 12-year fund structure and an immense amount of founder resilience. 

🎧 Listen to the full episode to hear Jonas's "whaling ship" analogy for venture capital and why startups should never ignore unsolicited inbound interest from Fortune 500 companies.

Key Facts The Footprint Fund:

• Goal: To invest €0.5M to €2M checks in early-stage climate tech companies across Northern Europe, prioritizing deep impact aligned with massive financial returns.
• Milestone: Closed a €76M debut fund backed by a highly condensed roster of top-tier Danish LPs, including Novo Holdings, Northeast Family Office, and the Danish government fund EIFO.

In this episode, I sit down with Jim Miller, President and CEO of Evergreen Select, a cultivated meat company that has raised roughly $55M to date, backed heavily by lead investor S2G. Jim brings over 30 years of Fortune 500 biotech and Big Pharma execution (including COVID vaccine commercialization) to the cultivated meat sector. He breaks down why Evergreen abandoned complex plant-based hybrid blends in favor of a direct "drop-in" strategy: blending their 100% lean, non-GMO cultivated beef biomass directly with traditional ground beef. We dive into the science behind their 3D bovine scaffolding that allows them to harvest solid chunks instead of a liquid slurry—achieving massive titers north of 350 grams per liter—and how they are positioning their product as a hedge against the volatile spot prices of the traditional beef industry. 

🎧 Listen to the full episode to hear Jim’s masterclass on extreme board transparency and why daily scrums are vital for startup survival.

Key Facts Evergreen Select:

• Goal: To supply meat processors with a highly scalable, non-GMO cultivated lean beef biomass that blends seamlessly with traditional ground beef to stabilize costs and supply.
• Milestone: Successfully raised ~$55M to date (with a recent $8M injection) while advancing regulatory dossiers for commercialization in both the US and Singapore.

In this episode, I sit down with Tom Doornik, Investment Associate at Doen Ventures, an Amsterdam-based early-stage impact VC backed by the Doen Foundation. Tom walks us through their thesis on the "regenerative economy" and why they write €350K to €700K pre-seed and seed checks for both B2B enabling tech and B2C sustainable brands across the Benelux, DACH, and Nordic regions. We dive deep into their recent investment in Koppie, a Belgian startup creating a single-ingredient coffee alternative from fermented legumes. Tom explains how Koppie bypassed the heavy CapEx trap by seamlessly integrating into existing coffee supply chains and CDMOs, allowing them to compete on price immediately amidst massive global coffee supply shortages. 

🎧 Listen to the full episode to hear how Tom navigates the regulatory labeling challenges of alternative coffee and why Doen Ventures actively seeks out impact-driven FMCG brands.

Key Facts Doen Ventures:

• Goal: To invest in the "regenerative economy" (from regenerative agriculture to the blue economy), focusing on restoring harm done to the planet rather than just incremental resource efficiency.
• Milestone: Actively managing a portfolio of nearly 70 investments and deploying €350K to €700K initial checks (with multi-million follow-on capacity) across Northern Europe.

Alex’s Top Findings: 

1. The Ultimate CapEx Hack: Supply Chain Interoperability. Doen Ventures didn't just invest in Koppie for the science; they invested because the commercialization path was hyper-efficient. Koppie's legume-based coffee alternative utilizes standard off-the-shelf roasting machinery and downstream CDMOs. By acting as a seamless "drop-in" product, they avoid the multi-million dollar VC death trap of building a proprietary factory, keeping their unit economics at true price parity. "They don't need to build their own factory or production line. They can work with existing parties that have the machinery to get production going. And I think for the phase they're in, that's a huge advantage because... it lowers CapEx requirements, therefore funding requirements. And it just makes the whole funding play way easier."
2. The "Systemic Change" LP Structure. Because Doen Ventures is part of a foundation, they aren't bound by traditional GP/LP return pressures that force VCs to chase quick SaaS multiples. This allows them to focus purely on "systemic change." They define impact not just as resource efficiency (doing less bad), but true regeneration—actively restoring degraded soil health and relieving the ecological pressure caused by the global coffee supply chain. "We don't have a very typical GP/LP structure. We have money that is aimed at realizing systemic change... The way we look at impact is regeneration, meaning how can we actually restore or regenerate the harm that we have done over the years."
3. The Contrarian Bet on B2C Consumer Brands. While the vast majority of FoodTech VCs are currently running away from consumer brands (favoring B2B ingredients), Doen Ventures is actively leaning in. Tom highlights that systemic change requires mass consumer adoption, and dismissing brands as mere "marketing wrappers" ignores the necessary reality of actually selling the transition to the end-user. "We're really looking for consumer brands as well. I think for many investors, there's quite some doubts or hesitancy about brands, seeing them more as marketing wrappers and we actually see them as a very valuable tool to drive impact because in the end you need to convince consumers."

In this episode, I sit down with Hélène Briand, Co-founder and Chief Innovation & Commercial Officer at Verley Food, a French precision fermentation company that recently made headlines by closing a massive $38M Series A led by Alvin. Hélène reveals the disciplined, milestone-obsessed playbook that allowed them to go from Seed to Series A without needing a bridge round. We discuss how she proved commercial traction before having a product to sell by putting prospective customers directly on the phone with investors, why they chose to scale up with a North American CDMO rather than building their own CapEx-heavy facility, and how they secured a crucial "No Questions" letter from the FDA in record time. 

🎧 Listen to the full episode to hear why Hélène hired dedicated Project Managers to keep scientists on schedule and why focus is the ultimate fundraising hack.

Key Facts Verley Food:

• Goal: To develop the next generation of functionalized whey protein (BLG) for the food industry using precision fermentation.
• Milestone: Raised a $38M Series A (including significant non-dilutive backing from Bpifrance) and secured a "No Questions" letter from the FDA.

Alex’s Top Findings: 

1. The Power of Hitting Milestones (No Bridge Required). The FoodTech industry is notorious for delayed timelines and endless bridge rounds. Verley Food stands out because they actually delivered on the exact scientific and regulatory milestones they promised their Seed investors. Hélène attributes this to intense focus (refusing to expand beyond BLG protein) and the crucial decision to hire dedicated, non-lab-working Project Managers whose sole job is to keep the scientific team executing on schedule. "We eat on time and we have been overachieving it. And this has made the difference... We hired two project managers dedicated to execution and project management... They're not working in the lab. They're just here to manage the milestone and building the mitigation plan."
2. Proving Market Traction Pre-Commercialization. How do you prove traction when you don't have volume to sell? Verley Food didn't rely on theoretical TAM charts. They built an in-house applications team to solve specific pain points for FMCGs (like creating highly stable, high-protein acidic beverage shots). When it came time to fundraise, Hélène put those prospective customers directly on the phone with the VCs to vouch for the immediate market need. "We also are lucky to have good relationships with [our customers] to be able to discuss directly with our investors. So it was first of all allowing investors to touch the credibility as well on the market so they had direct access... They get on call with investors directly and we are not involved."
3. The Strategic CDMO Choice (And Why North America). Rather than burning capital building their own facility in France, Verley opted to scale through a Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) in North America. Hélène explains that finding a partner with the exact downstream filtration equipment and the "agility" to handle a startup's pace was more important than simply chasing the cheapest labor costs in Asia, especially since they are targeting a premium, high-margin functional ingredient market. "I realized how hard is it when you are in your company to handle your R&D... and on top of it manage with industrial equipment... We are leveraging CMO as much as we can until we fully de-risk the technology at industrial scale... You can make two times trying CMO all around the world. Yes, it's about price, but it is not our first criteria."

In this episode, I sit down with Gilai Nachmann, Senior Project Manager of Open Innovation & Partnerships at Arla Foods, the largest dairy cooperative in Europe with €15 billion in annual revenue. Gilai breaks down Arla’s aggressive new mandate: sourcing 30% of all innovation ideas externally by 2030. He shares the exact playbook for startups looking to partner with Arla, detailing the specific problem statements they are actively funding pilots for—including sugar reduction, alternative cocoa, and navigating impending CO2 taxes. Gilai also reveals Arla's strategic fear of AI-driven personalized nutrition apps cutting FMCG brands out of the consumer relationship, and how startups can help them stay relevant in a digital-first food future. 

🎧 Listen to the full episode to hear exactly how much sample volume you need to trigger a paid pilot with Arla and why pitching them precision fermentation dairy is a non-starter.

Key Facts Arla Foods Open Innovation:

• Goal: To execute an Open Innovation strategy where 30% of all new product ideas come from external sources (startups, SMEs) by 2030.
• Milestone: Integrated the Open Innovation team with an internal accelerator to drastically speed up the pilot and LOI process for external startups, reducing corporate bottlenecking.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. The "Goldilocks" Timing for Novel Ingredients (2 Years Out). Startups often struggle with when to approach a massive FMCG corporate. Gilai is highly specific: if you are 4-5 years away from commercialization, it is too early. However, if you are exactly two years away from EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) regulatory approval and can produce 20-50 kilos for a pilot plant test, that is the perfect time to engage Arla so they can prepare to launch alongside your approval. "If you're two years away from EFSA, I'd say that's the perfect time to engage because we want to be first runners in the area... we can all launch together when you're ready... They need to have sufficient quantity for us to pilot it... at least 20 to 50 kilos."
2. The Strategic Threat of AI-Driven Nutrition. Arla isn't just looking for physical ingredients; they are actively scouting digital solutions. Gilai highlights a major corporate fear: if AI agents (like ChatGPT integrated with Instacart or HelloFresh) begin dictating personalized meal plans, legacy food brands could become invisible commodities. Arla wants to partner with digital platforms to ensure their products are the recommended health solutions inside these closed AI ecosystems. "If the AI picks your food for you, what is the position of a big FMCG company in this world?... Maybe in a future where AI selects food products for you, brands don't exist. And how do we stay relevant in that future?... We don't want to build these engines... but we want to be the health partner."
3. Don't Pitch Precision Fermentation Dairy to a Farmer Co-op. It is critical to know your audience. While Arla is actively seeking solutions for sugar reduction and alternative cocoa, Gilai warns startups against pitching precision-fermented dairy proteins (like synthetic whey or casein). Because Arla is fundamentally a cooperative owned by dairy farmers, their mandate is to support cow-based agriculture, not replace it. "Arla is a farmer-owned cooperative. And our opinion is we're not going to look into precision fermentation as a core area for our business. We're going to focus on building our farmers' capabilities... It's not something we're going to invest in doing pilots on."

In this episode, I sit down with Jens Eklöf (CEO/CTO) and Ida Krogh Sjöholm (Commercial Officer), the co-founders of Ora Biotics, a Danish startup developing the next generation of precision prebiotics. They share the tactical playbook of how they cold-called their way to a €300k pre-seed round led by Rockstart and Delphinus Venture Capital, specifically designed to fund their critical €300k US-based human clinical trial. We discuss why they pair a commercial co-founder with a technical lead from day one, how they utilized €60k in Danish government grants to survive their first year, and the exact science of why "low inclusion" fibers bypass the heavy CapEx traps that destroy other ingredient startups. 

🎧 Listen to the full episode to hear how they navigated the delicate "founder spouse" conversation regarding runway and salary expectations.

Key Facts Ora Biotics:

• Goal: To produce a highly targeted, precision prebiotic fiber for metabolic health that does not cause bloating and remains 100% stable in challenging applications like acidic beverages and gummies.
• Milestone: Raised a ~€300k pre-seed round (post-money cap below €2M) from Rockstart and Delphinus Venture Capital.

Alex’s Top Findings: 

1. The "Low Inclusion" Margin Moat. The fundamental problem with most fiber startups is that they require massive doses to be effective, which forces brands to alter recipes and forces the startup to build massive, CapEx-heavy production facilities to hit volume targets. Ora Biotics solves this by targeting specific gut bacteria, meaning their fiber requires a very low dose to be effective. This "low inclusion rate" means they can command high margins while relying entirely on asset-light Contract Manufacturers (CDMOs). "If you have lower inclusion, it's also easier to make it a drop-in solution to whatever product you just happen to have... The dose is certainly our key to get really nice margins already from the beginning. We are producing with contract manufacturers, right? We are not building a big optimized production line ourselves."
2. De-Risking with the "Gold Standard" Clinical Trial. While fiber can be sold legally as a food ingredient without a clinical trial, major FMCG brands will not risk their reputation (or lawsuits, a la Olipop) on unsubstantiated health claims. Orbiotics specifically raised their €300k round to fund a randomized, placebo-controlled human study in the US. This data is the exact milestone investors demanded to unlock the next funding round. "If you want to say anything about the health benefits in almost all markets in the world, you need to substantiate that... if you are a big brand and you want to know and you want the integrity to know that the ingredient you put in there gives the benefits... you want a human study. And that's also what we want to go for."
3. The Power of the Commercial Co-Founder at Pre-Seed. Many deep-tech startups fail because they are led by purely technical founders who wait years to speak to customers. Ora Biotics brought Ida (Commercial Officer) on board at the very beginning. Her ability to define the B2B strategy, handle investor storytelling, and secure Letters of Intent (LOIs) for food-grade sample testing before the product was even finalized was critical to winning their pre-seed funding. "I worked more on the storytelling and the market positioning and all of that, which is my background, right? I have a commercial background, I'm not a scientist... We have a few companies now who have said that they've signed the LOAs. They want to test it in their applications. So I think that is an opener."

In this episode, I sit down with Mathias Brink Lorenz, CEO and Managing Partner of Delphinus Venture Capital, a newly formed €80M evergreen fund backed exclusively by four major Danish corporates and a university endowment. Mathias pulls back the curtain on the perverse incentives of the traditional "10+2" VC model, explaining how the pressure to generate management fees often forces GPs into bad deals and inflated valuations. He breaks down why Delphinus operates as an evergreen structure focused solely on long-term Net IRR and why they are hyper-focused on the Danish ecosystem. Finally, Mathias delivers a masterclass on FoodTech unit economics, explaining why commodity alternatives (like cocoa or bulk protein) struggle, and why the real venture returns lie in "low inclusion, high margin" ingredients like enzymes and complex savory flavors.

Key Facts Delphinus Venture Capital:

• Goal: To deploy an €80M evergreen fund into Danish research-focused startups (Pre-Seed to Series B) across AgriFood, Bioeconomy, MedTech, and Dual-Use tech.
• Milestone: Successfully launched the fund with an unusual and highly aligned LP base of three major Danish corporates (Norlys, Heartland, Salling Group) and Aarhus University Research Foundation (AUFF).

Alex’s Top Findings: 

1. The Flaw in the Traditional VC Model. Mathias offers a candid critique of the standard 10-year venture capital structure. He argues that traditional VCs are incentivized to optimize for management fees and short-term paper markups to raise their next fund, rather than focusing on the long-term health of the startup. Delphinus uses an evergreen structure with a lower management fee, tying GP compensation almost entirely to carry, ensuring alignment with the founders' actual path to profitability rather than artificial valuation bumps. "A traditional VC is under pressure to invest at a certain pace no matter if the deal is good or not... What is it you are solving for at seed stage? A high evaluation... just to get to the next fund. So all of those behaviors inherent in the ecosystem of VCs, we're trying not to go to."
2. The "Picks and Shovels" Strategy for FoodTech. Startups building massive, capital-intensive indoor farms or attempting to replace bulk commodities often suffer from terrible gross margins. Mathias advises focusing on the technology that enables the industry—the "picks and shovels." He looks for B2B solutions and enabling technologies that offer high-margin support to the broader AgriFood ecosystem. "Often it's better to put on the picks and shovels approach... those would be the great sort of VC bets rather than the individual miner going into the mountain and maybe striking silver or gold... And I think I see the same in agri-food tech... betting on the high-tech solutions, high-margin supporting technologies."
3. The "Low Inclusion, High Margin" Ingredient Thesis. Why did Delphinus invest in Reduced (savory flavors) and Orbiotics (prebiotics)? Because they follow the enzyme playbook. When your ingredient makes up only a tiny fraction of the end product's total volume (low inclusion rate) but is critical to the product's function, flavor, or label (high value), you can command massive gross margins without significantly impacting the FMCG's overall unit cost. "If you sell a loaf of bread, the actual cost assigned to the enzyme is minuscule. What really matters for your unit cost is the flour... So if the color [or flavor] makes all the difference for how the yogurt is perceived... you can charge a premium. It's really about how much of the total product cost do you constitute with your own ingredient."

In this episode, I sit down with Sijbrand Tieleman, Co-founder and CEO of Proba, an Amsterdam-based startup tackling the massive footprint of fertilizer emissions. Sijbrand walks us through his recent €1.25M ($1.5M USD) extension round, which was led by existing investor Future Food Fund. We discuss the strategic decision to raise from the current cap table rather than burning time chasing new investors, the reality of setting achievable milestones, and why agriculture startups cannot be measured by traditional SaaS ARR metrics. Most importantly, Sijbrand delivers a masterclass on finding a competitive moat by becoming the absolute world leader in a highly specific, hyper-niche use case before expanding into larger markets. 

🎧 Listen to the full episode to hear how Sijbrand navigated the delicate valuation negotiations with his existing investors to secure 18-24 months of runway.

Key Facts Proba:

• Goal: To help the agri-food supply chain quantify and reduce greenhouse gas emissions specifically related to fertilizer use.
• Milestone: Recently closed a €1.25M extension round, primarily funded by their existing investors, to focus entirely on business execution without the distraction of a protracted fundraising roadshow.

Alex’s Top Findings: 

1. The Power of the Hyper-Niche. Startups often fail by trying to solve too many problems across too many industries. Proba initially explored steel and cement before pivoting entirely to fertilizer emissions. Sijbrand explains that by picking a "vertical within a vertical," Proba created a monopoly. They didn't just target agriculture; they targeted the specific emissions effect of nitrification inhibitors used alongside urea fertilizer for coffee grown in the Minas Gerais region of Brazil. "The more opportunity you give yourself to become successful, that I think is kind of a lesson... just make it super small and then extend from there... You want to position yourself in a way that there's no competition. If somebody wants to solve the problem, they more or less need to come to you."
2. The "Insider" Extension Round. Instead of spending 8 months pitching 100 new VCs, Proba chose to raise an extension round directly from their current investors. Sijbrand reveals that they began discussing the need for this follow-on capital just two months after closing the previous round. By maintaining transparent communication and setting realistic milestones, they secured the cash needed to focus on the business rather than the roadshow. "We kind of took a bit of an implicit decision to say... we can go out there to the capital market and basically spend a lot of time finding a new investor without guarantee on success, or we spent a bit less time together with the existing investors and basically have more time to spend in the actual business."
3. Agriculture SaaS is Not Silicon Valley SaaS. Sijbrand highlights a critical disconnect between generalist VCs and AgTech startups. Generalist funds demand rapid Month-over-Month Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) growth. However, agriculture operates on physical, annual growing seasons. Proba partnered with specialized investors (Future Food Fund) who understand that growth in this sector is a compounding, season-by-season process, not an overnight software rocket ship. "Building a business in agriculture has a bit of a different speed... things need to grow in a physical world and they grow in one growing season... The normal SaaS investors who are used to [rapid] ARR levels are not interested yet.”

In this episode, I sit down with Isabelle Decitre, founder of ID Capital, a Singapore-headquartered venture investment and innovation advisory firm. Isabelle reveals why she deliberately chose not to raise a traditional VC fund, opting instead to invest her own capital (writing tag-along Series A checks up to $1M) to maintain flexibility and leverage deep "ecosystem intelligence." We discuss the brutal truth about expanding into Asian markets, why startups need to stop using "China is big" as a business plan, and how Australian startup AllG successfully pivoted from complex casein micelles to high-margin Lactoferrin to de-risk their commercialization. Finally, Isabelle throws down a spicy challenge to the industry, questioning if the Silicon Valley "Power Law" actually works in AgriFoodTech. 

🎧 Listen to the full episode to hear Isabelle’s unfiltered thoughts on funds that rely on a single lucky exit to show returns.

Key Facts ID Capital:

• Goal: To invest in and advise Series A AgriFoodTech startups through a climate lens, focusing heavily on adjacent sectors like circularity and biomanufacturing.
• Milestone: Rebranding their flagship 10-year annual conference from "Future Food Asia" to "Future Fit Asia," reflecting a shift beyond just food matrices into the interconnectedness of soil and human health.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. The "Anti-Fund" Ecosystem Model. Isabelle doesn't manage LP money; she invests from her own balance sheet. She argues that the traditional VC mold forces GPs to promise 20%+ IRRs that often aren't realistic in FoodTech. By remaining independent, ID Capital operates as a "one-stop shop" offering startups optionality: if a direct investment isn't the right fit, she can leverage her advisory arm to facilitate introductions to massive strategic corporate clients or showcase the tech at her conference. "We are not a fund... I'm investing my own money. We don't have any LP... I didn't see myself promising 20% plus IRR on a time period of six years... The way I wanted to see myself as a significant player was not just by being defined by my check size, but being defined by whom I could influence and bring around the table."
2. The Asia Expansion Reality Check: Stay in Your Habitat. Startups frequently pitch Asia expansion based solely on the region's massive population. Isabelle warns that entering Asia is a massive cost center long before it generates revenue. If a startup is thinly funded, her advice is blunt: stay home. You must have dedicated capital and a localized strategy, not just "wishful dreaming." "The best advice I can give you is just to remain in your natural habitat and ecosystem and don't waste your money traveling to China or Asia every other day. It will cost you a bomb... What looks good is when people start to have the awareness that developing Asia would be a cost first before it's a source of revenue."
3. Pivoting to High-Margin Optionality (The AllG Playbook). Investors today want startups to be as de-risked as possible. Isabelle highlights her investment in AllG to show what good pivoting looks like. Even though they had world-class expertise in precision fermentation for casein micelles, they didn't stubbornly stick to that narrative. They aggressively pivoted to a higher-value, faster-to-commercialize compound (Lactoferrin) and leaned into the Chinese market. "They didn't stay fixated on one application or one narrative. Although they were really very, very proficient in casein micelles... they thought very smartly of pivoting toward higher value compounds... It is really about not being wedded to your own science and your own narrative."

ClearCOGS: Matt Wampler shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners; Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 29: ClearCOGS: Matt Wampler shares how to get funded in 2025

 In this episode, Matt Wampler, co-founder and CEO of ClearCOGS, shares the gritty, real-world journey of building a predictive analytics platform that helps restaurants reduce food waste—and the uphill battle of raising capital in an industry most investors don’t want to touch. From reframing objections like “we don’t like restaurants” to securing strategic sustainability-focused backers, Matt opens up about the mistakes he made early in the fundraising process, how honest conversations (not pitch decks) moved the needle, and why founders need to stop chasing investor approval and start building undeniable value. 

Key Facts ClearCOGS:

• Goal: To help restaurants adapt to changing market conditions, optimize their operations, and ultimately achieve greater success and profitability. 
• Recently raised $3.8M led by Closed Loop Partners, and joined by Myriad Venture Partners and Level Up Ventures.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Don’t Build for Investors—Build for Customers. ClearCOGS succeeded by focusing relentlessly on customer outcomes, not pitch decks. Ironically, this is what helped them eventually win over their lead investor. " I think one of the things that we really learned back then was that investors always said they wanted something, and then it always changed. We basically said, ‘Hey, we're gonna spend our time not trying to build for investors, but we're gonna focus on the business, focus on our clients with the full understanding that if we take care of our clients and grow the business.’ The fundraising will take care of itself. Luckily, this investor happened to be good at staying in touch with us."
2. Strategic Investors Can Fill Your Blind Spots. The team sought partners who could complement their restaurant and tech expertise—especially in sustainability, which played a key role in the round. " A strategic investor in the sense that we were looking for somebody in the sustainability space. My background is all restaurants. My co-founder's background is all technology. We happened to be doing this activity, which really made a difference in the sustainability world. Something that we had very little knowledge of. So we looked at them as a great leg of the stool to help us move forward."
3. You Don’t Need Everyone to Like You—Just the Right Ones. Matt embraced the idea that fundraising is not about being universally liked but about resonating deeply with the right investor. “Your job is to go get one in 10 to really like you and believe in you… The eights and nines out of tens don’t invest.”

Jay&Joy: César Augier shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners; Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 27: Jay&Joy: César Augier shares how to get funded in 2025

In this episode, I sat down with Cesar, the CEO of Jay&Joy, a pioneer in organic plant-based cheese in Europe. We unpacked his remarkable journey of rescuing the company from bankruptcy, rebuilding trust after a product recall, and leading a high-stakes €2M fundraise over the holiday season to acquire a major competitor. From navigating food safety crises to executing rapid M&A under pressure, Cesar shares real, hard-won lessons on resilience, investor strategy, and what it takes to scale in the evolving alt-dairy space.

Key Facts Jay&Joy:

• Goal: To produce cheese that's better for the environment, for health, and for animal welfare. 
• Recently raised €2M.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Rescuing a Brand Can Be a Strategic Move. Cesar bought Jay&Joy out of receivership, seeing strong fundamentals despite a product recall. " I met the leader in France on plant-based meat, and we discussed what was happening to Jay&Joy. The products were amazing, and the fundamentals of the company were very good. So we decided to start a due diligence. We met the previous founders. We met the, the teams we discussed with clients, customers, etc. After a few days, we were convinced that there was an opportunity and that this company should continue to operate."
2. Time Pressure Shaped Investor Strategy. The raise had to close in 40 days over the holidays, so Cesar pivoted from VCs to agile family offices and angels. "We spent a lot of time with VC funds... it was too short. So we pivoted to family offices and business angels."
3. Use Strategic Channels for Angel Funding. Cesar tapped into French angel networks like Station F and Super Capital, raising €500K through tailored outreach. " We met people through that channels and we used other like networks of entrepreneurs and investors in France. The difficult thing I would say how do you get into those networks and how do you manage to post your message . We fine tune the message to make it fit with the actual audience. It worked. So I pre raised like, 500 k through  those channels. "

Actual Veggies: Jason Rosenbaum shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners; Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 25: Actual Veggies: Jason Rosenbaum shares how to get funded in 2025

In this episode, I interviewed Jason Rosenbaum, co-founder and co-CEO of Actual Veggies, who recently closed a $7M Series A. Jason breaks down why his company took a bold contrarian path in the crowded plant-based market—eschewing meat analogs and ultra-processed ingredients in favor of clean-label, whole-food veggie burgers that actually taste like vegetables. We dive deep into what today’s investors really care about (spoiler: it’s not always the tech), how Actual Veggies is winning with data-backed growth and strong margins, and how transparency and strategic relationships—not hype—powered their raise.

Key Facts Actual Veggies:

• Goal: To create delicious, chef-crafted, veggie burgers that celebrate vegetables instead of trying to mask them.
• Recently closed a $7M Series A.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Taste + Clean Label = Winning Combo. Actual Veggies products avoid pea protein (initially), gums, binders, and other ultra-processed ingredients to maintain flavor and simplicity. " So we have experimented with pea protein and have some new protein or higher protein burgers coming out later this year, where we have increased or added pea protein. But we're being very cautious with how much pea protein or other vegan protein sources we're putting in there. What happens is that when you use pea protein, the taste and texture start to alter. It also has a bad connotation. Some people say it doesn't sit.”
2. Investor Updates: Radical Transparency is an Edge. Jason shares detailed quarterly updates with real sales numbers, financials, and asks—building trust and enthusiasm from the cap table. " For the investors, we aren't talking to them daily, weekly, or monthly; we are sending quarterly update emails. We send whatever is happening with the company, we have a whole format of what we like to show. We want to show things that we wouldn't usually show to the public, but because they're our investors, they're part of our family and inner circle. So we show them everything from our finances, including how much runway we have, how much cash we have in the bank, and how much revenue we've generated, even if we've missed our projections. We're very upfront and honest.”
3. Strong Gross Margins Set You Apart. Actual Veggies operates with margins in the 50% range, allowing room for sustainable growth and marketing investment—unlike many plant-based startups. " Investors want to see 40%, 50%, 60% margins... starting negative is a bad idea. We start with strong gross margins in the 50s. That’s rare in frozen. That's something that investors are looking at, and that was something that our investors got excited about when they looked at our numbers."

Kynda: Daniel MacGowan von Holstein shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners; Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 20: Kynda: Daniel MacGowan von Holstein shares how to get funded in 2025

In this episode, I sat down with Dan, co-founder of Kynda, to explore how their fermentation technology is transforming food industry waste into high-value microprotein. We discuss Kynda’s journey from producing alternative meats to providing bioreactors for major food companies, how removing regulatory risk unlocked investor confidence, and why corporate partnerships were the key to securing their latest €3M round. Dan also shares insights on scaling a deep-tech B2B startup, securing recurring revenue, and pitching effectively to investors. A must-listen for anyone in food tech, alternative protein, or the circular economy!

Key Facts Kynda:

• Goal: To turn agricultural by-products into mycoprotein for the food and pet-food industry.
• Recently raised €3 million.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Investors Are More Comfortable When Risks Are Reduced. By removing regulatory risk (switching to a non-novel food strain) and showing corporate validation (testing bioreactors on factory floors), Kynda de-risked the investment and attracted more confident investors. "Early on, we asked VCs to take on multiple risks—product risk, market risk, technology risk, and regulatory risk. But once we switched our strain to a non-novel food strain, we eliminated regulatory risk, making investment much more attractive." Dan shared.
2. Corporate Partnerships Provide Investor Validation. Instead of vague Letters of Intent (LOIs), Kynda demonstrated real-world corporate adoption, allowing investors to call partners and hear positive feedback firsthand. "We placed a small bioreactor on a dairy company's factory floor, using their oat okara waste to produce microprotein. In just a day, it transformed into an edible product they could use. This hands-on demo was a huge aha moment.”
3. B2B Success Comes From Solving a Financial Problem, Not Just a Sustainability One. While sustainability is a bonus, cost and efficiency drive corporate decisions. Kynda positioned its solution as cost-effective and scalable, making adoption easier. ”Sustainability alone doesn't convince corporates. We pitched it with better taste and better prices." 

Endless Food Co: Maximillian Bogenmann shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2024 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners; Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 14: Endless Food Co: Maximillian Bogenmann shares how to get funded in 2025

In this episode, Alex talked to Maximillian, CEO & Co-Founder at endless food co., which safeguard the future of chocolate while tapping into the flavor and value potential of overlooked resources. In this conversation, Max shares insights into the journey of launching an alternative chocolate company. He talks about how they built relationships with investors through genuine outreach and advisory support, despite lacking experience in food scaling and B2B sales. Max also touches on leveraging the hospitality network to validate their product and the importance of having advocates and early partners to support their growth. The talk also dives into strategic decisions like B2B vs. B2C models and future partnerships with major retailers like 7-Eleven.

Now, stay tuned as Max takes us through the full story of how Endless Food Co. is shaking up the chocolate world with sustainability at the core.

Key Facts Endless Food Co:

• Goal: To future-proof the existing chocolate industry.
• Recently raised pre-seed of €1 million led by Nordic FoodTech.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Overcoming Objections through Self-awareness and Support. Address lack of experience by surrounding yourself with trusted advisors and demonstrating the ability to learn and adapt. "I was able to interact with some of these people who offer their expertise.   It is a long, slow process of really developing and fostering relationships with people, because I think at the end of the day, what we realize is that if you're really genuine with people and you are seeking help, most people are generally willing to offer you their own experience or advice from their own philosophy." Max noted.
2. Leveraging Genuine Interactions for Goodwill. Authenticity and kindness can help establish meaningful connections without significant monetary investment. As Emile shared, " I think we were able to get a lot of goodwill out of people because I think we were quite genuine in what we were trying to achieve, what we didn't know. I think that being hospitality professionals we were pretty good at sort of helping people with meals and a nice bottle of wine here and there."
3. Partnership with 7-eleven. The partnership with 7-Eleven developed slowly, through a B2B approach, rather than a direct consumer-facing product. " I think we've always envisioned being a B2B product. ... we met the procurement manager ... and it took months before anything sort of happened. 7 Eleven has always, or at least in the recent time, been sort of pretty strong with their innovation front ... wanting to sort of push the boundary in certain areas and also be first in certain markets. 7 Eleven came down and said, “we'd really love to make these cookies.” with a one to one swap with THICC, which is our product."

Zymofix: Emile Redant shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2024 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners; Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 13: Zymofix: Emile Redant shares how to get funded in 2025

In this episode, Alex talked to Emile Redant, co-founder and CEO of Zymofix,   an agtech company developing a new way to produce microorganisms which are mainly being used in agriculture and other non food, non animal feed type of application. Emile shares how Zymofix raised $2 million in seed funding from High Tech Gründer Fund and two regenerative agriculture-focused family offices. The initial connection to the investors was through an accelerator program, Biotope, where Emile was mentored by Johan Boterman, a former Bayer executive.

Key Facts Zymofix:

• Goal: Turning biomass residues into fit-for-purpose microbial fertilizers, biostimulants and biocontrols.
• Recently raised $2 million led by High Tech Gründer Fund.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Rejection of Product Development Objections. Many investors wanted Zymofix to focus on product development, but the founder resisted this in favor of a more sustainable, lower-risk approach. “  Everybody wanted us to do product development...I was very, very strongly against that. It is really a high risk type of investment. A lot of those companies never make it, never actually bring products to the market. I've worked at a couple of those companies and it's something I didn't want to do because it takes a tremendous amount of investment money to do that with a really low chance of success.” Emile said.
2. Realistic Business Vision. Zymofix avoids high-risk product development, choosing instead to collaborate with corporates to manufacture their top-selling products using innovative methods. As Emile shared, "We are not developing a product by ourselves. We are doing joint development with these corporations to show we can make it with better quality at a way lower cost."
3. Low-Cost Manufacturing Strategy. Zymofix’s strategy to keep CAPEX low while still developing a scalable manufacturing process differentiates them from other biotechs that require massive investments for large-scale plants."  We’ve designed it in a way where we can be economical at a small scale of three to four million... and that gives us a lot more flexibility to just go ahead and do it."

Novameat: Giuseppe Scionti shares how to get funded in 2024

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, co-produced by vegconomist, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2024 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs. 

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. 

Episode 1: Novameat: Giuseppe Scionti shares how to get funded in 2024

In this episode, Alex talks to Giuseppe, CEO and Founder of Novameat, a food tech company based in Barcelona that focuses on creating next-generation plant-based meat alternatives (whole cuts, deli cuts, and shredded cuts. Giuseppe emphasizes the importance of long-term relationship-building with investors and the concept of lines versus dots. The key techniques and strategies are also highlighted, as well as some practical insights on how they close the round.

Key Facts Novameat:

• Goal: To set a new standard for superior whole cuts that have the same delicious flavour and texture as animal meat but come from a different protein source.
• Raised €17. 5 Million Series A.
• Lead Investors: Sofinnova Partners and Forbion.

Alex’ Top Findings:

1. It took 18 months to close this round and Giuseppe was prepared with that timeline in mind. Be realistic to what rounds take and work way backwards. As per Giuseppe “We are Planning from the beginning to be a resistant company. So we were set up for whatever it takes to find the best iInvestors, that means the best fit.”
2. Make in person conferences special, Giusape brought the R&D head of the world's best restaurant with him to conferences to offer unique experiences to investors and VIPs. ”Because we are in Barcelona, you need to take advantage of what you have. We have the number one, best restaurant in the world, Frutar. I brought with us the R&D chef. We got the booth, we showed the products and we took advantage of all the great investors that we can get to the conference, get the list of them, use the platforms of the conferences.I brought a lot of investors in the back door of the hotel, in the actual kitchen, where the chef of the hotel really loved our product. But this was not shown in the conference. It was a VIP experience that nobody knew about.” Giuseppe added.
3. Be prepared to stalk. When you are in a room with a VIP investor which might be hounded by others, take the time and wait until he goes to a more secluded spot. Come up and thank him for the impact of the talk or their work and build the relationship. You will be afraid but do it anyway. Just like Giuseppe experiences, he shared “I  actually stalked one of the most famous investors in the cafeteria outside of the conference. I actually followed the person because everybody was talking to this famous person. I was drinking coffee alone outside of the hotel in San Francisco since nobody would follow him outside of the hotel. I stopped him when I saw him and said “Hello. It was great to listen to you in the panel and you may be interested in this or that.”

REDUCED: Emil Munck de Voss shares how to get funded in 2024

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, co-produced by vegconomist, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2024 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs. 

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. 

Episode 16: REDUCED: Emil Munck de Voss shares how to get funded in 2024

In this episode, Alex talks to Emil, co-founder and CEO of REDUCED, founded in 2020, aims to tackle food waste by creating flavor solutions from food side streams. These flavor solutions, such as intense stock or broth, are sold to food professionals and manufacturers for use in products like ready meals, meat alternatives, soups, and sauces. Email emphasizes the importance of preparation, relationship building, and understanding both the financial and operational aspects of fundraising in closing the round. He highlights several important techniques and strategies for securing funding, especially in the food tech sector.

Key Facts REDUCED:

• Goal: To reduce food waste by using vegetables, protein and other sources of nutrition left over from the conventional food industry.
• Raised €8 million in August 2024
• Investors: Novo Holdings, ECBF

Alex’ Top Findings:

1. Investor Relationships: Emil emphasizes the importance of networking and building relationships within the food industry through advocacy groups and boards, which led to several key investor introductions.
2. Fundraising Approach: Emil prepares thoroughly for investor meetings, recognizing that one bad meeting can kill an opportunity. He stresses the importance of clear, truthful communication in all dealings with potential investors and partners. He also encouraged demonstrating the product's value by bringing samples to investor meetings and inviting investors to see the production facility firsthand.
3. Fundraising Strategy: Build momentum by creating a wide funnel of potential investors. Prioritize face-to-face or voice meetings over emails to build relationships and gain insights. Provide information in steps to maintain engagement and better understand if the investor is a good fit. Respond quickly to maintain momentum and create urgency in the fundraising process. Practice pitches with less likely investors to refine the presentation before approaching key prospects.
4. VCs vs. Corporate Investors: VCs provide valuable insights into metrics and scaling, fostering an operational mentality focused on growth and performance. Corporate investors contribute by bringing industry knowledge and commercial insights, which are vital for innovation in food tech. Both types of investors can complement each other on the cap table.

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners, Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 50: FOOD Founders Studio: Giacomo Cattaneo and Alex Morel share how to get funded in 2025

On this episode, I’m joined by Giacomo Cattaneo (CEO) and Alex Morel (CTO), co-founders of FOOD Founders Studio, a venture studio building B2B food-tech companies from university IP to market-ready startups. They’ve raised $1.2M toward a CHF 3M holding-company model that funds and co-founds 3–4 ventures (roughly $1M per project) while keeping meaningful founder ownership and targeting faster, M&A-driven exits. They explain how they reverse the usual flow—start with validated industry problems, then license tech (balancing royalties/equity so founders still own the majority), and why they expect shorter timelines than typical food-tech. We close on lessons from a year-long raise (persistence beats neat timelines) and a call for partners: investors aligned with pragmatic derisking, universities/R&D labs with commercialization-ready IP, seasoned CEOs to lead new ventures, and food companies eager to pilot their off-flavor removal tech.

Key Facts FOOD Founders Studio:

• Goal: To build and launch B2B food tech ventures from untapped European academic IP.
• Recently raised $1.2M toward a CHF 3M holding-company model that funds and co-founds 3–4 ventures (roughly $1M per project)

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Timeline: A Year of “No’s,” Then Yes. It took ~12 months from first rejection to the lead check—bridged by pure grit and personal financing. “Almost a year from the first No. Me [Giacomo] and Alex were pouring money into it to make it up till our accounts were dry. Too many pieces of the puzzle of this very ambitious puzzle that is taken on its own technology. The founders, the story, the positioning on solving the systemic issues, as well as the technology. We stayed on, and fortunately, we were able to build the first foundational partnerships, and now we are building. ”
2. From “Are You a Fund?” to “We’re In.” Giacomo and Alex converted confusion into commitment by delivering value—securing tech, partners, and an investable first venture; the family office joined the investment committee, too. “ We started like everybody, a beautiful story on a PowerPoint that promises the world. But at some point, you need to start showing you can do it. As soon as we got very confident in our selection of the first technology, we could give a real, concrete outlook about what kind of ventures we are going to build, and our ability to execute on our mission. I think that also gave the family office a better justification to sit around the table internally, trying to figure out that this just makes sense. Now this family office is in… It’s in on our investment committee as well.”
3. Problem-First Scouting, Then Tech. FOOD Founders Studio starts by validating urgent industry problems, then sources university tech that can solve them—flipping standard “tech looking for a use” on its head. “One of the benefits… is that we do create a portfolio of startups… We take a lot of time to really refine this funnel, selecting only one technology… that becomes then the foundation of the new startup that we built.”

Tastewise: Alon Chen shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners, Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 40: Tastewise: Alon Chen shares how to get funded in 2025

In this episode, I speak with Alon Chen, co-founder and CEO of Tastewise, a generative AI platform powering sales and marketing for the food and beverage industry. Alon shares how Tastewise raised a $50M Series B led by Telus, and breaks down their playbook for building deep investor relationships, bridging rounds with strategics, and maintaining valuation discipline. We talk about the difference between selling AI and selling food tech, the importance of multithreaded fundraising conversations, and why founder community matters more than any book when navigating hard decisions.

Key Facts Tastewise:

• Goal: To  help the food industry to  digitize and automate their go-to market from accepting new products, to creating and generating more demand for their products, to enabling their sales team to be more successful in placing products on the shelf and the menu.
• Recently   raised a $50M Series B led by Telus.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Bridge Round as Strategic Onboarding. Two external industry players joined a bridge round before the Series B—including Telus—allowing time for mutual diligence and relationship building. " So the thing with Telus was that they actually joined our bridge round before leading the round. So that allowed us to get to know one another better, see the dynamics, get to see how the businesses are performing, and build a more meaningful relationship. Sometimes you have to do the bridge just to bring your money in and to extend the runway. We actually brought two new external investors that we thought were extremely important for the future of the company, and one of them actually ended up leading the round."
2. Protect Against Overvaluation Temptation. Alon cautions founders about inflated valuations in early rounds that lead to pain down the road for teams, customers, and investors. "I know the other way to grow with your valuation, not grow into your valuation. So raising money for that will get you into trouble because the evaluation is inflated. Will necessarily mean that you're gonna be disappointing your employees, your shareholders, and maybe your future investors are gonna be happy because you recapped yourself.  The idea is to think about your business in the long term and not to get tempted. By the way, a lot of money in the early days corrupted a lot of companies 'cause you're not focused, you are trying to double and triple your team every year.”
3. Good SaaS is Good SaaS—Even in Foodtech. Despite AgriFoodTech volatility, Tastewise stands out with traditional SaaS metrics: high NDR, low churn, strong growth, and margin. “ SaaS businesses are very easy to manage if you're focusing on the essentials, which is ‘Do I really generate revenue? Is my product sticky enough? Am I able to grow my portfolio?’ And I think we happen to be a software solution in the food industry. We're an enterprise software solution. We are attending agritech and food tech conferences, but essentially we're actually like a marketing cloud for

IUNU: Adam Greenberg shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners; Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 31: IUNU: Adam Greenberg shares how to get funded in 2025

In this episode, I sat down with Adam Greenberg, CEO of Iunu, who just raised $20M from top AI, agriculture, and ag land investors. Adam shares how a decade of building in the greenhouse space converged with today’s AI revolution—and how deep trust, contrarian leadership, and operational frugality helped him build investor confidence over time. From meeting S2G via Joe Montana and the ex-CEO of Whole Foods to the power of servant leadership and third-order fundraising strategy, this is a masterclass in building companies and raising capital with integrity, precision, and long-term vision.

Key Facts IUNU:

• Goal: To drive efficiencies and optimization, allowing everybody access to fresh local produce year-round, using tools like AI and machine vision.
• Recently raised $20M with S2G Investment as lead investor.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Frugality and Integrity as Leadership Cornerstones. Adam believes that trust with investors and loyalty from employees stems from leading by example — personally absorbing costs and being one of the lowest paid on the team. "  We're pretty frugal as a company. We're the best in the world of service. But when it comes to what we do internally, we try to be as frugal as possible, 'cause we have to make the money go as far as possible. In leadership, it's all about being able to show with actions. So every single day when you work with your team, you gotta put them first. For example, when I'm in town, at the headquarters in Seattle, I'll clean the toilets and wash the dishes. Why? Because if they see me doing that and know that I'm willing to do that, we're all willing to do whatever it takes to win."
2. Investor Trust is Built on Logic, Not Hype. Adam doesn’t believe in “selling” to investors but focuses on clearly explaining his logic and decisions, even when imperfect. " I'm not very good at communicating with investors. I am good at always doing the right thing… and having a why for every decision. Too many people are so grounded that they don’t have big ideas. Too many people are so aspirational that they aren’t grounded. You have to do both."
3. Proving Market-Making Potential in a “Small” Sector. Adam addressed investor objections that indoor agriculture is a small market by showing how his tech can unlock growth and transform the economics. “ I think most investors don't understand that or truly understand how to make a market. So we fundamentally shift the economics of greenhouse growing, and it's more profitable to be a greenhouse grower. Then you can not just take the market of greenhouse growing in produce, you can make a market and allow greenhouses to be around every urban area.”

Beans: Ines Sánchez-Castillo Velge shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners; Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 19: Beans: Ines Sánchez-Castillo Velge shares how to get funded in 2025

In this episode, I speak with Ines, founder of Beans, a startup tackling food waste by buying unsold inventory from FMCG giants like Nestlé and Unilever and reselling it at deep discounts—helping consumers save up to 50% on groceries while turning waste into profit. We dive into how venture studios helped de-risk their journey as first-time founders, how Beans navigated cash flow challenges in a capital-intensive business, and what it took to raise €1.4M after rejections. Plus, Ines shares insights on scaling a marketplace, building consumer trust, and staying resilient as a founder. A must-listen for anyone interested in food tech, fundraising, and startup execution.

Key Facts Beans:

• Goal: To eliminate food waste by buying unsold inventory from major FMCG brands and reselling it at steep discounts—helping both companies and consumers save money.
• Recently raised €1.4M with Water Lemon VCE as lead investor.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Venture Studios Can De-Risk First-Time Founders. BEANS emerged from the Food Tech Founders venture studio, which provided funding, expertise, and operational support, making fundraising and execution easier despite the founders being first-timers. " We're incredibly grateful that we founded this with them because their experience made us not first time founders. My co-founder and I are first time founders, but the fact that we had them meant that we weren't regarded as first-time founders, and that in our execution was massive." Ines shared.
2. Startup Fundraising is a Numbers Game. Persistence is key in fundraising. It took 179 rejections before BEANS secured investment, proving that resilience and conviction are crucial for success. "We spoke to about 180 VCs until we got our first yes. It's extremely discouraging when you have 179  funds that tell you what you're building is not worthwhile or maybe they don't say it in those terms. So try keeping on and hustling to get that traction.”
3. Customer Trust is Built Through Transparency & Engagement. Direct communication, social proof (Trustpilot reviews), and a referral program helped overcome consumer skepticism about discounted groceries. " We wanted to be so extremely customer centric. For the first eight months, I had my personal cell phone on the website, so customers could call me directly." Ines revealed.

Oceanloop: Fabian Riedel shares how to get funded in 2024

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2024 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners; Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 8: Oceanloop: Fabian Riedel shares how to get funded in 2024

In this episode, Alex talked to Fabian, Founder and CEO of Oceanloop, a food tech company which develops and scales up a platform technology to farm fish or seafood land-based anywhere in the world. The discussion highlights the fundraising approach which emphasizes a strategic blend of equity and venture debt to scale operations. The conversation delved into the broader fundraising strategy to scale up sustainable shrimp farming and build a robust seafood business ecosystem.

Key Facts Oceanloop:

• Goal: To contribute to the growing demand of animal proteins with a sustainable, land-based aquaculture technology, offering a viable alternative to wild fishing and traditional aquaculture.
• Recently raised $35 Million from European Investment Bank

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Look out alternative funding sources like venture debt. “The venture debt program is without any securities like you usually have to provide when you talk about a classical bank financing. They have a certain interest rate that can be high when you are very successful, but in general, that is a very fair program—big upside for equity investors because the EIB takes on part of the risk.” Fabian answered on being asked about venture debt and its structure.
2. Focus on the product that is primarily imported in the country. “So the main part is white tiger prawns that are farmed in Southeast Asia or South America are imported to Europe. Shrimp  a high demand protein. In total, the demand for shrimp is growing heavily. Shrimp is the most important seafood in the world. There, there are 5 million tons of shrimp farms every year. So the idea is why don't we use technology and innovation to farm that species? So we plan to have a fully independent, highly automated and software controlled environment for farming. That's a high value species, also highly important.” Fabian discussed how they came up with the technology.
3. Started a D2C Marketplace for your product types to build a direct relationship with the customer. “I kind of bootstrapped within my company where we introduced other high quality seafood products under our roof. We sold exclusively in Germany and Austria. This is how everything started then this business grew and now we have 300 seafood. So it's a seafood platform and it's an e-commerce business. So we sell D2C and send to private customers every day in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, our seafood products, and we source those products from the whole world.” Fabian shared during the podcast.

Prefer: Jake Berber shares how to get funded in 2024

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2024 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners; Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 7: Prefer: Jake Berber shares how to get funded in 2024

In this episode, Alex talked to Jake Berber, co-founder and CEO of Prefer Coffee, who makes more affordable and sustainable food & beverages, starting with coffee. The talk focuses on investment outreach and strategies to attract funding or expand business opportunities. The discussion highlights real-world examples of successful outreach efforts and offers insights into overcoming challenges such as market skepticism or limited resources. Additionally, it underscores the need for authenticity, thorough research, and leveraging networks to maximize impact. 

Key Facts Prefer:

• Goal: To make delicious and affordable coffee without the beans
• Recently raised $2 Million
• Round led by Forge Ventures

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Staying proactive in providing updates and showcasing demand from B2B clients.  “I was always checking in with positive updates of maybe MOUs or MTAs that we were signing where I could show this demand coming in for the story that we were telling. We are selling B2B to these large FMCGs and ingredient companies. Then I could say, "Look, now we've signed an MTA and we're going into R& D with these guys to make a product” so that keeps the conversation going.” Jake answered on being asked how he made sure the process is actually moving forward rather than getting stuck.
2. Focuses on sustainability and climate change, not disrupting the coffee industry. “We wanted to share why we are making bean free coffee and I think it was really important to be a coffee company that wants to support the industry rather than saying coffee is the bad person. We wanted to say, in this case, climate change is the bad person. Climate change is sort of the villain of the story. So that was really important and actually a big communication change for us. This is a story that they were much more open to. So just that change of communication from making a product because coffee is bad to “Hey, I know the price of coffee is going up, but I think that we can help you out here so you can maintain these customers that love your taste and love your price.” Jake emphasizes.
3. Showing market validation is important. Jake mentioned the reason why they needed oat latte before selling concentrate, “To unlock this business model of the ingredient/concentrate for the large FMCGs, they needed to see some market validation that people are actually interested in this. They needed to de-risk the market and so we launched this oat latte ready-to -drink just to de-risk that market showing them that people are interested. So in the meantime, we need to be doing all we can to grow this brand, to grow this company, to create traction. So this is a way that we can really take things and take matters into our own hands and just create traction.”

FoodSparks: Yoni Glickman shares how to get funded in 2026

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners, Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 68: FoodSparks: Yoni Glickman on the death of the "Power Law" in FoodTech and the GLP-1 Revolution

In this episode, I sit down with Yoni Glickman, Managing Partner of FoodSparks (PeakBridge’s seed-stage fund). Yoni shares why PeakBridge completely avoided the hype cycles of vertical farming and insect protein, focusing instead on a rational, "boring" thesis: solving real problems in the food system. Yoni breaks down why he believes the "Power Law" (one 10x exit returning the fund) doesn't apply to FoodTech and how he constructs a portfolio for realistic 2-5x returns. We also dive into his four new investments—including Finnish mushroom leader Kääpä Biotech and GI-health platform Evinature—and discuss the massive, underappreciated impact of "Direct-to-Patient" pharma and GLP-1 drugs on the future of nutrition. 🎧 Listen to the full episode to hear Yoni’s breakdown of why B2B ingredient blends are the smart play over consumer brands.

Key Facts  FoodSparks:

• Goal: To invest at the intersection of health, nutrition, and food, avoiding "invented problems" and focusing on scalable B2B solutions.
• Milestone: Actively deploying from "Growth 2" fund with a unique structure: Seed pockets ($300k-$500k) for validation and Series A checks ($2M-$5M) for scaling.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. The "Power Law" is Dead in FoodTech. Yoni challenges the Silicon Valley VC model where one moonshot pays for all failures. In FoodTech, success comes from rational portfolio construction where a cluster of companies delivers solid 2-5x returns, rather than betting on a single 100x unicorn. "Food is not gonna be, ever in my belief, a 'you bet in some sort of technology and you return the funds with one investment 10x'... You need to construct your portfolio in a rational way... and really end up in an overall fund return of what we're looking at, which is the three to four X."
2. Strategic CapEx Only. PeakBridge isn't allergic to CapEx, but they are allergic to generic CapEx. Yoni explains their investment in Kääpä Biotech (mushrooms): they will fund CapEx if it builds a defensive moat (like specific extraction tech or growing protocols), but generic downstream processing should always be outsourced. "I'm not allergic to CapEx, I'm allergic to massive CapEx... The CapEx should be strategic when it does something special. So I don't want to invest in generic CapEx because you can often find CMOs to do the generic CapEx."
3. The "Dry Blend" B2B Pivot. Using their portfolio company "Whip" (plant-based ice cream) as an example, Yoni explains why they pushed the founders away from a consumer brand. The winning model is selling a complex, hard-to-reverse-engineer dry ingredient blend to existing ice cream makers, avoiding the cash-burn of marketing and cold-chain logistics. "We don't believe that the opportunity is gonna be in consumer because you're going to have to spend a huge amount of money on marketing... We believe that you have a wonderful product which can be moved to the B2B framework... It's not that simple to reverse

Fragaria Fruits: Harish Varadharajan shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners, Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 56: Fragaria Fruits: Harish Varadharajan shares how to get funded in 2025

In this episode, I sit down with Harish Varadharajan, co-founder & CEO of Fragaria Fruits, who is on a mission to redefine India’s $140B fruit-eating experience by making high-quality berries available year-round in a market that currently only sees strawberries for three months a year. Harish breaks down how they built a hyper-frugal pilot farm on just $200K of angel money, proved plant-level unit economics, unlocked crazy demand from Indian e-commerce and retail players, and then secured a $2M mix of equity and creatively structured agri-debt—including instruments that return 15–22% tax-free to HNIs. We talk about how WEH Ventures tracked them for six months, tasted the product, and offered an unsolicited term sheet, why valuations in India follow a very different “playbook” from Silicon Valley, and how Fragaria thinks about IP, competition, and government-protected markets. It’s a masterclass in capital-efficient agtech, using debt as a growth weapon, and building defensible moats in emerging markets—all anchored around something as simple and powerful as a better strawberry.

Key Facts Time-travelling Milkman:

• Goal: To redefine the fruit meeting experience of Indian customers.
• Recently closed a $2M led by WEH Ventures and Rainmatter.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. How WEH Went From “Too Early” to a Fast Term Sheet. WEH Ventures initially passed on the idea stage but tracked the team for six months. Once Fragaria had (1) plant-level performance, (2) clear demand signals from Indian e-commerce players, and (3) real interest from HNIs for debt, WEH flipped and issued a $500k term sheet within days—even though Fragaria wasn’t formally fundraising. ”WEH Ventures, at that point, thought our idea was too early. We are not a hundred percent sure of different things, which was, in a way, a good thing to happen to us at that point. So we took a bit of angel funding and we picked up the farm, brought the strawberries out by selling in the market. When WEH Ventures was tracking us, they tasted our berries, and they were like, ‘Man, these are extraordinary. These guys know what they're doing.’ Then they came back, they called me for a meeting in Bangalore on a Friday night, and on Monday, we got a term sheet for half a million.”
2. Prove the Plant, Not the Farm. The pilot was designed only to prove product and plant-level economics, not to build a profitable farm. They worked backwards from “how do we get 2–3 kg/day to test?” and optimized everything for ultra-low CapEx. “ We have to prove we can get great quality strawberries in India. People are ready to buy these properties. So we don't need cages and tons of strawberries. We just need to get 2-3 kg of strawberries a day. We went around India for suppliers to sign in the cheapest way to build a farm. So we ended up building the farm, which is 70-80% cheaper than the Western farm.”
3. Debt as a Core Part of the Scaling Strategy. Harish views Fragaria as half farming, half bala

Oobli: Ali Wing shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners; Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 22: Oobli: Ali Wing shares how to get funded in 2025

In this episode, I sat down with Ali Wing, CEO of Oobli, to explore how sweet proteins are revolutionizing the way we think about sugar reduction in food. Ali takes us through Oobli’s Series B1 fundraising journey, the importance of regulatory approvals, and how they are using a B2C2B model to educate consumers while de-risking adoption for major food brands. We dive into the economics of sweet proteins, why fermentation is the perfect scaling tool, and how strategic offtake agreements are key to securing corporate buy-in.

Key Facts Oobli:

• Goal: To completely revolutionize the way we think about sweetness by  bringing proteins to replace sugars in our foods.
• Recently raised €18 million led by Ingredient Ventures and joining the round were Coastal Ventures and PIVA.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Regulatory Approvals Create Investor Confidence. OoblI secured two "no questions" letters from regulatory agencies, which was a major factor in gaining investor trust and landing commercial agreements. Investors wanted proof that the product was not only novel but also scalable and legally approved for sale. "We were definitely the first movers and people were paying attention, but that doesn't necessarily mean somebody thinks you're ready to scale. So, and of course, no questions doesn't necessarily either. So one is you got to get there because then you're on the radar. I think the second is when you're going no questions, we weren't just getting our first, we were getting our second in a year. We've actually been pretty deep in this and they could start to see that momentum, which I think matters and also talks a lot about our commitment because we're scaling up quite a bit to support that number of regulatory approvals.” Ali said.
2. B2C2B Model: Using a Consumer Product to De-Risk B2B Adoption. Oobli launched its own chocolate products as an educational tool to introduce consumers to sweet proteins while simultaneously building confidence among corporate partners. This de-risked adoption for CPG companies by proving consumer acceptance and product viability. " The whole idea that proteins don't just build muscle, but can sweeten is a pretty new concept. So we put a high sort of bar on the brand that we have to help CPG derisk their adoption of using sweet proteins by having consumers understand proteins can sweeten. We have retailers that sell it, but we don't do that on-demand if they ask. Otherwise, we're doing D2C because we can do a very cost-effective revenue generating with a great return that's much cheaper than if we just advertise to educate people on sweet proteins way.”
3. Speak the Language of Your Customers & Investors. If you're in food tech, stop talking about fermentation yields—instead, show how your product makes financial sense for the companies that will buy it. " What we do really well is we don't spend a lot of time pitching our customer pipelines or investors. Our efficiency metric, what people call titers and fermentation, we

 The Yield Lab: Gentiane Gorlier shares how to get funded in 2026

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners, Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 64:  The Yield Lab: Gentiane Gorlier shares how to get funded in 2026

In this episode, I sit down with Gentiane Gorlier, General Partner at The Yield Lab Europe, an early-stage VC fund with 32 investments across the AgriFood value chain. Gentiane shares a refreshingly contrarian view on why animal protein and health remain critical investment areas for the next decade, despite the hype around alternative proteins. We dive deep into why the "Silicon Valley SaaS" model breaks when applied to biology, the harsh reality that consumers will not pay a "Green Premium," and The Yield Lab’s specific playbook for engaging corporate strategics. Currently raising their second fund, Gentiane explains how they help startups navigate the "valley of death" by bringing multiple corporates to the cap table to ensure balance and commercial viability. 🎧 Listen to the full episode to hear how Gentiane identifies deep-tech winners and why she believes the best time to invest in AgriFood is right now.

Key Facts The Yield Lab:

• Goal: Enabling entrepreneurs to sustainably revolutionize agrifood systems globally.
• Milestone: Successfully managing a portfolio of 32 companies and currently raising Fund II to deploy larger follow-on checks (up to €6M).

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. The Contrarian Bet: Animal Health is Here to Stay. While many investors pivoted entirely to alt-protein, The Yield Lab Europe maintains that animal protein remains a cornerstone of the global food system. The focus is on efficiency, ethics, and vaccines to reduce emissions per unit, rather than waiting for an alt-protein takeover that isn't technically or economically ready.  ”We strongly believe that animal protein and animal health should continue to be in the investment thesis for the next years. We absolutely believe that alternative protein is part of the future, but we're simply not there yet... So the real question for us is not whether it exists, but how efficiently and responsibly and ethically it's produced.”
2. The "Green Premium" is a Myth: Unit Economics Must Lead. The collapse of the insect farming and indoor ag hype cycles taught a brutal lesson: neither consumers nor corporations will pay more just for sustainability. Startups must reach price parity and have a clear path to profitability without relying on a "sustainability tax" that the market refuses to pay. “Nobody wants to pay for sustainability, and that's really something we learn... The economics needs to make sense. Corporate [partners] won't buy your product if it's more expensive... We have seen companies that pivoted away from food ingredients into cosmetics just simply because the food market was not ready to pay the price.”
3. Strategic Corporate Engagement: The "Two-Corporate" Rule. Engaging corporates too early can burn a startup, but engaging them right is the key to an exit. Gentiane advises against being beholden to a single strategic partner. Instead, aim for two or more strategics to create competitive tension and ensure the startup isn't "manhandled" by one company's internal restructuri

Time-travelling Milkman: Dimitris Karefyllakis shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners, Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 55: Time-travelling Milkman: Dimitris Karefyllakis shares how to get funded in 2025

In this episode, I sit down with Dimitris Karefyllakis, co-founder & CEO of Time-Travelling Milkman, a Dutch startup redefining plant-based creaminess. The company recently closed a €2M pre-Series A round led by Puratos, a global bakery and chocolate giant that first became a strategic partner after years of R&D collaboration. Dimitris walks us through how they turned a pilot relationship into an investment, set firm fundraising timelines to close in just eight months, and scaled production to 1,000 tons of their patented oleo cream — a sunflower-seed-based fat system replacing dairy and palm oil in foods like cream cheese and chocolate fillings. With over €5M total raised (including €1M in grants) and partnerships spanning Europe and Greece, Time-Travelling Milkman is proving that capital efficiency, technical grit, and patient partnerships can outpace the hype.

🎧 Listen to the full episode to hear how Dimitris raised from corporates, scaled sustainably, and built “the future of creaminess” — one sunflower seed at a time.

Key Facts Time-travelling Milkman:

• Goal: To make plant-based dairy truly indulgent, without compromise.
• Recently closed a €2M pre-Series A round led by Puratos

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Strategic Lead Came from Years of Technical Co-Development. The lead investor is a confectionery/bakery/chocolate corporation that had already been testing OleoCream for years. Familiarity with the tech and use cases made the investment discussion straightforward. ”Our lead investor is a corporation from Belgium, and they work in confectionery baking and chocolate. We had already been testing with them for a couple of years, and we saw a good strategic fit as well. They saw it from their side, and it was an easier discussion because they know what we do, they know what we want to do in the future, and they were quite right to chip in and lead the round.”
2. De-Risking Corporate Concentration: Two Strategics on the Cap Table. Bringing two strategic balances influences and broadens commercial pathways; it also reassures future investors that the company isn’t beholden to a single corporation. “ Received this advice early on is to try to have at least two corporates on the cap table. Because then, both of them will be pulling, let's say, from different directions. But then the average will still be good for the company. That's valuable. So you don't get, let's say, manhandled by only one partner. So if you get the valuable partners that really know what you do, and they can help you.”
3. Valuation Discipline Paid Off. Time-travelling Milkman avoided the “Gatsby years” hype. Lower prior valuations prevented painful flats/downs and enabled a fair step-up grounded in real progress and investor alignment. “ We never got the opportunity to have exaggerated valuations… now it went higher… a fair deal that was balanced from both sides.”

Matr Foods: Randi Wahlsten shares how to get funded in 2026

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners, Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 66: Matr Foods: Randi Wahlsten on raising €40M for CapEx and redefining "Meat Alternatives" 

In this episode, I sit down with Randi Wahlsten, CEO and Co-founder of Matr Foods, a Danish startup that just secured a massive €40M Series A led by Nova Holdings and the European Investment Bank. Randi reveals how she moved from a pilot line in an old fish factory to funding a "First of a Kind" (FOAK) industrial facility. We discuss why Matr Foods rejected the asset-light CDMO model out of necessity, how they achieved an 80-90% repurchase rate by targeting high-end culinary partners first, and why the future of the industry isn't "meat substitution" but creating entirely new food categories focused on gut health and fiber. 🎧 Listen to the full episode to hear Randi’s strategy on pricing for profitability rather than "fake success."

Key Facts Matr Foods:

• Goal: To create a new category of fungal-fermentation food that is clean-label and fiber-rich, rather than a direct "meat mimic."
• Milestone: Closed a €40M Series A (Equity + Debt) to build a proprietary industrial-scale production facility.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Your lead investor might come from a “non-fundraising” moment. Randi didn’t meet Novo through a formal intro or a classic pitch meeting. It started because she joined a debate/panel and did a short pitch in that setting. Afterward, a Novo investor approached her and said, “Let’s talk,” and that opened the door. “ I was asked to participate in a debate where I needed to do a little bit of a pitch for a panel, and one of the people on the panel was a Nova Holdings investor, and he came up to me afterwards and said, ‘That's really interesting. Let's have that conversation,’ and that really is how it started. I would normally never think that those kinds of setups would lead to anything, but in our case, it did.”
2. CapEx wasn’t a strategic preference. It was forced by reality. In a climate where investors love "asset-light," Matr Foods went heavy. Randi explains that for novel fermentation technologies, the CDMO capacity simply doesn't exist yet. By building their own facility, they secure IP, speed of innovation, and long-term margin control that third-party manufacturing can never offer. "We looked at the market very thoroughly across Europe... and we couldn't find anyone anywhere who had facilities that would be close to ready to produce the product... It was by necessity that we said then we're gonna have to scale this technology ourselves."
3. The "Quality of Revenue" Metric. With limited pilot volume (20-30 tons), Matr couldn't rely on massive sales data to raise its Series A. Instead, they focused on who was buying (aspirational brands like Gasoline Grill) and the repurchase rate. Proving that 80-90% of chefs re-ordered was more valuable than vanity metrics from deep discounting. "You can make a fake success by putting it out in the market at half price... but that's not really proof of anything. We’ve seen... between 80 and 90% repurchase rate. So we've seen,

Sonicflora: Robin Jansson shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners, Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 53: Sonicflora: Robin Jansson shares how to get funded in 2025

In this episode, I sit down with Robin Jansson, CEO & co-founder of Sonicflora, the startup building the world’s first bioacoustic plant database—using ultrasound “stress” signals from plants (like dehydration, pests, or disease) to monitor crop health in real time. Sonicflora recently raised SEK 2.7M (~€250K) led by Almi Invest, after turning an early rejection into a “yes” by reframing their story from a research project to a scalable ag-data platform. Bootstrapped nights and weekends, the team has also secured €550K in grants from AgTech Sweden and the Swedish Board of Agriculture, giving them a two-year runway to scale their plant-sound database. With partnerships at SLU and leading horticulture hubs, Sonicflora is proving how plant acoustics could redefine precision agriculture. Tune in to hear how Robin turned a hard “no” into funding success, built a business around plant sounds, and is pioneering an entirely new data layer for global agriculture.

Key Facts Sonicflora:

• Goal: To set a new global standard for plant health monitoring, empowering agriculture to be more sustainable, resilient, and data-driven..
• Recently  raised SEK 2.7M (~€250K) led by Almi Invest.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. From “Hard No” to “Yes” via a Sharper Story. Refining the pitch from research-y to venture-scale unlocked the round. Robin reframed Sonicflora as a scalable data/AI company (not just a study), which reopened a passed investor and converted. “ They actually wanted to pass on that opportunity. So that was back in February. But then I actually met a colleague of his, and actually by then, we had changed our pitch just a little bit, and what we were doing and what we were planning to do. I actually convinced her to take a meeting, and then we had a meeting, and the journey just continued. It was quite a journey just to go from a quite hard no to a maybe to a yes.”
2. The Big Vision: A New Data Layer for Agriculture. Sonicflora isn’t a sensor widget; it’s building the world’s first bio-acoustic plant database so growers can detect stress (dehydration, pests, disease) early via ultrasound signatures. “We are building the world’s first bioacoustic plant database. Plants emit sound and ultrasound… when they’re being stressed. We… analyze them and train our machine learning models.”
3. Valuation Discipline: Dilution Guardrails Drove Target. They reverse-engineered valuation from needed cash and dilution bands (15–20%) using early benchmarks, keeping founder ownership healthy for future rounds. “  So we actually went through there's a broken cap table, like something from backing minds that shows like what's the best case, and or an average case, and then a bad case of how much diluted you can be or should be. So we looked a little bit on that to get a sense of where we should be and what phase we are in. We looked at trying to get a, not be diluted more than 20% in this first round, and looking for maybe between 15 and 20.”

V5 Verde Equity: Kristian Bennetsen shares how to get funded in 2026

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners, Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 70: V5 Food and Ag Bio Fund: Kristian Bennetsen on the €2B Co-Investment Opportunity and the "CDMO Play" for Cultured Meat 

In this episode, I sit down with Kristian Bennetsen, General Partner of V5 Verde Equity and the newly launched V5 Food and Ag Bio Fund. With a target of €50M and a first close of €20M imminent, Kristian is targeting the often-neglected TRL 7-9 stage—companies with proven, operational technology ready to scale. Drawing on his experience founding Roslin Technologies (the UK’s largest ag-tech startup), Kristian breaks down his unique "Co-Investment" strategy, which unlocks up to €2B in infrastructure capital to help portfolio companies build factories in Asia and the Middle East. We discuss why he is betting on CDMOs (Contract Development and Manufacturing Organizations) rather than consumer brands in cellular agriculture, and why land-based aquaculture (RAS) is a core thesis for 2025. 

🎧 Listen to the full episode to hear why Kristian puts his own personal capital into the fund to keep his "hand on the stove."

Key Facts V5 Verde Equity:

• Goal: To invest in Northern European animal life science and ag-tech companies at the commercialization stage (TRL 7-9).
• Milestone: Launching a €50M fund with a specialized €2B co-investment facility to finance heavy CapEx infrastructure projects globally.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. The "Infrastructure Gap" Solution: A €2B Co-Investment Vehicle. VC money is for IP and teams; it isn't efficient for building steel in the ground. Kristian has structured a vehicle that allows sovereign wealth funds and corporates (specifically in the Middle East and Asia) to step in and fund the €100M+ production facilities needed by portfolio companies once the tech is proven. This allows the VC fund to stay agile while still enabling massive scale. "This is like one co-investment opportunity to follow the company around the globe... setting up production facilities in these key markets... It requires north of a hundred million euros to do such an infrastructure investment... The co-investment opportunities arise from that."
2. The "CDMO" Bet: Don't Pick the Horse, Own the Racetrack. In the volatile cellular agriculture market, betting on a single consumer brand or cell line is risky. Kristian’s contrarian thesis is to invest in the infrastructure (CDMOs) that will process any winning cell line. He believes the immediate value lies in high-margin ingredients (coffee, chocolate, cosmetics) rather than commodity meat, which struggles with unit economics. "I have a really high conviction to scaling a cultured meat with the right CDMO player... You don't know which cell line is gonna prevail and succeed in 20 years' time. But if you have the infrastructure to funnel through, you can always buy in the lines or work with a new player."
3. Personal Capital as Conviction Signal. Kristian's investment of his own capital into the fund serves as a powerful conviction signal and a clear statement of alignment between GP and LPs. As he put it, “Of course I would invest my own money

GOTA Ventures: Vincent Kuiper shares how to get funded in 2026

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners, Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 67: GOTA Ventures: Vincent Kuiper on why Syndicates are winning in 2025 and the "Deal-by-Deal" playbook. 

In this episode, I sit down with Vincent Kuiper, Co-founder of GOTA Ventures, a European investment syndicate disrupting the traditional VC model. Vincent explains why launching a traditional fund as an emerging manager is broken in the current climate and how he utilized the syndicate structure to aggregate over 50 industry experts from 13 countries. We dive into the mechanics of "deal-by-deal" investing, how to monetize without a management fee, and GOTA’s hybrid thesis that balances 12-year deep tech timelines with the faster liquidity of consumer brands. 🎧 Listen to the full episode to hear how Vincent turned his MBA thesis into a live investment vehicle that targets 8 high-conviction deals a year.

Key Facts GOTA Ventures:

• Goal: To build the strongest ecosystem in Europe for food tech investing by lowering the barrier to entry for industry experts.
• Milestone: Successfully launched a syndicate with 50+ active investors (operators, scientists, executives) investing €150k-€500k per deal.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. The Syndicate Advantage: Speed and "Smart" Access. For emerging managers, raising a fund is expensive and slow. Vincent argues that the syndicate model allows for agility and, crucially, democratizes access. By lowering minimum tickets (to ~€5k), GOTA unlocks capital from industry scientists and operators who have deep expertise but cannot write the €250k check required by traditional LPs. "As an emerging manager, it's simply easier to raise capital for a specific deal than for a fund... We have industry operators, executive scientists, all these kinds of experts that don't have the capital to join a VC fund as an LP, but they do have the capital to join... with lower ticket sizes."
2. Aligned Economics: The "No Management Fee" Model. Unlike traditional VCs charging a 2% annual fee regardless of performance, GOTA operates on a lean "Closing Fee + Carry" model. This ensures the GPs are fully aligned with the investors—they only make real money if the portfolio companies exit successfully. "The closing fee basically covers our expenses and nothing more than that. So we are fully aligned with our investors that we really need to look for upside in our investment opportunities."
3. The Hybrid Thesis: Balancing Deep Tech with CPG. GOTA takes a contrarian approach by mixing deep tech (Ingredient Innovation/Infrastructure) with Consumer Brands. Vincent explains this is a deliberate portfolio construction strategy to balance the 10-12 year horizons of deep tech with the potentially faster (5-7 year) exits of consumer goods, offering liquidity diversity to angels. "We combine tech-heavy investments with consumer brands... With the consumer brands, your exits are probably between five and seven years. With the more deep tech plays it's 10 to 12 years, and we really believe that the opportunities are in both areas."

Bygen: Lewis Dunnigan shares how to get funded in 2024

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, co-produced by vegconomist, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2024 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs. 

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. 

Episode 4: Bygen: Lewis Dunnigan shares how to get funded in 2024

In this episode, Alex talks to Lewis Dunnigan, Co-Founder & CEO at Bygen, which has developed a unique new technology called 'low-temperature activation' (LTA) that enables the production of sustainable and high-quality activated carbon. The discussion highlights the strategic considerations for startups navigating licensing agreements and the importance of aligning interests between founders, investors, and partner organizations. The emphasis on operational transparency, risk mitigation, and the importance of a strong foundational technology is critical for gaining investor trust and achieving long-term success.

Key Facts Bygen:

• Goal: To enable the low cost and sustainable production of a material called activated carbon
• Raised US$ 2.5 Million led by some Australian climate tech investors, including Breakfree Victoria, Albert's impact capital and Artesian Investments.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Focus on licensing the technology rather than build on operating production facilities. “Our decision early on to focus on licensing the technology rather than build on operating production facilities, it really kind of enabled us to even be considered a viable investment by a VC because it is a means to grow the company through relatively little investment.” Lewis emphasized.
2. Signing-up offtake agreements before production. Lewis said, “We basically sign-up offtake agreements before production plants come online. That's an easier way to sell it. You don't get the same high value as you get by selling it in small quantities. So we sort of keep 95 percent of our offtakes for those types of customers and then we also have some internal sales capabilities to sell smaller amounts at higher prices on the spot market.”
3. Getting the IP  out of the university.  “We  did manage to get the IP out of the university but it wasn't an easy process. We actually went out and got feedback from the market and said that we don't think that we'll be able to raise money if we license it, sub-license the technology, or if we have the technology but there's significant royalties attached to it. They have equity in the business in return.” Lewis added.

Bovotica: Andrew Leech shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners, Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 37: Bovotica: Andrew Leech shares how to get funded in 2025

In this episode, I talk with Andrew Leech, co-founder and CEO of Bovotica, an Australian startup developing probiotic and prebiotic technologies that reduce methane and improve cattle productivity. Andrew walks us through the journey of closing a $3.4M seed round—highlighting the power of warm intros, the realities of raising over 14 months, and the personal sacrifices it took (including selling his house). We dive into valuation strategy using PitchBook, structuring university spinouts, equity-based advisory deals, and how team credibility can overcome early-stage scientific risk. It’s a raw, insightful look at what it truly takes to fund and lead a deep-tech ag startup.

Key Facts Bovotica:

• Goal: To reduce methane emissions from cattle while simultaneously delivering production efficiency.
• Recently closed a $3.4 million seed round led by AgriZeroNZ.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Founder Sacrifices: Sold His House to Stay Afloat. Andrew quit his day job and funded himself through savings — ultimately selling his home to commit full-time and keep the company alive. " I made the decision to quit my day job and go in this full-time. You have to have at least one person in the company going full time. If you're trying to raise a seed round and hold down even a part-time job, it gets very tricky. It got tough towards the end for me. I had to sell and ended up selling my house to keep myself going while we raised the seed round. But look, in the end, that was a risk that was really worth taking for me."
2. IP Deal with University: Exclusive License, Then Assignment. Bovotica initially licensed the IP from QUT with a clause for assignment post-raise — creating a win-win for both university and investors. " I think one of the reasons our seed round took a bit longer is there was a bit of back and forth between Bovotica and QUT to make sure we had the right structure to get that investment. We've got a really good relationship with QUT and our process was we wanted to license the IP initially and then once we'd completed the seed round, get the university to assign that IP into the company. So that de-risked it for the university that if we can't raise the money, then it's only an exclusive license. But it also gives something to the investor as well that if we close the seed round, the IP is assigned to Bovotica, and Bovotica actually physically owns all the IP that it needs to put the deal forward. So obviously in these sorts of situations. The university is looking to get a fair deal or what it believes the IP is worth."
3. $9.4M Post-Money Valuation Grounded in PitchBook Comps. Bovotica used PitchBook data to benchmark valuations of comparable methane-reduction startups globally, arriving at a $6M pre-money valuation. “I was lucky enough to have access to a PitchBook subscription, so I did I pulled hundreds of reports out a PitchBook.The first thing the investors ask you, once they're interested is, okay, what's the premoney you pull this numb

Maia Farms: Gavin Schneider shares how to get funded in 2026

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners, Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 59: Maia Farms: Gavin Schneider shares how to get funded in 2026

In this episode, I sit down with Gavin Schneider, CEO and co-founder of Maia Farms, one of the most capital-efficient and rapidly scaling players in the mushroom and mycelium ingredient space. Gavin walks me through how Maia raised $6.5M—not from a planned target list, but from a warm intro by a larger fund that passed on leading and instead connected them to a perfect-fit Vancouver climate investor, leading to one of the fastest close cycles I’ve seen. We get into how Maia built momentum through major Canadian grants, strong customer references, and a data room ready for instant due diligence, and why staying asset-light and profitable matters more than ever in food-tech today. Gavin also shares the real challenge ahead: keeping up with demand as Maia moves from hundreds of tons to thinking in millions of tons of mushroom protein by 2050. This conversation is a masterclass in disciplined scaling, capital strategy, and building a food company that actually feeds people—and I’m excited for you to hear it.

Key Facts Maia Farms:

• Goal: Support food makers with versatile, scalable solutions that outperform soy and mold-based alternatives.
• Recently raised $6.5M with Protein Industries Canada and Greater Vancouver Food Bank (GVFB) as investors.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Your Lead Investor Might Not Be on Your Original List. Gavin’s lead investor came via a warm intro from a larger fund that ultimately passed on Maia as “too early”—but then made the perfect connection to a local Vancouver climate-focused fund. He underscores the importance of always asking for feedback and referrals when a fund says no, because the best-fit investor may be one degree away, not already on your spreadsheet.  ” It was actually  an introduction  from  a larger fund with who we had been engaged and had some discussions. They felt that we were just too early for their  stage of investment.  So they made an introduction to another group, and things actually happened in quite rapid progression from the time of introduction  to  closing the deal, and it happened within a matter of weeks. You never know who will get you where you need to go.”
2. A Simple, Thoughtful Data Room Beats Fancy Software. For this round, Maia ditched expensive data-room platforms and ran everything through Google Drive, using its newer security features plus a clear structure and “checklist” mindset. Gavin stress-tested the data room with incubator mentors and updated it continuously based on investor objections, treating every “no” as an input to improve the next investor’s experience. “If you’re already paying for [Google], I think that groups that are paying an extra $1,500 for a specialized data room… you’re able to get to the same result and the same level of security today with Google Drive. Follow your standard checklists… and ask yourself as you’re going through it: if I were interrogating this company, what pieces of information would I also like to see here?”

The Protein Brewery: Thijs Bosch shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners, Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 52: The Protein Brewery: Thijs Bosch shares how to get funded in 2025

In this episode, Alex sits down with Thijs Bosch, the new CEO of The Protein Brewery— a Dutch biomass-fermentation scale-up making a mycelium-based protein-and-fiber powder for food and nutrition. Fresh off a €30M Series B led by Invest-NL and BOM with continued support from existing backers (including Novo Holdings), Thijs explains how he stepped in mid-process to close a 15-month fundraise while steering a strategic pivot from alt-meat into active nutrition and healthy aging. He’s candid on valuation realities, why an eventual strategic exit is likelier than IPO, and what the team needs next: U.S. partners in sports/active nutrition and wellness ready to trial at industrial scale.

Key Facts The Protein Brewery:

• Goal: Healthier and more sustainable fats to deliver tasty, more nutritious foods.
• Recently closed €30M Series B led by Invest-NL and BOM with continued support from existing backers (including Novo Holdings).

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Investor Conviction: Customers Spoke During Due Diligence. Letting brand R&D/marketing validate taste/texture/use-case to investors beat vanity pipeline charts. “Get those customers and those promoters to talk to your investors during the commercial due diligence. That has been very helpful.”
2. New CEO, Same Raise: Leadership Switch Mid-Process. Thijs joined five months ago and finished a 15-month fundraise already in motion—while investors assessed the new plan. “ I joined the protein brewery about five months ago. I'm new to the company, and I basically dropped in the middle of the fundraising process. I took over from the former CEO. We had to close the fundraising rounds with both the current and new investors.”
3. Sustainability Still Matters (Even If It’s “Hygiene”). Fermentation’s land/water/CO₂ footprint remains a core part of The Protein Brewery’s investment and customer story. “ Nowadays, it's a ticket to the table or it's a hygiene factor for many scale-ups, but fermentation technology as such, and especially if you do it in a minimal process way, requires a fraction of the land, a fraction of the water, a fraction of the CO2, etc. Also, for all of our investors, it's still a key point. Sometimes it gets a bit overshadowed in the current discussions, but for a lot of investors, it is still very important.”

SuperGut: Marc Washington shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners; Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 30: SuperGut: Marc Washington shares how to get funded in 2025

In this episode, we sat down with Marc Washington, founder and Executive Chairman of Supergut, to unpack how the brand became a breakout leader at the intersection of gut health and the GLP-1 wave. Alongside guest co-host Lance Lively of The Gut Punch, we explored the science and strategy behind Supergut’s rise—from investing in gold-standard clinical trials and securing key patents, to securing national retail launches and bringing on the former CEO of Vital Proteins to lead their next phase of growth. Marc shared the inside story behind their recent fundraise led by Full Frame Growth Partners, their bold clinical trial strategy, and how they’ve positioned Supergut to stand out in a noisy space of fast followers. From product formulation to rebranding to omnichannel expansion, this conversation offers a masterclass in building a truly differentiated CPG brand in the Ozempic era.

Key Facts SuperGut:

• Goal: To make a sort of gut health, infinitely more accessible, truly functional foods that are both highly efficacious, but also making great tasting, convenient, accessible products.
• Recently secured a “significant growth equity investment” from Full Frame Growth Partners.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Clinical Research as a Brand Moat. While others slapped on health claims, Supergut invested in gold-standard science—earning credibility that 99% of wellness brands can’t touch. "  It was over a million dollars that we spent on a clinical research for a study of that size and magnitude. Now we're incredibly happy that we went through a very expensive, time-consuming exercise of doing a gold standard clinical study. It's a real credible science behind it. Randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study. Close to 200 participants did it. We saw significant impact on many different dimensions of health, inclusive of metabolic health, significantly better blood sugar, better weight, better appetite control as well."
2. Be Always Fundraising. Relationships started a year before the check was written. The deal was built over time—not overnight. " We weren’t actively raising, but as an entrepreneur, you’re always fundraising in one form or another."
3. Ask Investors for Their Take. Marc used investor meetings not just to pitch—but to test value props, weed out weak fits, and gather strategic insight. “ I would typically share at least a high-level overview of what we're doing right, and our unique value proposition. Instead of continuing to go down that pathway of revealing more about the business, I would turn the tables right and ask the investors, “So given what I've shared, what do you think is unique about what we're doing and how would you think about positioning this in the marketplace relative to what you're seeing?” So kind of turning the tables, almost like an interview of them to see if they got us.”

EcoTech Capital: Adam Bergman shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners, Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 58: EcoTech Capital: Adam Bergman shares how to get funded in 2025

In this episode, I sit down with Adam Bergman, Managing Director at Ecotech Capital and one of the most respected voices in global AgTech and FoodTech finance, for a brutally honest, data-driven look at the state of exits, valuations, fundraising, and what it will take for founders to survive 2025–2026. Adam breaks down why most exits today are distressed sales, why strategics have lost trust after years of overhyped promises, and why 2026 may be both the start of a new upswing and the highest-bankruptcy year in the sector. We dive into what real milestones look like now, which business models still attract capital, why robotics and automation are surging, the long-term future of cultivated meat, and how GLP-1 drugs and the MAHA movement could reshape global food demand. This is an unfiltered masterclass on what founders must do to stay alive—and what success will realistically look like over the next decade.

Key Facts EcoTech Capital:

• Goal: Committed to offering strategic insight and financial direction to companies on key growth strategies, tactical initiatives, and strategic alternatives to help companies develop a strategy for continued growth and ultimately a successful future exit, whether through an IPO or M&A transaction.
• Adam has raised $1.5B+ across AgTech, FoodTech, and ClimateTech.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. “The Exit Winter”: Why There Are Almost No Exits in Ag & Food Tech Today. Adam explains that the current lack of exits is rooted in unrealistic valuations, overfunding from 2018–2021, and stalled IPO/M&A markets. Most exits today are either fire sales or companies selling at invested capital, not valuation. Strategics feel burned, private equity can’t touch unprofitable companies, and the sector is stuck until real profitability appears.  ”Very few companies in this industry have reached profitability — and if you don’t have profitability, you’re going to struggle to get anyone in PE.  And so now, who are you left with from an M&A perspective? You're left with strategics. Strategics can be great buyers.”
2. 2026 Will Be the “Great Shakeout Year”. Adam predicts that 2026 will bring the highest wave of bankruptcies the sector has ever seen. Many companies have been surviving on safes from 2022–2025, and investors will soon need to decide which portfolio companies to continue supporting. This will expose zombie companies and force consolidation. “  By 2026, you’ll have companies that’ve done safes for three or four years. Investors will finally ask: Is this business actually close to scale and profitability?  If we've been unable to get other outside investors to put money into the company in the last few years, has anything changed? Can we get any outside capital? What does the exit landscape look like for this company and others?”
3. What Companies Should Do Now: Narrow Focus and Hit Real Milestones. Adam says the strongest CEOs today are ruthlessly narrowing scope, cutting burn, and focusing on

FLOCEAN: Alexander Fuglesang shares how to get funded in 2026

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners, Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 69: FLOCEAN: Alexander Fuglesang on leveraging Oil & Gas heritage for Water Tech and the "Flat Round" strategy 

In this episode, I sit down with Alexander Fuglesang, Founder and CEO of FLOCEAN, a Norwegian company moving freshwater production to the subsea. Alexander shares the grueling 18-month journey of closing a Series A that involved a mix of philanthropists, sovereign climate funds (Nysnø), specialized VCs (Burnt Island Ventures), and a major strategic (Xylem). We discuss the harsh reality that the water industry is just as conservative as oil & gas, forcing FLOCEAN to pivot from selling massive projects to building a "First of a Kind" (FOAK) unit on their own balance sheet. Alexander also breaks down the specific Project Finance/SPV structure they use to fund high-CapEx infrastructure and how they identified their beachhead market of 94 countries based on depth, scarcity, and geopolitical stability.

🎧 Listen to the full episode to hear how Alexander’s existing investors saved the round by offering a flat valuation term sheet to trigger outside interest.

Key Facts FLOCEAN:

• Goal: To decentralize freshwater production by moving reverse osmosis subsea, reducing energy use by 30-50%, and eliminating land use.
• Milestone: Closed a multi-stage Series A with Xylem and Nysnø while securing their first municipal client in Norway.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. The "Flat Round" Bridge to Strategics. When the Series A dragged into a second closing, and the market cooled, FLOCEAN’s existing investors (Three Bird Partners and Burnt Island) didn't force a down round. Instead, they offered a term sheet at the same valuation to signal confidence. This lack of predatory terms gave Alexander the leverage to shop the deal and eventually land Xylem as a major strategic investor. "Our two lead investors... said we're going to write you a term sheet for the same valuation and we're supporting. If you can take that out there and you can shop around... we will encourage that... that went into triggering the interest of Xylem... and then the round got seriously oversubscribed."
2. Being ‘Climate Tech’ Can Actually Hurt You. FLOCEAN struggled by being lumped into capital-heavy climate categories like batteries and hydrogen. Their challenge was reframing from “green infrastructure” to “commercial water producer with climate upside.” " It was quite challenging because the physical stuff is capital-intensive, and we were quite early lumped into sort of the climate tech space. We're a water producer with the next generation sort of technology, but we're lumped together with green infrastructure, batteries, and EVs. "
3. The Pivot: Building "First of a Kind" (FOAK) on Spec. Despite a strong track record in subsea oil & gas, FLOCEAN realized that no client wants to be first, and no infrastructure investor wants to fund the pilot. The pivot was accepting that they had to finance the first commercial-scale unit themselves to prove the technology before unlocking project finance. "We were quite convinced that we could... go straight for a big, profitable commercial pro

Bluu Seafood: Fabian Friede shares how to get funded in 2024

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, co-produced by vegconomist, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2024 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs. 

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. 

Episode 03: Bluu Seafood: Fabian Friede shares how to get funded in 2024

In this episode, Alex talks to Fabian, co-CEO of Bluu Seafood who joined the startup industry in 2010 and worked with investors on a lot of different digital businesses around the globe. He talks about the expectations in raising a fund both in the investors and companies aspect and how the importance of the two-steps closing have played in their recent fundraising.

Key Facts Bluu Seafood

• Goal: Bluu Seafood is a cultivated seafood company, and the goal is to provide people with healthy seafood products without destroying our planet.
• Raised 20+ Million 
• Investors include Meta Ray Ventures, Leather VC, Sparkfood.

Alex’ Top Findings:

1.  Challenges: Alternative protein as an industry is suffering from investor fatigue due to several different topics; overall slower progress than maybe promised or at least anticipated, high CapEx needs, and poor performance of public markets.
2. Length of Fundraise: Bluu Seafood's recent round took about nine months, significantly longer than anticipated, highlighting the increased difficulty in securing funds and actually had to split it into two closings that are five months apart. Two-step closings become more common now. 
3. Two-step closings: when you have your investment agreement, create already shares that you can then give out to new investors that come on board on the second closing. If you give out a thousand new shares, you might create a capital reserve for another thousand. So you can actually collect the same sum again in the second closing, which is then done to the same condition, same valuation. So basically, you're closing the round to get capital in the bank, but allow for more time to get more investors on board. If the investor doesn't have any bandwidth to deal with you at the moment and you don't want to lose them, you might leave that door open via a second closing.
4. Perspective on Lead Investors: Lead investors play an important role by committing the most capital, conducting due diligence, and giving confidence in smaller investors to join the round. It can definitely streamline the process and attract additional investors. The due diligence is mainly done by the lead investor. So once the lead investor commits so much capital, it is the vote of confidence.
5. Effective Introductions: During the outreach, founders should give a list of potential co-investors and pre-written introduction emails for current investors to facilitate easier warm intros.
6. Interpreting "Too Early" Feedback: When investors say that it is "too early," it may be a polite way of declining without burning bridges. Founders should seek genuine feedback for improvement.
7. Cell-Based Space: Elements concerning cell based space include high CapEx and low margin products. As an investor, the need to evaluate what is the opportunity and what is the track is necessary. Scaling for example, you need to bring down the prod

AgFunder: Rob Leclerc shares how to get funded in 2024

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, co-produced by vegconomist, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2024 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs. 

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. 

Episode 04: AgFunder: Rob Leclerc shares how to get funded in 2024

In this episode, Alex talks to Rob, Founding Partner of AgFunder who have about $200 million assets under management. Rob talks about how investors are looking into companies nowadays and their expectations. He also discussed how the market shifting, sectoral challenges and founders roles affects the fundraising process in this current investment climate.

Key Facts AgFunder:

• Goal: AgFunder invests in early stage food tech and ag tech seed to series A companies.
• $200 million company assets.

Alex’ Top Findings:

1. Market Shifting. There comes a saying nowadays that if you don't have the margins of tech, you're not tech. Tech valuations are not given anymore, not like from 2021. Record high food tech IPOs have crashed and cheap interest-free money has become very expensive.
2. Alternative Protein Situation. Early on in the alternative protein days, there was an assumption that food was going to be technology, which means it was going to have gross margins and technology-like growth rates. The input costs are generally higher and the end products tend to be of premium products. 
3. Cost Challenges. Cost is one of the biggest drivers, but you have taste, texture, convenience, and health. Unfortunately, no company is kind of meeting and beating on all those categories. There's a small handful of companies that are able to compete on cost in certain categories in certain areas but there's still probably some compromise on taste or texture.
4. Distribution Difficulties. You have tons of gatekeepers, whether it's in food service or retail. Distribution now is extremely difficult as people are sort of not willing to try products. 
5. Venture Capital Expectation. They are looking to have 10x return on their investments. It's harder than ever to get the attention of your ideal customer investors. Getting a 10x return from a seed round is very difficult. Companies should take the money and if you cannot build a profitable company with the money that you've got, you are probably not going to make it. When you've raised 25 million, 15 million for series A, and you need another one to two funding rounds before you even think you will get to profitability with your optimistic, distribution and sales goals.
6. Company Strategy. Great companies are drowning in the noise of AI written emails, LinkedIn automation bots, and email sequences. Typically founders have spent hours looking through LinkedIn  connections or share lists of hundreds of names of their investors to ask for interest. The process is time intensive and often really ineffective. Warm outreach allows you to easily map actual warm connections of your investors and team members by seeing beyond just the LinkedIn connection. 
7. Founders/CEOs Role. A product focused CEO and narrative driven CEO would attract capital. Investors want to see incredible execution. They want to see evidence that the CEO can manage every nickel in that com

Alba Health: Eleonora Cavani shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners, Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 40: Alba Health: Eleonora Cavani shares how to get funded in 2025

In this episode, I speak with Eleonora Cavani, founder and CEO of Alba Health, a Sweden-based startup on a mission to prevent chronic disease by improving childhood gut health. Eleonora shares how Alba raised €5M — including a €2.5M round led by Unconventional Ventures — and how the company combines microbiome testing, nutritional coaching, and parent education to help families build long-term health foundations. We explore her scientific moat, regulatory strategy, and how she used LinkedIn and public speaking to build investor trust. Eleonora also reflects on the emotional side of fundraising and what it means to lead with purpose.

Key Facts Alba Health:

• Goal: To prevent chronic disease by improving childhood gut health
• Recently raised €5M, including a €2.5M round led by Unconventional Ventures.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. From Cold Start to 600 Conversations. Nora’s pre-seed journey involved reaching out cold to 250 investors and speaking with 600 people in her first year—building trust one connection at a time. " Our first round was very different, very different. I went out to 250 investors, so that was a lot of work and very different. The second one was much easier. Completely different in the first round. I started out cold. Now looking back, it was a lot about developing the idea, developing the business model, and the plan, and also fundraising. The first year, I really spent it meeting so many people. I spoke to 600 people and I spoke to anybody, not only investors, anybody that had something around this topic, anybody that was interested in the topic, anyone that could help, anyone that resonated, that somehow liked what we're doing.”
2. How to Win Intros: Be Someone Worth Introducing. Rather than asking directly, Eleonora focused on being authentic, valuable, and compelling—so others wanted to introduce her. "I saw many people giving me introductions and inviting me to more and more things over time. And I think that's what led to that one introduction, but it led to many other introductions as well. So my last round was very atypical, and our lead investor was our customer. We got introduced by a friend, and actually another investor who followed our journey over time. She has helped me a lot by making introductions. I didn't ask for it. I believe that they talked to the two of them, and it was a catch-up between two investors, talking about who is around and who is interesting, and I believe Unconventional Ventures is looking for companies that have big potential, have an impact, but also have unconventional founders in a sense. She pointed to me and she made the introduction without me asking. ”
3. Valuation: Let the Market Decide. Rather than anchoring the conversation, Eleonora lets investor demand determine valuation—betting on interest over control. “ I never decide that [valuation]. If investors ask me about valuation, I say that they will be better equipped to decide that. I would say the way I see my job as a

Remilk: Ori Cohavi and Yochai Maytal Share How They Created Real Dairy Without Cows.

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

 Today's episode is different in an investment climate. I usually interview founders right after they raise capital, but this conversation is about what matters even more: delivering on promises to investors, partners, and, most importantly, consumers. 

Remilk is moving from vision to reality. The company is officially launching in Israel, rolling out cafes, and then grocery store shelves across the country, producing real milk without cows. In partnership with God Dairies, one of Israel's most established dairy manufacturers and distributors, this is execution at scale. It might be the moment that redefines, revitalizes, and even saves food tech. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners, Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 57: Remilk: Ori Cohavi and Yochai Maytal Share How They Created Real Dairy Without Cows.

In this episode, I sit down with Remilk Co-Founder & CTO Ori Cohavi and Upstream Bioprocess Lead Yochai Maytal for the most honest, behind-the-scenes deep dive yet into their groundbreaking cow-free dairy launch with Gad Dairies. We break down the blind taste tests (including my own), why their milk froths, cooks, and tastes indistinguishably from traditional dairy, how they achieved positive gross margins at an industrial scale, and the strategic JV model that’s letting them enter the market differently from any other precision-fermentation company. We also dig into past challenges, the truth behind the board shake-up, global expansion strategy, the path to competing with subsidized dairy, and what it will take for Remilk to reshape the global dairy industry.

Key Facts Remilk:

• Goal: To create real dairy without a single cow, bringing a message of hope and joy to our planet, our body… and cows!

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. 75% Less Sugar, Same Experience. By removing lactose, Remilk eliminates the natural milk sugar that quietly adds 5% sugar to every glass. They replace it with a much smaller amount of “table sugar,” leveraging its higher sweetness to keep the sensory profile while cutting total sugar by 75%. The result is a product that tastes like regular milk, with a similar sweetness perception but far less sugar load. This gives them a strong “better for you” angle without asking consumers to sacrifice taste. ” It's actually very similar to the level of sweetness of milk, but it has 75% less sugar. We do not use any lactose in the product. You can put in a quarter of the amount [of sugar] and get the same experience.”
2. The JV Model: Tech & Brand as Equal Partners. Rather than just selling ingredients, Remilk built a full joint venture with Gad, one of Israel’s premium dairy brands (~₪1B+ business). Remilk brings the protein, formulations, and process know-how; Gad brings market knowledge, brand trust, and distribution. “ We are responsible for the technology, for supplying the end products, and Gad is mostly responsible for the marketing efforts for the distribution. But I think what we are doing is much more than co-branding, so it's much more than being an intel inside or remake inside. When I look at a partnership with Gad and why I think it's going to work, it's because each side brings its strength and each one is complemented by the other in its weaknesses.”
3. Already Positive Gross Margins (Atypical in Food Tech). Unlike most novel food companies that subsidize early sales, Remilk says it wouldn’t launch if it weren’t already gross-margin positive. Milk is the hardest product economically, but they balance it with other higher-margin products in the portfolio. They emphasize that they w

Arsenale BioYards: Massimo Portincaso shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners; Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 26: Arsenale BioYards: Massimo Portincaso shares how to get funded in 2025

In this episode, I sat down with Massimo Portincaso, CEO and co-founder of Arsenale BioYards, who just raised a €10M seed round to tackle one of biotech’s toughest challenges: making biomanufacturing economically viable at scale. Massimo breaks down how his team is redesigning the scale-up process from the ground up—bringing industrial conditions into the lab, leveraging smart cap table construction, and tapping into project finance to build infrastructure without drowning in dilution. This conversation is a masterclass in turning big vision into executable industrial strategy, and a rare peek into how deeptech founders can blend science, storytelling, and stoic leadership to win over top-tier VCs.

Key Facts Arsenale BioYards:

• Goal: To make biomanufacturing economically viable by reducing its cost by an order of magnitude.
• Recently raised a 10 million round co-led by Planet A and By Founders.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Solve for Scale Early — Biotech is Infrastructure-Heavy. Instead of classical scale-up, Arsenale uses scale-out: standardized 50,000L bioreactor modules for rapid deployment and learning curve economics. "What we're doing on the industrial side is that we're not doing the classical scale up as everybody else, but we're doing scale out. So we manage to do what we're doing by identifying one size, which will be around 50,000 liters, containerize it, and then if you need more capacity, we simply build more bioreactor."
2. Convince VCs You’re More Than Hardware. The business is more than pipes and tanks. It’s a data platform for smarter biomanufacturing with guaranteed scale-up success. "Our desk makes you smarter. You develop your processes that belong to you." "We embed DSP from the get-go, because the cost of DSP is determined at the beginning."
3. Strategic Cap Tables Are Built, Not Hoped For. Massimo curated a cap table of US and EU institutional VCs, vertical farming founders, industrial family offices, and bioindustry operators. "I wanted smart money—family offices, industrial know-how, and institutional money together."

The Raging Pig Company: Arne Ewerbeck shares how to get funded in 2024

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, co-produced by vegconomist, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2024 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs. 

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. 

Episode 2: The Raging Pig Company: Arne Ewerbeck shares how to get funded in 2024

In this episode, Alex talks to Arne, Co-Founder of The Raging Pig Company, a Hamburg-based food tech startup focused on developing and distributing hog alternative products. Their current offerings include a wide range of plant-based German sausages, including bacon, with plans to expand into other products and mycelium-based options. The conversation highlighted that success in the food tech startup landscape, particularly for alternative protein products, hinges on creating exceptional products, building strong relationships with investors, and maintaining a unique brand identity. By focusing on these areas, The Raging Pig Company has been able to secure funding and establish itself as a promising player in the market.

Key Facts The Raging Pig Company:

• Goal: To revolutionize bacon that lets you enjoy the taste that you love in a healthy, sustainable and cruelty-free way.
• Currently raised seed round led by Sprout and About Ventures.

Alex’ Top Findings:

1. Measure Your Market- Going Bottom To Top.  As per Arne “From the bottom to the top, how many plant based sausages were sold last year? Because that is the market. You're addressing in the first place in the short term and obviously that number will be very small compared to what you think the potential market size would be and obviously then you can think about.”
2. Your Brand Doesn't Need To Be Provocative. Arne highlighted that “There's no reason for us to be provocative towards a company which is producing pork products. That's something which we are not doing. We already have a brand which gets a lot of attention anyway. We don't need to put our fingers to somebody else.”
3. Be a brand that offers an experience. “Everybody has a very clear description of what they would expect. No matter how good the product tastes, the consumer would always look for the experience of having a sausage. So when it comes to how the product works, texture, taste, mouthfeel, what happens with the sausage after you grilled it, for example. All of these properties, you need to address. Aside from just the right spices and saltiness level, this is something which is very important. What the consumer cares about,  other than the price and the taste, is they want to be entertained.” Arne added.

Orbisk: Olaf van der Veen shares how to get funded in 2024

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2024 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners; Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 11: Orbisk: Olaf van der Veen shares how to get funded in 2024

In this episode, Alex talked to Olaf, co-founder and CEO of Orbisk, who help professional kitchens to reduce the food service sector and parallel industries of their food waste issues and thus improve their sustainability and profitability. Olaf's talk provides valuable insights into navigating venture capital, building trust with investors, creating strong customer relationships, and using innovative business models to fund hardware in the SaaS space. It highlights how clarity, purpose-driven action, and strong stakeholder relationships contribute to successful fundraising.

Key Facts Orbisk:

• Goal: To make the world food system more sustainable.
• Recently raised €8M lead by Regeneration VC and Peakbridge

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Having strong product traction and growth helps in securing investors, even when there are setbacks in fundraising. “  We were in a fortunate position that we're on a pretty good growth trajectory. That makes a whole lot of conversations a lot easier. Even irrespective of this series A, we were in a position where we would have the company go well without the investment. We are at a point that's not far from cashflow neutrality and positivity. It's just that our growth ambitions wouldn't be met. So that makes the conversation a whole lot easier.”
2. The importance of choosing the right lead investor who actively participates in fundraising and provides clear structure. " That is basically what I should have recognized earlier.  As a lead, you expect to really take the lead in this round, to provide clarity in the round, sort of boundaries, process,  provide structure and clarity."
3. Being hyper transparent is important. "  As a company and as a founder, I always promised myself and everyone around me also that hyper transparency that I'm asking for in others." Olaf promised.

Hubcycle: Julien Lesage shares how to get funded in 2024

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2024 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners; Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 10: Hubcycle: Julien Lesage shares how to get funded in 2024

In this episode, Alex talked to Julien, CEO of Hubcycle, a company which runs into factories and find where there are losses or leftovers, recurring by products, recurring losses, and convert or transform it into new ingredients. Julien shared about the strategies, mindset, and learning moments that shaped their fundraising journey. The podcast talks about the challenges of fundraising, the strategies used to attract and retain investors, and the importance of maintaining transparency, resilience, and alignment with long-term goals.

Key Facts Hubcycle:

• Goal: To  increase the yield of our agricultural resources.
• Recently raised €15 Million, Series A.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. HubCycle’s use of a fundraising partner is uncommon but was pivotal due to their complex, non-SaaS business model. “ So basically we had a fundraiser for this round basically because we have kind of a complex business. We are not like SaaS business, we are an industry and at some point you have to make the playbook clear for VCs to understand how scalable the model is.” Julien shared.
2. Prioritized aligning with people who understood their business model. " When you work with the right people, you want to align interests. If we speak about the retainer, it's almost nothing compared to the rest. So we are aligned and we want to be aligned on our aim and on the aim of  the project, which is to seal the deal."
3. Open communication about potential risks and challenges with investors built trust.  " You're speaking with people that went through the same process as you are. We have always been very transparent. When we are receiving a challenge from the team or from auditors or anything, we're sharing mail. Without any translation or any hiding. That’s when you build confidence and trust."

Niqo Robotics: Jaisimha Rao shares how to get funded in 2024

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, co-produced by vegconomist, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2024 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs. 

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. 

Episode 09: Niqo Robotics: Jaisimha Rao shares how to get funded in 2024

In this episode, Alex talks to Jaisimha Rao, founder and CEO of Niqo Robotics which is a robotics solutions pioneer that is poised to lead a sustainable Agricultural Revolution in India through AI powered agricultural robots. Having recently raised $21 million with the latest $13 million round closed in March 2024, Jaisimha highlights how Niqo Robotics secured funding from venture capitalists and how a million dollar convertible note became a 5 million lead check.

Key Facts Niqo Robotics:

• Goal: To revolutionize crop care spraying in agriculture through their flagship AI powered Spot Spray Technology made possible by a proprietary agriculture camera.
• Recently raised $21 million with the latest $13 million round closed in March 2024.
• Fulcrum Global Ventures and Bidra Innovation Ventures as lead investors.

Alex’ Top Findings:

1. Building Strong Relationships. Utilizing a network to get introductions to key investors is essential. By leveraging connections and attending industry events, Niqo Robotics was able to get in front of the right people who could fund their vision. Spending time building relationships with potential investors, ensuring that they were not only selling the idea but also creating a connection based on trust and mutual goals helped a lot. This relationship-building was crucial in securing the lead investors.
2. Role of Convertible Notes. The use of convertible notes played a crucial role in Niqo Robotics' early fundraising strategy. They provided flexibility, attracted early investors with favorable terms, simplified the legal process, and helped the company reach important milestones without immediate dilution of equity. This approach not only secured initial funding but also positioned Niqo Robotics for successful larger rounds in the future.
3. Proven Traction. Before approaching VCs, Niqo Robotics had already demonstrated traction. They had working prototypes and initial customer feedback, which provided evidence of market demand and the feasibility of their technology highlighting how their robots could revolutionize sustainable farming practices. The unique value proposition and potential for disruption in the agriculture sector were key factors in attracting VC interest.
4. Compelling Pitch. The pitch to VCs was well-prepared, focusing on the market opportunity, technological innovation, and the team’s capability to execute the plan. Emphasize the scalability of the business and the potential for significant returns on investment.
5. Clear Use of Funds. Niqo Robotics clearly outlined how the funds would be used to achieve key milestones. This included expanding the team, scaling production, and accelerating go-to-market strategies. This clear roadmap helped VCs see the potential impact of their investment.

Nutrumami: Frederik Jensen shares how to get funded in 2024

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, co-produced by vegconomist, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2024 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs. 

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. 

Episode 08: Nutrumami: Frederik Jensen shares how to get funded in 2024

In this episode, Alex talks to Frederik Jensen,  founder and CEO of Nutramami who create multifunctional plant proteins to impact better taste, texture and nutrition through synergistic cross fermentation. Having recently raised €475k, Frederik highlights the importance of adaptability, relationship-building, and strategic pivots in the startup landscape and how their focus on execution and leveraging existing manufacturing infrastructure positions them well for growth in the competitive plant-based ingredient market.

Key Facts Nutrumami:

• Goal: To create multi-functional plant proteins to impact taste, texture, and nutrition.
• Recently raised €475k
• Cost Capital and Planetary Impact Ventures as lead investors

Alex’ Top Findings:

1. Engaging in Continuous Conversations. One of the most beneficial strategies Nutramami employed was having a multitude of conversations. Each interaction with potential investors, partners, or stakeholders provided valuable feedback and insights, allowing them to refine their pitch, strategy, and business model iteratively. It was akin to running multiple tests where each test's outcome informed the next steps, ensuring we continuously evolved and improved.
2. Building Strong Relationships. Another correct move was focusing on building and nurturing relationships. Instead of viewing each meeting as a mere transaction, Nutramami aimed to foster deeper connections. This approach not only facilitated introductions to key players like Cost Capital but also established a network of advocates and supporters who believed in our mission and were willing to help us succeed.
3. Path to Market and Profitability. Avoiding complex regulatory pathways can speed up market entry and reduce costs. Nutramami benefited from not requiring regulatory approval for their plant protein. Utilizing existing manufacturing capabilities with a contract manufacturer, Nutramami aims for a faster path to market and profitability. The focus is on execution and market entry rather than extensive patenting, though they hold some patents.
4. Preparedness and Strategy. Having a robust business plan, prototype, and team were essential for the pre-seed round. Every conversation and meeting is an opportunity to learn and refine the business strategy. Early feedback and testing are critical for progress.
5. Identifying Market Gaps. Nutramami's founders leveraged their deep understanding of product formulation and market needs to identify gaps in the plant-based ingredient market. They focused on creating a new category of ingredients that offer a better starting foundation for product development.

Glenntex: Govin Induchoodan shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners; Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 24: Glenntex: Govin Induchoodan shares how to get funded in 2025

In this episode, we sit down with Govin, co-founder of Glenntex, a climate tech startup spun out of academic research at Chalmers University. Govin shares his journey from PhD researcher to entrepreneur, detailing how he built a deep-tech packaging company with sustainability at its core. He dives into how Sweden’s unique innovation ecosystem empowered him to retain ownership of his research, secured a SEK 7.2M pre-seed round led by corporate VC, and built early traction by partnering with customers to co-design the product. Packed with wisdom for researchers and founders alike, this conversation is a masterclass in turning science into startup success.

Key Facts Glenntex:

• Goal: To  help customers, companies, brands, and manufacturers make their packaging more sustainable.
• Recently raised SEK 7.2M pre-seed round led by Almi Invest and joined by PINC.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Deep Tech Founders Must Learn to Speak Commercial. One of Govin’s biggest challenges was translating scientific language into commercial value for both customers and investors. "  I think the biggest objection for me, I would say, is do not sound too scientific yet. Learn how to translate and communicate in the simplest, effective way possible, and still sound mature and deep tech. That has been the biggest hurdle to cross.”
2. Customers Can Help You Design Your Product. Before raising funding, Glenntex validated its tech by co-developing solutions with customers—treating them like design partners, not just buyers. "You don’t need to have a product. You need to have a customer design your product.”
3. Build a 5-Year Table to Reverse-Engineer Your Fundraise. Govin mapped out five years of company growth across areas like market, team, product, and customer, which helped him align investment asks with future milestones. " I made this table: market, product, team, customer, and investors. It was kind of reverse engineering to understand it. I would definitely recommend anybody."

Catchfree: Severin Eder shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners; Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 32: Catchfree: Severin Eder shares how to get funded in 2025

In this episode, I spoke with Severin Eder, co-founder of Catchfree, a Swiss startup developing plant-based seafood alternatives. Severin shares the story behind their recent 1.2M CHF seed round, why they’ve taken a B2B-first approach, and how they’re scaling without patents—using trade secrets, chef-led validation, and investor relationships rooted in regional support. We unpack startup lessons around cap table alignment, food-tech fundraising in today’s market, and how Catchfree built momentum by letting their product—and not just their pitch—do the talking.

Key Facts Catchfree:

• Goal: To craft plant-only seafood without harming nature.
• Recently raised a 1.2M CHF seed round co-led by FortyOne Group and Stiftung Startfelt.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Smart Capital Through Regional Foundations and Strategic Angels. The seed round (CHF 1.2M) was raised through a regional foundation (Stiftung Startfeld) and private equity group (FortyOne Group), not traditional VCs. " There was an event that this foundation regularly holds where you could pitch your startup in front of investors. What was great for us was that we not only had the chance to describe our vision in a pitch, but also let the investors experience it. Catchfree products during a tasting afterwards. As they say, the way to the heart is through the stomach. This also applies to the success of selling food innovation. We met our lead investor during one of these events. "
2. Avoiding IP Pitfalls: Trade Secrets Over Patents. The team opted for trade secrets instead of early patent filings to retain flexibility, reduce cost, and avoid public disclosures until commercialization. " We work a lot with trade secrets at the beginning, and we have changed our recipes a lot and considerably over the last three years. Our company was founded in mid-2024, and since then, our whole recipe approach has been. Even our product portfolio has all evolved and pivoted a little bit based on the market insights. I would say in food tech, in the sense that you work a lot with recipe development, you work a lot with trade secrets, and the recipe we have right now is completely different from what was done back at the time. Even the products we are working on right now, or the products that we are gonna launch now, were not even in the ideation back at the time."
3. Objection Handling: Taste First, Tech Second. Skepticism about consumer adoption and scalability was overcome through relentless tastings (~70) and clear scale-up roadmaps. “When you have a physical product, people want to experience it — and it’s your greatest asset. We outlined a valid technological roadmap… and projections to reach price parity.”

MOA Foodtech: Jose Maria Elorza shares how to get funded in 2024

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, co-produced by vegconomist, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2024 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs. 

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. 

Episode 10: MOA Foodtech: Jose Maria Elorza shares how to get funded in 2024

In this episode, Alex talks to Jose Maria, Co-Founder of MOA Foodtech who upcycle byproducts from the food industry to elaborate high value ingredients and sell back to food producers to elaborate different types of products, helping the society to eat healthier and to move forward into a more sustainable world. Jose Maria provided an insightful discussion on the process of raising funds and the importance of being prepared for due diligence.

Key Facts MOA Foodtech:

• Goal: To establish a new industry of sustainable food that solves growing global food demands without the need for arable land.
• Raised nearly 5 million in equity and over 2 million in grants.
• Last round closed in June 2024.
• ICOS Capital as lead investor

Alex’ Top Findings:

1. Maintain Conversation. MOA fundraising strategy involves maintaining continuous conversations with potential investors, even when not actively seeking funds, which helped them secure their most recent round in June 2024.He emphasized the importance of constantly engaging with potential investors, even if the timing isn’t right. 
2. Well-organized Data Room. Jose Maria emphasized the importance of a well-organized data room for due diligence, which in their case included legal documents, financial audits, projections, patents, and IP strategies. The data room was kept on accessible platforms like Google Drive or OneDrive, which is common among startups.
3. Human Due Diligence. A unique aspect of their due diligence involved psychological profiling of the founders to assess how well they work together. This process included meetings, individual assessments, and a final report that was shared with investors.
4. Copyright Registration. Jose also shared that MOA protected their proprietary algorithm by registering it with the U.S. Copyright Office, allowing them to safeguard their innovation without fully disclosing it publicly, unlike a patent.
5. Importance of Preparedness. In advising other startups, he highlighted the importance of having a clear IP strategy and being able to demonstrate that all aspects of the business, from legal to financial to technological, are being carefully managed. This level of preparedness not only speeds up the due diligence process but also instills confidence in potential investors.

Solvable Syndicate: Steve Simitzis shares how to get funded in 2024

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, co-produced by vegconomist, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2024 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs. 

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. 

Episode 07: Solvable Syndicate: Steve Simitzis shares how to get funded in 2024

In this episode, Alex talks to Steve Simitzis, Partner of Solvable Syndicate who invest in early stage food tech startups from pre seed to Series A with focus on companies promoting human and planetary health. Steve explains the benefits of syndicates for both founders and angels, shares insights into the current state and future of food tech, and offers advice for founders on effective fundraising and navigating challenges in the startup ecosystem.. 

Key Facts Solvable Syndicate:

• Goal: To invest in early-stage FoodTech and AgTech startups that advance a sustainable, nourishing food system.
• Check Size: $100K to $200K

Alex’ Top Findings:

1. Effective Fundraising Materials. Founders need to have compelling pitch decks and data rooms to attract investors. Providing straightforward advice on the investability of startups, while encouraging alternative paths if traditional VC funding is not viable. Founders need to keep working on their vision, possibly through other revenue channels or partnerships, even if immediate VC funding is not available,
2. Market Positioning. Founders must market their startups effectively to potential investors, emphasizing the potential impact on climate, land use, and water resources, as well as demonstrating strong business fundamentals.
3. Business Viability. Founders must find ways to generate revenue, lean down operations, or explore partnerships to sustain their startups, especially when facing difficulties in raising funds. Determining whether it’s the right time to continue pursuing the startup or pivot to other opportunities is a critical decision that founders must make, often with limited guidance..
4. Syndicate Advantage for Angels. Reduces the burden of due diligence and deal sourcing. Offers access to curated and vetted investment opportunities. Allows for collaborative investment without the need for individual negotiation.
5. Syndicate Advantage for Founders. Simplifies the cap table by aggregating multiple small investments into a single entity. Provides structured, vetted deal flow, increasing chances of securing funding. Helps in managing and coordinating smaller investments effectively, avoiding logistical issues.

Cultivated Biosciences: Tomas Turner shares how to get funded in 2024

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, co-produced by vegconomist, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2024 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs. 

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. 

Episode 06: Cultivated Biosciences: Tomas Turner shares how to get funded in 2024

In this episode, Alex talks to Tomas, CEO & Co-Founder of Cultivated Biosciences who have raised over $6 million, primarily through equity rounds, with a recent $5 million closed in January. Cultivated Biosciences focused on creating creamy emulsions from yeast-grown fats as a B2B ingredient for dairy-free alternatives. Tomas talks about how the preparation, fundraising process and strategy their team did to achieve the goal. 

Key Facts Cultivated Biosciences:

• Goal: To solve the problem of texture and functionality in dairy free alternatives
• Raised a total of $6M USD
• Navos Ventures and Van der Lely family as lead investors

Alex’ Top Findings:

1. Fundraising Preparation. Assembling a detailed pitch deck and structured data room is crucial. Include all achievements to date. Engage previous round lead investors for advice and preparation. Organize potential investor outreach through warming introductions and detailed data room access.
2. Data Room Strategy. Use a Google Drive organizing the data room. Maintain a three-step access approach: initial slide deck, non-confidential data room, and NDA-protected detailed information. Follow a template that includes sections on technology, team, commercial, financials, and legal aspects.
3. Identifying and Approaching Investors. Target investors with a history in AgriFood tech, especially those focused on seed-stage investments in Europe. Expand outreach to hardware and general seed investors, both regionally and globally. Utilize CRM tools like Notion to track and manage investor interactions and introductions.
4. Challenges and Learning Points. Regulatory process and commercial traction were recurring due diligence questions. Be selective with sample distribution to avoid overburdening the R&D team. Delay sample sharing until later stages of due diligence.
5. Final Reflections. Long-term industrial views from investors are so important. Balance production and R&D efforts during fundraising. Leverage industry connections and data for successful fundraising. Founders need to understand investor cycles and returns expectations.

Sustainable Food Ventures: Mariliis Holm shares how to get funded in 2024

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, co-produced by vegconomist, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2024 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs. 

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. 

Episode 04: Sustainable Food Ventures: Mariliis Holm shares how to get funded in 2024

In this episode, Alex talks to Mariliis, Co-Founder and Partner of Sustainable Food Ventures who backs early-stage founders building leading food companies that are cell-based, plant-based and fermentation. Mariliis talked about their investment process and how possible it is for investors out there to make a call within two meetings with the right team and market size insights presented by the founders.

Key Facts AgFunder:

• Goal: To support founders developing sustainable food products and scaling profitable companies in the global $12 Trillion food and grocery retail market.
• Invested in 59 companies.
• Deployed $4M

Alex’ Top Findings:

1. Outreach Strategies. One of the things that has been pretty fruitful specifically for Sustainable Food Ventures is applying through the website. The other one is great warm introductions for people who are either from fellow investors or fellow founders. Last but not least, LinkedIn is also a place that just cold reaching out can work really well.
2. Investors Insight. Investors are here to provide not just funding but also guidance, support, and a network of resources to help them succeed. They are looking for a founder with the willingness to learn and adapt, have an understanding of the market and problem being solved, and a clear vision for the future.
3. Going through Due Diligence. Investors out there can make a call within two meetings especially with the right emphasis on team, market potential, and personal intuition about the founder's passion and capability. Sometimes, investors would base it on the founder’s  insights and attitude during the call rather than on pitch decks solely.
4. Importance of Understanding Venture Capital. It is essential for founders to know if their company is venture-backable or if venture capital actually makes sense for them. Founders should understand venture basics, ideally through resources like "Venture Deals" by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelsohn. Recognizing if your venture is suitable for venture capital is so important.
5. Advice for Founders. Always note that passion, perseverance, and a clear understanding of the venture process are critical. Ensure readiness for the complexities and accelerated growth expectations of venture funding. It's not just about the money or the immediate returns. It's about creating something meaningful and lasting, something that can change the world. The road to building a successful company is long and fraught with challenges, but with the right team, vision, and support, anything is possible.

Robert Boer-Director at Blue Horizon Corporation

Seed Check Size: $50K-$500K
Preseed-Growth

Main Takeaways From Conversation: 

• VC will answer to Cold Outreach, but do your homework first. It has to be relevant to the Thesis. Don't Ask To Fund A Fish Farm if the VC Thesis is reducing Animal cruelty. 
• Qualify the VC: 9/10 times, the founder asks no questions of the VC. What kind of board role do they want, how will they offer value, do you lead or follow, what is the check size, how far are you in the fund size- Ask questions to qualify if the VC is a fit. 
• Make sure you leave 3-5 minutes at the end of the meeting to agree on the next steps and clarify anything that is unclear. What are their next steps? How long does the process take? Are you interested in moving forward? 
• When should a founder shut it down? Having advisors who give you real feedback is crucial. It is another sign that it does not work with angels or family. If you are impact driven, you can take another model not funded by VC. Redefine how you can get to your ultimate goal. '
• 2024- The Year Of M&A: Look to merge with another company that is congruent with your mission and fills in each other gaps. Position your fundraising with the opportunity of buying another company's assets or IP. 
• Speak to corporate gatekeepers: If your final user is accessed through corporates like distributors or large companies- speak with those companies early to validate your assumptions. 

This podcast is sponsored SWARM- The Swarm gives companies and investors the keys to their networks and the business relationship data they need to grow.

Use theswarm.com/alex for a 25% discount. 

Moonrider: Anoop Srikantaswamy shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners; Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 18: Moonrider: Anoop Srikantaswamy shares how to get funded in 2025

In this episode, I sit down with Anoop Shrikantaswamy, founder & CEO of Moonrider, to discuss how his team is electrifying agriculture with electric tractors designed for smallholder farmers. From a chance conversation that sparked the idea to bootstrapping their way to a working prototype, Anoop shares how they raised $2.2M without cold-pitching VCs, the power of shameless outreach, and why their "Uber for Tractors" model is solving one of the biggest challenges in farming. This is a must-listen for anyone building in hard-tech, EVs, or agtech.

This podcast is packed with insights for founders, especially those in hard-tech and emerging markets.

Key Facts Moonrider:

• Goal: To empower every farmer to produce more, earn more, and save more.
• Recently raised a seed round of $2.2M from AdvantEdge Founders and Micelio Technology Fund.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Bootstrap Until You Have Proof of Concept. The company delayed raising VC funding until they had a functional prototype, ensuring stronger leverage and validation before pitching to investors. "We didn’t want to go ahead and raise it from VCs from day one because we wanted to keep ourselves in stealth…we reached out to a few angels who are founders themselves." Anoop pointed out.
2. You Are Only Two Calls Away From the Right People. "Fundamentally, I believe that you are just two calls away in terms of reaching out to get what you want." Anoop emphasizes the power of networking and warm introductions, illustrating how connections through mutual contacts played a key role in securing investors.
3. Hands-on Investors Build Conviction Quickly. Investors who physically experience a product are more likely to invest. Demonstrating a working prototype in person helped build trust. "Kunal himself wants to visit…he drove the tractor and was blown away with the kind of within the timeframe we were able to put together a product. He immediately committed a million dollars." Anoop revealed.

B'ZEOS: Guy Maurice shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners; Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 16: B'ZEOS: Guy Maurice shares how to get funded in 2025

In this episode, Guy shared the journey of B'ZEOS, a company redefining sustainability by replacing single-use plastics with a game-changing solution. We explore how B'zeos strategically leveraged public funding from Norway and the EU to develop its technology without early dilution—setting the stage for a successful €5M funding round led by impact-driven investors like Faber.

From securing paid pilots to building strong investor relationships, this story is packed with insights on scaling a sustainable startup the smart way. Stay tuned to learn how innovation meets impact!

Key Facts B'ZEOS:

• Goal: To address central challenges in the Blue Bioeconomy related to the sustainable utilization of marine biomass and developing competitive bio-based products for value creation.
• Recently raised €5M led by Faber.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Phased Fundraising Strategy. Bezios utilized non-dilutive public funding initially, followed by strategic venture capital when ready to scale. “ Before 2024, everything was either public money from different grants that we got or was from services, paid services.  When you get public money, you need to tap, so you receive up to 70% of that amount, and you need to tap with 30% on the top.” Guy shared.
2. Effective Outreach Requires Clear and Simplified Communication. "We needed to sell ourselves, which was not that simple initially. We worked together to make a deep dive deck. A model that we had not on the strategy, but on turning or on making numbers on our strategy or making investors understand our model basically."
3. Due Diligence Requires Streamlining Processes and Transparency. "We thought we were clean, but it’s never clean enough. Cleaning up meant organizing IPs registered across different countries and structuring the company for investor confidence." Guy said.

Foodini: Dylan McDonnell shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners, Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 47: Foodini: Dylan McDonnell shares how to get funded in 2025

This episode features Dylan McDonald, CEO of Foodini, a dietary-intelligence platform that powers truly personalized menus by mapping recipes down to ingredient level so diners know exactly what they can (and can’t) eat when dining out. Fresh off a $1.8M raise led by Untapped Ventures, Dylan explains why Foodini prioritized the B2B data layer first—standardizing opaque restaurant recipes and products—so consumer experiences can be accurate at scale. He shares case studies across SMBs, hotel groups, stadiums, and events showing personalized menus lift revenue and retention, cut staff questions by ~60%, and reduce costly mistakes, while Foodini’s disclaimers keep liability clear. We dig into defensibility (the recipe/ingredient data moat and AI tagging), how to answer “why won’t the majors just build it,” and what actually moved investors despite early low revenue: hard proof that personalization drives results. Dylan closes with what Foodini needs next—pilots and partnerships with online ordering platforms, multi-unit restaurant groups, stadiums, universities, and airlines.

Key Facts Foodini:

• Goal: To empower individuals with food allergies, intolerances, and dietary preferences to dine safely and confidently, no matter where they are in the world.
• Recently  raised $1.8M led by Untapped Ventures and joined by Sister Ventures, MVP Capital Partners, and Solvable Syndicate.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. The Cold Form That Closed a Lead. Lead investor came not from a warm intro but via a cold website form—rare, but proof to keep all channels open. “ They say when it comes to meeting your lead investor, it's warm introductions. It goes without saying is by far the most success we've had, just even in terms of getting meetings top of funnel. But ironically, I met our lead investor via a form on their website. It was one of those that actually came off. I completed a form. Their team got back to me, had a meeting, and from there, the rest is history. So just goes to show, even though a lot of the time those things don't come off, every so often they do."
2. AI + Health: Investor Fit Beyond Capital. The lead’s AI focus and partner’s passion for wellness made them a “perfect combo” for Foodini’s thesis. " They [lead investor]  were a relatively new fund here in California with an AI focus, and AI is obviously very core and fundamental to what we do and our ability to scale our solution accurately. We did some research on them and their main partner there, who was also a guy who had a lot of interest in wellness, health, longevity, and lifestyle. So we quickly identified that the combination of that AI focus plus that vision in terms of health, wellness, longevity was the perfect combo for us.”
3. ROI Case Studies Across Verticals. Enterprise, SMB, hotels, stadiums—all showed stronger retention, revenue lift, and fewer staff questions when Foodini was implemented. " Our data is showing that personalizing the menus and giving that experience to the cons

 Agronomics Limited: Jim Mellon shares how to get funded in 2026

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners, Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 65:  Agronomics Limited: Jim Mellon shares how to get funded in 2026

In this episode, I sit down with Jim Mellon, the billionaire entrepreneur and Executive Director of Agronomics, a leading listed company in the field of cellular agriculture. Jim provides a candid, no-holds-barred post-mortem on the recent collapses of industry darlings Believer Meats and Meatable, attributing their downfall to gross overspending and "over-speced" facilities. He contrasts this with his current "frugal" playbook, revealing how portfolio company Clean Food Group acquired a fully functional production facility in Liverpool for just £1M—a fraction of the cost of new builds. Jim also breaks down his aggressive expansion into the Middle East, detailing the specific energy advantages and 50% government subsidies that make the UAE the next logical hub for fermentation. 🎧 Listen to the full episode to hear Jim’s forecast for the next 12 months and why he believes "stainless steel lasts forever.”

Key Facts Agronomics Limited:

• Goal: To invest in "Clean Food" (Cellular Agriculture and Precision Fermentation) with a focus on IP ownership and asset-light or distressed-asset models.
• Milestone: Portfolio company Clean Food Group recently acquired a production facility for £1M and is set to produce thousands of tons of oil next year; Meatly received approval for pet food in the UK.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. The "Frugal" Playbook: Buying Distressed Assets. The era of building greenfield mega-facilities is over. Jim’s winning strategy involves identifying distressed industrial assets and repurposing them. By buying a facility in Liverpool for £1M (essentially the cost of scrap) rather than building new, the cost of capital drops from ~25% of turnover to 4%.  ”We recognized that stainless steel lasts forever. So if you can acquire stainless steel that's maybe been in production for 50 years and refurbish it, it's a lot cheaper than getting it made in China... We paid 1 million pounds for that... It means that the capital cost of carry for that company... is 4% of turnover.”
2. Why the Giants Fell: Over-Specing and Over-Valuation. Jim offers a blunt assessment of why Believer Meats and Meatable entered administration. It wasn't just the market downturn; it was an internal failure to manage cash burn and an obsession with building "state-of-the-art" facilities that the unit economics couldn't support yet.  “The symptomatic problem of the companies that have gone bad for investors have been overspending and overvaluation... Believer Meats... built a state-of-the-art facility in North Carolina which was over specced, frankly. And Meatable was also, in my opinion, overspending... leases of 1.6 million euros a year... high wages. Lots of unnecessary activities.”
3. What “Good” Looks Like: Frugal + Opportunistic + Controlled IP + Near Market. Jim gives a clear success checklist: founders who spend carefully, own the critical tech, and can sell something in the near term — not a decade out. “ So wha

Unlock the secrets to weathering the storm of fundraising in a tumultuous investment climate with Tim, the pioneering CEO of Nosh Bio. As our esteemed guest, he unveils the narrative of his company's gripping quest for seed funding against a backdrop of spiraling interest rates and a slumping food tech IPO market.

His candid revelations offer an insider's map to crafting an irresistible equity story that not only draws investors in but aligns them with the vision of creating sustainable, animal-free proteins. In a masterclass of networking finesse, Tim sheds light on the vital role that personal connections and strategic introductions play in the VC world.

He reveals how a meticulously curated hit-list of 100 investors and the leverage of industry insiders can swing doors wide open, paving the way for startups to secure that critical investment. Each anecdote and insight shared by Tim functions as a beacon for entrepreneurs navigating the murky waters of fundraising, providing the beacon needed to attract the partners who will champion their groundbreaking ventures.

Inform Ag: Steven Lockyer shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners; Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 15: Inform Ag: Steven Lockyer shares how to get funded in 2025

In this episode, Steve Lockyer from Informag shared insights about their journey in helping the farming industry achieve sustainable opportunities to reduce costs and increase yields. Fresh off a successful $7 million capital raise in August, Steve highlighted how being profitable before the raise gave them a position of strength when engaging with investors. He also detailed the unique journey of securing their lead investor, Rural Funds Management, one of their largest clients, and the challenges and considerations of opening their business to a customer-turned-investor.

Key Facts Inform Ag:

• Goal: Future-Proofing Farming through Innovation and Advanced Tech: Smart Irrigation, Farm Management, and Harvest Efficiency.
• Recently raised $7 million led by Rural Funds Management.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Bootstrap Beginnings. The business was initially bootstrapped using personal funds and side industrial projects. “ We bootstrapped it with their own cash for a period.  So, my background being industrial automation, one way we funded the business was every 6 to 12 months. We'd take on a large industrial project. For example, the last one we did,  we had a 500 ton crane puller. A 50 ton oven that made banana bread out of a factory and blocked a whole six lane highway, moving it into a new facility.  So that's how we built up a war chest of cash that we could then use to be the basis of running projects and generate cash flow. So we avoided external investment really by doing that.” Steven shared.
2. Full Round Taken by One Investor. Allowing a single investor to take the entire round simplified the process and strengthened the partnership. "They were keen to take the full round... it just worked.  They were the right fit for us, you know we had common values, common kinds of aspirations for the industry goals for where we saw the technology going."
3. Seeking Advice Led to Opportunity. Seeking guidance from trusted connections can lead to unexpected opportunities. " When I was in their office one day, I was actually looking for some advice and that turned into a subsequent meeting with their CEO, who then invited us to Canberra and asked us to present the opportunity to them." Steven revealed.

De Novo Foodlabs: Jean Louwrens shares how to get funded in 2024

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, co-produced by vegconomist, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2024 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs. 

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. 

Episode 15: De Novo Foodlabs: Jean Louwrens shares how to get funded in 2024

In this episode, Alex talks to Jean Louwrens, co-founder and CEO of De Novo Foodlabs, which focuses on using precision fermentation to produce scarce proteins more sustainably and affordably, addressing the challenge of harvesting these nutrients from nature. Jean shared insights on raising a seed round led by Joyful Ventures and building strong relationships with investors. He also highlighted the importance of partnering with large corporations for regulatory support and co-funding, even if it requires some early-stage trade-offs, such as regional exclusivity.

Key Facts De Novo Foodlabs:

• Goal: To give Food & Beverage and nutrition companies a competitive edge with innovative products that are healthier for humans and the planet.
• Recently closed seed round.
• Lead investor: Joyful Ventures

Alex’ Top Findings:

1. Relationship Building: Developing strong relationships with investors early, even in informal settings, can lead to future investment.
2. Corporate Partnerships: DeNovo has secured strong partnerships with large companies, especially in the dairy industry, for regulatory support, co-funding, and market insights, which has reduced their reliance on venture capital. 
3. Commercial Traction: Despite not yet being able to sell commercially due to regulatory hurdles, DeNovo shows traction through letters of intent, regulatory support, and corporate collaboration to prepare for market entry.
4. Off-take Agreements: Locking in pricing for off-take agreements is really challenging, as costs of production may change. Jean recommends creating financial models to project costs and building wiggle room into contracts for price adjustments.
5. Regulatory Strategy: Navigating regulatory approval (e.g., FDA) is complex and time-consuming, often taking longer than expected. To minimize risk, startups should seek advice from legal experts and people who have successfully navigated the process, especially those who worked with regulatory bodies like the FDA.
6. Advice for Early-Stage Companies: Jean advises focusing on customer traction, leveraging corporate partnerships for regulatory and funding support, and potentially seeking external due diligence for competitive analysis.

Cultimate Foods: George Zheleznyi shares how to get funded in 2024

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, co-produced by vegconomist, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2024 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs. 

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. 

Episode 13: Cultimate Foods: George Zheleznyi shares how to get funded in 2024

In this episode, Alex talks to George, co-founder and CEO of Cultimate Foods, a Berlin based biotechnology startup developing a cultivated fat ingredient for plant based meat aiming to replicate the taste and texture of traditional animal meat. George discusses the importance of having strong Letters of Intent (LOIs), supported by Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs) and sample deliveries in closing their investment rounds. 

Key Facts Cultimate Foods:

• Goal: To improve the taste and texture of plant-based meats by offering a high-quality fat alternative that can replace expensive flavoring solutions.
• Recently closed €2.3 million seed round.
• Lead investor: HTGF

Alex’ Top Findings:

1. Preparedness: Having a well-organized data room, including strong LOIs, MTA agreements, and a clear regulatory strategy, was key. This preparation ensured that they could answer investors' questions and provide all necessary documentation efficiently.
2. Strong Relationships with Investors: George mentioned that the relationship with their lead investor started during the pre-seed round. Even though they were not ready for investment at that time, they kept the relationship alive and returned when they were ready for the seed round. They maintained communication and came back to the same investor, showing progress and readiness, which eventually led to securing the investment.
3. Letters of Intent (LOIs): Having strong LOIs, especially those supported by Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs) and sample deliveries, was crucial. These agreements with potential customers demonstrated that there was real interest and intent to purchase the product, which reassured investors. 
4. Regulatory Roadmap: Investors are concerned about the regulatory hurdles in the food tech space, particularly for cultivated meat products. George mentioned that they had already started working with regulatory consultants and shared their roadmap for submitting regulatory dossiers in multiple countries. This reassured investors that the company was aware of and prepared for the regulatory challenges ahead.
5. Reference Calls: George facilitated reference calls between investors and potential customers. This direct communication allowed investors to validate the product's demand and its value proposition directly from industry stakeholders reassuring investors about the company’s market potential.
6. Meeting High Standards: George noted that the requirements for startups have increased, particularly in the cultivated meat space. They had to present a level of market traction and technological development that might be expected of a Series A or B startup, even at the seed stage. Understanding and meeting these elevated expectations was crucial for closing the round.

Enifer: Simo Ellilä shares how to get funded in 2024

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, co-produced by vegconomist, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2024 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs. 

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. 

Episode 12: Enifer: Simo Ellilä shares how to get funded in 2024

In this episode, Alex talks to Simo Ellilä, CEO and co-founder of Enifer, a biotech startup in Finland that produces sustainable microprotein through the fermentation of industrial byproducts. Simon discusses the strategic approach Enifer took to raise their current rounds and a few key strategies that helped them secure funds from grants. He also highlights the need to demonstrate progress on the industrial facility and meet critical milestones to maintain investor confidence.

Key Facts Enifer:

• Goal: To transform circular economy by-products into planet friendly protein.
• Recently closed a significant funding round with €15 million in equity, €9 million in loans, and over €12 million in government grants.

Alex’ Top Findings:

1. Proactive Preparation Pays Off: Enifer readiness was the result of anticipating funding opportunities and preparing well in advance. Startups should be proactive by having key documents and a data room ready, even if a grant isn’t immediately on the horizon. A well-organized data room, with clear blueprints, CapEx estimates, and historical data on the production process, was essential to securing both government funding and investor confidence.
2. Key Elements of Letters of Intent: Many grants require proof that the rest of the project’s financing is either secured or on the way. Detailed and credible letters of intent from investors and potential buyers played a critical role in securing funding. These letters included specifics about investment amounts, project descriptions, and expected returns, increasing their persuasiveness.
3. Develop a Convincing Business Case: It’s critical to show that your project isn’t just theoretical or experimental but has clear commercial viability. Enifer succeeded in part by demonstrating that their factory would be an industrial-scale production facility capable of generating significant revenue. Startups should focus on showing how the project will generate returns, mitigate risks, and align with government or institutional funding goals, especially in sustainability and innovation.
4. Engage Early and Stay Updated on Opportunities: Building relationships with government agencies, grant organizations, and other funding bodies ahead of time can give startups a head start. Staying informed on upcoming grant calls and funding programs—especially those tied to broader economic or sustainability goals—enables startups to align their project timelines with available funding windows.
5. Clear and Realistic Milestones: When applying for grants or presenting to investors, it’s crucial to break down the project into clear, achievable milestones. Enifer provided detailed CapEx and OPEX estimates alongside a phased timeline for their production ramp-up. This clarity helped mitigate perceived risks and gave confidence to the grant evaluators. Startups should aim to present similar structured milestones and cost breakdowns, which demonstrate thorough planning and feasibility.

YoLa Fresh: Youssef Mamou shares how to get funded in 2024

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, co-produced by vegconomist, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2024 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs. 

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. 

Episode 10: YoLa Fresh: Youssef Mamou shares how to get funded in 2024

In this episode, Alex talks to Youssef Mamou, Founder and co-CEO of YoLa Fresh who are focusing on improving the life of smallholder farmers and traditional retailers, reducing the food wastage by building an efficient distribution sourcing network, and technology. Youssef Mamou's discussion reveals a deep understanding of both the challenges and strategies involved in scaling Yola Fresh and illustrating the importance of networking and building relationships with potential investors even before actively fundraising. 

Key Facts YoLa Fresh:

• Goal: To be Africa's largest fresh produce supply chain company that is solving one of the toughest problems in the world with technology.
• Recently raised $7 million in a pre-Series A round

Alex’ Top Findings:

1. Preparation Before Fundraising. Conduct thorough research and ensure your business model is validated before seeking investment. This preparation can significantly enhance your credibility with investors.
2. Initial Interactions. Meeting investors informally, such as during panel discussions, can lead to productive conversations and potential partnerships. This casual engagement often helps in establishing a rapport before formal fundraising efforts begin.
3. Choosing the Right Investors. Finding investors who align with your vision and business model is crucial. Youssef’s experience with VC funds and his ability to discuss the business in detail helped in attracting investors who were a good fit for Yola Fresh.
4. Building Trust and Credibility. Establishing credibility with banks and investors is crucial. Demonstrating that you can manage operations and build trust can lead to better financing opportunities.
5. Learning from Global Peers. Youssef emphasizes the value of learning from other entrepreneurs and startups globally. His visit to India and interactions with founders there provided valuable insights and inspiration for scaling Yola Fresh.
6. Scaling and Investment. Investors are keen on seeing proof that a business can operate effectively and scale. A proven business model with strong unit economics and growth metrics is key to attracting investors. Once you’ve demonstrated consistent growth and profitability, securing funding becomes more feasible. Initially, investors might question whether you can reliably secure both demand and supply. Demonstrating your ability to handle these factors through hands-on experience and successful operations can address this concern.
7. Managing Expectations. Fundraising can be a lengthy process, and managing expectations is key. Youssef’s approach involved being transparent about the business’s progress and addressing any concerns or objections from investors proactively.

Fermtech: Andy Clayton shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners; Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 17: Fermtech: Andy Clayton shares how to get funded in 2025

In this episode, Alex sits down with Andy Clayton, CEO and founder of FermTech, a company turning brewing industry waste into valuable food ingredients. Andy shares his journey of raising funds through a mix of traditional investors and crowdfunding, using Crowdcube to complete their round.

We dive into the psychology behind crowdfunding, the challenges of verifying claims, and how the platform helpedFermTech tap into their own networks for investment. Andy also offers key takeaways for startups considering this path, especially in the food tech space.

If you're curious about alternative fundraising strategies, this one's for you! 

Key Facts Fermtech:

• Goal: To revolutionize food sustainability by creating delicious, cocoa-enhancing ingredients that save 98% CO2 emissions versus cocoa.
• Recently raised a £325k crowdfunding target on Crowdcube.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Crowdfunding Complements Traditional Investment. Crowdfunding helped finalize the investment round rather than starting from scratch. "The function that crowdfunding played for us was that it finished off a round. You can't just start from zero and expect to close a round on crowdfunding only. You have to come to the platform having already filled a large amount of your raise."
2. Crowdfunding Encourages Existing Networks to Invest More. "Although we managed to just about close our round, in truth, a lot of it didn’t actually come from the crowdfunding platform. What the platform forced us to do was really shake the tree of the networks that we already had."
3. Crowdfunding Platforms Rely on Psychology and Momentum. “The entire crowdfunding platform is built around the algorithms of human psychology as expressed through the crowd. You start your crowdfunding raise already close to fully funded.”

On unlocking Canada’s $7B AgTech boom and solving the scale-up "Valley of Death" - Mike Wolsfeld, AgWest Bio

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners, Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 74: AgWest Bio: Mike Wolsfeld on unlocking Canada’s $7B AgTech boom and solving the scale-up "Valley of Death" 

In this episode, I sit down with Mike Wolsfeld, who manages the Techcom Fund at AgWest Bio. Operating as an equity investment fund ($50k–$300k checks) embedded inside a non-profit, Mike shares how they are turning Saskatchewan into a global magnet for precision fermentation and ag-tech startups. We discuss their unique mandate: attracting international deep-tech companies (like Argentina's Ergo) to the Canadian Prairies without forcing them to move their headquarters. Mike breaks down how their GAAP (Global Agri-Food Advancement Partnership) facility bridges the critical scale-up gap between bench science and commercial co-manufacturing, and why Canada’s crown corporations, like Farm Credit Canada (FCC), are deploying a historic $7 billion into the sector despite a broader VC downturn. 

🎧 Listen to the full episode to hear Mike’s advice on how foreign startups can tap into Canada's massive pools of non-dilutive capital.

Key Facts AgWest Bio:

• Goal: To invest in and support early-stage ag-tech and food-tech companies by leveraging Saskatchewan's deep agricultural history, biotech talent pool, and specialized infrastructure.
• Milestone: Actively deploying a $7M evergreen fund while scaling the GAAP facility to help international precision fermentation companies seamlessly enter the Canadian ecosystem.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. The "Gateway to Canada" Geo-Arbitrage. AgWest Bio offers a highly founder-friendly entry into the Canadian ecosystem. Unlike many regional funds that demand a full headquarters relocation, Mike’s fund only requires a federally incorporated subsidiary and 1-2 local employees. This allows international founders to access Canada's massive non-dilutive grants and specialized infrastructure without disrupting their global cap tables. "We're not asking for companies to entirely reincorporate, move everything here, move families... really, at minimum, what it looks like is a federally incorporated company with at least one or two full-time employees here in the province... I'm not interested in forcing companies to move here; I'm interested in supporting companies in their existing strategy."
2. Bridging the Fermentation "Valley of Death". The hardest part of precision fermentation isn't the lab science; it's scaling from milliliters to commercial thousands of liters. AgWest Bio manages the GAAP facility to explicitly solve this missing middle step, providing heavily discounted, shared-use bioreactors (5L to 100L) to get startups ready for large-scale co-manufacturing. "We're really trying to fill what we saw as a gap between that lab scale, bench scale, and scale up... taking things out of an academic sort of research stage into that pre-commercialization... proving that it can scale up from milliliters to liters to 10 liters to sort of 20, 50."
3. The $7 Billion Crown Corporation Lifeline. While traditional VC fundrais

Episode 73: CJ Foods: Auroni Majumdar on the Open Innovation Playbook and bypassing the Western retail trap 

In this episode, I sit down with Auroni Majumdar, Vice President of R&D Global Open Innovation at CJ Foods. Auroni pulls back the curtain on how a global food giant evaluates external technology, revealing why it operates on a strict 6-to-24-month horizon rather than chasing 10-year moonshots. We discuss the eight core product categories CJ cares about, why a startup's regulatory and shelf-life readiness is non-negotiable, and how startups can bypass the grueling 3-year Western retail reset cycle by leveraging CJ's vertical integration in Asian markets. Finally, Auroni outlines a highly unique "Triangle Partnership" where CJ’s Bio division provides the fermentation scale-up capacity while the Foods division acts as the guaranteed offtake customer. 

🎧 Listen to the full episode to hear Auroni’s advice on how to build an internal champion and why pitching technology without doing your homework on their current unit economics is a major red flag.

Key Facts CJ Foods:

• Goal: To source mature, externally developed technologies (ingredients, process, packaging) to drive immediate growth across 8 global strategic categories (including dumplings, Korean fried chicken, kimchi, and sauces).
• Milestone: Successfully integrated 6 distinct technology adoptions (including sweeteners, sensors, and solid-state fermentation capabilities) within the last calendar year.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. The "Near-Term" Mandate: No Science Projects. Auroni is exceptionally clear: CJ Foods is in the business of using technology, not commercializing raw academic research. If your tech is 3-4 years away from regulatory approval or commercial scale, it is too early for their core pipeline. They prioritize solutions with proven unit economics, and that can hit the market within 6 to 24 months. "I want to do what we do well, or CJ does well, right? What we do well is we launch products fast on a global basis... I don't want to spend money doing research projects. That's not what I do. That's not my business model... I'm a great user. I'm a great evaluator."
2. Bypassing the Western Retail Trap. Startups often get mesmerized by the idea of landing a massive Western FMCG contract, ignoring that nationwide US distribution—dictated by rigid big-box retailer shelf resets and mandatory shelf-life studies—can take over 3 years to execute. Auroni highlights that CJ offers a faster, more nimble alternative through its vertical integration and the inherently quicker innovation cycles of Asian markets. "In the US, nationwide distribution requires your big box retailers... inherently, if you're a startup that's working in this system... you're already at three years in this system... CJ in Korea can move extremely fast. We're very vertically integrated... it might not be as big as [a Western MNC], but it'll be big and meaningful, and it'll be quicker."
3. The CJ "Triangle" of Scale: Foods + Bio + Startup. One of the most unique advantages CJ offers precision fermentation startups is its internal structure. CJ can facilitate a three-way partnership: the startup provides the IP, the CJ Bio Foundry provides the heavy CapEx fermentation scale-up, and the CJ Foods division acts as the built-in, guaranteed offtake customer. "Where there's offtake demand from the food side, where there's a technology provider that needs scale-up capability... and then there's a business [CJ Bio] that has fermentation capability and connecting that triangle in a way that there's mutual benefit across the three parties."

Vivici: Stephan van Sint Fiet shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners; Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 28: Vivici: Stephan van Sint Fiet shares how to get funded in 2025

In this episode, I sat down with Stephan van Sint Fiet, CEO of Vivici, for a deep dive into what it takes to bring precision-fermented dairy proteins to market at scale. Stephan shares how Vivici navigated regulatory approval with a "no questions" GRAS letter from the FDA, tackled negative gross margins during early scale-up, and secured a €34M raise led by Dutch pension fund APG and InvestNL. We explore why they’re starting with whey protein, their strategic decision to stay B2B (not launch a brand), and how they structured commercial agreements to build long-term customer trust—all while laying the groundwork for price parity with conventional dairy.

Key Facts Vivici:

• Goal: To make the promise of dairy protein from precision fermentation a commercial reality. 
• Recently raised €34M led by a Dutch pension fund APG and InvestNL.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Market Entry Strategy: Focus on Premium Whey Protein Segment. Vivici is initially targeting the premium whey protein isolate market (not the commodity whey market). "We compete against the high-quality whey protein isolates that trade for 18 to $25 per kilogram."
2. Initial Volumes at Suboptimal Gross Margins Are Part of the Plan. Vivici accepts that early batches will have negative gross margins until scaling improves unit economics. "At the beginning, there is a value of death that you have to cross...once you scale that to more interesting volumes, you immediately become gross margin positive."
3. Fundraising Strategy: Focus on Experienced Partners and Scaling Proof. Vivici raised €34M led by a Dutch pension fund APG and InvestNL, after demonstrating successful scale-up to 75,000L. "We had fully scaled the process...10 liters, 1500 liters, 15,000 liters, 75,000 liters."

Prefer: Jake Berber shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners, Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 44: Prefer: Jake Berber shares how to get funded in 2025

This episode of the Investor Climate Podcast features a return conversation with Jake Berber, co-founder and CEO of Prefer, who just closed an oversubscribed $4.2M pre-A round to future-proof climate-threatened crops starting with coffee and cocoa. Jake walks through the full fundraising playbook—from building a transparent non-NDA data room and leveraging warm intros, to overcoming MOU skepticism with conservative revenue modeling and positioning IP licensing as a capital-light growth driver. He shares candid lessons from six months of 20+ investor calls per week, a 1.5% conversion rate, and how the round came together with co-leads At One Ventures and Chancery Hill Capital. The discussion blends tactical fundraising insights with founder resilience, showing what it takes to raise in today’s tougher climate tech market.

Key Facts Prefer:

• Goal: To future-proof food & beverage, starting with coffee and chocolate.
• Recently closed an oversubscribed $4.2M pre-A round co-led by At One Ventures and Chancery Hill Capital.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Funnel Management: Brutal Conversion Rates. Out of 500+ reachouts, only three checks closed (~1.5%). Jake emphasizes grit and volume. "We had 200 venture capital funds, CVCs, EVCS, government agencies, and family offices in our CRM that we had spoken with. So we had over 200 different entities that we spoke with that were interested in raising money and took a call with us. In terms of people who reached out, I'm guessing 500 plus. I would say 50% of them opted into a non NDA data room and 20 20% opted into the full NDA data room. "
2. Warm Intros Are Non-Negotiable. Fundraising = sales. Investors judge founders by their ability to secure warm introductions. " I think that investors want to see that you are a good enough salesperson to get a warm introduction to them. I bring it back to sales because what we've learned in our industry, being a B2B food tech company, is that a warm introduction to a customer is infinitely more effective than a cold reach out to a customer. And so good investors know that if you're able to get a warm introduction to me, the investor, that means that you can get a warm introduction to the customer. If you can get warm introductions to customers, you are a better salesperson, and in turn, you have a chance of having better revenue as a company. So I bring it back to just showing a skillset of being able to get connected with people. I'm sure there's data around a higher rate of first call via warm introduction versus cold. I'm sure that's out there, but I don't have exact numbers on it."
3. Data Room Strategy: Radical Transparency. Jake used a non-NDA data room with nearly everything except customer names and IP details to accelerate diligence. "The only difference in our NDA data room versus non-NDA data room is customer names and IP information. We keep our forward-looking financial model in there. We keep in MOU amounts, but we redact all contracts of names or anything. S

Fabas: Anik Thaler shares how to get funded in 2024

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, co-produced by vegconomist, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2024 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs. 

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. 

Episode 6: Fabas: Anik Thaler shares how to get funded in 2024

In this episode, Alex talked to Anik, co-founder of Fabas Foods, which develops ingredient systems for amazing dairy alternatives. The talk focuses on the journey of securing investment for a food tech startup, including the challenges and decisions involved in raising capital. Overall, it discusses the challenges and strategies involved in fundraising, the importance of investor relationships, and the pivotal decisions that shaped the company’s direction.

Key Facts Fabas:

• Goal: To change the way we eat in the future by bringing more beans onto our fields and plates.
• Recently closed seed round over CHF 1.3 million led by Swiss family office and some corporate investors.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Cold Outreach does not work especially when trying to get into Family Offices. When being asked if she ever heard of a family office in the past or already knew and then were looking for a warm connection, Anik answered “No, that's the thing with the family office. Normally they are not that present in public, maybe as other VCs who normally have websites and have LinkedIn profiles. So most family offices don't have that. You need to know some people who already know them, which makes it much harder actually to access  those.”
2. Be prepared to Pivot. “So as we raised our first CLA, so what we call then pre seed, we've been focused on building a B2C brand. So we started with a portfolio of B2C products. We made some hummus products, some burgers, and falafel. Always with the vision to bring more pulses onto our plates, but then we quickly realized that it's not just about launching new products to the market and having maybe a bit nicer taste with more locally produced products, but to rather really improve them. There we saw that the ingredients that are currently used are one of the biggest challenges to overcome. So that's when we started to focus more on ingredient development ourselves and then pivot towards a B2B ingredient supplier.” she added.
3. Speed to market is key in today's environment.  “Our technology is based around extraction and fermentation, but we work with pulses, meaning fava beans, peas, chickpeas. All those sources are not novel food and the process itself neither which makes it much easier to access the market quickly.” Anik said on being asked if they are on novel foods.

Le Fourgon: Charles Christory shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners; Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 21: Le Fourgon: Charles Christory shares how to get funded in 2025

In this episode, I spoke with Charles Christory, Co-Founder of Le Fourgon, about the rollercoaster journey of raising capital for a mission-driven company tackling plastic waste. When a last-minute investor dropout forced them to rethink their €15M Series A, they pivoted, secured funding from existing investors, and turned to crowdfunding—raising €2.5M from over 1,500 supporters. We dive into how to handle investor crises, the secrets to running a successful crowdfunding campaign, and the discipline needed to balance fundraising with execution. If you're a founder looking to navigate high-stakes fundraising while keeping your business thriving, this one’s for you.

Key Facts Le Fourgon:

• Goal: To reduce waste in daily consumption by offering doorstep delivery of groceries, beverages, and household and hygiene products in reusable packaging.
• Recently raised €8.2 million.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Resilience in Fundraising: Handling Last-Minute Investor Dropouts. When an investor dropped out at the last minute from Le Fourgon’s Series A, the team had to quickly adjust their strategy, securing $10M instead of $15M and extending the round later. They leaned on their existing lead investor’s confidence in the company. "Nothing was signed, but there was like a gentleman agreement on that point to say, 'Okay, we all know that we would have preferred not to face that situation, but we are really confident in the company, in the team to meet the figure in a year." So that's the reason why on that 8. 2 million, we had around 3. 5 million on our current investor," Charles revealed.
2. Crowdfunding as a Strategic Fundraising Tool. Le Fourgon raised €2.5M from over 1,500 investors through a crowdfunding campaign. The decision was motivated by customer demand, as many loyal users wanted to invest in the company. "So many people are saying, 'We know that you are doing good, and we would like to be more around you and supporting you more, not just to be a client but also maybe to be an investor." So we had that in mind a year ago, and then we come back to that platform later that where we were speaking with, and we had that campaign, and they said, 'Okay, let's do it.'”
3. Crisis Management: Communicating an Investor Dropout to Stakeholders. When a key investor backed out due to internal policy restrictions on alcohol-related businesses, Charles quickly devised a recovery plan, reassured existing investors, and secured alternative funding. "We told investors, ‘It's not linked to Le Fourgon—we are all good. This is our plan.’ Smart people told us in the same call, ‘Okay, we are fine.’" Charles shared. 

Seaqure Labs: Johan Henriksson shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners, Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 54: Seaqure Labs: Johan Henriksson shares how to get funded in 2025

In this episode, I sit down with Johan Henriksson, CEO & Co-founder of Seaqure Labs, on a mission to make aquaculture impact-positive with mycelium. Fresh off a €470K pre-seed (led by Sweden’s Almi with angel consortia), Seaqure is scaling mycelium-based “Myprotein” feed ingredients via solid-state fermentation, aiming to replace fishmeal/soy with a cost-competitive, sustainable, drop-in alternative. We dig into how early coffee chats with a regional investor matured into a round, why sector-agnostic local funds beat pan-EU agri VC for pre-seed, the Swedish “teacher’s exemption” that streamlined their spin-out from Chalmers, and the plan to decentralize production near sidestreams for scale. If you’re a fish farmer or feed company curious about trials—or just fungi-curious—this one’s for you. 

Key Facts Seaqure Labs:

• Goal: To make aquaculture impact-positive with mycelium.
• Recently raised €470K pre-seed led by Sweden’s Almi with angel consortia.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Local, sector-agnostic capital closed faster than EU agri-food VCs. Seaqure Labs began by pitching pan-European agri-food investors but learned many were either stage-mismatched, reserving capital for portfolios, or already “full” in a given fermentation modality. Shifting to Swedish, sector-agnostic investors with a clear business-model story accelerated the round. “ We had many dual paths as a fundraising strategy. So to be honest, we started off having a fully European VC-focused. So we've basically been around for a bit more than a year. But they did help us after we pivoted into looking more at regional and Swedish investors. So we did get good introductions to different angel investors, angel consortia, and potential VCs that are investing in AgriFood tech.”
2. Smart use of non-dilutive ‘startup debt’ to bridge to pre-seed. A low-risk regional loan covered early salaries and project work, repaid only as revenues/profits arrive—buying time to run a disciplined pre-seed process.“There is something called… a regional loan… You can borrow… It’s a very low-risk loan… once you start generating revenue… You also start paying off this loan slowly.”
3. Valuation: milestone-based, maturity-driven, not headline chasing. At pre-seed, they avoided inflated valuations seen in earlier European markets and aligned expectations with the current environment. The round was sized to fund key proofs (scalability, trials), accepting slightly higher dilution for realistic next-round readiness. “ We had a thought of slightly higher rounds and valuations in pre-seed… but we realized the market has changed… what matters is proving capability to the next round.”

Oyster Bay Venture Capital: Felix Leonhardt shares how to get funded in 2026

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners, Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 62:Oyster Bay Venture Capital: Felix Leonhardt shares how to get funded in 2026

In this episode, I sat down with Felix Leonhardt, Partner at Oyster Bay Venture Capital, to unpack what it really looks like to raise and run a €100M+ impact food/ag fund in today’s market—and how founders can learn from the GP playbook. We got into why they deliberately built a “proof-of-partnership” SPV between Fund I and Fund II (four concentrated deals), why they sized Fund II around having enough firepower to lead seed, lead/co-lead Series A, and still follow into B, and how painful “errors of omission” (not being able to follow on) shaped their strategy. Felix broke down fundraising as a pure sales funnel (ICP, pipeline, conversions) and explained why “two years is normal” when LPs are trusting you for a decade—plus the unique frustration that funds don’t create urgency until the very end. Finally, we talked about why their LP base is heavily food-industry operators (mid-sized, capital-rich businesses who feel disruption directly), why that doesn’t limit their investing (because it matches their thesis), and what they want most from the community: more high-quality deal flow that can genuinely move the food system forward.

Key Facts Oyster Bay Venture Capital:

• Goal: Team up with the rare founders who disrupt the food system for the better.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Fundraising a Fund Is Still Just Sales (Treat It Like a Funnel). Felix frames fund fundraising the same way he sold vegan ice cream: define your ICP, build a pipeline, work the funnel. The mindset shift matters—LPs are giving you money for ~10 years, so a 2-year sales cycle is normal, not a failure. That realism keeps you consistent instead of being emotionally reactive. ”  Now I think any fundraising process is a sales process. It's a funnel. I have a customer profile, and I have different sorts of customer segments. I just need to understand which ones are the most likely ones to convert and obviously focus on these and build a pipeline of leads that we can target.”
2. The Real Lesson From Fund I: Under-Following Is the Most Expensive Mistake. Oyster Bay VC didn’t size Fund II bigger for ego—they sized it so they could lead, follow on, and have governance strength. Fund I picked strong companies, but the fund was too small to keep firepower for follow-ons, which cost upside. They also saw cases where being a small investor meant watching “wrong” decisions without leverage to influence outcomes. “The error of omission… is the most costly and most painful one… we missed out on a lot of upside because we couldn’t follow on.”
3. Your Best LPs Might Not Be “Institutional LPs” (Food Industry Families > Traditional Fund Allocators). They learned that many classic institutional fund allocators weren’t the match: the fund is “too small” for them and the sector is niche. Instead, Oyster Bay’s best-fit LP base became mid-sized to large food-industry owners/operators who feel disruption, don’t have big innovation departments,

Fungu'it: Cyrille Viossat shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners, Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 46: Fungu'it: Cyrille Viossat shares how to get funded in 2025

This episode features Cyrille Viossat, COO and CTO of Fungu'it, a pioneering French startup dedicated to creating sustainable, natural aromatic ingredients through circular economy practices using filamentous fungi. Cyrille discusses their recent €1.5M seed funding, strategic focus on market validation with early paying customers, and the importance of aligning with impact-driven investors like Asterion Ventures. He shares insights into building a strong team, navigating the fundraising process over 12 months, leveraging government grants and debt, and exploring exit strategies, including potential acquisitions. Cyrille emphasizes the value of balancing personal life with entrepreneurial ambition and highlights how community support and market traction are now more critical than patents in this fast-moving space.

Key Facts Fungu'it:

• Goal: To make meat that's better for the planet, animals, and public health.
• Recently raised €4 million led by Asterion Ventures, with participation from Evolem and UI Investissement via Oser BFC.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. France Advantage: Non-dilutive funding, public infrastructure, and leverage. Significant grants, BPI debt, public hosting (equipment/expertise), plus a European grant with a Spanish partner. “France has government schemes, and we had won some scheme. It is a competitive application, and we came up with a research program that enabled us to fund our company. BPI… has provided some government debt… and grants. We got a European grant because we are going to launch a project with a Spanish company that engages in different kinds of solid, safe fermentation."
2. Traction over Patents (for this stage). Patents are in process, but investors prioritized market validation and paying customers. " We have started the process of getting our first patents, but we haven’t yet. It did seem that from the feedback we were getting, they weren't that bothered with the patient, and we were clear that we don't have it yet. The fact that we had a paying customer at the time. We now have two, but we just had one at the time. By presenting an example of a product that was used, it made it so much more tangible.”
3. Valuation Approach: Needs-based + market benchmarks; lead helped align syndicate. They triangulated from capital needed to hit milestones and peer benchmarks; lead investors advocated for their target valuation. " It was impossible for us to claim how much the company is worth. So we tried to come up with proxies, one of which, maybe the scariest, would be how much it would take a huge company or how much investment they would need in order to get to where we are. You can also look at a business plan, and you know how much money you're gonna make if you invest this, and you put a discount for the risk. The second is compared to what happens on the market, if you look at we are ahead or trailing companies that would raise that amount of money, that would be valued at this amount or that amount. The th

Agros: Max Nelen shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners, Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 39: Agros: Max Nelen shares how to get funded in 2025

In this episode, I speak with Max Nelen, founder and CEO of Agros, a Southeast Asia-based startup bringing sustainable irrigation solutions to smallholder farmers. Max shares how Agros raised a $4.25M Series A led by Wavemaker and Schneider Electric, structured around strategic alignment and customer-led investment. We unpack how the team tackled affordability with a debt stacking approach, turned hardware into a subscription model, and built trust in low-tech communities. Max also offers honest reflections on founder resilience, navigating tough markets, and staying aligned with his co-founder and spouse.

Key Facts Agros:

• Goal: To double farmers' income while making their farm climate-resilient for generations to come.
• Recently   closed Series A of $4.25M co-led by Schneider Electric Energy Access Asia and Wavemaker Impact.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Warm Intros Over Cold Outreach. Every investor on Agros’ cap table came through a warm introduction, prior working relationship, or event—not cold outreach. " When I look at my cap table, none of my investors were cold outreach, really, either events, personal connection, even the others were a warm intro. I think it could be from an existing investor or another network. So I guess it reminds you, as a founder, you have to build a company, but you have to be out there and reach out to people."
2. Debt Stacking to Reduce Dilution. Max leveraged non-dilutive debt in tandem with equity, aiming for long-term hardware financing efficiency while keeping investor confidence high. "  Debt is non-dilutive capital. So if you wanna raise 6 million, you can raise 6 million in equity, but then you either bump up the valuation to make it work. Then, potentially, you'll suffer later because you have to make the growth numbers work, or you raise less, get at a lower valuation, have higher upside later down the line, and get extra debt to finance also the working capital, financing, working capital, which is in climate tech and also in us a big. We decided to go up to one. So, the debt-to-equity ratio can be higher if that's your appetite, depending on your cash flows as well. 
3. Pre-Alignment With Board on Downside Scenarios. Max proactively secured alignment with his board on fallback plans before going out to raise, ensuring room to maneuver if the market froze. “ So I went to the board and said, ’Look, I'm gonna go out and raise. Do I have a safety net? Is there a backup plan? 'cause the market is cold and it's gonna be hard.’ Some people say, no, but you don't worry, you have all the things there. I say, ‘yeah, but the market is irrational. I need a guarantee of how hard I can go.’ I need, therefore, a guarantee that if it doesn't work initially, we can always do a convertible.”

Daily Crunch: Laurel Orley shares how to get funded in 2024

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2024 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners; Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 9: Daily Crunch: Laurel Orley shares how to get funded in 2024

In this episode, Alex talked to Laurel Orley, Crunch Executive Officer and co-founder of Daily Crunch Snacks, a women-owned certified and mental health mission driven company bringing innovation to a trusty but dusty nut snack category through our patent pending sprouting process, innovative game changing flavors and craveable crunch. Laurel shared about finding investors who align with their mission and believe in their product. She also stressed the importance of having detailed plans and projections to show investors how funds would help scale effectively. 

Key Facts Daily Crunch:

• Goal: To make feeding your body with real + healthy foods easier, and to remind you to take time for your mental health.
• Recently closed Series A with Launch Tennessee as lead investor.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Daily Crunch positions itself firmly in the nut category, a multi-billion-dollar market, instead of trying to compete across multiple categories. “You cannot be everything to everyone, or you're nothing to nobody. The nut is a massive multi billion dollar category in the U. S. Right now, our share in the category is 0. 1%. Which means we have a lot of opportunity for growth in this category before even considering going into another category. We do have plans later on down the road to go into other categories, but we really need to stay focused here first.”
2. The team carefully selected investors aligned with the brand's vision and said no to those who didn’t feel like a good fit. "If your gut is telling you that they're the wrong people, they're the wrong people, and you should not let them in." Laurel emphasized.
3. Using a structured, phased fundraising process and regular updates kept potential investors engaged and encouraged participation. "We did a three-wave close... Once we closed wave one, I’d send out an email: ‘Here are the updates, and we just launched in Target.’ All of a sudden, people would say, ‘Oh yeah, shoot, I missed wave one, but count me in for wave two.’"

ÄIO: Nemailla Bonturi shares how to get funded in 2024

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, co-produced by vegconomist, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2024 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs. 

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. 

Episode 3: ÄIO: Nemailla Bonturi shares how to get funded in 2024

In this episode, Alex talks to Nemailla, CEO of AIO, which are producing more sustainable fats and oils by using yeasts and upcycling side streams from industry and agriculture. She talked about the strategic approach to fundraising, challenges with European regulations, and the importance of versatile revenue streams. She also highlighted how local government grants played a pivotal role in setting up their pilot plant and expanding the team by providing €1.8 million in non-dilutive funding, which also improved their valuation. 

Key Facts ÄIO:

• Goal: To change the way we produce, consume and perceive foods and other products
• Raised €6.1 Million, €1.8 million grant from the Estonian Business Innovation Agency.
• Lead Investor is 2C Ventures 
• Joining the round was Nordic for Tech VC, Voima Ventures, and Smartcap

Alex’ Top Findings:

1. Prioritize Shorter Commercial Regulatory Path- Cosmetics are usually quicker than food in terms of regulation. “Our investors understand that novel food will take time. We are preparing ourselves. We're going to apply in the U.S. but also we are aiming for other verticals such as cosmetics. So we have already started to prepare to be added to this ink list so we can start selling cosmetics. So we have proof that it's also very versatile. So you can go to food, you can go to cosmetics, you can go to pet food. It's one process, one product, and a very diverse application. And that we are very driven towards the price.” Nemailla highlighted on the podcast.
2. Serendipitous Investor Connection at a Local Event. The company met its lead investor, 2C Ventures, through an unexpected encounter with an LP during a local event in Tallinn.
3. When choosing scale up partners make sure they speak your business language- in this case it was Singapore. “I think the first part is finding the partner that has all the capex you need. We work with side streams. It's not like rocket science that we need very fancy equipment. But of course we need to have the right set of equipment, and they need to follow exactly how we tell them. So they have to be flexible towards our know-how.  So this is one point.  The second point, what made AIO go to Singapore is the speed. They're very flexible, they are very good business people.” Nemailla added.

PlantBaby: Alex Abelin shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners; Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 23: PlantBaby: Alex Abelin shares how to get funded in 2025

In this episode, we sit down with Alex Abelin, co-founder and CEO of PlantBaby, the company behind Kiki Milk—the world’s first certified organic whole food plant milk designed for kids and loved by all. Alex opens up about raising a $4.5M priced seed round at a $20M valuation, the long game of building investor trust, and why nurturing relationships with transparency, consistency, and humility ultimately pays off. We explore the cost challenges of building a premium plant-based product, how to structure investor communications with honesty, and why treating startups as marathons—not sprints—is key to founder longevity.

Key Facts PlantBaby:

• Goal: To make the world and its people healthier through organic whole foods. 
• Recently raised $4.5M priced seed round at a $20M valuation.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. The Power of a Warm Investor Relationship. A $25K “tracker check” turned into a lead investor through years of relationship-building. " A friend of mine introduced me to a wealthy individual investor who has run a very successful company as the chairman and CEO and has made dozens and dozens investments over his career. He put a $25,000 check into Plant Baby and said, “I prefer to write larger checks. This check is a tracker. I just wanna get to know you. I like you. I like the mission, I like the concept.”  He planted a seed in me that said, nurture this relationship.  We were very fortunate that we were able to come to a deal and a deeper partnership with him.” Alex shared.
2. Build Trust with Transparent Communication. Quarterly investor updates include honest reflections on both wins and failures. " I send a quarterly shareholder email out to my whole cap table. I try to be as transparent in those emails as I can. I think that's another piece of building a successful relationship. Being transparent and being honest, and that ultimately builds trust as well, because it's not just sunshine and butterflies and rainbows in an early stage company.”
3. Kiki Milk Was Built for Founder's Family First. The brand was born out of a personal need, not market research. " We built the most nutrient rich whole food, clean label, organic plant milk, that's ever been commercially produced. Inspired by kids, enjoyed by all with artwork that is inspirational and mystical. We did all this because my family needed it. My son needed it, my wife and I needed it, and we believe that other families needed it too. We didn't spend months and months and tens of thousands of dollars doing the market research and talking to a million families." Alex said. 

ClearLeaf: Lawrence Pratt shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners, Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 38: ClearLeaf: Lawrence Pratt shares how to get funded in 2025

In this episode, I speak with Lawrence Pratt, co-founder and president of Clear Leaf, a Costa Rica–based agtech startup developing non-toxic, broad-spectrum fungicides and bactericides. Lawrence walks us through the long and methodical journey to closing their seed round, led by Hawthorne Food Ventures, and shares why Clear Leaf focused exclusively on agtech VCs who understand the slower scaling realities of agriculture. We explore how accelerator competitions like MassChallenge and Grow-NY built investor trust, how a strategic licensing deal in Japan helped overcome objections about global traction, and why their product—effective, shelf-stable, and climate-friendly—offers a rare alternative to both synthetic chemicals and fragile biologicals.

Key Facts ClearLeaf:

• Goal: To create sustainable crop protection strategies that manage the impacts of harmful pests while maintaining natural balances on the farm, protecting farmers and consumers.
• Recently  closed a seed series round with lead investors, Hawthorne Food Ventures, a fund run by a family office out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Fundraising Duration: 18 Months of Persistent Process. The fundraising round took 18 months from start to close. The team planned for 12 months but hit delays due to market cycles and fit. "  We were definitely not planning for 18 months, but we were planning for 12, and we had realistic expectations. We were at the time a kind of interesting spot. Our market product was getting decent market acceptance in a couple of different markets. Still, our experience has been this strange, squishy middle when you're very early stage and you don't have any sales people who get all excited about your technology."
2. Fundraising Methodology: Global Mapping + Relentless Follow-Up. The team built a broad investor universe across the US and Europe, tracked progress in spreadsheets, and stayed in touch even with non-deploying funds. " We got a lot of advice and a lot of input, and we were able to fine-tune how we were approaching some of these funds. It was just basically a lot of Excel spreadsheets, tracking who we had talked to and when we last spoke to them. Is it time to go back to them again? A year ago, they said they were bringing in a new $50 million group of LPs as a time to go back to them, and we just kept coming back. Everybody who didn't slam the door in our face would rather say, ‘Hey, you're interesting. Let's talk more when we're in a better position. We just kept following up and following up."
3. Lead Investor Origin: Warmed-Up Cold Intro via Biz Dev. Hawthorne Food Ventures initially met Clear Leaf at World AgriTech in 2023. A London-based BD partner rekindled the connection via a referral from another fund. “ That was in 2023. We then re-met them in a more meaningful way, through a strategic connection that was brought to us by our business development arm, which is based in London. We work with a group in London on a variety o

AIPERIA: Franz Seubert shares how to get funded in 2024

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, co-produced by vegconomist, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2024 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs. 

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. 

Episode 14: AIPERIA: Franz Seuber shares how to get funded in 2024

In this episode, Alex talks to Franz, co-founder and CEO of AIPERIA, a German based SaaS solution that helps suppliers and retailers in sustainable demand planning for fresh food by enabling end-to-end planning from production to supermarket shelves to ensure only what is sold is produced. Their solution is currently used in around 3,000 stores. Franz emphasized the importance of maintaining ongoing communication with investors, preparing thoroughly for due diligence with an organized data room, and having a team with both business and technical expertise. 

Key Facts AIPERIA:

• Goal: To expand both internationally and vertically into the fresh produce assortments of bakery, convenience/deli, packaged meat and flowers & plants.
• Recently closed $7.5 million Series A round in April 2024.
• Lead investor: Early Bird VC

Alex’ Top Findings:

1. Building Strong Relationships Early: Aiperia maintained ongoing investor relations, even between rounds, to ensure smoother fundraising efforts. Franz highlighted the importance of “closing a round before it's opened” through continuous engagement with potential investors
2. Leveraging Existing Investors: Aiperia already had well-known investors, like Early Bird, on its cap table. This significantly helped them attract more VCs. Having prominent investors on board early can create credibility and signal to other investors that the company is worth backing. Franz described the fundraising process as more inbound than outbound due to the strong network created through their existing investor relationships.
3. Keep a well-organized data room: This includes all necessary documents like contracts, agreements, and financials. Being well-prepared for the legal, technical, and business due diligence processes can save time and instill confidence in investors. 
4. Understand the legal framework: Aiperia had a solid legal structure from their seed round, which made it easier and faster to negotiate their Series A. Franz advised founders to get an experienced lawyer who specializes in startup financing.
5. Technical and Business Clarity: Investors did not perform in-depth code reviews but instead focused on understanding the company’s architecture, scalability, and cloud infrastructure. Franz pointed out that it's important for founders to have a clear roadmap for solving any technical gaps that investors flag, even if the current infrastructure isn't perfect.
6. Building Trust with Investors: By focusing on relationship-building, demonstrating traction, and ensuring preparedness for legal and technical due diligence, Aiperia was able to close their Series A in a smooth, efficient manner. Other founders can apply these strategies by maintaining ongoing investor conversations, prioritizing strong legal and business foundations, and showcasing strong growth and a capable team

foodforecast: Justus Lauten shares how to get funded in 2024

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, co-produced by vegconomist, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2024 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs. 

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. 

Episode 5: foodforecast: Justus Lauten shares how to get funded in 2024

In this episode, Justus Lauten, founder and CEO of foodforecast, shared insights into his journey of building a startup focused on reducing food waste through AI-driven predictions for bakeries, supermarkets, and gastronomy. foodforecast uses advanced AI technology that enables precise sales planning, making production and ordering processes 100% automated and minimizing food waste. The segment provides valuable insights into how essential networking, traction metrics, and strategic investor introductions are in securing funding, as well as the reality of managing fundraising efforts over extended periods in challenging market conditions.

Key Facts foodforecast:

• Goal: To reduce the value of food waste by 10 billion euros over the next 10 years.
• Raised over €3 million, led by three institutional investors: Future Food Fund, Scalehouse Capital, and Aeronaut Invest.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. The First business angels were the management of the bakery. Justus shared that, “The first business angels were the management of the bakery. It was not the company itself. It was the private persons who were investing their private money. They were not familiar with the startup business, but they were seeing that the product was working and that was important for me that they were behind the idea and the product. Of course they also had networks inside the bakery companies as well into other bakery companies.” 
2. Knowing the effects of the investment and dilution is important. As Justus said, “We put a very low valuation into the contract because I was not very skilled at that point. I didn't know the effects of the investment and dilution and that the founder of course should always carry a certain  amount of shares during the funding process. This is something that's very important to the investors and that you as a founder should always look at. You should always make sure that you have enough shares for each round. They would have gotten too many shares which would have endangered the next round because the next VC would say okay look this is not working.”
3. When The crisis happens, often your customers can become your investors.  “I went to the lion's den in January or February. We got a deal but then unfortunately Corona also hit Germany and all the restaurants and bakeries had to shut down partially. The deal more or less fell flat. At that point I had only spent my personal money and my bank account was nearing zero. I was getting nervous. That was the point when I approached the business angels first, so they were already customers, they knew exactly what I was doing, they knew also the potential of the software so they were really the angels in that part of the story because they helped the company survive and really push to the next level in finding an institutional VC.” Justus added

Vestland Pharma x Sarsia: Jan Rune Nordhagen and Jon Trygve Berg shares how to get funded in 2024

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2024 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners; Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 12: Vestland Pharma x Sarsia: Jan Rune Nordhagen and Jon Trygve Ber shares how to get funded in 2024

In this episode, Alex talked to Jan, CEO of Vestland Pharma, and Jon Berg, Venture Partner of Sarsia.  Vestland Pharma is a startup that is focusing and wants to make the first all natural medicine against sea lice- the biggest problem for fish farming in Norway. Jan highlighted the pivotal role of external partners in structuring the company and aligning it with market demands. The startup partnered with brokers who bridge the gap between farmers and international markets, ensuring better adoption of their solution. The discussion also emphasizes the importance of government grants, like those from Innovation Norway, in funding high-risk, environmentally friendly projects. On the other hand, Jon Berg opened the conversation that underscores how venture capitalists are now prioritizing solutions that integrate into current systems rather than completely replacing them.

Key Facts Vestland Pharma:

• Goal: To make the first all natural medicine against sea lice- the biggest problem for fish farming in Norway.
• Recently raised NOK 12M from Sarsia and Coast Seafood.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Your initial target investors are often wrong. “  We tried to get investment from fish farmers in Norway and they have quite a lot of capital, but they did not know and did not  grasp what we tried to do. When you are into fish farming, you usually  invest in low risk projects  and making medicine is highly risky. It is cost intensive and it has a high risk. I think we did try to reach out to the wrong  investors, basically, the first time.” Jan shared.
2. Strategic Government Grants Accelerate High-Risk Projects. Government support, such as grants, plays a pivotal role in funding innovative but risky projects, helping mitigate financial risks for investors. As per Jan, “It was Innovation Norway. They give grants to good ideas that are helping the industry, and you need to show it’s helpful and does not harm the environment. These are grants, not equity, and they’re very useful for slightly higher-risk projects.”
3. Evolving VC Trends: From Replacement to Sustainability. The focus of venture capital has shifted from disrupting supply chains to improving sustainability and efficiency within existing frameworks. As the Venture Partner of Sarsia, John Berg said that, " Three to four years ago, the emphasis was on replacing existing farming infrastructure with plant-based products or cellular agriculture. Now, it’s much more about embracing current supply chains and making them sustainable and regenerative. As a VC with a thesis and a perspective, is that something that you've also seen your colleagues have, improving supply chains rather than replacing."

Harmony Baby Nutrition: Del Afonso shares how to get funded in 2026

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners, Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 72: Harmony Baby Nutrition: Del Afonso on Geo-Arbitrage, securing a $6M Brazilian grant, and bypassing the infant formula cartel 

In this episode, I sit down with Del Afonso, Founder and CEO of Harmony Baby Nutrition. Del shares his masterclass on "geo-arbitrage"—how he bypassed the exorbitant costs of the Boston biotech bubble by setting up formulation labs in Brazil and analytical labs in Hong Kong, stretching his 18-month runway significantly. We dive into how his team successfully secured a massive $6M non-dilutive grant from the Brazilian Development Agency to build a local manufacturing and R&D hub. Del also explains his bold pivot away from the endless R&D cycle to commercialize their "Generation 1" product via a Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) brand, rather than falling into the B2B ingredient trap with legacy corporations.

🎧 Listen to the full episode to hear why powdered formula is fundamentally flawed and how Harmony is raising a $2M bridge round to bring a sterile, liquid alternative to the market.

Key Facts Harmony Baby Nutrition:

• Goal: To revolutionize the $100B infant nutrition industry by creating a sterile, human-breastmilk-based liquid formula that supports gut microbiome health without industrially added sugars.
• Milestone: Secured a $6M grant from the Brazilian Development Agency to build an R&D and manufacturing center, and is currently raising a $2M convertible note to drive the commercial launch of their Gen 1 product in the US.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. The Geo-Arbitrage Playbook: Extending Runway with Global R&D. Operating a biotech startup in Cambridge, MA, is prohibitively expensive. Del’s solution was to keep the HQ in the US but offshore the heavy scientific lifting. By utilizing highly qualified PhDs in Brazil and leveraging 70% wage reimbursement programs in Hong Kong, Harmony drastically cut their burn rate. "We grew up on scarcity. Big time... The amount of money we were paying for a senior researcher in the US, we can hire four to five researchers in Brazil. So it's unbelievable the difference... It's a strategic way that we can balance a bit of the high cost of doing science within the Boston area."
2. Drawing the Line on the "Endless" R&D Cycle. Many deep-tech founders get stuck in the lab perfecting their technology while their runway evaporates. Del realized that to survive the current fundraising winter, they had to draw a hard line in the sand, freeze the "Generation 1" formula, and pivot entirely to commercialization to prove revenue traction before attempting a Series A. "Doing R&D could be like an endless process. And how do you actually get a point, okay, we have enough... I got all the researchers... to say listen, this is the deadline for this... If not, we're gonna turn on the key, we're gonna do only the commercial work."
3. Value Capture Requires a B2C Brand, Not a B2B Partnership. While selling a patented ingredient to a giant like Nestlé seems like the easier path, it leaves the startup with zero bargaining power. Del emphasizes that in mon

Kost Capital: Bodil Sidén shares how to get funded in 2026

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners, Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 71: Kost Capital: Bodil Sidén on the "Trojan Horse" B2B strategy and redefining the VC Power Law 

In this episode, I sit down with Bodil Sidén, General Partner at Kost Capital, a Copenhagen-based €20M early-stage venture fund and food tech studio. Bodil explains why the first wave of food tech struggled by focusing on low-margin B2C outputs, and why Kost Capital’s playbook revolves strictly around high-margin "inputs" (ingredients and enabling tech) functioning as "Trojan horses" for the existing food industry. We discuss their unique venture studio model—building "inception cases" from scratch in their basement test kitchen—and why €250k–€750k pre-seed checks are the perfect vehicle to co-lead deals alongside generalist VCs. Bodil also breaks down her thesis on the convergence of GLP-1s, wearable health tech, and the functional food transition, sharing insights from recent investments like Amass and Nordic Biofoods. 

🎧 Listen to the full episode to hear why Bodil is actively looking for "insanely impatient" founders who aren't afraid to stalk their customers.

Key Facts Kost Capital:

• Goal: To invest in high-margin B2B inputs (ingredients and enabling tech) that drive the global nutrition transition without forcing mass behavioral change.
• Milestone: Successfully launched a €20M fund backed by strong anchor investors, including EIFO (the Danish Sovereign Wealth Fund), featuring an integrated in-house test kitchen and team of chefs to incubate startups.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. The "Trojan Horse" Strategy: B2B Inputs over B2C Outputs. The era of launching low-margin, capital-intensive B2C meat alternatives is challenging. Kost Capital focuses on high-value ingredients (colorants, texturizers, Omega-3s) and enabling software that plugs directly into the existing 95% of the food industry. This avoids the need to build expensive new factories or fight food giants for grocery shelf space. "We don't really take a bet on new behaviors or anything, but want to improve what's already on the plate out there... If you look at the outputs that often have very low margins and that are competing with large food corporates with sort of insane distribution and marketing budgets... it just doesn't really add up."
2. Redefining the VC "Power Law" for FoodTech. For a €20M fund, you don't need a single 100x unicorn IPO to return the fund. Bodil argues that the FoodTech exit market relies heavily on trade sales and acquisitions by massive food corporates. By utilizing their venture studio to mitigate early risk, Kost Capital can target highly realistic acquisition sizes while maintaining a healthy fund return. "The advantage of having a 20 million fund is that to have a fund returner, you need obviously a smaller exit... in the food space, if you look at the exit market, it is often a trade sale or like an acquisition... we also have an opportunity to mitigate a little bit more and have a few more actually pretty solid exits across the portfolio."
3. Customer Stalking over "Dusty IP." Too many deep-tech founders

First Bight Ventures: Veronica Breckenridge shares how to get funded in 2026

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners, Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 63: First Bight Ventures: Veronica Breckenridge shares how to get funded in 2026

In this episode, I sit down with Veronica Breckenridge, Managing Partner of First Bight Ventures, for a deep, no-nonsense look at why most industrial biotech companies fail—and how a different investment model can actually work. We talk about why “industrial biotech is not venture-backable” is a lazy myth, how CapEx-heavy businesses can deliver strong equity returns if founders know how to finance assets without burning dilution, and why SaaS-style thinking has done real damage to biomanufacturing. Veronica unpacks her thesis around drop-in, cost-parity technologies, design-for-manufacturability, early strategic validation, and why she avoids product-market risk like the plague. We dig into her portfolio decisions, including a rare AgriFood bet, the role of non-dilutive capital (including DoD and government funding), why green premiums don’t exist but health premiums do, and why most exits in this space will be disciplined M&A—not unicorn fantasies. If you’re a founder or investor navigating deep tech, bio-based chemicals, or industrial biotech in the post-hype era, this conversation is a masterclass in realism, capital efficiency, and how to build companies that can actually survive—and exit.

Key Facts First Bight Ventures:

• Goal: Capture the massive value creation opportunity, a multi-trillion-dollar industrial transition from petroleum to biology-based manufacturing for chemicals and materials.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Industrial Biotech Is Venture-Backable (If You Finance CapEx Correctly). Veronica’s core contrarian belief is that industrial biotech isn’t “uninvestable” — founders just finance it incorrectly. When CapEx is funded with project finance, credit, or non-dilutive capital instead of equity, companies can still generate strong venture-style returns without relying on SaaS-like margins. ” The biggest contrarian I think for me is industrial biotech is  not worth investing. My belief is that's not true. 'cause if you know how to  leverage, if you understand how to finance that CapEx,  without using  equity capital,  you could still grow an equity.  Efficient model  in term of going to market and commercialize so that your equity return can be  still solid.”
2. Early Strategic Buyers De-Risk Exit, Not Just Commercialization. First Bight introduces strategics early — not for optics, but to define specs, manufacturability, and eventual M&A pathways. Veronica won’t invest unless she already sees credible strategic interest shaping the company’s trajectory. “I don’t invest unless I already feel like I’m working with the strategic — they help define the specs you must hit to be acquired.”
3. Capital Efficiency Is a Strategy, Not A Constraint. Veronica repeatedly contrasts founders who “burn equity” versus those who design the company to qualify for debt, project finance, and grants. Her point is blunt: unless you’re Elon Musk, you can’t raise unlimited capital to pay for

McWin Capital Partners: Martin Davalos shares how to get funded in 2026

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners, Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 61: McWin Capital Partners: Martin Davalos shares how to get funded in 2026

In this episode, I sit down with Martin Davalos, Partner at McWin Capital Partners, to unpack how a serious food-tech investor actually thinks about this market. We talk about McWin’s unique model of combining one of Europe’s largest restaurant platforms with a focused food-tech fund, and how that creates real “farm-to-fork” synergies for portfolio companies. Martin uses The EVERY Company as a live case study—why McWin led both the Series C and now the Series D, what convinced them the tech and regulatory risk were truly de-risked, and why starting with bakery applications and egg replacement is such a powerful commercial wedge (price stability, guaranteed supply, and “better-for-you” fortification in products like high-protein donuts). We then dive into the hard stuff: down rounds, pay-to-play, milestones, follow-on decisions, and how founders should approach their existing investors long before runway gets short. Martin also explains why food-tech can still deliver solid VC-style returns—if you’re realistic about exits, obsessive about unit economics, and willing to build deep, hands-on relationships between founders and investors.

Key Facts McWin Capital Partners:

• Goal: Lead the food industry through positive change and create value on behalf of investors and portfolio companies by leveraging its scale, network, and experience to deliver outstanding returns.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. How McWin Decides on Follow-On: “What Needs to Be True?” For follow-on investments, McWin basically reruns IC from scratch: revisit the original thesis, examine what happened since, and ask, “What needs to be true for us to keep backing this?” Sometimes that means a full support round; sometimes a more cautious bridge, but it’s always a deliberate, structured decision. ” So, for follow-on, we look at our initial investment thesis on that company, what has happened since our investment thesis, and then the second piece is what needs to be true for us to continue supporting this company.”
2. Why EVERY Became a Conviction Bet (Series C and D Lead). McWin first led EVERY’s Series C and then doubled down to lead the Series D because, in their view, the company has crossed a major inflection point: tech risk reduced, regulatory boxes ticked, real customers, and a serious IP moat. For Martin, this is the transition from “R&D project” to “real business” — exactly when he wants to size up. “We find EVERY is in a fantastic inflection point… It’s moved from an R&D company to now producing and selling a product.”
3. What Happens After Your First VC Call (and What You Should Ask). Inside McWin, an initial call is followed by an immediate internal calibration session: different team members (tech, finance, digital, ops) compare notes, decide if it fits their themes, and, if yes, move it to a structured pipeline + IC process. Martin wishes founders would be more proactive in asking how McWin can help beyond th

Chromologics: Gerit Tolborg shares how to get funded in 2026

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners, Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 60: Chromologics: Gerit Tolborg shares how to get funded in 2026

In this episode, I sit down with Gerit Tolborg, co-founder & CEO of Chromologics, to unpack how you turn a PhD discovery—a fungus that naturally makes a brilliant red pigment—into a venture-backed ingredient company on the brink of FDA/EFSA submission. We talk about why Chromologics chose to raise a fully insider round instead of going back to the market, how weird and “all-or-nothing” the regulatory world is for food colorants, and why red is both the biggest commercial opportunity and the hardest technical problem. Gerit walks through the real economics of natural colors (performance vs price vs supply chain risk), why their non-GMO fermentation process is a quiet superpower with regulators and consumers, and how she thinks about scaling via CMOs first instead of betting the company on a big CapEx plant. If you care about where the next generation of clean-label ingredients will actually come from—and what investors really underwrite in these plays—this conversation goes deep.

Key Facts Chromologics:

• Goal: Develop fermentation-derived, natural food colors to replace unstable, supply-constrained, and animal-derived reds
• Recently raised €7 million from Novo Holdings, EIFO, Döhler Ventures, Collateral Good, and The Synergetic Group, bringing its total funding to nearly €20 million.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. When Your Biggest Risk Is Invisible: Fundraising Around Regulation.  Chromologics deliberately raised a €7M internal round from existing shareholders (Novo Holdings, EIFO) instead of going to market. They’re at a sensitive regulatory inflection point where colors are “all or nothing” until dossier submission—something incumbents who’ve watched the journey can underwrite more easily than new VCs. This path lets Gerit focus on building and de-risking instead of burning months on data rooms and external DD for a hard-to-price stage.  ” So from an outside investor, the risk-reward balance is maybe not so easy to grasp as from someone who's actually been following our journey all the way and really seen us step-wise, maturing and de-risking the regulatory process along the way. So if there's enough capital around the table that we actually would need to bring the company from where we are today, it would have been a really big next value inflection point. Why waste valuable time and maybe risk unfavorable valuation if we can just manage on our own?”
2. CDMOs Now, Strategic Exit Later. In today’s market, Gerit sees little sense in raising huge CapEx for a plant before proving commercial pull. Chromologics has already lined up a CDMO and designed its process to work at standard 100 m³ fermentation scale, where the economics make sense. Long term, she expects the real upside to be in a strategic exit: a large ingredient or food company plugging Chromologics’ IP and regulatory dossiers into its own, cheaper capacity. “ I think there's no investor right now that is willing to invest a hundred million euros into a CapEx project before I ev

Perfat Technologies: Jyrki Lee-Korhonen shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners, Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 51: Perfat Technologies: Jyrki Lee-Korhonen shares how to get funded in 2025

On this episode, I sit down with Jyrki Lee-Korhonen, CEO & co-founder of Perfat Technologies, a Finnish spin-out turning cutting-edge lipid science into healthier, drop-in fat ingredients for food makers. Perfat just closed €2.5M—led by Beyond Impact and Newtree Impact, with follow-on from Nordic Science Investments, Big Idea Ventures, and University of Helsinki Funds—after a 7–8 month process that hinged on shifting from any CapEx to a capital-light plan. Jyrki explains how Perfat’s oleogel-based, non-novel tech (no fermentation, off-the-shelf equipment) delivers ~80% less saturated fat and up to 30% fewer calories, while adding dietary fiber—a compelling alternative to butter, palm/coconut oil, and even cocoa butter. We get into IP (patents + trade secrets acquired from the university), B2B commercialization with near-term production and distributor sales, creative valuation structuring, and the asks: intros to customers/CMOs and a Supply Chain Manager to help scale in 2025.

Key Facts Perfat Technologies:

• Goal: Healthier and more sustainable fats to deliver tasty, more nutritious foods.
• Recently  closed €2.5M—led by Beyond Impact and Newtree Impact, with follow-on from Nordic Science Investments, Big Idea Ventures, and University of Helsinki Funds

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Valuation: Market Reality + Creative Structure. Benchmarks and needs set the baseline; they used a flexible, milestone/tap-on structure to align everyone. “ We came up with a structure that offered the investors the kind of valuation that they were looking for, at the same time giving a little bit of upside to the management in terms of when we meet certain milestones, etc. So  it's a pretty flexible structure that we have, and so we have to have a bit of creativity to meet everyone's interests for the round. ”
2. Investors’ CapEx Allergy → Capital-Light Plan. They pivoted away from CapEx and toward CMOs/scale partners to fit today’s investor preferences. “We initially envisaged that part of the funding would be reserved for some CapEx, but it became clear quite early on that most investors these days are quite allergic to anything that smells of CapEx. So we did adjust our fundraising a bit towards a more capital-light plan. This also allowed us to scale back a bit down the road. I, overall, don't think it was necessarily a bad thing as such. These days, you do hear a lot about investors don't want to see CapEx in the plan.”
3. How the Lead Happened: Network > Target List. The lead wasn’t on their initial list; a warm network intro unlocked a first Nordic investment for one of the funds and brought in the second. “ The introduction came through our network. To be fair, the name wasn't on our original list, as that investor, in this case, was Beyond Impact. They hadn't been active in the Nordics in the past, so we actually ended up being their first investment in the Nordic region. And then later on, they introduced us to New Three Impac

Decameal: Leander Hessner shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners, Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 49: Decameal: Leander Hessner shares how to get funded in 2025

This episode features Leander Hessner, marine biologist and CEO/co-founder of Decameal, which upcycles invasive European green crabs and crustacean side streams into high-value feed ingredients. Leander explains how Decameal moved beyond “crab protein” to a patented separation process that yields a clean protein concentrate plus shell-derived compounds, landing pilot production inside a major Danish fish-feed company’s facility. After product trials with that partner performed well, the corporate came in as the largest check—unlocking a €700k equity round (without a formal lead) and a €1.4M Danish state grant to scale. We dig into supply security (the biomass is vast), sustainability that pencils out on price, and a path to a profitable pilot by 2027 before a CapEx-heavy scale round. Leander closes with what helps most now: intros to North American shellfish processors, feed/ingredient players, and licensing partners.

Key Facts Decameal:

• Goal: Restoring a healthy marine life through a sustainable business model.
• Recently  unlocked a €700k equity round (without a formal lead) and a €1.4M Danish state grant to scale.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Reality Check: Price & Function Beat “Green.” Sustainability alone won’t win the deal; unit economics and performance drive buying and investing decisions.  ”You should probably start your pitch deck by showing your budget rather than showing your sustainability profile, because that's, in most cases, what the investors want to see. They want to know if you can actually make something that's profitable, and if it's also sustainable, then that's a plus, but it's not gonna secure you a green premium, as it's called. I had a firm belief in that in the beginning, but as I've gotten further in the process, now we've raised two times, and we've talked to many customers, it's all about the pricing and the function of what you're actually doing. That was a big surprise for me.”
2. Valuation: Cap Table Health + Evidence. First round priced on potential; second round tied to production, timing, revenue paths, and maintaining founder ownership. " We had reached a suitable valuation from the first round that all the investors agreed to, and that would be healthy for our cap table. At that point, it's all about the potential. We didn't have much more than a product, and maybe someone who was willing to say what they were, wanted to pay for it. So the valuation at the first round was, the arguments for that weren't very strong, but we made it work anyway. The evaluation for the second round was a bit more rooted in what we can actually produce, when we can sell it, how much we can sell, and what the revenue will be. Of course, the progress that we had made since the first round and also the soft funding that we had gotten while in between the two rounds, played a big role as well.”
3. De-Risk with Trials First, Capital Follows. Product samples and fish-feed trials with a major corporate validated performance—then

Mewery: Roman Lauš shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners, Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 48: Mewery: Roman Lauš shares how to get funded in 2025

This episode features Roman Lauš, founder & CEO of Mewery (Czech Republic), a cultivated-meat startup building a co-culture platform that combines animal and microbial cells to make pork and other products more efficiently. Roman shares how he pivoted his fundraising strategy in a brutal market: from early validation by Big Idea Ventures and regional VCs, to surviving with bridges and stacking non-dilutive funding, validated by EIC Accelerator, and received the Seal of Excellence from the jury. He breaks down the real lessons: founders should invest their own capital, prove a fast proof-of-concept, differentiate deeply (their proprietary co-culture is the edge), and never bank on a verbal “yes.” We also get a candid look at why he’s still bullish on cell ag (costs plummeting, second-generation tech, traction over hype) and what Mewery needs next: collaborations with meat and food manufacturers to bring products to market.

Key Facts Mewery:

• Goal: To break down barriers to scaling and accelerating the cultivated meat industry.
• Recently raised €3M from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator, and from the Horizon Europe research program.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Capital Stack v1: Validate, Then Amplify. After friends/founder money funded initial tests, Big Idea Ventures invested (~2022), triggering strong inbound and a total of ~€800k with local funds (Power Pro Ventures, Credo Ventures) and a small grant. "Big Idea Ventures… decided to invest in us, and this was the highlight of our company because we were the only startup from the Czech Republic who has ever been funded by this fund. We just released a press release, and the next day, I woke up to my inbox being full of not spam, but more than a hundred emails from investors and partners.”
2. Market Reality: Believe Actions, Not ‘Yes’. Verbal enthusiasm ≠ capital; keep parallel processes alive until money is wired. " I don't believe in ‘Yes’ anymore. This is very sad because if you tell me yes, I think you mean yes, but maybe it's my understanding of yes. It's not their mistake, because they want to have you in the process. We actually hang on to one investor. We thought that was it, and it took six months. We were running out of funds, and I thought this was a done deal. I don't need to look for more investors. So this is what I would change, and I think every experienced founder with fundraising would tell you the same.”
3. Grant-First Strategy to Advance TRL. Mewery rebalanced away from VC chasing to grants (incl. EIC Accelerator), learning to write/rewrite applications, hiring an agency, and using the process to harden the R&D and commercialization roadmap. "We reapplied for some of the grants, and with the EIC accelerator, we started very early. Everybody was telling us, ‘Guys, you are too early for that. You are not in this technical readiness.’ And we were not at that time, but I said, " It doesn't matter. We will grow into it. Let's not postpone it.’ I had a gut feeling we needed t

The Better Meat Co.: Paul Shapiro shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners, Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 45: The Better Meat Co.: Paul Shapiro shares how to get funded in 2025

This episode features Paul Shapiro, CEO of The Better Meat Co., who just closed a new funding round in one of the toughest markets alternative protein has ever seen. Paul shares how the company weathered years of IP litigation, kept advancing with patents and regulatory wins, and built long-term trust with investors like Steve Jurvetson (Future Ventures) and Rob Reid (Resilience Reserve) — relationships nurtured since 2021 that finally culminated in a Series A lead in 2025. He breaks down The Better Meat Co.’s pragmatic strategy: positioning as an ingredient supplier to the $1T meat industry rather than a branded CPG, focusing on hybrid meat products that reduce animal use at scale, and pioneering cost-competitive mycoprotein through continuous fermentation. The conversation dives into investor management, transparency in board meetings, the importance of educating backers on biotech realities, and the values-driven yet pragmatic mission of building a truly scalable sustainability solution.

Key Facts The Better Meat Co.:

• Goal: To make meat that's better for the planet, animals, and public health.
• Recently  raised $31 million in Series A, co-led by Future Ventures and Resilience Reserve.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Long-Term Investor Relationships Pay Off. The Better Meat Co. co-leads (Future Ventures & Resilience Reserve) were cultivated for years, with initial support via a convertible note. “Bruce Friedrich  from The Good Food Institute, many years ago, probably around 2021, introduced me to Rob Reid … he then introduced me to Steve Jurvetson.  They did do a convertible note, which was smaller than what we just did, but they did a convertible note at the end of 2021, and then they made their series A investment in 2025."
2. Transparency and Education Are Critical in Board Meetings. The Better Meat Co. uses board time to expose challenges and teach investors technical fundamentals..  " We're highly transparent. We do not mask any bad things. We never wanted to be a board meeting where we're just merely informing the board of what we're doing, and that's it.  It's not our duty merely to inform them. We want to solicit their ideas, like they are there not just to govern the company, they're there to help. Guide what we are doing."
3. Balancing Mission and Pragmatism. As a long-time vegan, Paul faced criticism for pursuing hybrid meat but stresses pragmatic impact.  " I had people criticizing me in podcasts and blogs, unfriending me on Facebook over this.   I've been a vegan for about 32 years, and I'd be thrilled if more people wanted to eat that way. But I'm also a pragmatist, and I recognize again that meat demand is going up, not down. People like to live in a bubble and think that the world is going the way that they want it to. In reality, it is going in the opposite way. Meat demand is up; it's at an all-time high."

Loopworm: Ankit Bagaria shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners, Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 43: Loopworm: Ankit Bagaria shares how to get funded in 2025

In this episode, I talk with Ankit Alok Bagaria, co-founder and CEO of Loopworm, a Bangalore-based biotech startup using insect-based systems to produce high-value proteins for nutrition, diagnostics, and biopharma. Ankit shares how Loopworm raised a $3.25M pre-Series A round led by WaterBridge Ventures and Japan’s Enrission India Capital, and how they built investor conviction around a new recombinant protein platform—while continuing to scale a profitable animal nutrition business. We dive into using silkworms as living bioreactors, building hyper-prepared data rooms, navigating biotech objections in India’s VC landscape, and why Loopworm is designed as a long-term insect biotech platform—not just an insect protein startup.

Key Facts Loopworm:

• Goal: To redefine how industries approach nutrition, health, and wellness by maximising the value of insects across various applications.
• Recently raised $3.4M in seed funding led by WaterBridge Ventures and Enrission India Capital.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Existing Investors Can Be the Best Lead Investors. Loopworm’s pre-Series A was led by WaterBridge Ventures, an existing investor who doubled down because of strong business performance and a promising new vertical. ” So we already knew Water Bridge Ventures from before. We have been in touch with them for the last three years. They also participated and invested in our seed round. So they have doubled down in this round with us, which shows a lot of confidence from existing investors. Obviously, they were much more aware in terms of the progress at Loopworm in terms of what we were trying to achieve, the major breakthrough that we got with our recombinant protein platform. That is where I think that confidence came in, where they straightaway gave us a commitment like when we started raising our funds in this round, and then we got a hold of new investors coming in as well.”
2. Cold Outreach Can Land Strategic Investors. Japanese investor was sourced via a short LinkedIn message emphasizing traction and capital already committed. "I saw news… fund is actively looking at investments in India… reached out on LinkedIn. Japan can be a great market for us, since we work with silkworms. I essentially reached out to them on LinkedIn, stating, ‘I am raising a $3 million round with $1.5 million in commitments. Happy to connect,’ they replied, ‘Glad to get connected. Let's get on a call. Looks interesting.’”
3. Data Room & Preparedness Shortened Due Diligence. Ankit prepared questions, hyperlinked Q&A in Google Drive, plus factory and process videos, and accelerated the close. “ From our last seed round of investment, what I learned was that it's better to be prepared with all the data rooms, FAQs, etc. So I can essentially predict the hundred questions that an investor would ask me and create supporting documents for them. From a financial due diligence and a legal due diligence perspective, even from an ESG due diligence perspective, we h

Koppie: Daan Raemdonck shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners, Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 42: Koppie: Daan Raemdonck shares how to get funded in 2025

In this episode, I speak with Daan Raemdonck, founder and CEO of Koppie, a Belgium-based startup developing fermented coffee alternatives to help safeguard the future of the coffee ritual. Daan shares how Koppie raised its pre-seed round led by Nucleus Capital, with follow-on investment from Mudcake, Rockstar, and angel investors—all through warm intros while in stealth. We unpack how Q-grader testing validated their product against market alternatives, why they pivoted their go-to-market during the raise, and how early grant funding in Belgium helped extend runway pre-fundraise. Daan also opens up about valuation benchmarking, handling objections around market history, and the mindset that helped him stay emotionally grounded through the fundraising journey.

Key Facts Koppie:

• Goal: To help safeguard the future of the coffee ritual.
• Recently raised its pre-seed round led by Nucleus Capital, with follow-on investment from Mudcake, Rockstar, and angel investors.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Warm Intros Are Everything in Stealth. Koppie raised its pre-seed round entirely through warm introductions while still in stealth mode. ”Almost everything has been a warm introduction. So I think there have been very few, especially since we're pre-seed. So we were actually in stealth. It doesn't happen in stealth mode to have a non-war intro that leads to something. All of our investors, whether it was Mudcake or Rockstar, have all been warm introductions by someone else who then either invested as an angel or just wasn't part of the round in the end.
2. Outperformed Competitors in Independent Taste Test. A blind test by certified Q-graders validated the product, helping build conviction internally and with investors. " We had an independent test done over the summer of 2024, and in that independent test, we outperformed all the alternatives we could source in Europe. That's for me the reason to stop all activities and to say, ‘okay, now I'm going all in on this,’ what used to be at that point, just a random idea.”
3. Reverse Due Diligence on Investors. Daan assessed investor quality based on how well they challenged the team during early calls. “ The first call is where you're trying to pitch your startup, but you're also listening to the questions they ask. Unanimously with all the investors, we're now on board. We found the interview to be interesting as well. What is also interesting is that we felt that they asked the right questions, in-depth questions, and they understood what we were trying to do. They asked the right follow-up questions without being anal about it. But they challenged our thinking, and they pushed us forward during the interview. Those are the investors you want.” 

CropMind: Damilare Odumosu and Rillwan Shokunbi share how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners, Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 36: CropMind: Damilare and Rillwan share how to get funded in 2025

In this episode, I speak with Damilare and Rillwan, co-founders of CopMind, a startup using computer vision to help permanent crop growers—like apple and grape farmers—accurately estimate yield. Based in New Brunswick, Canada, the team raised $500K from the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation and BKL Capital. They share how they built the company from a master’s thesis, cold-called dozens of farmers, and co-developed the product directly with end users. We explore their grassroots fundraising strategy, association-driven go-to-market playbook, and why their “farmer-first” approach—rooted in empathy, technical precision, and local ecosystem partnerships—is what sets them apart in agtech.

Key Facts CropMind:

• Goal: To enable tree fruit farmers (e.g. apples, grapes) to better estimate yields using computer vision, improving supply forecasting and operational planning.
• Recently raised $500K from the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation and BKL Capital.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Cold Outreach with High Empathy and Research. They contacted farmers through cold emails, calls, and in-person visits — always customized based on real research and communicated with humility. " We could lay our hands on email, quote, calling, and going to the orchard. First, do your research about that particular firm. Even though it's a cold email, try to say one or two things you know about their farm."
2. Academic Origins: From Master’s Project to Real Business. The venture started as a master’s thesis in Technology Management at the University of New Brunswick and evolved into a commercial product. " So we did a technology management program at UMB. Our research was focused on agriculture, a tech innovation. We initially started working on this from the university, and we've done a bit of extensive research at that point. We've even built something for testing. So after university, we have now started to think of how to make it much more real, and we had to quit our jobs, start working on this."
3. Valuation Grounded in Traction. While it was a SAFE/pre-seed round (not priced), they supported valuation with early product-market fit, LoIs, and real usage metrics. “ We had to do some estimates based on certain activities within the organization. For instance, we have a product that was raised.  Also, in terms of the value of the product market potential, that has to be factored in when investors want to estimate and say you should like this because of this market potential barrier to entry in the industry. So these are like more qualitative and some quantitative information that we used to support the estimates.”

Platter: Jack Clegg shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this pod/hcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners; Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 35: Platter: Jack Clegg shares how to get funded in 2025

In this episode, I talk with Jack Clegg, founder and CEO of Platter, a UK-based startup digitizing wholesale food ordering. Jack shares how he raised £350,000 from 13 UK angels and the Startup Wise Guys accelerator—all while cycling groceries at night to pay rent and building Platter during the day. He walks us through his no-shortcuts approach to investor outreach, from scraping LinkedIn and targeting ex-CEOs in food to earning trust through grit, clarity, and relentless follow-up. Jack’s story is a powerful blueprint for resilience, humility, and startup execution without shortcuts or handouts.

Key Facts Platter:

• Goal: To deliver the ultimate performance in aerial crop spraying.
• Recently  raised £350,000 pre-seed round, joined by e.g. Startup Wise Guys and a group of angel investors.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Built from the Ground Up with Relentless Hustle. Jack built Platter while working nights delivering groceries and days building the company — sacrificing comfort to maintain momentum. "  I delivered groceries five nights a week from 5:00 PM till 10, 11, sometimes a bit longer, and worked on platter during the day. I did that for 12 months. I loved it because, cycling around Hackney in East London delivering groceries gives you a lot of time to think you can think about your business. Take your ego hat off. Don't be embarrassed to what you have to do to get shit done."
2. Skipped the ‘Friends and Family’ Round on Principle. Jack made a deliberate choice not to take easy capital from family, instead seeking validation from external angels who believed in the business, not just him. "I could have probably done the full lot from friends and family, but that’s too easy. I wanted people to back me because of the business, not because they were related."
3. Tactical Prospecting: Target Industry Veterans, Not ‘Investors’. Instead of generic investor titles, Jack targeted ex-CEOs and operators from food companies who understood the space and had capital.“ 70% of people who have ‘angel investor’ in their LinkedIn title aren’t actual investors. I looked for ex-CEOs of food businesses who had sold in the last 10–15 years.”

Hylio: Arthur Erickson shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners; Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 34: Hylio: Arthur Erickson shares how to get funded in 2025

In this episode, I talk with Arthur Erickson, CEO and co-founder of Hylio, a Texas-based company developing precision drone systems for agriculture. Arthur shares why they chose equity crowdfunding on StartEngine over traditional venture capital, citing the importance of control and understanding the ag industry’s unique economics. We discuss how to craft a compelling video pitch, build early momentum, and navigate the platform’s algorithm-driven visibility. Arthur also reflects on building community-driven support and explains why the future of agriculture appears to be a robot revolution.

Key Facts Hylio:

• Goal: To deliver the ultimate performance in aerial crop spraying.
• Recently raised about $2.5 million from the equity crowdfunding platform called StartEngine.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Choosing Equity Crowdfunding Over Traditional VC. Hylio chose StartEngine for its flexibility, independence, and better alignment with its hardware and agricultural focus — areas VCs often misunderstand or undervalue. " We started looking at other options, and equity crowdfunding was very attractive. It was important for us to maintain control because we don't think a lot of the VCs understand our industry, but we do. We have our finger on the pulse, and so we wanted capital to grow and expand, but we wanted to be able to call all the shots and not be restricted by a square peg in a round hole type of tracking system for our progress. Ag is cyclical. There are ups and downs, and you have to roll with the punches and really understand the farmer and the end market to be successful here. And none of the institutional investors we talked to really got it up, so that's why we did it."
2. Preparation is Key: Financials and a Launch Plan. StartEngine requires two years of audited financials. A war chest (at least 10% of the raise) is needed for marketing. Building early investor momentum is critical. " You have to get audited financials, and this is an SEC requirement. StartEngine is the broker; they act as the middleman between you and retail investors, serving as the watchdog and enforcing SEC regulations. To maintain their certification as a broker, they require you to have at least two years of audited financials."
3. Early Bird Discounts: Creating Urgency. Offering early investment perks is a strategic lever — sometimes offering up to 40% share price discounts for early investors.“ When the campaign first launches, there are a number of StartEngine early bird perks. StartEngine decides what perks you wanna offer, like percentages. In our case, you could stack perks as different percent categories and if you invested, reserved on our starter engine page before it launched, and invested within the first two weeks and over certain amounts, so there's different volume tiers as well, then you could get as much as 40% discount is what it was on the share price.”

Rainbow Crops: Giacomo Bastianelli shares how to get funded in 2025

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners; Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 33: Rainbow Crops: Giacomo Bastianelli shares how to get funded in 2025

In this episode, I talked with Giacomo Bastianelli, CEO of Rainbow Crops, a VIB spinout focused on engineering complex traits in crops using AI-driven multiplex genome editing. Giacomo shares how Rainbow Crops emerged from a venture studio model at VIB, where deep science is matured before bringing in an entrepreneur-in-residence to shape the business. We explore building trust with investors, the nuances of cap table construction, and how he addressed investor concerns around long development timelines by securing LOIs with major seed companies. Giacomo’s perspective on transparency, empathy, and using net present value to set valuations offers a masterclass in deep-tech fundraising.

Key Facts Rainbow Crops:

• Goal: To develop resilient crops that address climate and food security challenges powered by a comprehensive AI model trained on plant “omics” data.
• Recently received investment from PINC, the venture arm of Paulig.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Venture Studio Spin-Out: VIB’s Proven Approach. Rainbow Crops originated from VIB (Flemish Institute of Biotechnology) using a venture studio-style model — building on mature in-house technology and preparing the business case before raising external capital. "They [VIB] put money to mature the technology and keep it under wrap. Then they bring in someone like me as an entrepreneur-in-residence to build the business case and key milestones."
2. Cap Table & Incentives: Founder, VIB, and Investors. VIB holds the majority stake initially (reflecting their tech development and cash investment). The entrepreneur-in-residence receives founding shares or stock options. Investors join after company creation. "The FIB is the founding shareholder, then shares go to the entrepreneur-in-residence, and then investors come in."
3. Strategic Partnerships & Early LOIs. The team secured letters of intent from breeding companies to prove commercial traction and reassure investors about exit timelines. “ We had a letter of intents, several.  We demonstrate that we were in advanced discussions with one player and a scientific plan already being carved. We had already a discussion on business terms . There are some others that would've required a little bit more negotiation. So it was very transparent into sharing that information, of course, under confidentiality agreement. That was, I think, what helped reassured that I was moving in the right direction.”