Today we’re interviewing Dr. Dalal AlGhawas, Director at Big Idea Ventures, a global accelerator focusing on protein technology. Well, Big Idea ventures isn’t just an accelerator, it’s also a venture capitalist arm, a networking hub, and all around, global player in the food tech space.
I remember interviewing Andrew Ive, the CEO of Big Idea Ventures. Pre-pandemic just when they were getting started and Big Idea has grown so fast. Last I heard, they’ve been going global hosting competitions and demo days in Korea and Japan.
Now I’m interviewing Dalal, who’s been so helpful in connecting me to not just some amazing interviews in Singapore, but also in general, meeting some awesome people personally and professionally!
Dalal is a wealth of knowledge and I’ve noticed she has a great understanding of the history of whole industries, which allows her to gather insights to give out practical advice.
If you’ve been following this series since the beginning I hope after this episode, you might be seeing a sort of congealment in all of the guests we’ve had and how they work with and synergize with each other. It’s probably the most beautiful thing about Singapore, in that everyone truly knows and wants to help each other. You’ll hear several companies in this interview that we’ve been able to talk to and it’s so nice to hear just how networked the whole Singapore ecosystem is.
What’s Up With Adam
Nothing much! Well, I’ll be moving to South San Francisco pretty soon. So I’m working on a new project and just registered for a place called Kitchentown! Have you heard of it? It’s essentially a commissary kitchen but has the expertise and diligence to produce and ship food products.
I’ve always loved working with them and I’m glad to do it again. If you’re around the area, say hi!
To give you a bit more context in this interview, let’s briefly talk about incubators and accelerators.
Ok so what are they? If you’re working for a startup, you might have heard of these terms. Basically, they are both programs used to grow startups, though in different stages. Incubators foster a community to build up a startup. In general, these act more as coworking spaces with a few added functions more than anything. One example is WeWork Labs, which is an arm of WeWork that essentially puts startups in one convenient space to help them have a nice room to do work, but also to spread ideas and grow.
I had a small stint in the WeWork Food Labs division and my job was to make sure food startups we well-resourced. I would recruit, go and find events to do at the space and a bunch of other things to help startups with an idea.
On the other hand, an accelerator is a bit more exclusive and competitive. This is because the stage in which a startup does an accelerator is different. In general, a product, one would say a minimum viable one, has been built and has convinced the accelerator that they are in the beginning stages of a product market fit. Given the name, accelerators allow companies to accelerate by giving them tactical knowledge, a great network, and in general, exposure to the whole startup community, including and especially investors.
If you’re really into startups, you might have heard of Y-combinator, which had Airbnb, Twitch, etc. In WeWork Food Labs, we housed an accelerator called SKU, which focused exclusively on CPG companies. Most accelerators have access to a ton of mentors and resources to succeed.
Pedigree matters in accelerators as the successes an accelerator pushes out is generally the bright light in which companies what to bet big on. Accelerators are expensive as you give up a huge chunk of equity for a bit of funding and a network. The idea is that you’ll grow so much, the chunk of equity would be worth it.
Ok, so do startups have to go through an incubator or accelerator? It depends! If you need the resources and you just have no idea how to get them, both of these tools are really useful in terms of building your business. However, there are plenty of great businesses who don’t need these programs to succeed.
In general, there is a playbook for starting a business and a more difficult playbook in growing it. If you don’t know the playbook, you can scramble and get lost just because there’s so much going on.
So how do you know if an incubator or accelerator is right for you? Do your research. See if either one has access to a portfolio list where it shows the companies they’ve had successes in and next, reach out to someone who can give you honest feedback on if it’s worth it or not. Ger a variety of opinions and understand the reason why you need an incubator or accelerator, and go from there.
We do this in a coworking space. You might hear some background noise. I think someone over there was pitching to an investor.
Also, Dalal is so nice. She invited me to celebrate her boyfriend’s birthday and it was at this super nice buffet. Oh my god the best buffet I’ve ever tasted. Fresh lobster, tea braised duck, sushi, desserts in little caps, wow, this buffet was legit. Shout out to Kaha!
Shownotes
Neutriceuticals
Buhler and Gividuan Protein Innovation Center
More information: Buhler with Aparna Venkatesh
More information: Nurasa at Temasek
Big Idea Ventures is an accelerator and venture builder
Big Idea Cohort
Demo Day
Haofoods (uses peanut meal to make plant-based meat)
Monde Nissin
More information: Interview with Andrew Chen
Rich’s Foods
Horizon Ventures in Hong Kong
Beyond IPO
Cristian Cadeo – Managing Partner
Hype phase
Paris backtracks on naming plant-based meat
Green Queen Based on Hong Kong
Good Food Institute APAC
More information: Check out Valerie Pang’s interview
CULT – Cultivated Meat Newspaper
New Harvest
Cell Agri
Agfunder
Hawkers
Small Hand Manual for Hawkers
Kuwait
Big Idea Ventures Website
End of the Show
Let’s talk about networking
I’ve been to a few networking events the past couple of weeks and some were good, some weren’t and I’m trying to figure it out. Both were high net worth parties with people who either own businesses or properties but one, I felt like I couldn’t get a word in, the other, I could. Networking is hard, but for me, it’s been such a worthwhile experience.
Pretty much before the pandemic I loved to network and I would spend maybe 3 out of 7 days a week going to events and talking to people. But then the pandemic began and no more networking. Online didn’t feel the same. I’m going back into it, but I feel like it’s easier and harder at the same time.
Just like anything, networking, or basically getting off your ass and going to something to talk to complete strangers with hopefully a common interest, is really tiring and exhausting and it takes a lot of mental energy to do so.
Overall, you’re going to have networking events that drain you and networking events that inspire you. I personally believe networking is a compound skill you get the more you practice it. You’ll have duds and wins but career wise, it compounds. I don’t think you should network as much as I used to, but once a month, try and get out and meet with different groups of people. Use meetup, or professional organizations, and try and at least refresh your social muscle. Some of the events I never thought I’d have a good time at, were some of my most memorable days.