Ep. 263 – [Singapore] How to Build a Global Startup Team with Max Rye, Cofounder and Chief Strategist at TurtleTree Labs



Today we’re interviewing Max Rye, co-founder and Chief Strategist at Turtle Tree Labs. Which is a precision fermentation company focusing on lactoferrin, a supermolecule in cow’s milk.

One of the most unique things about Turtle Tree is that they have hubs in Singapore, Davis California, and Boston Massachusetts. I know a few companies who are taking this approach because certain areas have certain talents.

To level set, Turtle Tree has raised around $40 million dollars so you do need a lot of money to prepare for managing a global company. Though the world is changing thanks to technology and it seems like event startups can take advantage of location. Max tells us how turtle Tree manages that.

Talent is surprisingly more location dependent than you think. This is generally why despite what anyone says, the United States still produces the most talented employees in the world.

Max ran a software company for about 15 years before handing it off and diving into solving sustainability problems.

I found Max’s talk to be insightful and there are a plethora of inspiring insights and stories that might help you consider going into this space. You’ll learn about Max’s journey on building Turtle Tree and it shows that he is an example of the many people who are transitioning from tech to solving big and meaningful climate problems. It’s really inspiring and he’s inspired others to do so too.

Special thanks to long-time fan Vien-An Freidel for connecting me with the Turtle Tree Team I would have never gotten a chance with such a high-profile interview without her.

What’s up with Adam

Since being in the bay area, I was actually able to try two cultivated product companies with potentially more tastings on the way. Mission Barns invited me in for a bite and Stakeholder Foods had an event where they serve cultivated stuff and it’s pretty good. I find this amazing as literally 3 months ago, I had to break my back for a tasting in Singapore and I hop into California and wham, I have a server giving me a product with meat made without harming an animal.

Today I want to talk to you about fermentation. Specifically Precision Fermentation,

[See the article about precision fermentation coming on friday]

Links

Lactoferrin
Gutlogic Turtle Tree
UC Davis
Lactoferrin heals wounds,
Lactoferrin is in tooth paste
Lactoferrin gives 1% in whey protein
Temasek Livability Challenge
Entrepreneurship world cup
Merc KGA
Amanda Fischser
Novozymes
NotCo
UC Davis Milk Bioactives
Sunk Cost Facility
Inflation Reduction Act
Singapore Botanical Gardens
Little India in Singapore
turtletree.com
Max Rye on Linkedin schedule a time to say hello!

Changing Traditions

This is the end of the show

Originally, I wanted this end note to be about giving thanks, because in America, it’s thanksgiving and all but I want to kind of change that a bit.

Let’s talk about tradition.

Traditionally until I was 27, my mom, dad and I would go to thanksgiving at my grandparent’s farm in Fresno California. We would have a traditional thanksgiving dinner with four different families and it’s grown over time.

This year it’s a bit different as half of that extended family either moved from Hawaii to the east coast, some have other priorities like visiting their kid, and well, for lack of a better term, a few family members are essentially immobile.

My parents told me it was highly unlikely we would celebrate thanksgiving which broke my heart.

However, my aunt still scraped by and invited what she could to gather people to their place in Woodland California, coincidentally that’s where Max is from. So we’ll be going there tomorrow, do a smaller thanksgiving feast, and what generally lasted half a week, will just be a late lunch.

Where am I going with this? Traditions change given the circumstances and sometimes it’s important to make the best out of those circumstances. We have traditions every single day, from the food we eat to the place we work with and sometimes it can be hard to evaluate and change those traditions. You’re always going to have people who want to keep it traditional and those who want to change it. From swapping turkey with tofu, to finding cheaper ways to have fun at a holiday mixer.

I’m not asking to go one way or another as traditions can anchor you but it’s important to sit back, and evaluate what’s changing on the outside to adapt to what’s inside.

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