Investment Climate Podcast

Episode 111: Twynam Management: Elissa Glorie on Out-Scoping University Research, Techno-Economics, and Avoiding False Assumptions In this episode, I catch up with Elissa Glorie, Investment Manager at Twynam, a deeply specialized venture capital firm focused on early-stage global decarbonization. Elissa gives us an exclusive look behind the scenes of their thesis-driven investment engine, detailin...

Episode 110: Cellva Ingredients: Sérgio Pinto on Surviving the Long Game, Renegotiating a "No," and Upcycling Coffee Side-Streams In this episode, I sit down with Sérgio Pinto, the unyielding founder and CEO of Cellva Ingredients, who shares one of the most intense, relentless fundraising stories you will ever hear. Sérgio reveals how he turned a critical, last-minute "no" into a 20 million Reais...

Episode 109: AgriPass Robotics: Liron Yanay on "Agtech 2.0," Managing Smart Capital Stacks, and Scaling via OEMs  In this episode, I catch up with Liron Yanay , CEO of AgriPass Robotics , an innovative agtech startup that recently closed a $7.5M Seed round . Liron details their journey from their initial pre-seed and matching grants with the Israel Innovation Authority to locking in Harbor Venture...

Episode 108: Rockstart: Arnout Dijkhuizen on Bypassing "Grant Traps" and the Art of Professional Pre-Seed Agtech Strategy  In this episode, I sit down with Arnout Dijkhuizen , Principal at Rockstart , a leading early-stage accelerator-vanguard and venture capital fund anchored out of Amsterdam and Copenhagen. Arnout, an agtech investing veteran, opens up about what it truly means to deploy profess...

Episode 107: Cardumen Capital: Alberto Criado on Why Execution-First Models Beat Capex-Heavy Tech and the Rise of "Coffee-as-a-Service" In this episode, I sit down with Alberto Criado , Principal at Cardumen Capital , an elite European venture capital firm that has rapidly scaled its assets under management from €50M to nearly €400M. Alberto walks us through Cardumen's highly opportunistic and exe...

Episode 106: Capnamic: Nils Eiteneyer on Spotting "Unsexy" Multi-Decade Themes and Why Vertical SaaS Still Rules in the Era of AI In this episode, I sit down with Nils Eiteneyer , Partner at Capnamic , a premier early-stage venture capital firm based in Germany. Nils brings his background as an ex-operator and McKinsey advisor to explain Capnamic's rigorous approach to early-stage investing throug...

Episode 105: Navus: Jaap Zijlstra on Why "Process Tech" is the Missing Link in Scaling AgriFood and Why Family Offices Beat VCs in the Hard-Tech Winter In this episode, I sit down with Jaap Zijlstra , representing Navus , a Dutch family office-backed venture firm. Unlike traditional VCs, Navus leverages the technical heritage of a world-leading dairy robotics family to build clusters of sustainabl...

Episode 103: Opalia: Jennifer Côté on Navigating a 14-Month Biotech Seed Round and Making Whole Milk from Mammary Cells In this episode, I sit down with Jennifer Côté , CEO and Co-Founder of Opalia , a Montreal-based biotechnology company pioneering animal-free dairy by producing real whole milk from bovine mammary cells. Jennifer shares a transparent, reality-check account of what it takes to clo...

Episode 102: Branch Venture Group: Lauren Abda on the Strength of the Syndicate Model and De-Risking AgriFood Investing In this episode, I sit down with Lauren Abda , Co-Founder of Branch Venture Group , a Boston-based angel investment network and syndicate deployed heavily into the future of food. Lauren delivers a masterclass on why the syndicate model has outperformed traditional mega-funds dur...

Episode 102: Champel Capital: Amir Weitmann on why the "Plant-Based Meat" thesis failed and pivoting a $50M fund to Defense Tech  In this episode, I sit down with Amir Weitmann, Managing Partner at Champel Capital, an Israeli venture fund that deployed heavily into FoodTech across its first two funds (backing standouts like Remilk and Aleph Farms). Amir delivers a brutally honest post-mortem on th...

Episode 101: Planetary: Charles Pontvianne on the 16M CHF Series A, licensing IP to sugar giants, and bypassing CapEx  In this episode, I sit down with Charles Pontvianne, CFO of Planetary, a Swiss biotech startup that recently announced a massive 16 million CHF Series A co-led by Radical Capital and Oetker Group. Charles breaks down their highly unusual "middleman" equity story: instead of buildi...

Episode 100: Scannabull: Dan Bull on non-dilutive government hacks, dodging the OpenAI threat, and the $1.1M pre-seed pitch  In this episode, I sit down with Dan Bull, CEO of Scannabull, a New Zealand-based AgTech startup utilizing 3D imagery and edge-device machine learning to accurately weigh livestock. Dan breaks down the exact timeline of their $1.1M NZD pre-seed round, explaining how an early...

Episode 99: SHIFT Invest: Jonas von den Driesch on the €8M Food Forecast Series A and why European VCs run Due Diligence Post-Term Sheet  In this episode, I sit down with Jonas von den Driesch, an investor at SHIFT Invest, a Dutch impact venture capital fund that just launched its fourth fund with a first close of €90M. Jonas breaks down the exact timeline and thesis behind their recent €8M Series...

Episode 98: Cosaic: Tomas Turner on surviving Corporate VC Due Diligence and the 1% Conversion Rate Reality  In this episode, I sit down with Tomas Turner, CEO and Co-founder of Cosaic, a biomass fermentation startup producing highly functional yeast-based ingredients to replace additives, milk, and eggs. Tomas walks us through the grueling realities of closing a $6M round led by DSM-Firmenich’s C...

Episode 97: SenseUp Biosciences: Georg Schaumann on the €10M non-dilutive hack, surviving deep expert "grilling," and avoiding the CapEx trap  In this episode, I sit down with Georg Schaumann, Founder and CEO of SenseUp Biosciences, a deep-tech platform developing bio-encapsulated double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) for targeted crop protection. Georg details how a serendipitous barbecue conversation led...

Episode 96: Eatable Adventures: José Luis Cabañero on the $50M Deep Tech Thesis and why Southern Europe is the ultimate VC testing ground  In this episode, I sit down with José Luis Cabañero, Founder and CEO of Eatable Adventures, one of the most prolific AgriFood accelerators and venture capital platforms in Europe. José breaks down his highly specific thesis: writing €100K-€300K pre-revenue chec...

Episode 95: UNOVIS Asset Management: Kim Odhner on navigating the Alt-Protein pivot and why startups can't disrupt Nestlé   In this episode, I sit down with Kim Odhner, Managing Director at UNOVIS Asset Management, one of the most experienced and earliest venture funds in the alternative protein space. Kim pulls back the curtain on how UNOVIS manages its portfolio during the FoodTech winter, detai...

Episode 94: Kilter: Kristoffer Magnor on securing a 6.5M strategic round, partnering with Kubota, and the 1-to-2 year farmer ROI  In this episode, I sit down with Kristoffer Magnor, Managing Director at Kilter, a Norway-based AgTech startup building an autonomous precision-weeding robot. Kristoffer details the anatomy of their recent 6.5 million strategic investment round led by global manufacturi...

Episode 93: Plug and Play: Alex Davisson on "Venture Math", B2B Corporate Synergy, and the Pre-Regulatory Playbook  In this episode, I sit down with Alex Davisson, Senior Associate at Plug and Play, a globally recognized venture fund and open innovation platform. Alex breaks down how Plug and Play leverages its network of over 600 multinational corporate partners (like PepsiCo and Mars Wrigley) to...

Episode 92: Forever Harvest: Mick Riley on spinning Plant Cell IP out of the university and the B2C trap   In this episode, I sit down with Mick Riley, Co-founder and CEO of Forever Harvest, a New Zealand-based plant cell culture startup that recently closed a $1.2M pre-seed round. Mick details how he stepped in as the commercial CEO to spin out "high seven-figure" IP from a public research instit...

Episode 91: Zintinus: Fabio Ziemssen on the Growth Investor Mindset and the B2B vs. B2C Scale-Up Playbook  In this episode, I sit down with Fabio Ziemssen, Founding Partner at Zintinus, a Berlin-based growth-stage FoodTech fund managing €135 million. Fabio outlines the strict commercial metrics required to secure their €2M to €5M checks, explaining the distinct differences between evaluating B2B i...

Episode 90: Planet A Foods: Max Marquart & Jürgen Keil on surviving the CapEx leap, supply chain economics, and building a Corporate inside a Startup   In this episode, I sit down with Maximilian Marquart (CEO and Co-founder of Planet A Foods) and Jürgen Keil (former Cargill Executive and current Supply Chain Advisor) to discuss the brutal reality of scaling a deep-tech food company. Planet A...

Episode 89: ICL Group: Ziv Kohav on securing paid POCs and why marketing claims are noise to a $7B corporate  In this episode, I sit down with Ziv Kohav, Head of the Open Innovation Program (ICL Open) at ICL Group, a $7 billion specialty minerals giant headquartered in Israel. Ziv outlines exactly how early-stage (even TRL3) startups can secure paid Proof of Concept (POC) projects with ICL across...

Episode 88: Zubi Capital: Johan Morales on Spain as the Go-To-Market Hub and the death of "Consumer Behavior" pitches In this episode, I sit down with Johan Morales, an investor at Zubi Capital, a Spanish asset management firm operating three distinct vehicles: a Venture Debt fund for impact scale-ups, an early-stage (Pre-Seed/Seed) Diversity Catalyst VC, and a highly specialized Type 1 Diabetes f...

Episode 87: Tomorrow, Inc.: Dr. Alec Lorenzo on bootstrapping SynBio, the "Functional Assay" of sales, and First Principles valuation  In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Alec Lourenco , CEO and co-founder of Tomorrow, Inc., a biotech platform engineering proteins that bind to taste receptors to replicate—and evolve—the experience of sugar and salt. Alec shares the scrappy origin story of how the...