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Vestland Pharma x Sarsia: Jan Rune Nordhagen and Jon Trygve Berg shares how to get funded in 2024

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs 

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2024 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs.

Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners; Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 12: Vestland Pharma x Sarsia: Jan Rune Nordhagen and Jon Trygve Ber shares how to get funded in 2024

In this episode, Alex talked to Jan, CEO of Vestland Pharma, and Jon Berg, Venture Partner of Sarsia.  Vestland Pharma is a startup that is focusing and wants to make the first all natural medicine against sea lice- the biggest problem for fish farming in Norway. Jan highlighted the pivotal role of external partners in structuring the company and aligning it with market demands. The startup partnered with brokers who bridge the gap between farmers and international markets, ensuring better adoption of their solution. The discussion also emphasizes the importance of government grants, like those from Innovation Norway, in funding high-risk, environmentally friendly projects. On the other hand, Jon Berg opened the conversation that underscores how venture capitalists are now prioritizing solutions that integrate into current systems rather than completely replacing them.

Key Facts Vestland Pharma:

• Goal: To make the first all natural medicine against sea lice- the biggest problem for fish farming in Norway.
• Recently raised NOK 12M from Sarsia and Coast Seafood.

Alex’s Top Findings:

1. Your initial target investors are often wrong. “  We tried to get investment from fish farmers in Norway and they have quite a lot of capital, but they did not know and did not  grasp what we tried to do. When you are into fish farming, you usually  invest in low risk projects  and making medicine is highly risky. It is cost intensive and it has a high risk. I think we did try to reach out to the wrong  investors, basically, the first time.” Jan shared.
2. Strategic Government Grants Accelerate High-Risk Projects. Government support, such as grants, plays a pivotal role in funding innovative but risky projects, helping mitigate financial risks for investors. As per Jan, “It was Innovation Norway. They give grants to good ideas that are helping the industry, and you need to show it’s helpful and does not harm the environment. These are grants, not equity, and they’re very useful for slightly higher-risk projects.”
3. Evolving VC Trends: From Replacement to Sustainability. The focus of venture capital has shifted from disrupting supply chains to improving sustainability and efficiency within existing frameworks. As the Venture Partner of Sarsia, John Berg said that, " Three to four years ago, the emphasis was on replacing existing farming infrastructure with plant-based products or cellular agriculture. Now, it’s much more about embracing current supply chains and making them sustainable and regenerative. As a VC with a thesis and a perspective, is that something that you've also seen your colleagues have, improving supply chains rather than replacing."