The ProVeg Incubator Programme

Ryan specialises in business development. A biotech entrepreneur, investor, and one of the first leaders of the biohacker movement, Ryan is the Co-founder and CEO of Wild Earth (a biotech pet food startup), a Managing Partner at Sustainable Food Ventures, and a Co-Founder of IndieBio. As well as running his own companies, Ryan has invested in over 120 early-stage food and biotech startups, and was the first investor in Memphis Meats, Geltor, the Not Company, and Shiok Meats.

Stephanie specialises in marketing and business development. Stephanie is a serial entrepreneur, having founded GoodDot, a food tech startup bringing plant-based proteins to India, and Hungry Planet, which developed a full range of premium plant-based meats for the food-service sector. Most recently, Stephanie founded Uncaged Innovations, thus moving into the alternative-materials space. As well as offering a broad range of strategic and tactical experience, Stephanie is also an expert in business development and product marketing.

David specialises in marketing, branding, sales and distribution strategies, and business development, with a particular focus on entering the US market. David is the Founder and CEO of PlantBased Solutions, an award-winning strategic brand-management, marketing, and operations consultancy for plant-based consumer products. PlantBased Solutions has advised some of the world’s most successful alternative meat and dairy brands, including Gardein, Daiya, and Miyoko’s Kitchen. Benzaquen is also the CEO of Ocean Hugger Foods and serves as an adviser to multiple food accelerators, venture-capital funds, and startups.

Matt Tom specialises in operations, R&D, product testing, and business development. Matt has over 15 years’ experience in the food-technology space, with a particular focus on new product development and commercialisation. He has been involved in taking innovative plant-based foods to market, collaborating with companies such as PepsiCo, General Mills, Clorox, and P&G, and, more recently, with food tech startups, including Impossible Foods, Kite Hill, Hampton Creek, and Ripple Foods.

Lisa specialises in finance, product testing, marketing, recruiting, and business development. Lisa is the CEO of Stray Dog Capital, a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage, mission-driven alternative food companies. In her earlier career, Lisa spent over 15 years in general management, operations, and engineering at Blue Chip companies like General Mills and Procter & Gamble. Lisa has over 14 years of experience focused on food operation and consumer packaged goods and led the marketing, P&L management, and strategy for billion-dollar brands. She is also on the board of multiple portfolio companies and is a Kauffman Fellow.

David specialises in finance, fundraising, R&D, scaling, cellular agriculture, and business development.
David is the Co-founder of Peace of Meat, which was acquired in 2020 for €15 million EUR by the Israeli company Meat-Tech 3D. Before founding this company, David gained over a decade of experience in consumer and food systems with Procter & Gamble, McKinsey & Company, and Migros. David focuses on generating business opportunities whilst reducing human destruction of our planet, starting with the highest impact opportunity – our food system.

Gary specialises in business development. As the Founder of Brenner pharma/food Business Development Ltd, Gary is highly experienced in business strategy and development. His company is an ‎Israeli-based group that works with mature companies and startups, research ‎institutes, and multinational corporations, in all segments of health and wellness including the food and beverage industries. Gary works together with other experts to ensure that clinical protocols, regulatory pathways, ‎and intellectual property are all designed for a winning go-to-market strategy. ‎

Frank specialises in R&D and business development. As well as being a food scientist focusing on the development of alternative protein sources, Frank is also the Co-founder and CEO of Good Seed Ventures – a venture capital fund dedicated to supporting innovative food projects. In addition, Frank holds the position of Director of Communications Europe at the Cellular Agriculture Society – a non-profit organisation focusing on advancing the field of cellular agriculture.