He Raised $240 Million To Develop Biotechnology To Produce Animal Protein Sustainably

Arturo Elizondo, a founder with a remarkable story, has built a transformative company that addresses a critical global issue. Growing up on the Texas-Mexico border, he witnessed stark income disparities and developed a deep awareness of the broader world.

This early exposure shaped Arturo’s perspective and fueled his drive to impact society significantly. His journey from Harvard to founding a groundbreaking food technology company is a testament to his dedication and vision.

Listen to the full podcast episode and review the transcript here.

Early Life and Awareness

Arturo grew up as one of six kids in a Mexican-American household on both sides of the Texas-Mexico border. Like all Texans, the family had a barbecue every Sunday and two extra breakfasts every morning.

At the time, he never really thought about where the food came from. That would come later.

Arturo’s unique upbringing exposed him to the highest income disparity between any two countries in the world, fostering a keen awareness of socio-economic inequalities.

Arturo has vivid memories of crossing the border with his father and seeing children his age selling gum on the streets without shoes.

These experiences instilled in him a sense of responsibility to improve the lives of those less fortunate. He wanted to improve the lot of others who weren’t as lucky and didn’t win the lottery of life.

Education and Initial Career Aspirations

Driven by a desire to create large-scale impact, Arturo pursued a degree in government at Harvard University, envisioning a future in public service. He believed that by changing laws, he could positively affect millions of lives.

Arturo’s dream was to work at the UN or become a senator or a congressman. And change laws to help as many people and as many beings as possible. However, his exposure to the realities of the food system during his time at Harvard began to shift his focus.

A factory farming video he saw at 16 profoundly impacted him, revealing the harsh realities of animal protein production.

Realization and Shift in Focus

The video depicted workers in a factory farm treating animals inhumanely, leading Arturo to question the ethics and sustainability of the current food system. As he delved deeper into research, he discovered alarming statistics about the environmental and health impacts of animal agriculture.

Looking at the statistics, Arturo found that over a million animals are slaughtered every single hour, just in the US, to feed less than 5% of the world population. He also saw that animal protein is produced at scale today since it is the most efficient way of feeding people.

The detrimental effects of animal protein production, from deforestation to freshwater pollution, were staggering. This newfound knowledge ignited Arturo’s passion for finding a solution. He started to see the problem from many angles, not only the government’s.

He also did a bunch of internships, for example, in banking. That’s when he decided he was ready to take action. He wanted to do scale, achieve impact for that scale, and do good for the world.

He kept doing research and interned at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He also went to the United Nations and researched global food security.

Alarming Information About the Food System

The more Arturo learned about the food system, the more it blew his mind. He came across one crazy statistic after another, realizing that he had no idea that animal agriculture and animal protein production are the number one cause of deforestation on Earth and the number one cause of extinction on the planet.

Arturo continued to find alarming facts. Three out of every four emerging infectious diseases, like COVID and SARS, are zoonotic. They’re traced back to animals in relation to the natural world.

The number one animal protein production is the number one cause of freshwater pollution because of the waste runoff from these factory farms. Our diet is very rich in animal protein and fat.

However, animal fat and animal processed meat are the level one carcinogen right up there with asbestos and cigarettes as reported by the World Health Organization.

Arturo also discovered antibiotic resistance, 70% of the antibiotics in the world today are fed to animals, not to humans. The more he learned, the more shocked he became and more angry.

Arturo started to think about why no one was talking about this and that more people should be focusing on this issue. When studying global food security, he came across different technologies and realized that there are ways to solve the problem.

Although Arturo could go vegan or vegetarian, the problem was huge in terms of scale and utterly neglected. He realized that there was no better way for him to spend his time on Earth than to tackle this problem.

The Leap to San Francisco

Arturo graduated from Harvard in 2014 and went to DC. He interned for Justice Sotomayor at the Supreme Court, where his initial objective was to stay in the government.

He wanted to find solutions to the food problem but realized that he didn’t have any expertise in biotechnology or food technology. Nor did he have any real skills.

Then, Arturo faced a pivotal moment in his career. He received a job offer to join the Obama administration as a political appointee but was advised by a mentor from Credit Suisse to follow his passion for food technology instead.

Overcoming his fear of the unknown, Arturo decided to give himself six months to explore opportunities in San Francisco. He was well aware of his lack of experience with startups and venture capital.

With no job or place to stay, Arturo networked tirelessly, emailing and grabbing coffee with impact investors, thinking that if he joined venture capital, he could do something to learn about the space and build his skill sets for a startup.

Arturo remembers meeting another guy who wanted to start a food tech company and attending a food tech conference that would change his life.

Founding The EVERY Company

At the conference, Arturo met Dave Anchel, a molecular biologist with a vision to create animal proteins without animals using biotechnology. This idea aligned perfectly with Arturo’s mission to revolutionize the food system.

Together, they developed a business plan and founded a company with the core idea of using fermentation technology, commonly employed in pharmaceuticals, to produce animal proteins for food.

The goal was to offer a sustainable and efficient alternative to traditional animal protein production. That was the genesis of The EVERY Company. Arturo and Dave wanted to democratize access to this technology and optimize it so that they could make other kinds of animal proteins at scale and cost levels.

Then, they could start selling to the world’s biggest food companies, which use billions of dollars worth of animal proteins as ingredients.

Building and Scaling the Business

The company started with $50K in cash and three months of lab space through the IndieBio biotech accelerator program. Their business model involved producing animal proteins using yeast fermentation and selling them to major food companies.

This approach promised a more sustainable and consistent supply of animal proteins, addressing significant pain points in the food industry. Over eight years, the company raised over $240M in capital, focusing on developing core technology and securing regulatory approvals.

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Arturo and Dave simply replaced animals using much more efficient protein factories and animals like microorganisms. That’s how they could really make a difference in decarbonizing our food system and also working with the world’s biggest food companies to make them more sustainable.

They achieved significant milestones, such as getting their products featured in prestigious establishments like 11 Madison Park and receiving positive reviews from influential food critics like Florence Fabricant of the New York Times.

These successes validated their vision and demonstrated the viability of their technology.

Overcoming Challenges and Maintaining Vision

Arturo points to the many challenges they faced when accessing funding for the company. They spent the initial six years developing the core technology. Further, they didn’t have the same metrics that software companies have and were much more capital-intensive before seeing revenues.

Investors were confused because The EVERY Company was not a software or pharma company, but something in between. This factor made it challenging to sell their vision. Arturo and Dave had to explain in detail the problem, the scope of the opportunity, and how it could work.

They also had to find ways to de-risk the technology and make a lot of technological progress to get yeast to make animal protein more efficiently than the animal. Next, they had to sell to big food companies and share their ideas with them.

Fortunately, many big food companies are trying to get rid of those ingredients because the pain points are too high. Arturo and Dave were able to prove themselves and get regulatory approvals for their products.

Arturo acknowledges the personal growth he underwent as a leader. He started the company at 22 and evolved alongside it. The journey was marked by continuous learning and small but significant victories that reinforced his conviction.

Despite the challenges, Arturo’s unwavering belief in the technology and its potential impact kept him and his team motivated. Even though it’s been a tough road, he is proud of their achievements. Their products have been approved by the FDA and are appreciated by winemakers and restaurants.

Arturo is confident that they have the technology and that it can scale and work. All that remains is having enough time, capital, and resources to take the company to domination.

Vision for the Future

Arturo envisions a world where factory farms are replaced by sustainable protein production methods using biotechnology. His goal is to create a food system where people can enjoy their food without ethical or environmental concerns. He also wants to make protein from breweries instead of factory farms.

By democratizing access to fermentation technology, Arturo aims to decarbonize the food system and make it more sustainable.

He sees a future world where factory farms are not used to make food and where we don’t have to stack animals on top of each other and have them suffer.

Conclusion

Arturo Elizondo’s journey from the Texas-Mexico border to founding a pioneering biotech company is a testament to his dedication to making a positive impact. His story highlights the importance of addressing critical global issues through innovation and technology.

As his company continues to grow and scale, Arturo’s vision of a more sustainable and ethical food system moves closer to reality, offering hope for a better future.

Listen to the full podcast episode to know more, including:

• Arturo Elizondo grew up on both sides of the Texas-Mexico border, instilling in him an awareness of global disparities and a passion for making a positive impact.
• Witnessing factory farming cruelty at 16 sparked Arturo’s interest in transforming the food system to reduce reliance on animal proteins.
• Despite initial ambitions in government, Arturo shifted focus to food tech after realizing its potential for large-scale impact on global food security.
• Arturo’s journey to San Francisco was driven by a desire to tackle food production issues despite his initial lack of experience in startups and biotechnology.
• Arturo co-founded The EVERY Company, leveraging biotechnology to produce animal proteins without animals, securing over $240 million in funding.
• The company’s mission is to create sustainable, animal-free proteins for the food industry, reducing environmental impact and improving food security.
• Arturo’s perseverance and growth as a leader are fueled by his belief in technology and its potential to revolutionize the food system.

 

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