Let’s be honest, the image of a stressed-out lawyer turned venture capitalist experimenting with flour in his kitchen is pretty hilarious. But the thing about breakthroughs is, they often start in unexpected places. My journey from boardrooms to baking wasn’t some mid-life crisis – it was about finding a way to solve a problem that mattered deeply to me, even if it meant getting my hands dirty (literally).
The Accidental Sweet Tooth
I’m not going to pretend I was some health food guru before discovering the challenges of low-glycemic ingredients. Honestly, my diet was the kind that gives nutritionists nightmares. But when [briefly explain personal health issue or market observation that sparked his interest], I realized the options out there were, frankly, depressing. Rice flour that made gummy, flavorless pancakes? No thanks. That’s when the stubborn lawyer in me kicked in. How hard could it be to figure out a better solution?
Kitchen Lab Rats
Turns out, replicating the complex properties of carbohydrates on a molecular level is really hard. My kitchen started to look like a mad scientist’s lair, with weird powders, charts tracking blood sugar spikes, and more burnt batches of bread than I care to admit. Those years closing multi-million-dollar deals taught me nothing about the finer points of gluten development. Sometimes I’d want to scream, especially when the expensive lab equipment I ordered would just sit there, mocking me with its complexity.
The Power of Obsessive Iteration
But here’s the thing about founders (and apparently, bakers): we don’t give up easily. Every ruined loaf was a data point. Too dense? Maybe a different starch blend. Lacking flavor? Time to experiment with natural sweeteners. At first, progress was painfully slow. Then, there’d be a tiny breakthrough, and a renewed burst of motivation. Turns out, the thrill of getting a spreadsheet of clinical data that makes investors’ eyes light up isn’t so different from finally nailing a sourdough recipe that’s both delicious AND diabetic-friendly.
When “Eureka!” Means Flour Everywhere
After years of this (and my wife’s incredible patience with the constant mess), I had it. A formulation that ticked all the boxes: texture, taste, AND the blood sugar impact I was after. Honestly, I think I scared the neighbors with my shouting. In that moment, all the self-doubt and flour-covered clothes felt worth it.
Deep Tech, Deeper Patience
The journey from there was less glamorous: patents, navigating regulatory bodies, finding production partners… It’s a slow burn, especially for someone used to the fast-paced world of deal-making. But that early kitchen experience taught me something vital for any founder working in deep tech: true innovation is a marathon, not a sprint. There will be days when you want to toss your spreadsheets out the window (just like those inedible bricks of experimental bread).
If you’re the kind of person who gets excited about solving seemingly impossible problems, and you’re not afraid of a little mess along the way, the world of deep tech might be your unexpected calling. Just maybe invest in an industrial-strength kitchen mixer first.
