Better Businesses For a Better Food System

This guide is filled with invaluable lessons on how to build an agrifood company that can transform the food system in a scalable and sustainable way. Best of all, it is written by other agrifood entrepreneurs so that you can learn directly from their challenges, successes and wisdom.

Course Progress:

EIT Food Startup Manual – Course Contents

1. So you want to change the food system!

This section introduces you to the course, with important things you need to know before starting an agrifood business. Including tips from entrepreneurs, ideas on where to start, and how to create a sustainable business.

6 Lessons

Course Content

Modules Status
1

Module 1 - So you want to change the food system!

2

Module 2 - Proving to the world that your idea is worthy and developing a proposition

3

Module 3 - Developing a business model & building your business plan

4

Module 4 - The legal stuff...

5

Module 5 - Funding & investment

6

Module 6 - Making it Happen

7

Module 7 - Sharing your story

8

Module 8 - Your dream team

9

Module 9 - Taking care of yourself

2. Proving to the world that your idea is worthy and developing a proposition

You have a brilliant idea for changing the food system. You have some idea of how you’ll execute it. But how do you go about proving to yourself and others that your idea is worthy of all the blood, sweat and tears that will go into it for the months or years to come?

5 Lessons

Course Content

Modules Status
1

Module 1 - So you want to change the food system!

2

Module 2 - Proving to the world that your idea is worthy and developing a proposition

3

Module 3 - Developing a business model & building your business plan

4

Module 4 - The legal stuff...

5

Module 5 - Funding & investment

6

Module 6 - Making it Happen

7

Module 7 - Sharing your story

8

Module 8 - Your dream team

9

Module 9 - Taking care of yourself

2. Proving to the world that your idea is worthy and developing a proposition

You have a brilliant idea for changing the food system. You have some idea of how you’ll execute it. But how do you go about proving to yourself and others that your idea is worthy of all the blood, sweat and tears that will go into it for the months or years to come?

5 Lessons

3. Developing a business model & building your business plan

Once you’ve decided to take the plunge, you need to figure out how to make money from it. In other words, you need to figure out what your business model is. There are lots of questions that fall under this! This next chapter focuses on guiding you through both of these stages.

6 Lessons

Course Content

Modules Status
1

Module 1 - So you want to change the food system!

2

Module 2 - Proving to the world that your idea is worthy and developing a proposition

3

Module 3 - Developing a business model & building your business plan

4

Module 4 - The legal stuff...

5

Module 5 - Funding & investment

6

Module 6 - Making it Happen

7

Module 7 - Sharing your story

8

Module 8 - Your dream team

9

Module 9 - Taking care of yourself

4. The legal stuff…

Getting your legal and trading requirement foundations in place is key. Doing it early in your journey will save you a headache in the future. Unfortunately, this area is complicated and technical. Legal documents are
often incomprehensible to normal human beings and mistakes can be costly. 

5 Lessons 

Course Content

Modules Status
1

Module 1 - So you want to change the food system!

2

Module 2 - Proving to the world that your idea is worthy and developing a proposition

3

Module 3 - Developing a business model & building your business plan

4

Module 4 - The legal stuff...

5

Module 5 - Funding & investment

6

Module 6 - Making it Happen

7

Module 7 - Sharing your story

8

Module 8 - Your dream team

9

Module 9 - Taking care of yourself

4. The legal stuff…

Getting your legal and trading requirement foundations in place is key. Doing it early in your journey will save you a headache in the future. Unfortunately, this area is complicated and technical. Legal documents are
often incomprehensible to normal human beings and mistakes can be costly. 

5 Lessons 

5. Funding & Investment

Raising money is a key part of being an entrepreneur. Agrifood has some specific challenges around finance given the typically slower growth rates, the seasonality of cashflow and time needed for a return on investment. 

7 Lessons

Course Content

Modules Status
1

Module 1 - So you want to change the food system!

2

Module 2 - Proving to the world that your idea is worthy and developing a proposition

3

Module 3 - Developing a business model & building your business plan

4

Module 4 - The legal stuff...

5

Module 5 - Funding & investment

6

Module 6 - Making it Happen

7

Module 7 - Sharing your story

8

Module 8 - Your dream team

9

Module 9 - Taking care of yourself

6. Making it Happen

A startup takes an idea and transforms it into a business. This chapter focuses on making sure that your business has strong foundations from which your idea and proposition can thrive. 7

8 Lessons

Course Content

Modules Status
1

Module 1 - So you want to change the food system!

2

Module 2 - Proving to the world that your idea is worthy and developing a proposition

3

Module 3 - Developing a business model & building your business plan

4

Module 4 - The legal stuff...

5

Module 5 - Funding & investment

6

Module 6 - Making it Happen

7

Module 7 - Sharing your story

8

Module 8 - Your dream team

9

Module 9 - Taking care of yourself

6. Making it Happen

A startup takes an idea and transforms it into a business. This chapter focuses on making sure that your business has strong foundations from which your idea and proposition can thrive. 7

8 Lessons

7. Sharing your story

Telling your story plays a crucial part of your startup journey: it helps you gain the attention of all key stakeholders whether customers, suppliers, or investors. It helps you sell your product or service. People love stories. The better story you tell, the more successful your startup will be. 

6 Lessons 

Course Content

Modules Status
1

Module 1 - So you want to change the food system!

2

Module 2 - Proving to the world that your idea is worthy and developing a proposition

3

Module 3 - Developing a business model & building your business plan

4

Module 4 - The legal stuff...

5

Module 5 - Funding & investment

6

Module 6 - Making it Happen

7

Module 7 - Sharing your story

8

Module 8 - Your dream team

9

Module 9 - Taking care of yourself

8. Your Dream Team

The people you bring on board are one of the most important components of your startup success. Building the right team plays a huge part in how your startup will do from your employees to the support network you build around you. 

4 Lessons 

Course Content

Modules Status
1

Module 1 - So you want to change the food system!

2

Module 2 - Proving to the world that your idea is worthy and developing a proposition

3

Module 3 - Developing a business model & building your business plan

4

Module 4 - The legal stuff...

5

Module 5 - Funding & investment

6

Module 6 - Making it Happen

7

Module 7 - Sharing your story

8

Module 8 - Your dream team

9

Module 9 - Taking care of yourself

8. Your Dream Team

The people you bring on board are one of the most important components of your startup success. Building the right team plays a huge part in how your startup will do from your employees to the support network you build around you. 

4 Lessons 

9. Taking care of yourself

Starting your own business is an extremely rewarding adventure. You find something you’re passionate about and you decide to give it everything. You get so committed to making it a success, you find yourself working more than you ever thought you could and under the kind of pressure you didn’t even know existed.

3 Lessons 

Course Content

Modules Status
1

Module 1 - So you want to change the food system!

2

Module 2 - Proving to the world that your idea is worthy and developing a proposition

3

Module 3 - Developing a business model & building your business plan

4

Module 4 - The legal stuff...

5

Module 5 - Funding & investment

6

Module 6 - Making it Happen

7

Module 7 - Sharing your story

8

Module 8 - Your dream team

9

Module 9 - Taking care of yourself

Want the full EIT Food Startup Manual PDF? Download here

Course Content

Modules Status
1

Module 1 - So you want to change the food system!

2

Module 2 - Proving to the world that your idea is worthy and developing a proposition

3

Module 3 - Developing a business model & building your business plan

4

Module 4 - The legal stuff...

5

Module 5 - Funding & investment

6

Module 6 - Making it Happen

7

Module 7 - Sharing your story

8

Module 8 - Your dream team

9

Module 9 - Taking care of yourself