Founder in Residence – Priming Plant Resilience for Climate Risks

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in United Kingdom.

📋 Description

• Become a Founder-in-Residence within DSV’s venture creation program.

• Collaborate closely with DSV and Renaissance Philanthropy to establish a new company.

• Enhance and refine the technical thesis for crop systems that are designed for climate resilience.

• Formulate a commercial strategy that encompasses IP strategy, differentiation, and competitive positioning.

• Define the market value proposition, including value capture and techno-economics.

• Develop a regulatory strategy and establish positioning.

• Create a fundraising strategy and prepare investor presentations.

• Optimize the company's strategy to ensure the quickest, lowest-risk approach to Series A funding.

• Meet the criteria set by the Investment Committee.

• Assemble advisory and co-founding team members.

• Conduct simultaneous fundraising for additional expansion funds.

• Aim to spin out the company by the end of Q2 2027, contingent on the success of the Investment Committee.

• Continue to grow the company with backing from DSV and Renaissance Philanthropy after the spinout.

⛳️ Requirements

• Highly driven by unresolved challenges in climate risk mitigation and motivated to disrupt the status quo in agriculture.

• Impact-oriented, proactive, initiative-driven, and capable of thinking from first principles.

• An entrepreneurial mindset, demonstrated through significant innovation.

• Ability to navigate ambiguous, unstructured, fast-paced, demanding, and high-pressure environments.

• Collaborative disposition and effectiveness in cross-functional teams.

• PhD or equivalent industry R&D experience in plant physiology, crop science, molecular biology, epigenetics, microbiology, or a related field.

• A broad knowledge base across relevant technologies, including delivery systems for biologicals, developmental regulation and priming, plant-microbiome engineering, accelerated trait development, gene editing, and crop environment engineering.

• Proficiency in translational execution, such as moving traits or actives from discovery to field, managing CRO/CDMO programs, building regulator/investor/customer-ready data packages, and developing partnerships and scalable IP strategies.

• Cross-functional ownership in R&D, Product, Regulatory, and IP, evidenced by deliverables such as trial results, submissions, patents, or launches, and/or designing pivotal field trials.

• Experience in venture creation and fundraising, and/or product leadership in agtech, biotech, or related fields.

• Significant industry R&D experience in agtech or biotech may be recognized as equivalent; a PhD with applied field experience and comparable outcomes may also be considered.

• Preferred: previous experience as a biotech Founder.

• Preferred: past C-suite experience in biotech.

• Preferred: prior experience in VC fundraising.

• Preferred: expertise in commercial and business development, including a network in agrochem/pesticide development.

• Preferred: a strong track record of building and leading successful teams.

🏝️ Benefits

• Access to proprietary tools, resources, and processes designed to facilitate the creation of high-impact ventures from the ground up.

• Extensive network through DSV and Renaissance Philanthropy, which includes connections to biotech VC, technical and commercial expertise, as well as portfolio company capabilities.

• An initial investment of £250k to incorporate the venture and develop early proof-of-concept data.

• A majority equity stake for the Founder and co-founder(s) collectively.

• A minimum guaranteed income of £4,166 per month, provided as a consultancy fee until the company launches and secures pre-seed investment.

• Ongoing support post-spinout, which includes fundraising, commercial partnerships, recruitment, and team-building assistance.

• Collaboration and support from other DSV Founders across various sectors.