Sustainable Food Ventures

Ryan Bethencourt, Managing Partner, sources deal flow and makes all investment decisions. He has invested in over 180 early-stage food and biotech companies, including being the first institutional investor in Upside Foods and The Not Company. Mariliis Holm, Partner, leads scientific diligence and manages day-to-day operations.

Bethencourt draws on a network built as co-founder and former Program Director at IndieBio, where he helped grow portfolio market cap to $3.2B. The firm also co-invests frequently with Big Idea Ventures and maintains relationships with founders like Dr. Sandhya Sriram of Shiok Meats, who is an early LP in the rolling fund.

SFV operates as a venture firm using a rolling fund structure on AngelList, not as a family office. The rolling fund allows investors to subscribe on a quarterly basis. Bethencourt and Holm run it as a generalist asset manager focused exclusively on food technology.

The firm makes direct early-stage equity investments, primarily at pre-seed and seed stages. No evidence of fund-of-funds commitments exists. The rolling fund structure is designed for direct startup investing rather than LP commitments to other managers.

SFV exclusively targets cell-based, plant-based, and recombinant food technologies. The firm does not invest outside food tech — no software, general biotech, or non-food climate verticals are part of its disclosed mandate.

The rolling fund raises capital from individual accredited investors via AngelList. Bethencourt and Holm have not disclosed a single anchor LP or family office backer. Dr. Sandhya Sriram is named as an early LP, but the full LP base remains private.

SFV actively co-invests alongside frequent partners like Big Idea Ventures and likely syndicates with IndieBio network investors. Bethencourt’s history as a super-angel suggests comfort with high-velocity, party-round dynamics rather than leading rounds with concentrated ownership. The firm’s small, partnership-driven structure aligns with a co-investor model.