A British import to Silicon Valley and tech star turned bug entrepreneur, Daniel of Tiny Farms has a lot to offer. I hope this episode gets you thinking about the WHY: What problem is your startup going to solve? We had a delightful chat and covered a wide range of topics:

• Technology and income disparity - why Daniel is optimistic
• Contrasting British versus American views on entrepreneurship
• A theory on why we don't eat insects in the United States
• Open-source bug farming!!
• How can the insect industry sustainably copy the efficiency of the poultry industry?
• Why do so many companies start in the US?
• Are entrepreneurs in the U.S. as daring and romantic as they think they are?

Mentioned in the episode:

Tiny Farms

(Tiny Farms Blog - Thoughts on Progress)

The Entrepreneurial Imperative

Will Durant Books

Immigrant Inc

Muhammad Yunus (Correction: only one noble peace prize)

Stuff White People Like - #105 Unpaid Internships

About Tiny Farms: An Oakland, California company developing the supply chain for insects as a sustainable protein source. Tiny Farms applies big data techniques to guide the rapid development of controlled environment agriculture systems used for farming insects.

This summer August de Vocht made a trip to the U.S. looking to finalize a round of investment for his Dutch based startup. He also shot a documentary (trailer link) about U.S. attitudes towards food waste. In 2015, does the U.S. really care about Food Waste?

No Food Wasted works to connect grocers and local consumers to sell grocery products close to there "best-by" date at a discount. While they are live in Holland, they are still deciding if the app could work across the pond. We compare (North) Americans vs. European in a variety of behavioral attitudes:

• "You say you want to reduce waste, but are you willing to change your behavior?"
• Optimism/Pessimism and Entrepreneurship
• Legal Change vs Educational Change (France vs Holland)

Food startup founders: we hope this gets you thinking about cultural attitudes towards your products and services. If you are not aligned, be careful!! Plus, we also talk about the day to day life of August, "Twitter squatting", and some downright scary food waste statistics.

Selected links in the episode:

No Food Wasted

Twitter Cake

Delicious home-brewed craft beers are almost never shared with a wide audience. This is due to legal and production capacity reasons. Noble Brewer Beer is changing that, connecting amateurs with professional breweries.

They buy the beer that is produced and sell it to its subscribers via a delivery service. FSP Listeners, this is one of our best shows to date. Claude Burns takes us behind the scenes of his company:

• How he went from the Navy to a beer startup in Oakland
• Why they are creating the Etsy of beer
• What the experience of a homebrewer is like (it's a homebrewer's dream to be featured @ Noble)
• The legal/logistical wrinkles of their business
• Online marketing tips for food delivery startups
• The importance of awards in beer/wine/liquor industry

Selected links from the show:

Noble Brewer Beer
Noble Brewer on Rocket Club
Kendall Jackson Book

Today we have a talk about some of the biggest environmental challenges that our earth faces:

• Remove existing carbon from the atmosphere
• Help growers cut water & fertilizer use
• Converts forest & farm waste into bio-sustainable products
• Neutralize alkaline water
• Rebuild soil fertility

Mike from Corigin is working on these humongous problems. But he must sell his technology and ideas Big Agro in order for it to work. I get Mike to break down the solutions in laymen's terms. Get ready to be blown away.

Mentioned in this episode:

Corigin (going live soon)

Biochar

Pyroligneous Acid

Future Farmers of America

They started at UC-Berkley making organic mushrooms out of coffee waste. Now, they are a full-fledged company in Home Depot, Urban Outfitters, and Target among others. It is one of the most inspiring stories we've had so far. Fresh off a 2 million dollar investment round, Nikhil Arora of Back to the Roots® talks about food and life:

• Nikhil's early years and how they connect to where he is today
• Behind the company philosophy - making an integrated difference
• Going from a "no category" to a competitive grocery category run by goliaths
• Raising a quarter million dollars in a Kickstarter campaign
• The dark side of a 36 month shelf-life in big-brand cereals
• How to keep a fun successful company culture while growing big

... and so much more.

Mentioned in this episode:

Back to the Roots®

Aquaponics Kickstarter

Back to the Roots Raises $2 Million to Grow Its Mini-Gardens, Food Brand

B Corporation

Preservatives to Avoid (BHT)

Kamut®

Soursop

Twi Language in Ghana