Hi everyone, Anna-Sophie here.
In the next newsletters, Caroline and I want to shed some light on how nihilo came about and what we have been up to ever since.
Full transparency, we have been two busy bees. The last few months have been a real rollercoaster and a lot has changed for both of us. But where did it all begin?
Towards the end of summer 2022, I left my corporate career behind and joined Zinc’s incubator program, while finishing an MBA with IE Business school. The incubator program provides a platform to find a co-founder, ideate around large problem spaces and to build a business to solve those challenges. Zinc’s focus for this cohort was on the creation of B2B software businesses to tackle the industries with the biggest impact on the environment.
During my time with Zinc I had the opportunity to deep dive into our food ecosystem, and the increasing challenges we are facing in our food production. Around the world the way we produce food is destroying natural ecosystems, decimating biodiversity and accelerating climate change. David Edwards, Director of Food Strategy at WWF-UK calls for ‘a food system that supports farmers and producers to protect and restore nature, whilst providing everyone with nutritious and affordable food, now and in the future.’
Caroline and I, having connected over our passion for food, started ideating on how we can be part of driving positive change to create a healthier and more sustainable food systems for people and our planet.
The idea for nihilo originated in early February 2023. In April 2023 we took the tough decision not to pitch to Zinc, as our focus was on creating sustainable consumer products rather than a software play. We knew that our coffee-bean free coffee needed a lot of research and development, and so we worked hard on securing partnerships with some of the leading research organisations in the UK (stay tuned for more on this soon!). We also knew we needed funding. April came around and we submitted an application for a big UKRI grant, applied for SEIS and put together our investor pitch decks. I can tell you, having numerous all nighters working on multiple multi-year financial projections, being a pre-revenue start up, is the less glamorous side of being an entrepreneur. But I learned. A lot!
And as every beginning is difficult, and we all need an income, I started applying for full time jobs in the startup world. I recently joined Helm, the UK’s leading club for scale up founders. Here I head the business strategy, business development and work closely with all members. Having the opportunity to connect with other founders, and learn from them about their challenges, has been inspiring.
Caroline has also had a really busy few months and she will tell you all about it in our next newsletter.
I guess what I am saying is that one doesn’t really realise how difficult it is to be an entrepreneur until you are doing it. It’s really tough and every minute of the day you think about how you can push the business forward. During one of my MBA modules I came across this quote in an article from Conan O’Brien, that really stuck with me "They tell you what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger. What they forget to tell you is that it almost kills you."
But if you would ask me, if I would change anything? No, I absolutely wouldn’t. I have never been more enthralled in a job, never been more excited to get up in the morning and push through the challenges, never been more interested in conversations I am having and never enjoyed working with someone more than Caroline – she is a rockstar!
And I am so excited to have you all on board to share our journey. This is only the beginning!
