The S2G Podcast

In this episode, Rishad Tobaccowala, former Chief Growth Officer at Publicis Groupe, and current author, speaker, advisor, and host of the What Next? podcast, offers an incisive look into the evolving nexus of technology and human capital shaping the future of work. Rishad discusses the critical importance of rethinking workplace design and integrating new technologies into workflows to drive growth. He also provides actionable strategies to leverage advancements in AI and enhance employee en...

In this episode, Chuck Templeton is joined by Nikhil Arora and Alejandro Velez, co-founders of Back to the Roots, a company that's redefining what it means to be a home gardener. Starting from an unconventional college experiment using coffee grounds to grow mushrooms, their venture has grown into the only end-to-end organic gardening brand, helping to ignite a new generation of sustainability-minded gardeners who are looking for a more rooted relationship with their food. The duo discu...

In this episode, Sanjeev Krishnan, co-founder and managing partner of S2G Ventures, takes us through his career path from investing in telecom in emerging markets to building out a life sciences investment group at the IFC, the early days of energy environmental investing, his decision to hone in on food and agriculture, and finally to his journey with S2G. Sanjeev shares learnings critical for anyone investing or innovating in tough tech sectors, including his framework for using capital mar...

In this episode, we dive into the entrepreneur and investor journey that has led to the first EPA-approved RNA crop protection product and created a paradigm shift for the industry. Chuck Templeton chats with both GreenLight Biosciences CEO Andrey Zarur and S2G Managing Director Matt Walker, who has been working with Andrey and the GreenLight team for many years, about the company’s journey from defining a pressing need to designing a solution and bringing their first product in the market. T...

Not many people produce category-defining companies twice. But then again, not many people are John Foraker. The comforting taste of Annie’s mac and cheese or their cheddar bunnies masks their revolutionary origins when organic products were relegated to the back corners of grocery stores. As the former longtime leader of Annies, John is partially to thank for bringing natural foods to the fore. Today, as the CEO of Once Upon a Farm, he is changing how customers buy baby and kid foods while m...

To celebrate International Women's Day we're shining the spotlight on our special ops team. For the past two years, our all-female Special Ops team has been deploying flexible non-dilutive financing to companies trying to reach that next stage of scale. S2G's Andrea Woodside and Marisa Sweeney break down what a special opportunity is, the role this type of funding plays in today's funding environment, and who should reach out to them (any asset-oriented climate company) and when (as soon as p...

Last year, we put out a report entitled, "trends shaping the future of food in 2023." A year later, we wanted to check in with some of our team members who weighed in on the report to get their take on how these trends are evolving into 2024. In the last episode, we dove into our agtech trends, and in this episode, we'll look at some of the supply chain and foodtech trends. We talk to Dan Ripma about food as health, Kate Danaher about supply chain resilience, and Larsen Mettler about cultivat...

In this episode, Chuck Templeton is joined by fellow Chicago entrepreneurs and old friends Chris Gladwin and Mike Evans for a captivating conversation about scaling their respective companies for exit. Chris founded and sold CleverSafe and is currently the Founder and CEO of Ocient, a data analytics platform for the world's biggest data sets. Mike is the Founder of Grubhub and now the Founder of Fixer, a home maintenance membership company. Chris and Mike compare their customer acquisit...

Last year, we published a report entitled, "Trends Shaping the Future of Food in 2023." It turns out 2023 was quite the year with many market, geopolitical, and policy twists and turns. In this episode, we check in with S2G team members who contributed to the report to get their take on how these trends evolved in 2023 and into 2024. We interview Arthur Chow about robotics, Cristina Rohr about digital agtech, and Matt Walker about alternative crop inputs. Key Takeaways:Agricultural Robot...

We’re kicking off the revamped S2G podcast series with a deep dive into the art of scaling with Chuck Templeton, S2G senior managing director and entrepreneur known for founding OpenTable and guiding startups like Grubhub and Braintree. In this episode, Chuck imparts crucial wisdom on overcoming early adoption hurdles, refining sales processes, and remaining steadfastly customer-centric for scalable growth. He shares his 'just start' philosophy to innovate solutions and build antifragile stru...

On this podcast, we’re talking to business leaders, investors, policymakers, and thought leaders who have a transformative vision for the future. We’ll explore how their experiences and perspectives offer lessons into scaling the food, agriculture, oceans, and energy transitions.This content is for informational purposes only, should not be taken as legal, business, tax or investment advice, or be used to evaluate any investment or security, and is not directed at any investor or potential in...

In this episode, Jessica Murphy, Vice President at S2G, sits down with Tracey Halama, CEO of Vital Proteins to share how the unique ways in which the company built their brand, positioned them to be acquired by Nestle Health Sciences in one of the great M&A stories of the year. Between starting in D2C, becoming a B corp, working with influencers, being radically transparent, and staying true to your brand experience, Tracey has some real wisdom to share with brands looking to stand out from the pack and earn brand recognition and loyalty.This content is for informational purposes only, should not be taken as legal, business, tax or investment advice, or be used to evaluate any investment or security, and is not directed at any investor or potential investor in any investment vehicle sponsored by S2G Investments, LLC or its affiliates (“S2G Ventures”). Investing involves risk, including the risk of loss. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the views of S2G Ventures. Specific companies are mentioned herein solely for educational purposes and should not be construed as an endorsement of any particular company or investment. Please note that S2G Ventures may maintain investments in the companies mentioned herein. For more important information, please see www.s2gventures.com/disclosures

In this episode, Dan Ripma, Vice President at S2G, sits down with Grant Leslie and Jacqlyn Schneider, food, agriculture and nutrition policy experts from FGS Global, to explore emerging opportunities for progress and multi-sector partnerships in the food and nutrition sector. They discuss the significance of the recent White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health, the novel opportunities for collaboration between unusual partners, the implications of the national strategy for the upcoming farm bill, and how investors and entrepreneurs can build off of the momentum and realize real progress in the sector. This content is for informational purposes only, should not be taken as legal, business, tax or investment advice, or be used to evaluate any investment or security, and is not directed at any investor or potential investor in any investment vehicle sponsored by S2G Investments, LLC or its affiliates (“S2G Ventures”). Investing involves risk, including the risk of loss. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the views of S2G Ventures. Specific companies are mentioned herein solely for educational purposes and should not be construed as an endorsement of any particular company or investment. Please note that S2G Ventures may maintain investments in the companies mentioned herein. For more important information, please see www.s2gventures.com/disclosures

Sanjeev Krishnan sits down with Lukas Walton, CEO of Builders Vision and co-founder of S2G to discuss the characteristics such as systems thinking and a multi-asset approach that are at the core of S2G and Builders Vision. From the multi-asset approach of Builders Vision, to the critical work of tackling friction points, the importance of an abundance mindset, and the efforts to look beyond impact investing to systems investing, this conversation is filled with thought provoking ideas and perspectives on how to conceptualize, fund and take action for powerful and necessary change. This content is for informational purposes only, should not be taken as legal, business, tax or investment advice, or be used to evaluate any investment or security, and is not directed at any investor or potential investor in any investment vehicle sponsored by S2G Investments, LLC or its affiliates (“S2G Ventures”). Investing involves risk, including the risk of loss. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the views of S2G Ventures. Specific companies are mentioned herein solely for educational purposes and should not be construed as an endorsement of any particular company or investment. Please note that S2G Ventures may maintain investments in the companies mentioned herein. For more important information, please see www.s2gventures.com/disclosures

S2G Managing Director, Larsen Mettler, sits down with Brilliant Planet CEO Adam Taylor and chief scientist and cofounder Raffael Jovine, as well as John Butrick, partner at Union Square Ventures which led the company’s series A, to discuss Brilliant Planet’s algae-based climate solution and the funding needed to support these types of innovations. The conversation covers everything from the technology to the potential for generating quality carbon credits, what it will take to scale these operations and why venture capital is needed to back innovative solutions.Download the 8 Trends Critical to a Blue Economy Report here: https://www.s2gventures.com/reportsThis content is for informational purposes only, should not be taken as legal, business, tax or investment advice, or be used to evaluate any investment or security, and is not directed at any investor or potential investor in any investment vehicle sponsored by S2G Investments, LLC or its affiliates (“S2G Ventures”). Investing involves risk, including the risk of loss. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the views of S2G Ventures. Specific companies are mentioned herein solely for educational purposes and should not be construed as an endorsement of any particular company or investment. Please note that S2G Ventures may maintain investments in the companies mentioned herein. For more important information, please see www.s2gventures.com/disclosures

Jeff Nobbs is on a mission to replace environmentally harmful and unhealthy vegetable oils with cultured oil that is better for people and the planet. Vegetable oils, which make up 20 percent of our daily calories, are driving biodiversity loss through cropland expansion and contributing to the rise of chronic disease. This awareness, coupled with a passion for healthy eating and the connection between food and wellness, drove Jeff to dedicate his career to finding an alternative. In this episode, Jeff talks about the factors that led him to create cultured oil, a fermented vegetable oil that has a 90 percent lower environmental footprint and is substantially healthier without sacrificing taste. This content is for informational purposes only, should not be taken as legal, business, tax or investment advice, or be used to evaluate any investment or security, and is not directed at any investor or potential investor in any investment vehicle sponsored by S2G Investments, LLC or its affiliates (“S2G Ventures”). Investing involves risk, including the risk of loss. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the views of S2G Ventures. Specific companies are mentioned herein solely for educational purposes and should not be construed as an endorsement of any particular company or investment. Please note that S2G Ventures may maintain investments in the companies mentioned herein. For more important information, please see www.s2gventures.com/disclosures

S2G Clean Energy Fund Managing Directors, Frank O’Sullivan and Stephan Feilhauer, sit down with Sanjeev Krishnan to discuss the obstacles and opportunities in the clean energy investment space. Frank and Stephan discuss the unique nature of the energy sector and their approach to energy investing as co-managers of the new S2G Clean Energy Fund. It will take bridging silos between sectors and capital structures, adopting a systems approach, and working at the seams of the energy world to propel the energy transition forward and enable it to permeate into the broader economy.This content is for informational purposes only, should not be taken as legal, business, tax or investment advice, or be used to evaluate any investment or security, and is not directed at any investor or potential investor in any investment vehicle sponsored by S2G Investments, LLC or its affiliates (“S2G Ventures”). Investing involves risk, including the risk of loss. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the views of S2G Ventures. Specific companies are mentioned herein solely for educational purposes and should not be construed as an endorsement of any particular company or investment. Please note that S2G Ventures may maintain investments in the companies mentioned herein. For more important information, please see www.s2gventures.com/disclosures

Michael Fassnacht, CMO for the City of Chicago and CEO and President of World Business Chicago sits down with Tonya Bakritzes, Managing Director of Marketing at S2G to discuss why and how Chicago is supporting its food and agriculture sector and encouraging growth and innovation. Michael shares why Chicago is particularly well suited to be a food industry hub from its rich history in the sector to its diversity, location, affordability and incredible talent pool, and how the city plans on strengthening the sector and making it a core strategy in Chicago’s economic recovery. This content is for informational purposes only, should not be taken as legal, business, tax or investment advice, or be used to evaluate any investment or security, and is not directed at any investor or potential investor in any investment vehicle sponsored by S2G Investments, LLC or its affiliates (“S2G Ventures”). Investing involves risk, including the risk of loss. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the views of S2G Ventures. Specific companies are mentioned herein solely for educational purposes and should not be construed as an endorsement of any particular company or investment. Please note that S2G Ventures may maintain investments in the companies mentioned herein. For more important information, please see www.s2gventures.com/disclosures

Josh Domingues, CEO of Flashfood, joins S2G’s Chuck Templeton to discuss how the company’s solution to retail food waste creates substantial benefits for grocery stores and consumers. This content is for informational purposes only, should not be taken as legal, business, tax or investment advice, or be used to evaluate any investment or security, and is not directed at any investor or potential investor in any investment vehicle sponsored by S2G Investments, LLC or its affiliates (“S2G Ventures”). Investing involves risk, including the risk of loss. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the views of S2G Ventures. Specific companies are mentioned herein solely for educational purposes and should not be construed as an endorsement of any particular company or investment. Please note that S2G Ventures may maintain investments in the companies mentioned herein. For more important information, please see www.s2gventures.com/disclosures

Dr. Jeff Bland, founder of Big Bold Health and Founder and President of the Personalized Lifestyle Institute, joins S2G’s Walter Robb on this episode to discuss how the company is helping people take control of their health and pave the way for 100 years of good living through immunity rejuvenating products and educational resources.This content is for informational purposes only, should not be taken as legal, business, tax or investment advice, or be used to evaluate any investment or security, and is not directed at any investor or potential investor in any investment vehicle sponsored by S2G Investments, LLC or its affiliates (“S2G Ventures”). Investing involves risk, including the risk of loss. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the views of S2G Ventures. Specific companies are mentioned herein solely for educational purposes and should not be construed as an endorsement of any particular company or investment. Please note that S2G Ventures may maintain investments in the companies mentioned herein. For more important information, please see www.s2gventures.com/disclosures