New Sweetener Protein 1500 Times Sweeter than Sugar, Made From Plants, and was Developed by CEO and Co-founder Dr. Abhiram at Magellan Life Sciences

No calories, has significant health benefits, is coming out within two years, 1500 times sweeter than sugar, and comes from a plant.

About Dr. Abhiram Dukkipati

“Experienced Chief Officer with a demonstrated history of working in the lifesciences sector. Skilled in Life Sciences, Protein Expression, Molecular Biology, Structural Biology, and Cell Culture. Strong entrepreneurship professional with a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) focused in Biology from Syracuse University.” Who was a post doctoral research fellow at Oxford and Stanford Universities.

About Magellan Life Sciences

“There are those who follow and those who lead. If we think there is a quicker and more efficacious way to reach our destination, we will first explore THAT pathway than go down the old, beaten road. Our mission is to create a strong portfolio of intellectual property in proprietary protein production platforms and novel protein based molecules for use across a wide spectrum.”

Hyperlinked Timestamped Show Notes

1. [ 01:08 ] Where he got their startup name, and how it exemplifies what they want to do/be.
2. [ 02:45 ] How he would describe his product on the natural to synthetic spectrum.
3. [ 04:12 ] How he discovered the plant and realized it would be a great opportunity. Also, how most people passed it up.
4. [ 07:08 ] We discuss how now is great timing for what he is making.
5. [ 08:37 ] How he went from a post doc, to working to make this commercially viable.
6. [ 10:00 ] How he would teach someone to figure out how to scale something developed in the lab.
7. [ 12:30 ] What the benefits of his product are over sugar (i.e not being a carbohydrate, etc).
8. [ 14:14 ] From the tests they’ve run, how people have responded to the taste when compared to sugar.
9. [ 15:11 ] How partners have responded to what he has created.
10. [ 15:57 ] How long until this is ready to hit the market.
11. [ 16:22 ] What’s left to do to get this to market.
12. [ 17:00 ] Why someone who produces sugar wouldn’t try to knock them off. Basically, how it is defensible.
13. [ 18:10 ] The future of his company (i.e. licensing, production, etc).
14. [ 18:50 ] Who will be the first beach head markets.
15. [ 20:20 ] Who all are a part of the team, and what they bring to the table.
16. [ 22:25 ] Thoughts on finding the right people to hire.
17. [ 24:37 ] The most rewarding aspect of his journey.
18. [ 25:10 ] His other hobby (i.e. trading currencies).
19. [ 26:17 ] What makes him hopeful for the future.
20. [ 26:45 ] What he will do to celebrate when they succeed at passing their milestones.
21. [ 28:10 ] What a typical day/week looks like.
22. [ 29:15 ] He explains how his being in a plane crash is funny.
23. [ 30:55 ] Who in the science community inspires him.
24. [ 31:25 ] What things he is currently watching in the science community that he thinks is very exciting.
25. [ 32:00 ] Resource recommendations.
26. [ 32:45 ] For people sitting on the fence, what he would encourage those people to think about.
27. [ 34:40 ] The call to action he wishes to leave us with, and his twitter handle (the best way to reach him).

Biodegradable Biopolymer Materials Innovation Startup Discussion with Dr. Molly Morse, the CEO and Co-Founder of Mango Materials

Bioplastics, methane based materials that are competitive with conventional, oil-based plastics that do not biodegrade or have the same fantastic features.

About Molly

“Dr. Molly Morse is an innovator, inventor and entrepreneur who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is the CEO and co-founder of Mango Materials, a startup company that uses methane to manufacture biodegradable materials. She has engineering degrees from Cornell University and Stanford University and is excited about how innovation and science can transform the world, leaving it a better place.”

About Mango Materials

“Mango Materials produces biodegradable polymers from waste biogas (methane) that are economically competitive with conventional, oil-based plastics. Mango Materials produces poly-hydroxyalkanoate (PHA) powder, a valuable biopolymer that is converted into a variety of ecofriendly, plastic products such as children’s toys, electronic casings, water bottles, and food packaging containers. Due to a rising preference for green products, demand for biodegradable and non petroleum-based plastics is growing rapidly. Mango Materials uses affordable methane gas and a process that competes favorably with petroleum-based plastics to produce low-cost, biodegradable plastics.”

Hyperlinked Timestamped Show Notes

1. [ 01:10 ] What made her choose Mango Materials as the name for the startup, and the story of how it came to be.
2. [ 02:51 ] Her origin story of creating the company, the founding team, and her background.
3. [ 05:34 ] Why PhD isn’t on her business card, and what advice she would give to people from a technical background to break the mold and start their own company.
4. [ 07:33 ] Suggested accelerators.
5. [ 08:16 ] What things from her technical background she uses to be successful now.
6. [ 09:35 ] Her suggestions to someone from a non-technical background to level up their skills.
7. [ 11:41 ] How to reach out to people effectively.
8. [ 12:18 ] What she does for fun outside of eating mangoes.
9. [ 12:59 ] Things she won’t try.
10. [ 13:14 ] Thoughts on clean meat.
11. [ 14:01 ] How she gets the methane to produce her bioplastic.
12. [ 15:15 ] Are there still redwoods in Redwood City, CA?
13. [ 15:40 ] What the reactors look like, and what the process to creating the bioplastic is.
14. [ 16:24 ] What application she is most interested in creating.
15. [ 19:03 ] If it looks or feels different.
16. [ 19:33 ] The cost of the product, and what she is working on to reduce costs.
17. [ 20:25 ] What would help her and the startup.
18. [ 21:21 ] How close she and the startup are to their goals.
19. [ 22:50 ] Why now is the best time to create a startup like this.
20. [ 23:21 ] How long it took her to say the chemical name correctly, why she says it a lot, and a quick reference to The Office.
21. [ 24:35 ] A fun discussion on how to name products, such as PHAT.
22. [ 25:08 ] What things people tend to get wrong about what she is building with examples.
23. [ 26:58 ] Certifications and her thoughts on them.
24. [ 28:15 ] How her vision for the company has only focused down versus pivoting over the years.
25. [ 29:57 ] What keeps her up at night (i.e Funding and scale).
26. [ 30:47 ] How much funding she needs to get to her goal.
27. [ 31:32 ] Partnerships, and how they have helped them survive.
28. [ 32:55 ] How she learns to be better (i.e. failures).
29. [ 34:11 ] What biographies she likes, and our thoughts on the Hamilton musical by Lin Manuel Miranda.
30. [ 35:24 ] Book recommendations.
31. [ 36:42 ] How she loves to run, but can get lost easily.
32. [ 37:46 ] What methods she uses to get things done at her company (i.e. walking meetings, etc.).
33. [ 38:15 ] How taking traditional funding versus not taking traditional funding was one of the biggest decisions for her company.
34. [ 41:29 ] How she chooses her employees and her scientific protocols.
35. [ 43:13 ] How employees can drive long term growth besides just being good employees, and her thoughts on creating the right culture.
36. [ 44:24 ] What she has learned this year that will be a game changer next year.
37. [ 44:51 ] What a typical day/week looks like for her (i.e. starts working at 5am PST).
38. [ 46:28 ] How she charts her time to ensure she isn’t wasting it.
39. [ 47:13 ] How to be supportive and follow a long.

Additionally…..

I will be in the Berkeley Bay area and Boston area looking for a new home where I can roll up my sleeves to get into early stage biotech and science based startups. Let me know if you know of anyone that would be great to meet. Additionally, I will be at the New Harvest Conference on Cellular Agriculture, so keep an eye out for great content on that subject. If you have any questions, let me know and I will try to get them answered. Ask any questions and I’ll try to get them answered.