“You’re always forced to make decisions. Making decisions fast and being willing to fail as well as having the ability to shift off of them without getting overly emotional allows you to be positioned well above many others in business. If you pause too long, you die.” — Matt Crisp, CEO and Co-founder at Benson Hill
Matt Crisp, CEO and Co-founder at Benson Hill as well as the Chairman and Co-founder of Edison Agrosciences, is an accomplished executive with a strong background in the rapid growth and early commercialization phase of technology companies. Matt started his journey outside the world of agriculture at Radford University earning a bachelor’s degree in Finance. After graduating, Matt joined Third Security, a globally recognized venture capital firm, as a research assistant, eventually working his way up to a managing director. During his time there, Matt focused on corporate development and worked closely with numerous private and public companies in the life science and technology sectors. Matt began his journey in agriculture as the President of the Agricultural Biotechnology Division and Senior Vice President at Intrexon Corporation. In addition, he has held Board of Director positions at Cyntellect, Synchrony, and Radford University Foundation.
In this podcast, Matt and I will cover his appreciation for his staff, the importance of culture within a company, his introduction to the ag space, getting laid off at Intrexon, his passion for wanting to start Benson Hill, his secrets behind innovation, the best ways to go about raising money as an ag-tech startup, the road to landing Google Ventures, the story behind the Benson Hill name, his decision-making process, his family, coming back online after the Coronavirus Pandemic, his love for St. Louis, Benson Hill’s new headquarters, the importance of branding, how important the protein shift is right now, Benson Hill’s new product launches, and what’s next for Benson Hill.
Listen below if you’re looking to learn more about one of agriculture’s leading innovators and why he believes Benson Hill has the best high protein soybean assets in the industry!