Lesson Progress:

Module 1 – So you want to change the food system

6. Module 1 Wrap-up

Key take-aways

If you remember only a few things from this chapter, we hope it’ll be the following:

Being an entrepreneur is harder than you think and you need to be prepared to be not only the visionary but the sales person, head of finance, marketing person, operations manager, HR department…However, know that running your own business is also very rewarding.

Think carefully whether you want to embark on your startup journey alone or with a co-founder. If you decide to have a business partner – which has a lot of pros – choose someone who has complementary skills, who you like and who is as committed as you are – and have the difficult discussions (e.g. the other one wanting to quit) right in the beginning. Also, try and create gender balance and all other kinds of diversity from the start.

Time to stop and think: are you and your co-founder(s) equally committed to make the venture work? Do you like each other? Do you have complementary skills? How do you build in diversity?
Creating a sustainable business and transforming the food system is hard but not only is it necessary to meet the needs of future generations, it also has many business advantages. These include e.g. positive differentiation in a crowded marketplace and attraction of motivated and committed employees.
Time to stop and think: what is your core mission? Is it clear to you and your team what your main goal is in terms of sustainability and the reasoning behind certain decisions and possible compromises? (Getting clear on these questions helps you respond to scepticism and questions you might face as soon as you mention the word sustainability or sustainable business.)

Now, let’s get active!

If you haven’t started yet and are unsure whether you should go at it alone or with (a) co-founder(s),
consider the benefits and disadvantages of both sides:

  1. Talk about your idea/concept to at least 10 people in the next month to expand your thinking and develop your network  These can be friends, family members, industry experts, people you look up to, researchers, current colleagues, potential customers… Friends and family are great but not always an objective audience so make sure you find a few people from whom you can get an honest opinion.
  2. Pick your battles. You won’t be able to fix the whole food system at once so pick your core mission, define where you want to get to from a sustainability perspective and make it crystal clear to yourself and your team why you’ve made certain decisions. It doesn’t hurt to put these on paper.

Additional Resources

“How to start a startup” – an interesting article derived from a talk at Harvard http://www.paulgraham.com/start.html

A list of business courses for entrepreneurs if/when you want to explore further https://www.ryrob.com/online-business-courses/

The case for investing in – and being a – women-led startup
https://www.forbes.com/sites/allysonkapin/2019/01/28/10-stats-that-build-the-case-for-investing-in-women-led-startups/#fc5ee3559d5f

The Strategically Winging It podcast talks to founders about the good,
the bad and the ugly
https://open.spotify.com/show/21k8iF8llRPBdXYtk9BXW5

The European Migrant Entrepreneur Network offers online events and resources
http://emen-project.eu/

A list of useful resources for female entrepreneurs
https://www.graphicsprings.com/blog/view/30-top-online-resources-for-female-entrepreneurs

Why you need a female cofounder and gender diversity in your company
https://yourstory.com/2016/05/need-for-woman-co-founder-startup

A few books to get you started:

The 4-hour workweek
by Tim Ferries

Let my people go surfing
by Yvon Chouinard (Founder of Patagonia)

The power of unreasonable people and how social entrepreneurs create markets that change the world
by John Elkington and Pamela Hartigan

The Innovator’s Dilemma
by Clayton M. Christensen

Thrive
by Arianna Huffington

Body and Soul: Profits With Principles
by Anita Roddick

The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self Assurance – What Women Should Know
 by Katty Kay

Start something that matters
 by Joan Salge Blake

Hooked
by Nir Eyal

Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the way we make things
by Michael Braungart