Solvable Syndicate

Our portfolio company The Raging Pig Co. just launched a plant-based smash burger, made from peas and mushrooms -- tasty, juicy, meaty! Pictures below 😋

Why did we design the food system to deliver high yields and cheap calories? How do we transform the food system so that it's nourishing, environmentally sustainable, and resilient? And how can tech and innovation play a key role in this transformation? We wrote a little piece on this -- check it out: https://lnkd.in/debqEmc4

If you're a founder doing cold outreach to VCs, what is the probability that these VCs will eventually invest in your startup? Read to find out 👇

What advice would you give to (FoodTech/AgTech) founders before their first meeting with a VC? "Never underestimate the power of storytelling. No matter how well-versed a VC is on the problem area or business you're trying to build, they still don't know your story as a founder, the vision for what you're building, and why you expect to win in the marketplace. Go into each meeting with the goal of painting a vision for what this could become and why now is the time to build this solution." Meet Steve Molino, Partner - Head of Investments at Clear Current Capital. Read the entire profile of him here: https://lnkd.in/d4gERsjv

Excellent read from our member Jennifer Kaplan on the overlooked opportunity for electrification in food and beverage. Check it out 👇

Ever experienced how an unexpected introduction to some random person pop up in your inbox, from someone in your network "trying to be helpful" (without having asked for your consent)? These intros can be distracting, time-consuming, and annoying, and make people look bad. If you’re doing them, just stop. Instead, make sure to always use double opt-in email intros. More here: https://lnkd.in/dwmqAnGe

What’s your philosophy around being hands-on or hands-off with your portfolio companies? "The companies are always built by their founders and that’s how it should be. Our secret sauce as investors is Kost Studio. Louise, Peter, Asmus and team are experts in food - to have a Michelin chef, a gastro-physicist, a food-historian and a team of product developers working daily in our test-kitchen is quite unique for a VC. We simply know food." Meet Bodil Sidén of Kost Capital, which invests in great B2B ingredient and enabling tech companies. Read the full profile here: https://lnkd.in/dwUXFUri

As a founder, always ask yourself how directly a task relates to growing your sales. There are plenty of examples of tasks that likely will not help your company immediately grow: 👉 Writing an op-ed for an industry magazine, or getting personal press  👉 Going to events and conferences (whether to be on stage, exhibit in a booth, or just walk the floor)  👉 Trying to pitch journalists before you’ve built something that customers want  👉 Grabbing coffee with important/interesting people  👉 Networking 👉 Spending time on social media 👉 Talking with potential acquirers 👉 Chasing every potential partnership, hoping it’ll unlock growth  👉 Meeting with VCs (when you’re not actively fundraising) Fake work does not count. Don’t let it distract you. More here: https://lnkd.in/dc_ParCR

Pitching investors is a difficult process. It can be almost a full-time job for a startup founder for several months. Investors receive hundreds, if not thousands, of funding requests from startups annually, and will only end up investing in a handful. Investors are always looking for a reason to say no, and look for micro-signals to eliminate founders. Here are 10 reasons why investors say no -- https://lnkd.in/dHD9XtHm -- if you do your homework you may be able to avoid them.

Y Combinator (YC) is one of the most well-known startup accelerators in the world. Since 20045, it has funded 5,000+ startups (such as e.g. Airbnb, Stripe, Dropbox, Reddit, Doordash, Instacart, and OpenAI), with a combined valuation of $600B. YC has put together a list of what they consider to be the most important, transformative, and fundamental advice for startups. Any founder will benefit from knowing these. Here's their pocket guide (and a few of our favorites): https://lnkd.in/ddVfBQAc