Coller Startup Competition: Securing our future with animal-free alternatives

In partnership with the CPT Capital and the Creator Fund. Launching 26 April 2023 and running throughout May and June 2023.

According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, industrial animal agriculture sits at the intersection of the most pressing issues we face today: climate change, global food insecurity, food safety, public health, antibiotic resistance and animal welfare.

Providing animal-free alternatives requires us to rethink how we produce our food from the ground up and innovations providing new technological solutions that aim to create meat, eggs, dairy and seafood more sustainably and without animals. These animal product alternatives can be made directly from plant sources, through fermentation technology or by cultivating cells in bioreactors.

We also need a radical rethink about the need for alternative proteins that can create new materials and resources for companies wanting to have the option of transitioning to using sustainable animal-free products in their manufacturing processes.

Developing alternative proteins across all manufacturing streams can play a huge part in a materials revolution that can help rebalance our relationship with the planet.

This revolution and rethink requires a multi-disciplinary approach and this competition is your opportunity to showcase your vision through a radical idea, creative collaboration or rethink of an existing process.

Although there has been an impressive wave of innovation and investment in alternative proteins in the last few years, considerable opportunities remain across the supply chain to ensure that these alternatives are competitive in terms of taste, price, and availability and are accessible and adopted by more consumers and companies.

There are great opportunities for startups looking to innovate in this space – the Entrepreneurship Centre at Cambridge Judge Business School, CPT Capital and the Creator Fund are excited to be supporting a future innovator through this competition.

Register via the form below.

What can you win?

• The winner will receive a £100,000 SAFE investment or £5,000 cash prize*
• All finalists will receive mentoring from the Creator Fund and an interview for a place on Accelerate Cambridge

Just by entering you will benefit from finding out more about the Alternative Protein market and the opportunities for innovation. You will also meet some key industry stakeholders and begin the all-important process of building your network.

* Prize selected at the winner’s discretion.

Competition format

Step 1: Competition launch

Wednesday 26 April, 18:00-20:00 at Cambridge Judge Business School, Lecture Theatre 2

Join us at the Competition Launch event on Wednesday 26 April, 18:00-20:00, to find out more and to hear from keynote speakers in the alternative protein industry:

• Max Jamilly, Co-Founder at Hoxton Farms
• Brett Cotton, Co-Founder at Arda Biomaterials
• Will Saunter, Co-Founder and Advisor at CU Alternative Protein Society

Along with representatives from the event sponsors.

Step 2: Supercharge your entry

Wednesday 17 May 2023, 18:00-20:00 at Cambridge Judge Business School, Lecture Theatre 3

To enter the competition, you need to submit a completed Business Model Canvas and a 3-minute video pitch by 12:00 noon on Sunday 4 June 2023.

Download the Business Model Canvas template (PDF)

The judges will be looking for you to have an idea of your target customer and your value proposition.

This workshop session will provide you with guidance on how to complete a Business Model Canvas and complete your video pitch.

It is not compulsory to attend this workshop, but attendance is highly recommended.

Step 3: Submit your entry

You must submit your completed Business Model Canvas/Pitch Deck using the typeform link.

Please also email your Video Pitch to our team (we recommend using a file sharing site eg WeTransfer.com)

Please submit your application by noon on Wednesday 31 May 2023.

Step 4: Review of submissions

The Judging Panel will review applications with the shortlisted finalists announced on Wednesday 7 June 2023.

Step 5: Competition final

Tuesday 20 June, 18:00-20:00 at Cambridge Judge Business School, Lecture Theatre 2

The shortlisted finalists will have the opportunity to pitch their idea to our judging panel of representatives from CPT Capital, the Creator Fund, CJBS Entrepreneurship Centre, along with key innovators and industry leaders.

The competition winner will be announced at this event.

Focus and scope

The focus of the Coller Startup Competition covers a wide range of animal-free technologies including but not limited to:

• Recombinant proteins (using precision fermentation, molecular farming, or plant cell culture)
• Cell culture/cultivated meat and seafood products
• Enabling technologies (eg equipment manufacturers, ingredient optimisers, contract organisation for production scale-up etc.)

Terms and conditions

Eligibility

• You can enter as either an individual or as a team. If entering as a team, at least one member of your team must be a student/graduate from a UK university (includes postdocs, PhDs, and researchers)
• You can enter either as a new idea or as an existing early-stage venture.
• For existing ventures, grant funding is allowed, however you must have raised less than £200,000 in non-founder equity. It is not mandatory to have raised any external funding.
• For new ideas, you should ideally be working towards a proof of concept or minimum viable product (but not mandatory).

Prize conditions

• Your company must be incorporated in the UK.
•  Your founding team/CEO must be full-time employees of your company.

Important

The competition scope does not cover ventures which aid or facilitate the use of animals. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Novel crops/proteins for animal feed
• Probiotic treatments to replace antibiotics for farm animals
• Tracking and monitoring systems for farm animals.

The Founder of the Coller Alternative Protein Competition

Jeremy Coller is the founder and Chief Investment Officer of Coller Capital, a pioneer and leading institution in the Private Equity secondaries market which he founded in 1990.

Jeremy is also the founder of CPT Capital, a dedicated alternative protein investment arm within his family office. CPT has been investing in the alternative protein space for over eight years, supporting early-stage companies and founders looking to disrupt the incumbent, unsustainable food and materials supply chain that currently relies on animals. CPT has built a portfolio of over 60 companies across plant-based, recombinant proteins, cell culture and enabling technologies.

Jeremy also leads a number of philanthropic initiatives focused on highlighting the risks associated with intensive agriculture with the goal of ending factory farming in his lifetime.

These include:

• The Jeremy Coller Foundation
  A strategic grant-making organisation, focused on ending factory farming and improving venture and management education.
• The FAIRR (Farm Animal Investment Risk & Return) Initiative
  The world’s fastest growing investor network focused on ESG risks in the global food sector with members representing $70 trillion of AUM, leveraging the power of capital markets to address the risks of intensive animal agriculture.
• CALF (Coller Animal Law Forum)
  An interactive database of laws and policies that impact farmed animals, accelerating policy and law around the world.
• APA (Alternative Proteins Association)
  The largest association of its kind in Europe, designed to promote the value of alternative proteins in the UK.

“The UK has all the ingredients to be a global leader for state-of-the-art research and innovation in alternative proteins. We are supporting this competition in the hope that the next generation of UK students, researchers and academics will focus on the huge business and research opportunities available in alternative protein technologies to secure a sustainable future with animal-free alternatives. We look forward to being inspired by your ideas and passion to make a difference.” – Jeremy Coller