Justin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Shayna Harris (@mamashayna) and Noramay Cadena (@noramayc), co-founders and managing partners at Supply Change Capital, a VC firm that believes in a future of food that is sustainability-mindful, supply chain efficient, better for you, and culture rich. They invest at the intersection of food, culture, and technology to catalyze early stage sustainable businesses that modernize the food system.
Noramay Cadena is an aerospace engineer turned investor whose professional career has spanned a diverse range of operating and investing environments, from early-stage startups to Fortune 50 companies. She previously launched MiLA Capital, an early stage fund that invested in over 20 manufacturing and supply chain companies. She also leads investments for Portfolia's Rising America Fund, a micro fund investing in Latinx, Black and LGBTQIA founders. She serves on the advisory board of the Homeboy Industries Ventures and Jobs Fund, and as a founding board member of Latinx VC, an organization increasing the Latino ecosystem of funders and founders. She was appointed to the board of the Housing Authority Commission of Los Angeles (second largest housing authority in the nation) by the Los Angeles Mayor. In 2020, she was named one of 50 renowned women in robotics, one of 10 Latinas making waves in venture capital, and one of the top 100 influential Latinas in the United States. She’s a Kauffman Fellow and holds a MBA, a Master’s in Engineering Systems and a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering – all from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She’s also a Director Member of the Latino Corporate Directors Association (LCDA).
Shayna Harris brings an insider's eye to the industry, from architecting the 21st-century chocolate supply chain at Mars to building the groundbreaking food tech company Farmer’s Fridge. She advises Fortune 100 companies and startups on navigating the fast-changing food terrain, and writes for Forbes. She has spent her career at the intersection of food, sustainability, and innovation. She’s driven by a deep personal belief that food is a human right, and it should have a positive impact on all it touches. She cares to connect with people in authentic and personal ways; spanning from the farmers that she lived with and learned from in southern Mexico, Brazil, and Cote d’Ivoire, to the board rooms of Mars, Oxfam, and Farmer’s Fridge. She’s also a builder – she has never taken a role with a job description.
Website: https://www.supplychangecapital.fund/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noramay/ & https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaynaharris/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/noramayc & https://twitter.com/mamashayna
Show Notes:
0:00 How both Shayna and Noramay ended up in the VC industry
4:45 Supply Change Capital’s origin story
7:00 How Noramay and Shayna came to develop Supply Change Capital’s investment thesis at the intersection of culture and climate in the future of food
9:31 Their fundraising journey and storytelling around their thesis
11:53 What differentiates Supply Change Capital
13:59 The FOODS framework for evaluating founders
18:44 Their Supercharge III post-investment support program in partnership with Verde Associates
23:52 Their favorite up and coming food trends
27:03 Some of Supply Change Capital’s most interesting investments: Aqua Cultured Foods and Hyfé Foods
31:15 How Shayna and Noramay stay educated in the rapidly changing future of food market
34:19 How Shayna and Noramay protect their time as VCs
38:40 How they’ve approached building out the Supply Change Capital team
42:00 Where to connect with Shayna, Noramay and Supply Change Capital
More about the show:
The Vitalize Podcast, a show by Vitalize Venture Capital (a seed-stage venture capital firm and pre-seed 300+ member angel community open to everyone), dives deep into the world of startup investing and the future of work.
Hosted by Justin Gordon, the Director of Marketing at Vitalize Venture Capital, The Vitalize Podcast includes two main series.
The Angel Investing series features interviews with a variety of angel investors and VCs around the world. The goal? To help develop the next generation of amazing investors.
The Future of Work series takes a look at the founders and investors shaping the new world of work, including insights from our team here at Vitalize Venture Capital.
More about us:
VITALIZE Venture Capital was formed in 2017 as a $16M seed-stage venture fund and now includes both a fund as well as an angel investing community investing in the future of work. VITALIZE has offices in Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
The VITALIZE Team:
Gale - https://twitter.com/galeforceVC
Caroline - https://twitter.com/carolinecasson_
Justin - https://twitter.com/justingordon212
Larissa - https://twitter.com/LarissaInsogna
Vick - https://twitter.com/vahram_sf
VITALIZE Angels, our angel investing community open to everyone:
https://vitalizeangels.com/
