Fengru Lin, Co-Founder And CEO Of TurtleTree Labs- Clean Milk For People And Planet Via Cell-Based Methods!

What started as a passion for making cheese and the inability to find good milk in Asia, Fengru Lin boldly co-founded a biotech company, TurtleTree labs, to create real milk through cell-based methods.

For the first time in history, she and her team have been able to create real milk without having to go through an animal. This will shape the future of not just how we get dairy milk but how humans will feed their infants. TurtleTree Labs is able to have a 98% reduction in carbon footprint and, as a result, will help to save the world by replacing dairy cows in the future.

TurtleTree Labs is the first biotech company in the world to create milk from all mammals. Using our proprietary cell-based methods, they will shape the future of not just how we get dairy milk but how humans will feed their infants.

To maximize impact, the team will work with industry leaders to adopt sustainable and safe methods to create milk. Our focus on impact will disrupt this multi-billion dollar industry while reducing the carbon footprint on this planet while creating milk free of contaminants.

In an exclusive interview with AsiaTechDaily, Fengru says:

I would like to be remembered for the impact TurtleTree made on the world, having successfully allowed everyone to continue accessing the dairy products that we all love without harming the environment.

• The technology is out there. We can use technology to solve some of the world’s largest problems
• Resourcefulness is key. It is so important to think outside the box when we are trying to solve a particular problem. This is how SpaceX managed to rethink how space travel can be democratized and how Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak invented the personal computer
• Always be humble. There is always something we can learn from everyone. Have coffee with me, and I can share a couple of amazing stories

Read on to know more about Fengru Lin and her journey.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-_lWBXH2Dc

Please tell me about your personal background and What motivated you to get started with your company?

Fengru Lin: I had a hobby of making cheese – what started as a passion for making cheese turned into a hunt for good quality milk. I traveled to many dairy farms in Asia (Indonesia, Thailand, etc.) to source for milk that would allow me to create high-quality cheese. My sourcing attempts failed when I witnessed the poor conditions of farms in the region – poor animal hygiene, cows pumped with hormones, contaminated water. All of which negatively impacted the milk’s quality.

This prompted me to dive into the idea of creating milk myself. During then, I met my co-founder, Max Rye, who spoke about cell-based meat at an event at Google, where I was an account manager then. I raised the possibility of using cell-based methods to create milk, and both of them spoke to scientists who pointed out that it was scientifically possible. Together with a few scientists, Max and I dove into the science behind creating milk using cells. After some research breakthroughs, we boldly founded TurtleTree Labs.

What is your current main product, and can you share any previous product pivot story to the current product?

Fengru Lin: TurtleTree Labs is shaping the future for dairy milk and infant nutrition production with our proprietary, cell-based, biotechnology method to produce milk sustainably.

How much money have you raised in total so far? When was the recent funding round?

Fengru Lin: We just had a seed funding round of US$3.2 million in June 2020. Before that, we had undisclosed pre-seed funding round in January 2020.

What were the internal decision processes in determining when to begin fundraising, and what were the logistics for this? And how many investors have you met so far, and how did you meet these investors, and which channels worked best for you?

Fengru Lin: We began fundraising after we filed our patents to ensure that we had our IP and ideas secured. We are working with Wilson Sonsini from the US for our patent filing. They are also the patent attorneys for other prolific foodtech companies like IMPOSSIBLE and Geltor. Thus far, we have spoken to at least 150 different investors, and it continues to be a fantastic learning experience with every one of them. In our initial months, we grew our investor base through our network of advisors and industry friends and some business development outreach through LinkedIn. We are very fortunate to have great support after that, and these days, our investors reach out after they read about our story in the media or through interactions with other investors.

What are the biggest challenges and obstacles that you have faced in the process of fundraising? If you had to start over, what would you do differently?

Fengru Lin: The process of fundraising was the most difficult in the initial stages. As Max and I have business backgrounds, many investors question our ability to lead a science team. As we shared with those investors, it was precise because we come from very different backgrounds compared to what is normally seen in the industry, that we are confident of the diversity of thought and value we would bring. There have been many instances where we can provide out-of-the-box thinking or activate the right resources to help the team accelerate.

What are your milestones for the next round? And what are your goals for the future?

Fengru Lin: We are optimizing the conditions in the bioreactors that produce milk. Our target is to produce 5L of milk every 24 hours in a continuous flow small scale bioreactor by the end of this year. By Q3 2021, we aim to increase this to a commercial-scale bioreactor.

We’re focused on being an impact-driven company. Our goal is to allow cell-based milk technology to be used globally, providing the best nutrition to infants and adults in the most sustainable way.

How have you attracted users, and with what strategy have you grown your company from the start to now?

Fengru Lin: As we’re still focused on scaling up to commercialization, meetings with potential customers are still in its preliminary stages. These meetings are possible through the help of our advisors and investors who make the initial introductions. However, during these initial discussions, many potential customers and partners recognize the unique value proposition TurtleTree Labs would provide them and are incentivized to carry on these discussions. At the same time, we accelerate the development of our technology.

Which has been the best marketing software tool for the growth of your startup, and why?

Fengru Lin: It is linkedIn. It has a global reach and allows us to curate the content for our extended network.

How do you plan to expand globally?

Fengru Lin: We plan to collaborate with our dairy partners to strategically evaluate potential geographies to expand to closely. We then work with these dairy partners or contract manufacturers to start production. By tapping on our dairy partners’ economies of scale, we would be better able to leverage their distribution and sales channels to expand more effectively.

What are the most common mistakes companies make with global expansion?

Fengru Lin: Companies often get overly excited about a global expansion that they don’t take the time to do a proper product-market fit analysis. This entails not just understanding the unique preferences of consumers in that particular country but also right down to the business culture in the country and understanding common business practices.

How do you handle this COVID-19 outbreak situation for your company’s survival in the future?

Fengru Lin: We were allowed operations as we were classified as an essential service. At times, we found ourselves shorthanded in the lab as the split team arrangement meant our full team of scientists could not work together at all times. During these times, we weighed in on our dependence on our cloud-based informatics platform, Benchling, to accelerate, measure, and forecast R&D. Through such measures, our projects were able to go as planned.

We have more regular check-ins to ensure teams have all the resources they need to continue accelerating our development. It’s business as usual for us, and if anything, the pandemic has highlighted the urgent issue of food security. We’re determined to bring our technology to market faster than ever before.

What are the most common mistakes founders make when they start a company?

Fengru Lin: Timing. If a young Jeff Bezos tried to set up an online bookstore today, he would fail miserably. His foresight to capture what his customers would want next drove Amazon to transition from an online bookstore to a global e-commerce store today. It’s all about adapting based on future trends and customer needs.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received? And What advice do you have for someone who is interested in doing similar things like yours or in a similar direction?

Fengru Lin: During my time at Google, the best advice I have ever received was a company that has a big focus on making a 10x impact. As the time we have is finite, every activity we do needs to be easily replicated by our team, partners, and customers. This 10x thinking influences how we set up processes within the company, build our technology, and market.

What are the top-three books or movies (TV series) that changed your life and why?

Fengru Lin: I would say the Nat Geo series ‘American Genius’ is one of my favorite series of all time. Episode 3: “Wright Brothers vs. Curtiss” discussed the importance of constant innovation and not focusing on legal disputes over single innovations. In Episode 8: “Edison vs. Tesla”, Edison famously said, “We will make Electric Light so cheap that only the wealthy can afford to burn candles.” Much like cell-based food tech’s progress, one day, it would not make economic sense to raise a whole animal to consume meat.

How do you keep yourself motivated every day?

Fengru Lin: All the credit goes to my lovely team. I look forward to tackling and solving problems with them every day. It’s a wonderful feedback loop when we work hard and see the support from our community, the Singapore government bodies, partners, and customers. In my free time, I enjoy long bike rides that free up my mind, allowing me to reset before having to start all over again.

What are the top- three life lessons that you want your (future) sons and daughters to know?

Fengru Lin:

• The technology is out there. We can use technology to solve some of the world’s largest problems
• Resourcefulness is key. It is so important to think outside the box when we are trying to solve a particular problem. This is how SpaceX managed to rethink how space travel can be democratized and how Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak invented the personal computer
• Always be humble. There is always something we can learn from everyone. Have coffee with me, and I can share a couple of amazing stories

What would you like to be remembered for?

Fengru Lin: I would like to be remembered for the impact TurtleTree made on the world, having successfully allowed everyone to continue accessing the dairy products that we all love without harming the environment.

You can follow Fengru Lin here.

https://twitter.com/turtletreelabs

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