BRETT BROHL MANAGING PARTNER, BREAD AND BUTTER VENTURES I don't necessarily think that alternative meat companies are failing because of the investors that they had on their cap table. Now, there’s probably a couple of examples where that’s the case, but in general, I think it’s more likely that expectations set by both investors and founders were misaligned or were unrealistic — expectations of how quickly companies are going to be able to go to market, how quickly companies will get to price parity, how quickly companies might start driving revenue. Those investors that might not have had the capacity to continue to finance a company 10 or 15 years into the future had shorter term outlooks than what was realistic. As a company that’s more of a deep tech company, which is what alternative protein typically is, as you’re looking for an investor, if you can pick from anyone, it’s best to align yourself with investors that have the capacity to continue to fund you for the entirety of your development process. Make sure expectations are set well and that you're being realistic about what you can get done and how quickly you can get it done. The industry is going through a major shakeout process. From a company perspective, those without real technology won’t be able to raise again in this environment. From an investor perspective, only those who are really motivated to understand the drivers of success in cultured meat are going to be able to get comfortable in the space. As a result, there are a lot of folks who maybe would’ve invested in the past that now won’t. There’s a lot of scar tissue left from companies that overpromised and underdelivered. As a company, if you’re thinking about needing more than one funding round to get to profitability, it is increasingly critical to have a lead investor who really understands food and food economics, ideally with significant experience in alt-proteins. That assumes that your company can stand up to the level of technical diligence that those smart money investors will do. But if you can, then it’s critical in this environment to have those real smart long-term investors on board. CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, VOW JOE TURNER Alt-Meat May 2025 11
Alt-Meat May 2025: Page 11
