Kick-Off: The Fungal Venture Builder Programme
Breakthrough science doesn't scale on brilliant research alone. It needs a living ecosystem; founders, mentors, corporates, and investors woven together like a mycelial network, each thread strengthening the whole.
Last week, that network came alive in Copenhagen, as the Top 5 teams of this year's Science Entrepreneur Award kicked off the three-month Venture Builder Programme: the point where world-class fungal science begins its journey to world-changing ventures 🍄🟫🚀
The Top 5:
Still Bio (Denmark) — natural fungal protection extending fresh food life and cutting food waste at the source
LipiTune (Germany) — tunable, fungal-derived oils reimagining the future of cosmetics
SymbioSoil (USA) — restoring soil from the root up with a fungal-microbial probiotic
Building With Microbes (Denmark) — turning demolition waste into low-emission building materials
MultiBioCrop (Greece) — fungal-powered crop protection for stronger, more resilient harvests
Learning from those who've built the bridge before
Over two days, the founders learned directly from experienced entrepreneurs, investors, and industry leaders. Randi Wahlsten, co-founder and CEO of Matr Foods, shared what it really takes to walk the entrepreneurial journey. Søren Spanner Bach of Black Swans Exist dug into the foundations of building a strong founding team. Will Wright brought a venture capitalist's lens, offering candid advice for biotech founders navigating the road to funding.
The teams also gained a corporate perspective, with Marie von Wildenrath Wegmann from venture scouting at Novonesis sharing how startups can partner successfully with large corporates, and Susanne Palsten Buchardt of PSV closing out the sessions with an investor's view on what makes a university spin-out truly fundable.
A visit to Novonesis
The programme took the teams straight to the frontier of scale, with a visit to Novonesis, one of the leading biotech companies in the world. Hosted by Sara Landvik, a longtime friend of the Award, the visit gave founders a firsthand look at where fungal innovation can go.
The journey ahead
The kick-off is done, now the real work begins. Over the next three months, these five teams will push to become investor-ready: sharpening their IP and regulatory footing, pressure-testing their market fit, and building real traction. Along the way, they'll work through financial models, fundraising strategy, team governance, and the storytelling skills to pitch with confidence, backed by expert coaching, peer learning from fellow fungal entrepreneurs, and honest feedback every step of the way.
We're excited to help them move from lab to market, and even more excited to see how far they've come by December 🍄
