He Raised $500 Million To Build A Superfruit Platform To Provide Customers With Healthier Snacking Options

In the fast-paced world of entrepreneurship, stories of transformation are plentiful, but few are as compelling as those of Steve Magami. Born in Tehran and raised in the sunny suburbs of Southern California, Steve’s journey is about determination, adaptability, and the spirit of innovation.

In this exclusive interview, Steve talks about raising more than $500M and scaling a company in an industry where he was an outsider. He also talks about culture, team building, and moving to the other side of the table as an investor.

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

Early Life and the Seeds of an Entrepreneurial Spirit

Steve Magami’s story begins in Tehran, but his family’s move to the United States when he was just a year and a half old marked the start of a new chapter. He grew up in Orange County, California, in a household that valued sports, healthy living, and, above all, entrepreneurship.

Steve was imbued with a competitive spirit from a young age. His father was doing his PhD in computer science at USC and later transitioned from a career at IBM to start his own software company. He served as a model of entrepreneurial resilience for young Steve.

“I grew up in a humble area within Orange County with two brothers, playing sports, eating healthy, and living a simple life,” Steve recalls. The simplicity of his upbringing, coupled with the entrepreneurial vibe of his household, shaped Steve’s future ambitions.

His competitive edge was further sharpened through his participation in competitive tennis, which instilled in him a love for winning and a deep understanding of the value of hard work.

A Path Less Traveled: From Biology to Business

Steve’s academic journey took him to the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he majored in biological sciences. However, the late 1990s was a time of rapid technological advancement, and the allure of the burgeoning internet industry was too strong to resist.

“Graduating in the late 90s, when the internet was taking off, I was fortunate to be drawn into venture capital while still in college,” Steve shares. He was interested in tech, growth, and startups and eager to dip his toe in the waters.

This early exposure to venture capital ignited a passion for business, leading Steve away from a potential career in medicine and into the world of private equity. Working in private equity straight out of college, he quickly ascended the ranks.

Working at Lovell Minnick Partners LLC

Steve’s time in private equity gave him invaluable lessons and skills that would prove crucial in his entrepreneurial endeavors. He picked up business strategies on a fast track from brilliant bosses like Jeff Lovell and his colleagues.

Steve learned the art of identifying value and deeply understanding the risk-adjusted potential. He also learned meticulous due diligence, not only in industries and markets but also in market opportunities, products, and services, and differentiating winners from losers.

Steve considers himself blessed to work with a strong team and a supportive environment that helped him navigate the learning curve quickly. He was part of the spinoff of Lovell Minnick Partners LLC, an investment bank, and became a principal at a young age.

During his stint at Lovell Minnick, Steve executed a deal where he helped with structuring the company, which ended up selling at a billion-plus valuation. He gained the experience of taking on a more lead role in scaling a company and selling it for a hefty price.

Steve witnessed the dynamic moments in the market, the heyday of renewable energy, and the rise of valuations. He also saw how the industry progressed after 2008 and the tangible value of building a business with real, sustainable value to provide to the world.

Steve assimilated many lessons about the dangers of market cycles and capital requirements, which he carried with him when building Agrovision.

The Birth of Agrovision: A Disruptive Force in the Produce Industry

After years in private equity, Steve made the leap to the other side of the table, taking on a more active role in deal-making. His most significant venture, Agrovision, was born out of a desire to revolutionize the consumer experience in the produce aisle.

“The largest opportunity I ever saw was with Agrovision,” Steve says. The goal was ambitious: to transform how consumers perceive and purchase superfruits, making them a preferred choice for snacking, not just for health reasons but for sheer enjoyment.

Steve noted that purchasing off-the-shelf blueberries or other fruit was a spotty experience, and customers often experienced dissatisfaction with the products. They simply did not want to go back and buy more. That trend was universal with other products as well.

Agrovision’s approach was innovative, utilizing microclimates worldwide to cultivate unique fruit varieties. By applying advanced technology, Steve and his team created a product that consistently delivered high-quality fruit to consumers, setting a new standard in the industry.

Steve wanted to infuse operational excellence in the business systems and integrate that with creating, sustaining, and controlling quality and putting that quality on the shelf for customers to access. A great example of his ideas is the golden kiwis.

The success of Agrovision wasn’t just about selling fruit—it was about changing consumer behavior and elevating the snacking experience. Steve’s vision extended beyond just selling a product; it was about creating a sustainable business with a global impact.

Overcoming Challenges: Building a Global Business as an Outsider

Building a global business as an outsider in an industry traditionally dominated by insiders was no easy feat. Steve faced enormous challenges, from raising over $0.5B in capital to navigating the complexities of global operations.

“Startups are hard enough as they are, but to do that on a global scale in an insider’s industry like agriculture was even more difficult,” Steve reflects. He had to design a particular geographic footprint globally and develop, transmit, and transfer the centers of excellence quickly.

One of the biggest hurdles was attracting and retaining top talent, especially in the diverse geographic locations where Agrovision operated. It took years to build the right team, but Steve’s persistence paid off.

Although the company is more than 10 years old, its exponential growth in the last four years is a testament to the strength of the foundation Steve built during those challenging early years.

He looks back at the challenges of building the platform, flywheel, talent base, and organization-wide DNA and culture. He also had to create the perfect complementary combination of talent from inside and outside, including executives, leaders, and talent on the front lines.

Raising Funding for Agrovision

Raising capital for Agrovision hasn’t been a smooth process. Although Steve had many friends running funds at large investment firms, they were skeptical about his ideas in the initial stages. Only recently have they realized the positively impactful and disruptive business he built.

Investors have always been used to seeing insiders build successful companies within this industry. There are few examples of old-world industries having outsiders come in with their new mindset and create something with a lot of capital.

However, Steve has been fortunate enough to start with some visionary investors, partners, and co-founders and has brought in other visionary investors at each point in the chain. Agrovision is now in a totally different world and has reached a place where it has access to capital.

Storytelling is everything which is something that Steve Magami was able to master. Being able to capture the essence of what you are doing in 15 to 20 slides is the key. For a winning deck, take a look at the pitch deck template created by Silicon Valley legend, Peter Thiel (see it here) where the most critical slides are highlighted.

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A Vision for the Future: Transforming the Produce Aisle

As Agrovision continues to grow, Steve’s vision for the company remains as bold as ever. He sees a future where the grocery store’s produce aisle is the most exciting part, where consumers, particularly the youth–ages one to fifteen–are eager to explore new, healthier snacking options.

Steve saw the light at the end of the tunnel when he saw the global consumer’s reaction to Agrovision’s products. And the potential impact they would have on the traditional $100B snacking industry.

“When we put our product next to a traditional snack and saw consumers choose our superfruit over unhealthy options, the light went on. We realized the potential impact we could have on global health and consumer behavior.”

In Steve’s opinion, timing is everything. When building a company, being at the right time in history makes a difference, too. Today, consumer consciousness is all about eating healthy and that people care about what they put in their bodies.

Consumers today have greater health awareness, which is certainly leading to increased penetration of Agrovision’s products and their growth and consumption. They also have consumer tailwinds in terms of consumption potential among the rising middle classes.

It’s more than the traditional population demographic vis-a-vis health, but a whole different wave is taking hold today. Some of the hottest beverages and sodas are probiotic sodas. We see the non-alcoholic alcohol industry has taken off.

Consumers are playing in a whole different way with their wallets and the wallet share going towards these healthy products is truly enjoyable and feels limitless.

As Steve notes, they have just scratched the surface. The world’s population is transitioning to healthier consumption and eating, and Agrovision is all about transitioning those consumers to an enjoyable, better-tasting, and gratifying eating experience–super fruit.

That means transforming the consumer experience across the produce aisle. They should be more excited to go into the produce section than any other.

Lessons in Leadership: Advice to His Younger Self

Looking back on his journey, Steve has valuable advice for his younger self and aspiring entrepreneurs. “Be bold, and when you see talent, don’t hesitate. Talent is what it’s all about,” he advises.

Steven credits his success to his partnership with his co-founders, Marc Aron and Kerry Assil, and their investment bankers. He emphasizes the importance of attracting and retaining top talent and the need for courage and perseverance in the face of uncertainty.

As Steve’s story demonstrates, the path from Tehran to transforming an industry is paved with challenges but also with incredible opportunities. His journey is a powerful reminder of the impact that vision, determination, and a willingness to disrupt can have—not just on an industry but the world.

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

• Steve Magami’s competitive spirit, shaped by his experience in sports, drives his relentless pursuit of excellence in business.
• Growing up in a household with entrepreneurial parents, Steve was influenced early on by the challenges and excitement of entrepreneurship.
• Despite an initial path toward medicine, the allure of venture capital and private equity led Steve to pursue a career in business.
• The success of Agrovision hinged on attracting the right talent and blending industry insiders and innovative outsiders to build a globally scalable business.
• Agrovision’s transformative approach to the fruit industry centered on enhancing the consumer experience, making healthy snacking enjoyable and accessible.
• Overcoming the significant hurdles of raising capital and entering a traditionally insider-driven industry was key to Agrovision’s success.
  Steve’s belief in the limitless potential of healthy consumer products fuels his vision to revolutionize the produce aisle globally.

 

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Remember to unlock for free the pitch deck template that is being used by founders around the world to raise millions below.