Startup Lessons Learned on a Lifelong Journey to Increase Food Sustainability with Pam Marrone (October 13, 2022)

Serial entrepreneur Pam Marrone has traveled a variety of paths in her various startup journeys in the world of biological agriculture. Her first startup, Entotech, was a biopesticide company funded by Danish company Novo Nordisk. Her second startup, AgraQuest, was acquired by Bayer Crop Science for nearly $500 million. Her third startup, ag-tech company Marrone Bio went public in 2013 and was recently acquired for $236 million earlier this year.

“I've done it all,” Marrone says. “I’ve raised angel money and then VC money. I got money from customers. I really literally looked everywhere, starting with initial friends and family in my office.”

Marrone is one of only 32 women founders to have taken her company public. Today, she advises other startup founders in the ag-tech sector. And in October, she’ll share her story at fnSummit 2022, Founders Network’s 7th annual fall conference.

Marrone is a pioneer and thought leader in agriculture. In her keynote, she will discuss how agriculture is changing rapidly to meet today’s expectations for carbon footprint reduction and environmental sustainability, along with consumer demands for transparency and sustainability in the way we produce food.

Register here to attend the keynote virtually.

In her keynote Marrone will also cover:

• How to continuously monitor, manage and tweak company culture
• Why you should work with partners who are aligned with your mission, vision and values
• The value of raising more money than you think you’ll need
• Factors to consider before going public

About the Speaker:

Pam Marrone spent her 30+ year career focused on biological products for pest management and plant health, having started and led three bioag companies. In August 2020, Dr. Marrone retired as CEO of Marrone Bio Innovations (NASDAQ: MBII), a company she started in 2006 and listed on NASDAQ (MBII) in 2013 and recently sold to Bioceres Crop Solutions (NASDAQ:BIOX) July 2022. She remains an advisor to BIOX. She is a board member and past treasurer of the Association for Women in Science, on the board of the Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research, is a Senior Fellow of the Arizona State University Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems and is a past alumni- Trustee of Cornell University. She serves on the boards of 180 Life Sciences (NASDAQ:ATNF), Stem Express and Pheronym and advises several agtech/agbio startups, most founded or led by women.

Among the many awards she has received, the American Chemical Society recently awarded her the “Kathryn C. Hach Award for Entrepreneurial Success.” She has a B.S. in entomology with Honors and Distinction from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in entomology from North Carolina State University. With co-founder Jim Boyd, the former CFO of Marrone Bio, Pam is currently in the process of launching a fourth company, the Invasive Species Control Corporation, to bring effective, environmentally friendly biological solutions to control destructive invasive species, such as invasive carp, zebra and quagga mussels, bark beetles and toxic algae.

Guests Are Welcome!

Please bring a guest! Every member can bring one (1) guest to each event. Each guest must be a full-time tech startup founder so they can bring new perspectives, skillsets, and experience to your chapter.

All guests must be full-time tech startup founders and you can register them directly on this function page. See How to Register a Guest here.

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