Join Us as a Founder in Residence in Agriculture We're on the lookout for entrepreneurial individuals with technical and commercial domain expertise with keen interest in founding, and building a global scale, impact driven, high growth company from ground up.
We are seeking applications from experienced industry, startup and/or new science or engineering based technology development professionals from anywhere in the world, eager to achieve the high-level outcome of halving the time necessary to identify commercially viable crop varieties .
You'll work closely with the DSV team to co-found and spin-out a new company.
Once the new venture is incorporated with pre-seed investment from DSV, you and your co-founders will own the majority stake in the business, and continue receiving support from the DSV team post-spinout.
The role is full-time, initially remote (can work from anywhere) with possible relocation once the new venture is incorporated.
Anticipated start date Q1 2025.
The Opportunity The global population will surge to over 9 billion by 2050, and we will need a 70% increase in food production to adequately feed this future global population [ 1 ][ 2 ].
Crops are essential to meet this need; 55% of the world's crop calories are consumed directly by humans, and another 36% is used for animal feed [ 3 ].
Crop breeding has been a primary driver of food security due to the selection of superior cultivars that meet caloric, nutritional, and productivity metrics.
However, the acceleration of climate change threatens cultivar selection efficiency since new biotic and abiotic stresses emerge without warning; thus, there is a critical need to accelerate how we breed for future crops.
Conventional and advanced plant breeding technologies have helped alleviate yield losses due to climate change, such as drought and pest resistance.
However, even in the era of advanced breeding and precise genetic engineering, these technologies have yet to achieve the full potential of crops because fundamental challenges remain unaddressed.
To this end, this opportunity area seeks to reduce the seed-to-seed generation time by at least 10X through novel florigenesis induction technologies.
References [1] https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.1116437108 [2] https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2020-02/apo-nid274256.pdf [3] https://www.vox.com/2014/8/21/6053187/cropland-map-food-fuel-animal-feed Our Approach A key bottleneck for crop variety development is the crop's biology, especially the time it takes to reach the reproductive stage.
Therefore, strategies to shorten the time it takes to go from seed/cutting to the reproductive stage to evaluate crop traits promising to reach commercial viability solve this problem.
While environmental manipulation has been the cornerstone of shortening breeding cycles, we recognize the untapped potential in harnessing florigenetic factors and its great value to the plant breeding industry.
We have identified that fast-tracking flowering and gamete production, enabling swift progeny evaluation and market readiness, is a neglected area that has great potential in the plant breeding industry.
The commercial co-founder in residence will de-risk the commercial aspect of the venture and develop the strategy for a successful pre- and post-incorporation (pre-seed fundraising) stage in the short-term but also will develop the commercial milestones (in collaboration with the technical team) that need to be met by seed and series A.
Requirements Who Should Apply Most suitable candidates will likely meet multiple of the following criteria: A graduate degree in Business Administration, Economics, Agribusiness, or a related field, complemented by significant exposure to Life Sciences, Plant Sciences, or Agricultural Technology; Proven record of building and executing go-to-market strategies for agri-biotech products, particularly those involving novel plant breeding technologies and non-genetically modified organism (non-GMO) methods; A track record of successful commercialization within the agricultural sector, including understanding of market adoption dynamics for innovative breeding or crop development techniques; In-depth knowledge of the intricate agricultural value chain and the associated economic, environmental, and social factors crucial to the success of new technologies in this sector; Experience in anticipating and maneuvering through regulatory landscapes and intellectual property considerations relevant to plant-related technologies and innovations; Proven capability in strategic business development, including raising capital, forming key partnerships, and engaging with stakeholder groups from farmers to agribusiness executives and policymakers; Entrepreneurial acumen and previous involvement in venture-scale businesses, with a focus on science-based entrepreneurial ecosystems; An exceptional ability to articulate the value proposition of new technologies to non-specialist audiences, including investors and strategic partners; Well-honed negotiation and influence management skills, underpinned by an analytical mind and the bravery to envision and propose uncharted commercial avenues; Exceptional command of English, with proficiency in additional languages such as Spanish, being advantageous for key markets like tropical agriculture; Flexibility and willingness to engage in travel or relocation, given the venture's potential focus on regions with strategic relevance for tropical and subtropical agriculture, like Costa Rica.
Benefits Our Offer By joining DSV, you will be part of a team of operators who have founded companies and led the translation of science at some of the most respected universities, charities, funds, and government agencies.
Here's what we offer: Access to optimised, purpose-built, proprietary tools, resources, and processes to help create high-impact ventures from scratch; Opportunity area-specific know-how from our network of Partners and Advisors; Up to £250k in investment to incorporate the new venture and develop early proof-of-concept data; Guaranteed income of £4,166 per month paid as a consultancy fee until the company is launched and the pre-seed investment is secured; Majority equity stake in the new company for you and your co-founders; Continuous post-spinout support, including fundraising, commercial partnerships, recruitment, and team-building; Collaborative support from dozens of Founders currently at DSV across sectors.
About DSV Deep Science Ventures is creating a future in which both humans and the planet can thrive.
We use our unique venture creation process to create, spin-out and invest into science companies, combining available scientific knowledge and founder-type scientists into high-impact ventures.
We operate in 4 sectors: Pharmaceuticals, Climate, Agriculture and Computation, tackling the challenges defining those areas by taking a first principles approach and partnering with leading institutions.
