Reinventing the Chickpea with Kathryn Cook of NuCicer

In this episode of the StartupSac Podcast, JDM chats with Kathryn Cook, CEO and co-founder of NuCicer, to explore how her startup is transforming the food system by "reinventing the chickpea." With a background in materials science engineering, Kathryn discusses how NuCicer uses predictive breeding and genetic diversity to enhance chickpeas---boosting their protein content by up to 75%, improving flavors, and solving production challenges for food brands.

Kathryn also opens up about the rewards and discomfort of being a technical founder, offering insights on customer discovery, the realities of fundraising, and what it takes to navigate the deep tech startup landscape.

Key topics in this episode:

• What it means to "reinvent" a staple crop like the chickpea  
• NuCicer's journey from research to commercial scale production  
• Challenges of predictive breeding and working with wild genetic strains  
• The importance of customer discovery for deep tech startups  
• Kathryn's approach to fundraising, securing $11 million in venture capital  
• Lessons learned from building a company at the intersection of agriculture, food, and technology

Join us for a great discussion on building a mission-driven agtech company that aims to reshape the food industry and bring nutritious, sustainable solutions to market.

For more information about entrepreneurship in Sacramento, be sure to visit StartupSac.

Where to find NuCicer and Kathryn Cook:  

• NuCicer on LinkedIn  
• Kathryn Cook on LinkedIn: Kathryn Cook

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