Mycopreneur

Eric Puro is the Founder & CEO of KÄÄPÄ Biotech, a Finnish biotechnology company that researches, innovates, and develops novel industry solutions by leveraging the genius of fungi. Since launching in 2016, KÄÄPÄ has established itself as a major player on the mycopreneurial world stage - In addition to securing Chinese and North American distribution agreements and establishing a forest sciences branch, Eric and his team maintain the largest Chaga cultivation network on the planet.In today's episode, we dive into: The origin story of KÄÄPÄ and why they still hold company meetings in saunasKÄÄPÄ's ongoing Series A funding round and what the company will do with their injection of capitalThe reclassification of Turkey Tail fungi as a Novel Food in the European UnionWhy Mycopreneurs shouldn't be competing against each otherMushroom traditions of the Sami people in Northern Finland, the only indigenous people living within EU territoryand morePlease rate and review the episode where've you're listening to it Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today on the pod we are elated to feature 18-year-old mycopreneur Hunter Vargo of Mountain View Mushrooms.Hunter took up mushroom cultivation as a hobby while looking for ways to stave off quarantine boredom, and less than two years later. he's flipped his fascination with fungi and business into a booming business with 23 corporate and restaurant accounts sourcing their fungi from him.In this episode we talk about the origin story of Mountain View Mushrooms, how he went about procuring his first clients, what sorts of optimization strategies he employs to stay on top of his hustle, how he built his own flow hood, and where he wants to go next (hint: it involved growing more mushrooms in a bigger facility).Hunter is a testament to the momentous success that young mycopreneurs can build when they invest their energy and talents into the world of fungi, and his rapid success in this industry demonstrates that business-minded youth don't necessarily need to take business courses in college to be successful in their enterprises - as Hunter states "I didn't really want to take businesses classes in university when I could just be doing business instead". Please rate and review there episode wherever you're listening to it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Benjamin Daniel is the Founder of Pacific Substrates, based in Oakland, California. Pac Subs is one of the premiere substrate and growth media suppliers for mushroom cultivators, and they are rapidly scaling towards becoming the biggest provider in North America thanks to their established distribution channels and the entrepreneurial acumen present in their leadership team. In this episode we chart Ben's path from his relatively sheltered upbringing in Utah up through his current position running a high volume mycopreneurial venture that recently sponsored both the Psilocybin Cup and Meet Delic.Ben walks us through the philosophy, strategy, and execution of guiding principles behind the magic dirt - and also tells us what's in it and why it matters. I had a chance to meet Ben and the Pacific Substrates team at this year's Meet Delic conference, where the Pac Subs squad was rolling deep with around 12 people in attendance - Pacific Substrates even provided yours truly with VIP Access to the Las Vegas event. It's awesome to witness the rise of this young company in real time, and we look forward to more quality hang time with them. Pleas rate and review the episode if you're stoked on it - Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sophie Strand is an intersectional eco-storyteller based in the Hudson Valley, New York.Today on the pod, we dive into the fungal experiences that helped shape her worldview and that continue to color her craft.Sophie walks us through her upbringing among the vibrant ecosystems of upstate New York, where mycorrhizal fungi and bird song helped frame her thinking about humanity's place in the living, breathing world of nature. We talk about her forthcoming debut novel "The Flowering Wand: Rewilding The Sacred Masculine" due in Fall 2022 from Inner Traditions, as well as other burgeoning projects she's investing her time and talent in. We also dive into her relationship with psilocybin mushrooms and the epiphany about the nature of time that her first mushroom experience helped incubate in her. Please rate and review the podcast if you enjoy this episode! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jeff Chilton is a pioneer in the international medicinal mushroom industry. His career as a commercial cultivator is in it's 6th decade, and he's devoted and inspired as ever to continue his life's work with the fungi.In this episode we discuss Jeff's initial discoveries of the magical world of fungi, which included a year and a half stint living in Oaxaca, Mexico, during the early 70's while searching for his "Don Juan".We trace Jeff's journey from his high school days smoking weed in 1964 (before it was a cultural phenomenon), through his university days studying Anthropology and Mycology on and on to his first commercial cultivation position in the Pacific Northwest in 1973, on through his arrival in China in 1989 and the subsequent founding of international wholesale medicinal mushroom powerhouse NAMMEX, up through the status quo of his mycopreneurial interests and pursuits - I also share my story of staying with Maria Sabina's surviving family for 3 days back in 2010, including my participation in a traditional Mazatec 'Velada' mushroom ritual with her son - a story I have not previously share on the podcast.Please rate and review the podcast and thanks for joining us! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's pod is a different format than previous episodes - After 5 weeks of fungi-centric travel and adventure across 3 countries and over 12 cities, I'm going to be bringing everyone up to speed on some of the highlights of my epic journey.This includes a recap of the Meet Delic conference in Las Vegas, fungi foraging expeditions in the Cocora Valley and Andean Rainforest of Colombia, a medicinal mushroom party and cultivation seminar with a group of young mycopreneurs in Mexico City, and... an official announcement regarding the upcoming in-person Mycopreneur Incubator in celebration of the Mycopreneur Podcast's first birthday.The Incubator will take place from January 26 to February 1 in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico, and features a number of mycopreneurs-in-residence, fungi-themed parties and gastronomy events, chocolate making workshops, and an expedition into the Lacandon Jungle to recollect rare fungi alongside a local Chiapanecan mycologist and his team.As an added bonus, the last bit of the podcast offers a sneak peek into a very new, very unedited book that I've been devoting time and energy to writing.Thanks for indulging me in this experiment, and look forward to more interviews with Mycopreneurs coming shortly.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today on the pod we've got world-renowned fungi photographer and filmmaker Stephen Axford.Stephen first caught the attention of The BBC after one of his early time lapses of bioluminescent fungi shot in his native Australia made it's way to one of the production companies editors. The BBC went on to prominently feature Stephen's fungi time-lapse photography in Planet Earth ll, as well asseverate other David Attenborough projects.Since then, Stephen's extraordinary fungi imagery has been featured in numerous high profile works for cinema and television, including Fantastic Fungi.Stephen and his filmmaking partner Catherine Marciniak went on to create a stunning and woefully underrated film called "Planet Fungi" that details their fungi research expedition into remote Northeastern India. In this episode, we talk about how Stephen got into shooting fungi time lapses, where his favorite places in the world to photograph fungi are, what his camera set-up and best practices are for macroscopic and bioluminescent fungi photography, and what he's working on next. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rohhaan Gawde is the Founder and CEO of The Mushroom Company Mumbai.While many of his friends and peers were assuming the career path of engineers, Rohhaan elected to devote his life to the study and commercial production of fungi.After 10 years of research and development working with fungi genetics and optimization processes, then 5 years on a commercial farm, Rohhaan started The Mushroom Company Mumbai.In this episode, we talk about the his trials and triumphs as a mycopreneur in India, the day to day realities of running a commercial mushroom farm in a massive country that is not necessarily Mycophilic, the culinary overlap of different types of exotic fungi with classic Indian dishes, and opportunities for growth and expansion as a mycopreneur in India - as well as numerous other topics intersecting socioeconomics, ecology, and entrepreneurism. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nacarra The Mushroom Goddess is a mycopreneur, activist, and educator base in Houston, Texas.Today we learn about Nacarra's road into the mycoverse, her efforts to bring mushroom education into the curriculum of the Houston school district, her experience at the Oakland Psychedelic Conference, and the mushroom soap & skin care line she is bringing to the world.Today's episode dives into the universality of "The Mushroom Mentality" that mycopreneurs adopt, which extends to vastly different areas of our personal and professional lives - and which drives the development of new ideas, products, and services that add tangible and extraordinary value to our communities. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we welcome Rob Roscow, Co-Founder & Chief Scientific Officer at Mydecine Innovations Group.Mydecine has government, military, and academic research contracts across numerous countries and is heavily invested in development of a novel molecule pipeline that includes treatments intended for smoking cessation and treatment of PTSD.I had a chance to meet Rob and the Mydecine team in-person at the 2021 Telluride Mushroom Festival, which was sponsored by Mydecine.This episode dives into the Mydecine drug development pipeline and the entourage effect of mushrooms through a biopharmaceutical lens.It's an arena of study which I am largely unfamiliar with, but which is becoming increasingly important in lobbying for the mainstream acceptance and regulatory scrutiny of psychedelic medicines as legitimate and effective therapeutic tools. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.