All Episodes

Subscribe to RSS Feed

Posted in: / Posted on

Analisa Winther on the future food revolution

Changing the food system to meet the UN’s environmental goals could generate close to $10 trillion of additional revenue or cost savings.This is a massive opportunity that will require unprecedented collaboration, new business models, technologies, and a fundamental shift in how we think about and interact with our food system.

In this episode, Analisa shares part of a keynote she delivered for EIT Food Sales Booster in cooperation with Katalista Ventures on the future of agriculture. You will hear how our food system got to where it is today, where we are headed, and why food is one of the most exciting industries to be working and investing in today.

Posted in: Podcast Country Posted on

Meraki Impact on investing in regenerative agriculture through venture philanthropy

Fernando Russo is the co-founder of Meraki Impact, a single family office from Brazil dedicated to investments in regenerative agriculture, forest and the future of sustainable food production. Guided by venture philanthropy, Meraki Impact has made dozens of investments in technology to enable the scale of regenerative agriculture and in large scale regenerative agriculture farms in Latin America and Europe.

In this episode, we discuss Fernando's uncommon career path. He used to work for Playboy and AB InBev before he pivoted to food. We also explain what regenerative agriculture is, the industry's potential, and technology enablers. Fernando also explains how they use the venture philanthropy model to invest in pioneering startups as well as grassroots initiatives, especially related to regenerating the Amazon rain forest.

⁠Join the newsletterr⁠

Posted in: Podcast Country Posted on

Tony's Chocolonely on making chocolate 100% slave free

In 2007, journalist Teun van de Keuken turned himself in for eating chocolate. He claimed that by buying chocolate he was benefiting from child slavery and he wasn’t wrong. The cocoa supply chain is shaped like an hourglass. The chain starts with millions of farmers that produce cocoa and ends with the billions of consumers like us that enjoy chocolate. But what about the bit in between? This section is dominated by a small group of chocolate giants that profit from keeping the cocoa purchasing price as low as possible. For the farmers, this creates a poverty trap that leads to illegal child labor and modern slavery. From this revelation, Tony’s Chocolonely was born. By raising awareness with great marketing, leading by example in producing their own chocolate, and inspiring others to act with initiatives like the Open Chain they aim to make 100% slave free chocolate the industry norm. Today’s episode is an awesome example of how a strong vision can shift an industry. I sit down with Joke Aerts to discuss how Tony's got started, how the chocolate supply chain works, the power of transparency and collaborations, and how we can make 100% slave free chocolate the industry norm.

Posted in: Pitching Posted on

The Art & Science of Startup Fundraising {Video Guest Post}

How can startups in the climate, ag, and foodtech space get the funding they need to scale their solutions? Climentum Capital, a European VC, asked me to come on their podcast Climate Insiders to discuss just that. I speak with Partner Yoann Berno about the art and science of fundraising giving you a behind the scenes look at how investors think, make decisions on deal flow, and what they typically look for.

Posted in: Denmark Posted on

Claus Meyer on eating as an agricultural act

Claus Meyer is a true gastronomic entrepreneur. He co-founded Noma with Rene Redzepi, which has been voted the best restaurant in the world multiple times. In 2004, he spearheaded the writing of the New Nordic Manifesto, an influential philosophy that spread like wildfire on how chefs can approach cooking using traditional ingredients and local produce. Claus is also behind the Melting Pot Foundation, which trains individuals in underserved communities from Morocco to Bolivia and even in Danish prisons to become chefs. He’s also been the host of multiple cooking shows with global reach, authored several cookbooks, started a catering company, deli, bakery chain, country hotel, orchard, and is behind several high-end restaurants globally. The red thread through all of Claus’s work is to create healthy, delicious meals that inspire us to see eating as an agricultural act. In this episode, we discuss Claus’ career and how his opinion on what a good food future looks like has changed over time.

Posted in: Podcast Country Posted on

WWF's Brent Loken on solving the great food puzzle

When it comes to the solving the climate crisis, food is a big part of the puzzle. Food is responsible for 1/3 of greenhouse gas emissions, but historically it hasn’t been in the spotlight of climate conversations. In today’s episode, I speak with Brent Loken who is the Global Food Lead Scientist for the World Wildlife Fund. We discuss the power each country has to create food system transformation. All of these natural climate solutions fit together to create an exponential roadmap for solving the Great Food Puzzle and reaching the biodiversity, climate, and health goals we’ve set as an international community.

Posted in: Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden Posted on

NordGen's Lise Lykke Steffensen on storing seeds to safeguard our future food supply

At the top of Norway near the Arctic Circle, you will find the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Like you and I back up our phones and computers, seed banks around the world serve as the ultimate insurance policy for the world’s food supply. They store copies of every important crop variety available in the world today. Their goal is give future generations options. Whether we face war, climate change, or population growth, they make sure that we have seeds to replant and genetic diversity in our food supply for years to come. Lise Lykke Steffensen is the Director of NordGen or the Nordic Genetic Resource Center. NordGen runs the Svalbard Global Seed Vault along with the Norwegian Ministry of Agricutlure and Food and the Crop Trust. Their mission is to preserve and promote the sustainable use of the genetic resources within plants, farm animals, and forestry in the Nordic countries. Join us as we discuss the importance of genetic diversity and the role of seed keepers in ensuring our future food supply. 

More information about Analisa’s coaching services for startups

Posted in: Pitching Posted on

Instict vs. Intuition-Based Leadership

One of my favorite questions to ask leaders is: what is your relationship to your intuition? This question always leads to a fascinating conversation about how our intuition does or doesn’t influence decision-making. This is also a topic I love to discuss with my coaching clients. Our bodies carry so much wisdom and data around what we should do, but it can take time and practice for us to get in touch with our intuition and trust it as a knowledge source. In this episode, I explore the role of intuition in business.