Investment Climate

Vestland Pharma x Sarsia: Jan Rune Nordhagen and Jon Trygve Berg shares how to get funded in 2024Investment 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 2024In 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: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.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.”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."

Orbisk: Olaf van der Veen shares how to get funded in 2024Investment 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 2024In 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 PeakbridgeAlex’s Top Findings: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.”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."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 2024Investment 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 2024In 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: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.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."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."

Daily Crunch: Laurel Orley shares how to get funded in 2024Investment 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 2024In 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: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.”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.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.’"