Lesson Progress:

Module 1 – So you want to change the food system

1. Introduction

If you’re reading this, you’re either starting or have recently started a food business, congratulations! What an exciting time! 

Starting a business is a journey paved with challenges and opportunities, and whilst there is plenty of startup advice out there, we felt there was a gap in the market. 

So, we sought to create a manual for entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs in the agrifood space in the broadest sense of the term, meaning activities across the entire food supply chain. Think of this as an encyclopaedic startup guide tailored to the agrifood sector. A practical manual and collection of tools which will guide you in implementing a strong business strategy, by providing questions, templates and resources for learning and fostering progress.

“The value of an idea lies in the using of it.”

– Thomas A. Edison

The manual is split into 9 key startup topics with each chapter being populated with theories on those topics, case studies and testimonials/tips from entrepreneurs. We have structured the manual in a way that allows you to read it from start to end but also as stand-alone sections you can dip in and out of. Indeed, a startup journey is never straight-forward, and you’ll have to work on most of the elements laid out in different chapters simultaneously. 

You may want to skip some chapters all together if they’re not relevant or too easy for you. The guidance in this manual isn’t exhaustive so we’ve made sure that each chapter finishes with additional resources alongside a summary of key take-aways (if you’re short on time or lazy, you could just read those) and some activities for you to get working on. We hope you’ll find this guide as interesting as it was for us to create and that it’ll be useful for your journey.