Lárus Ásgeirsson On Raising Over $100 Million To Farm Salmon And Other Seafood Sustainably

In the ever-evolving world of entrepreneurship, few journeys are as captivating as that of Lárus Ásgeirsson. Born in a small Icelandic fishing community, Lárus has transitioned from a mechanical engineer specializing in geothermal energy to a global business leader.

His latest venture, Laxey, has attracted funding from top-tier investors like Blue Future Holding, Farvatn, Kjartan Olafsson, and Kontrari.

In this episode, you will learn:

• Your startup fundraising pitch must succinctly articulate your vision, value proposition, and market opportunity.
• Tailor your pitch to align with each investor’s expertise, interests, and investment thesis.
• Craft a narrative that conveys passion, credibility, and the problem-solving journey behind your startup.
• Use metrics and financial projections to build trust and demonstrate growth potential.
• Investors bet on exceptional teams with the skills, experience, and resilience to execute.
• Address potential concerns with clear answers on risks, competition, and scalability.
• Rehearse your pitch to deliver it confidently and adapt to live feedback during presentations.

 

SUBSCRIBE ON:

For a winning deck, see the commentary on a pitch deck from an Uber competitor that has raised over $400M (see it here). 

Remember to unlock for free the pitch deck template that founders worldwide are using to raise millions below.

About Lárus Ásgeirsson:

Lárus Ásgeirsson brings over 30 years of diverse leadership experience in aquaculture, agriculture, and food production.

He currently serves as Chairman of the Board at LAXEY, where he is dedicated to advancing sustainable land-based salmon farming. Laxey plans to produce 30 thousand tons of land-farmed salmon.

Throughout his career, Lárus has held several important roles, including General Manager of the Shrimp Business Unit at National Aquaculture Group (NAQUA, one of the largest integrated shrimp companies) and General Manager of the Poultry Division at Almarai (the largest food company in the Middle East).

He has also served as CEO of both Icelandic Group hf and Sjova Almennar tryggingar hf and has held senior leadership positions at Marel hf.( a leading food technology company in the world)

Lárus holds an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Oklahoma State University and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Iceland. With a focus on sustainable practices and business development, he continues contributing his knowledge and experience to the industry.

Connect with Lárus Ásgeirsson:

• LinkedIn
• RocketReach
• Seafood.media

Read the Full Transcription of the Interview:

Alejandro Cremades: All righty. Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Deal Maker Show. So today we have a really amazing, amazing founder that was an operator, now turned founder, and then his company is saying is really remarkable. And and we’re going to be going into detail about it. We’re going to be talking about the the good stuff that we like to hear when it comes to building a hypergrowth company, you know, a company where you’re going through all the cycles ah so as a founder, as an operator.

Alejandro Cremades: And again, brace yourself for a very ah inspiring conversation today. So without further ado, let’s welcome our guest today, Lárus Ásgeirsson. Welcome to the show.

Lárus Ásgeirsson: Thank you. Thank you.

Alejandro Cremades: So originally born, you know, there in, let me see if I get it right, Iceland, which is unbelievable.

Lárus Ásgeirsson: yep

Alejandro Cremades: So give us a walk through memory lane. How was life growing up for you?

Lárus Ásgeirsson: Well, that was a long time ago, last ten century. I grew up in a small fishing community. where seafood and fishing was really the the name of the game. Most people worked and supported the industry in these small small communities in Iceland where seafood and fishing was the main, ah ah was the the the only column of to support the economy of of the country.

Alejandro Cremades: And what got you interested into physics and and math?

Lárus Ásgeirsson: Well, that was ah just, I realized that to my skills were more into that direction. And so I went into engineering and mechanical engineering and gradually moved into a specialized in heat transfer and thermodynamics to because we have a lot of ah geothermal energy in Iceland. So I thought early on I would become heavily involved in utilizing geothermal energy in Iceland for

Alejandro Cremades: and and And one thing that is pretty unique too is obviously technical background initially, but then the way that you combine that with operations, with marketing, you know that that makes you quite a complete operator. So how did you go about combining all these different skill sets too?

Lárus Ásgeirsson: Yeah, it happened. ah I was early on, I was working as a mechanical engineer in a start-up business in Iceland to support ah the white face industry in Iceland. and icelander then this company that I really put almost 25 years into was the company Marelle that was about to be founded around that time.

Lárus Ásgeirsson: And I, with my technical background and industry know how I got involved in sales and marketing very early.

Lárus Ásgeirsson: And and but and then I become more and more involved in that part and developed into running the the sales and marketing operation and and and and and became one of the senior leaders of that company.

Alejandro Cremades: how was How was that journey like? Because, I mean, Mar-El did pretty well. You know, he became a giant. I mean, for the people listening, how big did Mar-El become and and and what was that journey? What was what what was that for you?

Lárus Ásgeirsson: That was one of the looking back was I’m extremely proud of that journey because you you were using ah it came out of University of Iceland using then at that time a new technology computer technology and integrate that into fish processing machines weighing and data registration.

Lárus Ásgeirsson: and but Using that, and and we were the first movers to to implement the computerized weighing and and a data collection and that laid out the the foundation of morale and changed the whole industry because seafood became more and more valuable.

Lárus Ásgeirsson: and ah making sure that you would achieve high yield and and and high product productivity. That was the name of the of the game and and that was what Marles stood for.

Lárus Ásgeirsson: and the and

Alejandro Cremades: Well, without distribution, there’s nothing, right? I mean, there’s some people build it and they will come.

Lárus Ásgeirsson: yeah yeah

Alejandro Cremades: you know That’s what they hope for. And then there’s crickets. I mean, in your case, one thing that you pushed as part of this experience was building distribution networks. So I guess for the people that are listening to that, you know they’re thinking about their go-to-market and acquisition channels and distribution.

Alejandro Cremades: I mean, what could you tell them that perhaps you know you got us a key takeaway from the experience at Madel?

Lárus Ásgeirsson: I think the key takeaway in the early on was our most successful product was the the weighing at sea using a scale that could accurately weigh seafood on board the rolling vessel. And this was a unique product, but its market was relatively small and you would saturate that market very easily. So you had to think globally. You had to find all the ah markets in the world and organize your structure to to attack all these markets.

Lárus Ásgeirsson: And and and we over a period of few years, we managed to penetrate almost every every market in the world that had need for this type of product. So it by understanding the market and and and and and really understanding the key and a core ah value of the product,

Lárus Ásgeirsson: you could go very aggressively B2B. It’s not a retail, it’s a be business to business and with ah well-selected salespeople and and and but local support, we capture this market in ah in yeah globally in in a relatively short period of time.

Alejandro Cremades: How was also the jump? Because i mean here you were pushing for sales, you were doing marketing. You also did some corporate development, which I thought that that gave you some good idea into the transactional side of things, especially when it comes to integration. But how was that jump to all of a sudden becoming a CEO? you know And that’s something that you experienced a couple of times before you actually went at it on your own as an entrepreneur. what What was that journey like transitioning and taking a step up into leadership?

Lárus Ásgeirsson: yeah that was The journey was really related to our success with Morrell going into seafood and then we could so we could use the technology going into poultry and red meat industry. And our core know-how was the seafood industry. So we realized to ah to take the company further, we had to go into acquisition. So we made a lot of acquisition.

Lárus Ásgeirsson: Three of them were with businesses in and mainly and in Europe where we were buying companies that were far bigger than we were. We did it not once, we did it three times.

Lárus Ásgeirsson: ah two times with Danish companies and the one Dutch companies and that allowed us to capture globally the or or or become a ah key player but and and the in poultry and red meat but with this M&A work and and taking over companies you You gradually, or you had to learn very quickly to jump into a a much deeper pool than than you had you were operating in the before the acquisition. So that accelerated your development ah because we did this in in a period of 10 years.

Alejandro Cremades: So eventually, how does that all crystallize into you becoming an entrepreneur? you know What was the segue and the sequence of events that needed to happen for you to get there?

Lárus Ásgeirsson: I think the the ah i think the the this developed in, ah in ah there were other steps along the way because I was asked to become a CEO of of insurance business that was had been taken over by by the state of Iceland after the economy collapsed in 2008 and that was sold and then I was running, I was a CEO of one of the the biggest seafood trading company in the world for a couple of years. then And then I got an opportunity to move to Middle East and run ah a greenfield project in and and starting up a poultry operation for the eating food producer in the Middle East.

Lárus Ásgeirsson: And so I was there mainly to execute for others. I was not a part of the… of I was not a shareholder, I was not really… founding any of these companies. So on my when I returned back to Iceland and and I thought I would be slowing down, then I saw this opportunity to join this ah ah company Laxey, which is developing land-based salmon farming in in Iceland.

Lárus Ásgeirsson: And I became one of the founders of that business. And then then I became a true entrepreneur because in my whole professional career, I’ve been working for others.

Alejandro Cremades: That’s amazing.

Alejandro Cremades: I mean, how was that? Because I mean, that sounds that sounds ah frightening. No, I mean, you are all your life being an operator, working for someone else. And then all of a sudden you find yourself really controlling and leading your own destiny. I mean, that’s quite the change.

Lárus Ásgeirsson: Yeah, I agree with you and I was so fortunate to the other two co-founders are extremely talented people and and they managed day-to-day operation of Laxey and I think in a way both the the project itself ah

Lárus Ásgeirsson: producing salmon in a very sustainable way with green energy and and and with these other fountains and I could contribute with my experience to what and compliment the drive and and they they ah the-how they could bring to the project, yeah I think that was ah that was very amazing at least to for me to to come in as so as a founder in and in a team like that.

Alejandro Cremades: What were the, and I guess before even that, you know for the people that are listening to really get it, what ended up being the business model of like, say, how are you guys making money?

Lárus Ásgeirsson: Well, it’s ah at ah first we have to the the plan is to produce more than 30,000 tons of salmon and and ah so this will become $300 to $350 million ah ah dollar operation in in four to five years from now. So we are we are building on the island of Westman Air. It’s on the south most southant on the south coast of Iceland. And we are we need to raise equity of 200 million

Lárus Ásgeirsson: euros and and and we will invest around 500 million eu euros in this project. to ah So it’s a it’s a huge it’s ah it’s it quite challenging to start up ah or with a project like this because the campus is very, very high.

Lárus Ásgeirsson: But with a good story, with there’s a very, very strong demand for salmon around the world. And the all analysts, they report that the the market will outperform the the supply. So this is a ah extremely, extremely interesting ah area to operate in.

Lárus Ásgeirsson: And ah so it’s a root to market or or or when we pitch a project to investors, they never ask. how How will you market it? What is your markets here, et cetera? it’s ah There’s ah such a huge demand. So it’s more for us, a challenge to execute the project, to build the all the all the ah infrastructure that is needed to raise 30,000 tons of salmon every year.

Alejandro Cremades: what what What were the early days like? you know The early days where you guys got started with this and and when you finally you know found yourselves turning around a corner and and really understanding that the that there was something big here going on.

Lárus Ásgeirsson: yeah the we We realized in the beginning that it would be a big project and but we decided to bring it up into six phases. So focus on only one phase and raise capital to to execute the first phase and the necessary infrastructure. and But still giving the investor the ah the view of the journey that it will take us to this more than 30,000 ton of salmon that to produce.

Lárus Ásgeirsson: And by having this scalable, it was easier to convince the the first investors to join in. But that was not easy. and and and And we didn’t have any banks in the beginning to support us. It was all equity, our own equity. And ah one of the founders were quite successful. ah and

Lárus Ásgeirsson: seafood that was operating fishing vessels and and and and sold that and and diverted the the money into this project. So we were pretty much had to rely on ourself and hard work in the beginning and and then gradually we started to get more and more people to to join us. Key to that was that we made the plan a time plan, we have we have been able to stick to that plan. We have been successfully successfully but been able to raise enough money to support the plan. So we are at the point that there are more people that would like to invest in this project than we need. And also ah eight months ago, we didn’t have a bank. Now the banks are chasing us.

Lárus Ásgeirsson: So we have ah managed to come and and and so it it as always there is a sweet point you or you need to pivot point where it is uphill and then suddenly you you you pass ah some milestones that are critical and then things start to go downhill again. So we feel we are we are that It will be much, much easier to to raise capital, get the bank support. And early on, it was mainly Icelandic investors, but now we have international ah international companies that are among investors.

Lárus Ásgeirsson: and

Alejandro Cremades: And and how much how much how much money has the company raised to date and what has been the journey of of raising that money?

Lárus Ásgeirsson: yeah yeah We have raised ah ah around 100 million euros. ah That was the main, the most critical one round was in in April and June earlier this year, where we raised 46 million. ah and That was when we got on board many strategic investors. We were looking for Not just investors, we were looking for ah people that could like the money, but we needed desperately to get ah start strategic investors or people that could or investors that could bring more to the table than the money.

Alejandro Cremades: I hear you. so So what would that look like? Or what does that look like? You know, that level of value that you guys are extracting from from those investors.

Lárus Ásgeirsson: the, ah beyond the, the, the, the money, you mean, or?

Alejandro Cremades: So basically, it’s beyond the money, right?

Lárus Ásgeirsson: Yes, yes.

Alejandro Cremades: So whether it is a strategic advice, guidance, connections, what what what what are you guys extracting from that?

Lárus Ásgeirsson: and i ah yeah Yes, absolutely. So so we got the Strategic Guidance Network ah networking. A lot of experience that are brought on board allow us to recruit the the right people because they they they they They know what kind of people are out there and also we have managed to fill with the board of directors with very experienced people that have brought as well

Lárus Ásgeirsson: guidance and giving credibility to the the business that having those board members with us, oh then that that’s a strong dedication. We are on the right track and and ah and we have the yeah and and the confidence in our strategy and and execution of the strategy is is is high.

Alejandro Cremades: So in that in that regard too, I mean, now you’re serving as the chairman of the board. So talk to us about board dynamics and being able to to get those investors to the table and and and and to push the strategic direction of the business. What what does it look when a board is effective?

Lárus Ásgeirsson: I think we ah you need the active board members. You need to have people with the diverse background and and and experience.

Lárus Ásgeirsson: And like in in our case, because we are on this island with ah it is with a population of 5,000 people, we are yeah are very dependent on on ah good relationship with the community, with ah with the with ah ah town council etc. So we have one board member from from the community and then we have ah three international salmon or people with with the international experience in operating salmon companies around the world.

Lárus Ásgeirsson: And I bring to the table a lot of management experience from other, not necessarily from salmon, but from poultry farming, shrimp farming, and and and also seafood experience. So we we have a good combination of people that can contribute from with this diverse experience and and and and and different background.

Alejandro Cremades: So now let’s talk about vision, because obviously when these investors are investing, they’re investing in the future right and into what’s possible. So if you were to go to sleep tonight and let’s say you are all waking up to a world where the vision of LaxA is fully realized, what does that world look like?

Lárus Ásgeirsson: that’s ah that’s ah so ah So our vision today is is really to we see o ourselves being one our leading supplier of salmon ah produced in ah the most sustainable way. Among other things, we plan to ship all the ah salmon by ocean freight from Iceland. We can reach Europe and we can reach North America. So when with ah green energy and from hydropower plants and in Iceland.

Lárus Ásgeirsson: So we believe we are, so we we can, we see this and and and this vision to an and ah ah to be ah become one ah one of the leaders in and and and and and and producing sustainable land-based salmon and and and and I think beyond this project I would expect that shareholders will be interested to to use that experience to go beyond this project because of having built up the team to execute the project and and run the farm and and overcome all the these challenges it will be and

Lárus Ásgeirsson: Here in Iceland there are a the key why it’s so important, you can only do this in certain places in the world because the sea water temperature needs to be perfect for salmon and it’s it’s really, Iceland is very close to that optimal temperature.

Lárus Ásgeirsson: But also we we can we are using fisted seawater, we made portholes and we extract seawater from the portholes and that’s fisted, so there are no parasites at all in the seawater.

Lárus Ásgeirsson: stable, and the risk of diseases, etc., is is brought down to minimal. ah and Whereas in in the sea pants, we have seen a lot of challenges with with sea licenses and and and sea lice and other diseases. So so we believe we would our vision would be to expand this project beyond and capture or use the the their experience we have gained and and and the and and the team to continue to to

Lárus Ásgeirsson: build some other projects and continue the journey.

Alejandro Cremades: I love it. So, Laros, imagine if I was to put you into a time machine and I bring you back in time. you know Let’s say when you guys were starting out with Axay and you’re able to stop that younger self on the tracks and be able to give that younger self one piece of advice before launching a business. What would that be and why, given what you know now?

Lárus Ásgeirsson: don’t have to go that far. It’s it’s five, six years back and and I think we we, in a way, we didn’t realize what we were going into. We when we could have studied it further and and and and and it was my my partners or co-founders, they are more into the execution and and I think we we we would We should have spent a little bit more time for preparation, but that I think applies to all projects. But the main, the core fundamentals were there. There was a market there at and at the right price and we could ah produce the the salmon nut at the competitive price. So I think the the fundamentals were there, it was more

Lárus Ásgeirsson: preparation and and and and and like we ah have where we look back and say, you should think slowly and act and and act quickly. So maybe we should have thought things through, but that has not, we might have done it differently, but ah not really, I think we we have the technology that we are applying. I think this is the the the best one available. ah That is water management and recycling ah ah the seawater in certain ratios.

Lárus Ásgeirsson: so yeah so

Lárus Ásgeirsson: To make it easy, I think we should have prepared it a little bit more before we end. But that sometimes you spend too much time on preparation and maybe then you are preparing a journey that you will never start.

Alejandro Cremades: That’s right. Nothing like getting into action. That first step is ultimately what makes a difference.

Lárus Ásgeirsson: yep yeah and And then and early on we got small wins and we saw success and that of course gave gave us the confidence that we were on the right track and and and and for and we got early on good support from a lot of people.

Alejandro Cremades: Amazing. So, Larus, for the people that are listening, I would love to reach out ah to you to say hi, and then also I would love to learn more about Laxey. What is the best way for them to do so?

Lárus Ásgeirsson: Well, we have a homepage where you can find information on on on the business and as well as reach reaching me or any other members, the the co the other founders and the management team.

Alejandro Cremades: Amazing well I was thank you so much for being on the deal maker show today it has been an absolute honor to have you with us.

Lárus Ásgeirsson: Thank you.

*****

If you like the show, make sure that you hit that subscribe button. If you can leave a review as well, that would be fantastic. And if you got any value either from this episode or from the show itself, share it with a friend. Perhaps they will also appreciate it. Also, remember, if you need any help, whether it is with your fundraising efforts or with selling your business, you can reach me at al*******@pa**************.com“>al*******@pa**************.com

 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More