Daphna Nissenbaum On Raising $125 Million To Develop And Manufacture Compostable Packaging Solutions For The Food And Fashion Industries

In an era where environmental concerns are more pressing than ever, Daphna Nissenbaum is a shining example of how passion and determination can spark innovative solutions. She is the CEO of TIPA, a company dedicated to solving the world’s plastic pollution.

TIPA has attracted funding from top-tier investors like Blue Horizon Ventures, Triodos Organic Growth Fund, Horizons Ventures, and Greensoil Investments.

In this episode, you will learn:

• Daphna Nissenbaum’s journey from tech to sustainable packaging was ignited by a conversation with her children about plastic waste.
• TIPA focuses on creating compostable flexible packaging, addressing the challenges of conventional plastic recycling.
• Daphna’s background in computer science and finance equipped her with diverse skills to tackle the complexities of material innovation.
• Raising $125M in funding was a significant achievement, highlighting the growing investor interest in sustainability.
• The path to success included learning to embrace rejection and understanding that perseverance is essential in entrepreneurship.
• Daphna emphasizes the importance of believing in one’s vision and making decisions that prioritize environmental impact.
• TIPA aims to create a future where packaging materials biodegrade, enriching the earth rather than polluting it.

 

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About Daphna Nissenbaum:

Before launching TIPA, Daphna was CEO of the Caesarea Center for Capital Markets and Risk Management at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC), Herzliya.

Previously, she held various management positions at SPL World Group Ltd, a provider of revenue and operations management software, prior to which she held the position of project manager at Whelty Lager Ltd., located in Boston, MA, USA.

Daphna holds an MBA specializing in Marketing and Entrepreneurship from IDC Herzliya (graduated with honors) and a BA in Economics and Software Engineering from Bar Ilan University.

She graduated from the elite Israel Defense Forces software engineering program (Mamram) and served as an officer (ranked captain) in the Israeli Navy software unit.

Today, Daphna is leading the TIPA® team in the movement to revolutionize packaging systems and rid the world of plastic pollution.

TIPA® fully compostable flexible packaging replaces conventional plastic, turning waste into a resource, a crisis into an opportunity.

Connect with Daphna Nissenbaum:

• LinkedIn
• TheOrg
• Crunchbase
• RocketReach

Read the Full Transcription of the Interview:

Alejandro Cremades: Alrighty. Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Deal Maker Show. so Today, we have an amazing founder joining us. She is a powerhouse, you know a really incredible company that she’s building with a really amazing goal. ah and then We’re going to be talking about how the idea was born.

Alejandro Cremades: how she was able to raise the money, not having the domain expertise, and then also for a segment that was not they known for raising you know tons of money, and then also how ah she went about the you know really developing you know the company, building it up to having employees all over the world,

Alejandro Cremades: and all of the good stuff that we like to hear when it comes to building, financing, scaling, and all of that. So without further ado, let’s welcome our guest today, and her name is Daphna Nissenbaum.

Daphna Nissenbaum: Thank you.

Alejandro Cremades: Welcome to the show.

Daphna Nissenbaum: Hi. Hi. Thank you for having me here today. Pleasure being here.

Alejandro Cremades: So originally born and raised around the Tel Aviv area. How was life growing up over there?

Daphna Nissenbaum: It’s always interesting to to grow up here. Always something is going on, but um it’s ah it’s a very good place to be raised at, a very free childhood. um Yeah, I was lucky to to be born and raised here.

Alejandro Cremades: And in in your case, i mean you you got into computer science quite early.

Daphna Nissenbaum: Right.

Alejandro Cremades: What what caught your attention about computers?

Daphna Nissenbaum: So I was very good in mathematics and and my parents were told, so if she’s good in mathematics, maybe she’s, she’ll be good at computer science or she will be good at computer science as well. So actually I started my computer science career at high school.

Daphna Nissenbaum: So I went to, I studied the computer science back then and then continued it over to my first degree, the BA degree and et cetera, and worked in this ah filled with. um I think it was in the first part of my career, but several, several years.

Alejandro Cremades: And even you know ah going into university, you also did think computer science, you did economics, then you mixed it up with marketing and with entrepreneur entrepreneurship. So obviously, you know it sounds like computers, you were really hooked into it thing at an early stage. So why combining it with those other areas?

Daphna Nissenbaum: was always a I was always very interested in in business. So how to do business, how to grow business, how to create business from scratch. um Different aspects like marketing, economics, all that. So i was really was really interesting it was interesting to me and I was really thrilled to study it. Study is not enough. We have to practice and that’s what I do today. I practice business um from from all different aspects.

Alejandro Cremades: Was there was there like anyone in your family that or or someone close to you that had built a business that got you thinking like, wow, you know maybe I’d like to look into doing that one day myself?

Daphna Nissenbaum: Um, yeah. So first of all, my father has his own business, but that’s a local business. But and more, more importantly, I think that’s my husband who built two companies, two successful companies, and then was in the virtual venture capital business. So, um, yeah, I had a inspiration, which inspirational stories around me.

Alejandro Cremades: That’s amazing. so um So for you, you eventually went to the army ah and there in Israel, are both men and women you know go to the army and you went at the age of 18. How was the experience so far of going through that for you? And then also what did you learn around discipline?

Daphna Nissenbaum: So um to go to go to the Army, it’s part of our life here. There’s no question. You go to the age of 18, you go to the Army. You join the Army. So um i was I was kind of aiming to go to the computer science space and computere develop software for the Army. That’s what I did. There was a special program, prestige one.

Daphna Nissenbaum: that I was a i was actually i was um planning to go and eventually eventually went to there. It’s a long program and then I was i was designated to work in the Navy and to develop specific systems for the Navy. i I learned a lot in this brand, a lot. First, the technological side, which is obvious, but also I work in a very,

Daphna Nissenbaum: being a discipline system, um out to how to lead, how to build something from nothing. That’s how to think and create ideas out of the box. That’s part of the education that it goes through. and So it was very inspirational educational and spiritual experience for me, which I took a lot to my to my then coming business career.

Alejandro Cremades: Why did you eventually, after you got your MBA and and all of that, and and you enter the um ah workforce, why leaving the world of computers and going into research?

Daphna Nissenbaum: um I know I worked, I worked for When I left the Army, I worked several years in the computer science industry, um different different jobs, different positions, different countries even. But then I decided that that I want to change my career. That was my first change. I wanted to do something else. Actually, it was what post my MBA.

Daphna Nissenbaum: So kind of I can say that my mind opened to two new things and I wanted to experience something else, not just say the same area that I was in at that time. So my first career change was going to the financial markets, more financial markets. And I am i actually was the CEO of a research center on capital markets, risk management in capital markets. thats So that was my first career change. I was there for several years, really enjoyed it, learned a lot.

Daphna Nissenbaum: Uh, again, took several tools to my next career step. And when I decided that I want it to change again, then I, uh, I went to be to build my own business and that was deeper.

Alejandro Cremades: That’s amazing. So how did the whole idea and the incubation of it? Because as they say, ideas, they are like dormant. you know We don’t even know that they are there, but they incubate over the course of time.

Daphna Nissenbaum: Right.

Alejandro Cremades: And then there’s like certain a points you know in time that help to shape farther that idea. And then a moment in time where it’s like the tip.

Alejandro Cremades: you know it’s just like it just like You’re like, okay, let’s go. So walk us through all of that. you know How did it incubate? How it progressed in that moment where you were like, screw it, let’s do it.

Daphna Nissenbaum: Okay, so for years I wanted to to have my own business. It just didn’t wasn’t just one point one point in time. For years I wanted to build my own business and I was thinking what would be the best idea. You know, I’m i’m coming from from from the from um from software area, so it was kind of immediate. I couldn’t think about that, but I wanted to do something else, not knock not in the in this space.

Daphna Nissenbaum: And I read um i read several um several around researchers on how new great ideas were born, what to look for new ideas, et cetera, et cetera. And eventually I understood that the biggest the biggest ideas are just around us. We just have to open our eyes our eyes and think about what would be but what is what is What would change our life? and and And I started to think this way. Just look around me, just open their eyes, open my mind. And one day i had a I had kind of a discussion with my children around the plastic bottles they used to take to school. And and then heard about the recycling problem. And then heard about is the the plastic the plastic challenge.

Daphna Nissenbaum: et cetera, et cetera. And I went out jogging. I joke every morning, so I went out jogging, and I thought to myself, what would be, so this plastic problem exists, and we don’t see any course so of of changing anything in this industry. It just grows and grows and grows dramatically.

Daphna Nissenbaum: And it all goes to the sea and the damage that is it actually brings to the world is is enormous. And I thought, okay, what would be the most intuitive way that we can use packaging? To use packaging. And I said to myself, okay, so the first thing that came to my mind was an apple.

Daphna Nissenbaum: Because when I ate an apple and I thought the residuals to the waste bin just disintegrates by the grid by itself and turns into compost into soil, right? um And I said, okay, so nature also packed. Nature packed the bananas, nature packed the oranges, nature packed the nuts, et cetera, et cetera. And all those, ah all that food is packed with ah with a compostable packaging. So why won’t we do the same?

Daphna Nissenbaum: and And that was the inspiration. And then the idea was to develop a package that is on one hand will bring all the properties of conventional plastic, but at the same time will be fully compostable.

Daphna Nissenbaum: which means that we can treat the package exactly as we treat, for example, the banana peel or any other organic material. So if we put a package or the organic um on all the orange peel in a compost bin, it disintegrates and biodegrades and turns into soil, into compost within up to six months.

Daphna Nissenbaum: So as opposed of having conventional plastic package that lasts forever and forever can be 400, 500 years, it doesn’t really matter. That’s forever for us. If we can have a package that once post-consumption can go into the organic waste bin and and turn into an organic material within a very short period of time, why won’t we do that? And and that’s exactly that simulating nature. So that’s how the idea was born.

Alejandro Cremades: And then what happened next?

Daphna Nissenbaum: And then, okay, so that’s the idea now. I’m not ah i’m not a plastic engineer. I’m not a chemist. you know I have no background. on material materials background. So I started to investigate. I met my partner then at the Kindergarten, by the way, but we joined together and started to look for the the scientists that can help us and bring such a solution to the world and and started to working in the path of developing a solution.

Daphna Nissenbaum: Two things I understood um you know in this in this journey and the beginning of the journey. First of all, it’s not going to be easy. um Otherwise, someone else probably would have done it before. But it’s not going to be easy. It’s a journey. It’s going to be a long one. um It’s inventing new materials and inventing new packaging. And packaging has a very important role enough you know with our food. So it needs to protect the food, et cetera, et cetera. So there was a lot to invent there. And the second thing, I mean, the idea started with, as I said, I discussed with my kids, the the plastic bottles, and I thought we would like to replace the bottles, but no, the main problem is not the bottles. The main problem is all the other packages that we use for foods. um and And I also understood that actually recycling

Daphna Nissenbaum: or hardly works, hardly, hardly, hardly works and the percentage are kind of very, very worrying. um And within all this huge industry of food and and packed food, there are segments And we decided to focus on flexible packaging. So flexible packaging is opposed to bottles or jars. Flexible packaging are all those soft packages that we use a lot. For example, for granola bars, for snacks, for for fresh produce, for bread, et cetera, et cetera. All those soft packages, actually very thin packages that are very similar to nature creation. I mean, it meant it it mean i mean it’s the same,

Daphna Nissenbaum: the same in the same space and those packages use usually but and um blend materials together and once there are few polymers blend in the same the same film, in the same same package, then there’s no way to recycle it. it’s like just It’s like you blend few colors together and then you want to you want to to separate them, there’s no way to do that. So bottles are made from one polymer, usually PET. So it’s easy to to recycle, easier to recycle, but flexible packaging impossible. So we focused on we focused on flexible packaging and then, and that’s how we started the long journey.

Alejandro Cremades: so So what’s the business model of Deepa? How do you guys make money?

Daphna Nissenbaum: It’s a, it’s a very, very good, very good question. And I’m saying it because we were, we were considering several, several ways, but eventually we invent, we invent the new materials, right? This is our innovation protected with the very strong IP globally, et cetera, et cetera. Our intellectual property. The second thing that we developed is knowledge on how to process um our materials throughout all the supply chain of conventional plastic. So we can manufacture our products, ah our packages on conventional plastic machinery. So that that was very important for us from day one to make sure that we can we can work on the same machinery. And now when we can work on the same machinery, there’s no need for us to build new facilities or buy new machines. So we collaborate with companies who already manufacture those type of packages.

Daphna Nissenbaum: So we are fabulous. um We sell our films, manufacture our films at three three, four, five facilities globally. That’s it. And we sell the films to companies who manufacture packaging. So that’s ah that’s in a natural our business model.

Alejandro Cremades: And also, I mean, it’s it’s really remarkable the amount of capital that you guys have been able to raise, also given the fact that this was not like your domain expertise. I mean, you jump right into this, um given your background.

Daphna Nissenbaum: Right.

Alejandro Cremades: But then also it was a segment that was not attracting a lot of money also. So how has it been the um the journey of going through the motions of raising, I believe you guys have raised you know close to 140 million, which is a lot of money.

Alejandro Cremades: So how has it been the experience too of raising the money for you guys?

Daphna Nissenbaum: First of all, I think to everyone, except maybe very unique companies, it’s it’s not easy to raise money. um It’s a challenge. it’s It’s the CEO challenge. And I’ve been, you know, all my life, all my life in Tippa, working on raising money.

Daphna Nissenbaum: At the beginning, it was very hard, because since I’m not a scientist, I’m not coming from the software, from the materials there. science industry. and i hit and and you know So the first money is raised from friends friends and family who actually knew me and knew our capabilities and believed in us. And so that was the very early early stage money. And then um we looked for for for investors globally. um we we could We couldn’t raise money you know from from um from fans who were investing money more in the space of

Daphna Nissenbaum: of ah of apps, of of other technologies that are not not not our technology. It was very challenging. So we eventually we found our first investors were both Israeli-Canadian fund and that in led round A. In round B, we had more families, family offices that joined us, who really believed in us. and Actually, those those investors were looking for something else to invest in, not just the regular, familiar startups that are in the same very well-known spaces.

Daphna Nissenbaum: so families who looked for sustainability. There were families who looked specifically for to solve the plastic and plastic challenge. um So that was there was it was it was challenging. I can say that the last round when the company started to grow and we had to we already had teams in Australia, in in Europe, in North America, and we and started to demonstrate growth, it was a bit easier one, still a challenging one, but a bit easier one.

Daphna Nissenbaum: the the but The investment environment was very good at that time as well. um So we managed to have on board very significant investors. We are very proud of, of course. um So it’s it’s unique investors. and it’s ah But um I’m glad we are here today, right? This is our oxygen. So and the money is our oxygen, like every other company.

Daphna Nissenbaum: and

Alejandro Cremades: what what has been What has been, I guess, your biggest lesson when it comes to fundraising?

Daphna Nissenbaum: Well, um first of all is to accept the word no. That was very hard for me at the beginning and to understand that people don’t necessarily see what I see. And um people are looking more to to have a return faster than doing the right thing to the world. Anyway, it’s still right. You know, 1% the right to do that. But was it was hard for me. it was um I learned, today I can say, I think I can say better, who’s the person who’s going to invest in such companies or who’s not. um i can I can sense and the eagerness or the level of interest in in products like ours or or similar to ours.

Daphna Nissenbaum: I can say that there’s no meeting that I didn’t take. I took all the meetings. There were rounds that I even met more than 100 investors until I found the one that said yes. And I can also say that if there’s one that says yes, then the others follow. So we had a very interesting story in Round of the Rounds. I think it was the last one. It was the previous one. We had investor wanted to invest in us.

Daphna Nissenbaum: And they started the due diligence and we ran through an awful, awful process. They kind of pushed us to the corner and we go to the, pi we go to the point and and they said, oh, we’re progressing, we’re progressing. And then like two months before the money ended, they came with, them with demands that we couldn’t, couldn’t meet. I said, no, thank you. I’m not, I’m not working with an investor that is not going to, to do good for the company.

Daphna Nissenbaum: And we had no money. We had no money. It was about, it I didn’t know what I’m doing, what I’m going to do, but gladly I got support for another few months from our current investors. And, and then we, we, we started the the round again and all of a sudden there were like three, four, five kind investors that came and said, yes, we’re going to join you. We’re going to join. And we close this significant, wonderful round.

Daphna Nissenbaum: I had to have courage to do that, and to say no to money when you have no money in the bank. But um but gladly, it turned out to be the right decision.

Daphna Nissenbaum: And we closed a good round that led us to the next round, which was ah significant to the company as well. So yeah.

Alejandro Cremades: That’s amazing. That’s amazing. So so obviously, with a money, you know, with also employees, I mean, you guys have employees globally, you know, distributed. I think that there is a definitely a bet, a bet on division, right? And when we’re thinking about division, you know, if you were to go to sleep tonight and you wake up in a world where the vision of TIPA is fully realized, what does that world look like?

Daphna Nissenbaum: Wow. um That’s my dream. um it’s um It’s a better world to our children. It’s a world that actually um moves into more organic materials, which is much more what nature asks us to do. ah It’s a world that we have no huge amount of plastic left behind us.

Daphna Nissenbaum: Hopefully, nature can recover and be in a better place. Just imagine that all the plastic that we use turns into sand, into soil. And there’s no footprint, bad footprint behind us. I mean, it’s not going to be 100% all around the place, but we can definitely live a better heritage, a better world behind us.

Alejandro Cremades: I love that. I love the sound of that. So nothing like a better world no and making a difference like you guys are doing. So um obviously it’s been about 12 years you know and and change that you guys have been really pushing this initiative of TIPA.

Alejandro Cremades: um you know One thing that they that I guess you know going towards that vision too is I guess the the consciousness and mindset around climate change and all the issues you know in the last years, especially when you guys got started with this, I don’t think the consciousness was as as as present as it is today. know and Nothing like being at the right time in history when you’re building a business. How do you think timing and being able to have the wind blowing behind your back has helped you guys with building the company?

Daphna Nissenbaum: So um when we started, you’re very right. There wasn’t any awareness. I mean, people even asked me, what’s the problem with plastic? why Why are you seeking to do something else? so and then And then the awareness increased. I think it was around 2017.

Daphna Nissenbaum: when countries like China, like the UK, started to to work against plastic, conventional plastic. But then, unfortunately, during COVID and and the war, things changed back. We all know that. Sustainability did not remain the main thing that people are looking at. and Although we we have to, we must.

Daphna Nissenbaum: um So I think that ah the best time for us is still in front of us. It’s still to come. um I think that what we see today, actually, is the

Daphna Nissenbaum: Companies, not just not just countries countries, countries said plastic is bad because they know they know the statistics the statistics, they know the numbers, they know the pollution, but companies didn’t have any, and yeah they look at the bottom line, so day they didn’t want to take step into changing the packaging. But what we see today is that even the big companies are starting to to get ready for that day and working on alternatives to plastic.

Daphna Nissenbaum: um and We see more and more, again, it’s not the governments, it’s more it’s more the people, it’s more the it’s more the the brands, the supermarkets, the retailers that are working towards changing changing them the the plastic amount of plastic that they use.

Daphna Nissenbaum: I think that the right time is in front of us because there was there was um there was a statement that was said by I think the majority of the companies on the board that by 2025, all the packages will be either recyclable or compostable or reusable. And then they changed it because they couldn’t they couldn’t reach that. they they They continue to work on recycling and obviously it doesn’t work. So so so now they understand they need to do something different. So the the line was pushed over to 2030.

Daphna Nissenbaum: And now we see companies getting ready for that. And I think that we will see the increase in the demand coming in the next one to two years.

Alejandro Cremades: So obviously, as I was saying, you guys have been at it for 12 years, and there’s a lot that happens ah during this time, and and a lot of lessons learned, a lot of successes, a lot of failures, and I think that failing is part of a succeeding, so it’s very important. And and and in this in this case, what I like to do is I like to put you into a time machine.

Alejandro Cremades: And I like to bring you back in time. I like to bring you to that moment you know where perhaps it was around 2009 where you were starting to think about like building something of your own and becoming a ah founder. And let’s say I gave you the opportunity of showing up and being right there with your younger self, with that younger Daphna, and being able to give that younger Daphna one piece of advice before launching a business, given what you know now. What would that be?

Daphna Nissenbaum: Um,

Daphna Nissenbaum: first of all, I would say, I would do the same as I did do it. It’s not going to be easy. You just need to know that it’s not going to be easy. You need to know that it’s going to be long. Um, you need to have the patience, which I did, uh, but, um,

Daphna Nissenbaum: i Look, I think that sustainability or or changing the fundamentals of the way we live, this is our future. That’s what I think. More than adding more applications or whatever, more cyber, this is important as well. But but we need to invest ah to invest ourselves, our lives, our minds,

Daphna Nissenbaum: in changing things in the way we and the way we live. um So I guess I would have done the same. Maybe, maybe I would say, you know, I’m trying to think if don’t do this, do that, but then I wouldn’t, you know, I wouldn’t learn the things that I needed to learn. So it’s kind of hard for me to say maybe,

Daphna Nissenbaum: Act faster. Do things faster. Maybe if you if you if you have your guts feeling, don’t be afraid. Do it immediately. Don’t wait for other people to to tell you if it’s right on or wrong.

Daphna Nissenbaum: I would say, and that’s maybe the one the one conclusion that I would say, if you but if you believe in yourself, and that’s the first thing that you need to believe, you have to believe in yourself and in your vision, and stick to the vision and don’t change it according to what other people say, that’s one thing. And if you believe in your vision and believe in yourself, believe in your God’s feeling, and and just do what your mind or your heart or your feelings tell you to do,

Daphna Nissenbaum: um You know, maybe too many time too many in too many times in my in my career in my this part of my career, I listened to advisors that I shouldn’t listen to. and I heard. i didn’t Eventually, I took my decisions. And when I needed to take my decision, I asked myself, okay,

Daphna Nissenbaum: Leave the company, leave the people aside, leave the advisors aside, leave Daphne aside. What is right for the company? What is right for the vision? Because that’s where we have to stick. well we have to stick If it’s me, if it’s someone else, this is what we need to do.

Daphna Nissenbaum: And eventually that’s the way I took my decisions. Like like like I said, and you know, in the investment, the investment story that I just told you, I was promised to get, it I don’t know, a certain um amount of money if I get them in the company. I said, no, this is not right for the company. So so so that’s, if if I can go back, i so I would say to myself, you know what to do? Just do it and don’t don’t afraid, or don’t be,

Daphna Nissenbaum: Don’t be too suspicious about your your your gut’s feelings.

Alejandro Cremades: I love it. So Daphna, for the people that are listening, I would love to reach out and say hi. What is the best way for them to do so?

Daphna Nissenbaum: I’m in LinkedIn, of course. i am Our website is tipa-corp.com. T-I be happy to contact anyone.

Alejandro Cremades: Amazing. Well, hey, well, Daphna, thank you so much for being on the Dealmaker show today. It has been an absolute honor to have you with us.

Daphna Nissenbaum: Thank you, thank you so much. Pleasure to be here, as I said.

*****

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