1. Please introduce yourself and the startup, and what inspired you to start the company?
Mati started when my (Triin) and Andrean’s paths crossed – we were both simultaneously toying with the idea of using mycoprotein for producing meat analogs. There has been an obvious gap in the plant-based meat market where Mati’s focus is today, namely minimally processed, natural, and fillet-type products.
We saw that our skills and backgrounds formed a nice whole. With a background in biotechnology, Andrean is the technological backbone of our team. He has worked on development projects for meat alternatives in the food industry and established a mushroom farm. For instance, at Maag Group, he was responsible for development projects in cultivated mushroom growth, and at Shroomwell, he has been the head of research.
Somehow it all came together nicely, with Andrean being responsible for the backend and me for the frontend – my own experience comes from communication, the plant-based products market, and end-consumer preferences. I have been a vegetarian myself for ten years, and this choice led me to work at Meatless Tuesday (Taimne Teisipäev), a public health campaign aimed at reducing meat consumption among Estonians. Among other things, we organized the Food Innovation Summit, a conference on food innovation and plant-based food.
2. How did the incubation program help the company grow?
For us, the start of the incubation program coincided with the final preparations for launching our first product, Mati’s chicken analog. Somehow, it happened that the first intensive training in the program was a practical sales training, during which we developed a sales manual and CRM system that we still use in our daily sales work.
We also gained visibility during the launch period thanks to Sparkup Incubator. For example, we had a booth at sTARTUp Day.
The opportunity to use the Tartu Science Park office space and attend various super-cool trainings and events was very appealing.
The €10,000 support that came with the program was also very beneficial. Unlike many programs, Sparkup Incubator did not take equity in exchange for this support. Such non-dilutive financial support is quite rare in the incubator landscape but very welcome.
3. What were the biggest challenges during the program and how did you overcome them?
The biggest challenges were related to bringing the product to market, dealing with a hundred and one larger and smaller problems, and navigating this maze was quite an undertaking.
4. What are the plans for the company’s future?
In the future, we want to expand our product portfolio – to bring innovative, healthy, and exciting plant-based food products to the market, one of the first being an analog of white fish fillet. A particularly exciting challenge will be entering export markets.
5. What advice would you give to future participants of the incubation program or young entrepreneurs?
In the incubation program, it is important to be proactive. Don’t just participate in the offered trainings, but also research the background of the mentors in the program’s network, actively communicate with other participants and the program team. If you are passive and wait for someone to bring everything to you on a silver platter, you might miss out on a lot of valuable opportunities.
And this applies more broadly in the context of entrepreneurship – it may sound harsh, but the world has not been impatiently waiting for you to come up with your idea and start implementing it, so it can rush to buy your service or product. All your partners, customers, investors, supporters are out there in the wide world and, of course, some of them will come to you, but you will be much more successful if you bring along an open mind and listening skills, knock on doors yourself, and make yourself visible.
6. If asked whether you would recommend the incubator program to a friend, what would you answer?
I would definitely recommend it, hurry up and apply! The professional and supportive program team offers you and your startup so many opportunities to educate yourself in everything from marketing and sales to team dynamics and management, pitch, represent your company, and get insights from experts.
