Abby Lyall
Firm:
Firm Description:
I’m a Vice President at Big Idea Ventures focused on building out our Generation Food platform of funds. I’m currently focused on fundraising and deal sourcing for two funds: Generation Food, a $250M fund focused on Series A and later stage investments, and Generation Food Rural Partners, a $125M fund focused on commercializing university IP in food and agriculture.
Location:
New York, NY, USA
How long have you been investing?
I’ve been investing since 2016, when I joined Quake Capital Partners as their second employee.
What led you to where you are today?
While I was at NYU Stern studying Finance and Computer Science, I (accidentally) fell into starting a company– an experience that showed me I wanted to work in the entrepreneurship space. After launching my VC career at Quake Capital, an industry agnostic seed stage fund, I realized that I wanted to do something more mission-driven, and find a way to combine my day job in venture with my passions for human health, animal welfare and fighting global climate change. In July 2019, I joined Big Idea Ventures as an early employee to build out the US presence for our New Protein Fund, investing in pre-seed and seed stage alt-protein startups from across the globe. In October 2020, I transitioned over to the Generation Food side of the business to help our CIO launch an exciting new platform of funds focused on technological solutions to assist large food corporations in meeting their sustainability goals.
What types of companies are you looking to invest in?
For the New Protein Fund, we invest in pre-seed and seed stage companies creating plant-based and cell-based replacements for animal products (meat, dairy, seafood, etc.). For the Generation Food fund, we are focused on Series A and later (rounds $10M+) companies focused on solving challenges in four key areas of the food system: water management, food waste, greenhouse gas emissions and plastic waste.
What do you look for in companies and founders?
The most important factor for us is a founding team that is qualified and knows the space, with leaders that are coachable and easy to work with. We also want to see that the company is solving a true pain point for the industry (not a “nice to have”) and has a solution that is highly differentiated from what else is out there. Beyond that, traction in the form of revenues or partnerships is also helpful when assessing a deal.
What can you help the VEGPRENEUR community with?
I’m happy to provide advice related to fundraising strategy and how to approach VCs, as well as answer questions on these topics for the Vegpreneur community.
How can the VEGPRENEUR community help you?
I would love to meet founders building businesses in the two thesis areas I described above, as well as other mission-aligned investors.
Fun fact about you:
I’ve been playing the piano since I was 4 years old!
Anything else you would like to share?
I envision a world where we can all find our individual passions and talents to uplift each other and live more connected with each other and the earth. 🙂