Tony Martens

Hometown: Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Fun Fact About Yourself: I am probably the tallest human being you will ever see, but at the same time most likely the worst basketball player as well

Undergraduate School and Major / Degree programme: Nyenrode Business School; BA Business

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your life so far: Building out a vertically integrated agricultural system that is producing arguably the best plant-based protein in the world. And all of this in a foreign country where my co-founder and I didn’t know anyone.

Was Entrepreneurship always your career goal? Yes, both my parents are entrepreneurs, so it was always part of my life when growing up.

Tell me about your venture: Plantible Foods has developed a patent pending and vertically integrated agricultural system that produces a plant-based protein ingredient that can replace myosin, egg whites, whey and/or casein in food and beverage applications. The protein, named Rubi Protein (RuBisCO), has a better organoleptic and functional profile than any of the plant-based proteins currently being commercialized. Our production system is 100x more sustainable than soy and climate change proof, enabling the company to produce 24/7/365.

How has your business school experience helped you in creating and launching your business?  Absolutely, throughout my education the professors tried to stimulate creative thinking and focus on finding solutions for multiple problems. When you combine the two, you automatically end up with the perfect foundation for an entrepreneur

What activities/experiences have most benefitted you on your entrepreneurship journey during your time at business school? Many of the courses were designed with the idea of once starting your own business. Subsequently, the endless drafting of business plans, the ability to be amongst other aspiring entrepreneurs and the stimulus to find solutions to recurring problems, is something that I am still benefiting from today.

What quality best describes the MiM classmates you’ve met so far and why? I think the beauty of Nyenrode is that most of the students are (aspiring) entrepreneurs themselves and therefore have the same mindset & drive. Building these relationships will grant you with long term sustainable benefits.

What is the biggest/most important lesson you have learned during your studies? Fortune favors the bold.

What are the next steps for you / your entrepreneurial venture? We are currently at a pilot stage during which we are working on the reduction of our technology risk. In the coming two years we aim to reduce those risks and work towards our first commercial production facility. This means that we will need to grow the team, work towards an economically viable business model and prepare for scale out.

Where do you see yourself in five years? Within five years we will have two commercial production facilities in two different continents, with multiple products on shelf containing our ingredient(-s).

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