Developing Sustainable Solutions from Beer Waste with Dan Kurzrock Co-Founder of ReGrained

Oct 11, 2018

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Dan Kurzrock is the Co-Founder of ReGrained. ReGrained leverages technology and culinary science to transform beer waste into food. They call this edible upcycling. I was surprised to learn that only about 10% of the ingredients used to brew beer end up in your glass. ReGrained takes the spent grain waste from local brewery partners and they build recipes around it with other locally sourced ingredients to craft delicious, healthy, and inherently sustainable foods.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

[1:05] Jeremy introduces his guest, Daniel Kurzrock.
[2:30] Daniel talks about the first product he created.
[8:30] Venturing into snack bars.
[12:45] Daniel talks about all the possibilities available with their experimental flour.
[15:00] What is the brainstorming process like for Daniel and his team?
[17:30] Connecting with Tom and TerraCycle.
[20:00] Daniel talks about the influence of his grandfather.
[22:30] Early career interests and the budding entrepreneurial spirit.
[30:30] Bootstrapping the business.
[33:00] What is equity crowdfunding? Credit investors?
[36:30] Daniel talks about expanding the team.
[38:50] Connecting with breweries to get their discarded grain.
[44:50] How has the process changed over the years?
[47:00] What has been the lowest point for Daniel and his business?
[48:00] Proud moments in business so far.
[50:15] How to connect with ReGrained.

In this episode…

It seems like every day there is a breaking news story that stresses how fragile our future is due to global warming. What can business leaders do to offer sustainable solutions to the marketplace? On this episode of Inspired Insider, you’ll hear from entrepreneur and innovator Daniel Kurzrock. In his conversation with Jeremy, Daniel opens up about the first product he created, how he got involved with creating snack bars, what they hope to do with their experimental flour, challenges they’ve faced along the way, and so much more. Get a good look at the future of sustainable solutions from Daniel’s expert perspective by listening to this fascinating episode!

Don’t you want to be part of a sustainable future? Let’s face it unless we make some significant changes, we are looking at an increasingly dire situation. Thankfully, we have some amazing leaders like Daniel Kurzrock who taking their convictions to the marketplace with helpful solutions! Daniel started ReGrained with his friend and co-founder, Jordan Schwartz with a dream to take discarded beer ingredients and utilize them in a way that was cost effective and appetizing! Since that initial dream, the guys have grown their business and the possibilities with tons of new products coming down the pipeline. What can you learn from Daniel and Jordan’s story?

Where do you go to come up with some of your best ideas? Do you have a process that encourages and cultivates creativity? For Daniel Kurzrock, the process starts with going for a bike ride but it doesn’t end there! From dreaming about innovating leftover beer waste to leading a thriving business, Daniel has always had a bit of a creative edge to his thought process. Part of leading that business is making sure that you continue to come up with ideas and innovations that keep the organization on the cutting edge. The last thing a business leader, especially a small business leader can afford to do is to drift into mediocrity!

Who had the most impact on your trajectory as a child? Was it your big brother or your hard working mother? Maybe for you, it was the constant encouragement of an uncle or a best friend. Looking back, Daniel Kurzrock is thankful for the positive impact that his grandfather had on his ability to cultivate curiosity. He recalls all the times his grandfather would stop and chase down something interesting or make sure that something wasn’t going to waste. Listening to Daniel talk about his grandfather and his family in general, you really get the sense that it was a group effort to pass on important values that led Daniel to create the organization that is ReGrained.

As a business leader, you know that one of the biggest challenges constantly comes back to funding. Established business have to make sure that they are keeping an eye on profits and startups have to make sure they have enough to keep the lights on. It seems that innovation is also needed when it comes to thinking about how startups are funded almost as much as the innovative product they are bringing to market. Daniel Kurzrock and his team at ReGrained have worked hard at making sure they leave no rock unturned or idea unexplored when it comes to funding. In fact, they just recently completed a successful round of equity crowdfunding. This venture allowed Daniel and his team to open up investment opportunities to those who were interested in investing as little as $100. The result from this round of innovative funding netted the company $730,000.

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