Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Paul Shapiro, Co-Founder and CEO of The Better Meat Co., located in West Sacramento, CA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
The Better Meat Co. is a B2B ingredients food tech startup focused on using fermentation to create the next generation of alt-meat ingredients based on delicious, nutritious mycoproteins that we grow in Sacramento, CA.
Tell us about yourself
For the past 30 years, the animating motivation of my life has been to try to help humanity do better when it comes to our treatment of the planet and all its inhabitants. Since one of the key drivers of environmental and animal welfare problems is raising billions of animals for food, I've devoted much of my life to finding alternatives to this protein production system. After a 15-year career in agricultural public policy, I wrote a book called Clean Meat on the topic and then co-founded The Better Meat Co. in early 2018 to make it easier for food companies to use fewer animals.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
We've partnered with major food players like Perdue Farms and Hormel Foods to help build a more sustainable food system.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
The challenges may seem never-ending (lack of capital, space, equipment, and more), but I'm grateful to be surrounded by so many dedicated team members who are devoted to helping overcome these hurdles and still make the difference in the world we're seeking to make.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- It's popular these days to tout work-life balance, but in my experience, that's not realistic for most founders. Trying to birth and grow a new company can be all-consuming, and the head with the crown is always the heaviest. So I'd ask yourself before diving in how realistic it is that you can devote the lion's share of your waking hours (and many of your dreaming hours) to ensure your company succeeds.
- Surround yourself with people who know more than you do. Hiring people who are "like you" (with your same knowledge base and skill set) may seem attractive, but in reality, you need people who complement your skills and are better than you are at many things.
- It's easy to focus on success stories we read about. But remember that everyone falls down, even those who ultimately succeed. It reminds me of the great philosopher Rocky Balboa's famous quote: "It's not about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward."
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.bettermeat.co/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Paul-Shapiro/author/B076P4BN9D
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paulshapiro/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paulshapiro1/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PaulHShapiro
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-shapiro-6a9aa282/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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