Krijn de Nood, founder of Meatable: 'Launching a startup is incredibly hard work, there are no shortcuts’

“In 200 years, in our perception, the current bio-industry will be on par with slavery,” states Krijn de Nood, founder of cultured meat startup Meatable. The company's mission was clear from the beginning: meeting the global demand for meat without harming people, animals, or the planet. This is still the goal of founders De Nood and Daan Luining six years later.

De Nood was CEO of the startup all along. He recently handed over the baton to American Jeff Tripician. Meatable is going to focus on the American market in the near future. "There, people are open to innovations like cultured meat. Market approval processes are easier and faster in America than in Europe. Here, the lead time is so long, we can't wait for that as a startup,” says De Nood. However, the company's research and development branch remains in the Netherlands.

Despite stepping down as CEO, he remains involved in Meatable's board. "If all goes well, our company will be 200 years old. All employees - including myself - are part of that journey. Together, we ultimately work toward achieving our mission,” he says. De Nood will give a keynote on his experiences, successes, and lessons as an entrepreneur during the LEVEL UP Event in Eindhoven on September 30, 2024.

No shortcuts

His most important lesson? “To make progress, you have to set clear goals, and to actually achieve those goals, you have to be strict with yourself and with your team.” There must be a clear dot on the horizon, a mission people can relate to. But to ultimately achieve it, small, manageable goals must be set. It goes step by step, De Nood explains. “There are no shortcuts; it's just incredibly hard work.”

Continuous change

All the small steps together eventually create big changes. “The company is constantly evolving, and it is a challenge to ensure you have the right team at every stage,” he says. Meatable is not alone in this; assembling a good team is a challenge for many startups. "When we just started, we had to solve everything with a small team. For example, we would go and get cells from farmers whenever an animal was born (those cells were used as the basis for the cultured meat, ed.). There wasn't really a structure, everyone knew from each other what they were doing." That changed as the company got bigger. “Now we make sure every badge we issue has proper documentation, and everything goes according to established processes.”

Those different phases also require different types of people to move the company forward. "I think it's important to look at this in a businesslike and open way. Sometimes, you have to find that, at some point, it is no longer a match between an employer and an employee. No matter how difficult that is,” the entrepreneur said.

A taste at last

In addition to the learning moments, De Nood has also celebrated several breakthroughs and successes with Meatable in recent years. His most memorable moment was the tasting in April of this year. Among others, Prince Constantijn of Orange and chef Ron Blaauw got to taste a piece of cultured meat from Meatable. “We were the first company in Europe to organize a tasting,” he says with a sense of pride. The European rules on cultivated meat are particularly stringent. "The development process is about five years and the controls around food safety take about the same amount of time in Europe. After all, it would be a shame if you finally get to taste the product after ten years, only to find out that it doesn't taste like anything." To prevent that from happening, Meatable entered into talks with members of the Dutch parliament to look for solutions. That's how a tasting was eventually approved.

De Nood: “That was such a special moment for me. I already knew then that I was going to hand over the baton to another CEO, so it felt like a nice conclusion. We just had a new laboratory with offices at that time where we could receive everyone. There was also a lot of press present from the UK and America. It was really the crowning glory of our work."

Into the market

The path for Meatable has been set. The company is now waiting for the authorities' approval and will take the product to market in Singapore and then America. Over the next few months, De Nood will start mapping out his own future plan. "I have become so wedded to the world of startups, and I feel a greater responsibility than ever to see what I can add here. As Europe, we have to compete against economic powerhouses like China and America; otherwise, we will miss the boat when it comes to innovation. I think startups and scale-ups can play an important role in that, and I would like to contribute to that."