Meet AgroSustain CEO Olga Dubey and find out why being a founder also means being a student

27.10.2020 08:35, Isabelle Mitchell

Venture Leader China Olga Dubey founded AgroSustain, a foodtech startup that develops a biological fungicide that protects crops and extends their freshness by more than 20 days, reducing food waste and greenhouse gases while promoting an environment-friendly supply chain. Learn more about Olga’s expectations for the Venture Leader China experience, where you can find her on social media, and why the content of her fridge reminds her of AgroSustain's vision.

The Venture Leaders China 2020 will accelerate their expansion into the Chinese market and build a business network through meetings with top-notch investors and industry leaders. To introduce you to the members of the Swiss National Startup Team, we asked each entrepreneur to complete a short profile and choose three questions from a questionnaire about their personal and professional life.

Name: Olga Dubey
Job title: CEO of AgroSustain 
Location: Nyon
Nationality: Russian
Graduated from: University of Lausanne
Number of employees: 11
First touchpoint with Venturelab: AgroSustain was one of the 10 startups selected for the Academia Industry Training for Swiss and Indian Science Startups in 2018. Since then, we have participated in entrepreneurship programs organized by Venturelab—e.g., Venture Leaders Tech San Francisco—and have taken part in many events that helped us to grow our network and knowledge.  
 
“AgroSustain is a one-stop-shop solution for biological plant protection: We aim to reduce food waste and support organic food production by developing farm-to-fork solutions, like biological fungicides and coatings.”
 
How and where did you come up with the idea for your startup? 
During my PhD thesis at the University of Lausanne at the Department of Plant Molecular Biology, I decided to focus on applied research, more precisely on sustainable agriculture, with the aim to provide high-quality food with no negative impact on the environment and human health. That led to the foundation of AgroSustain—a Nyon-based startup that develops multiple solutions to fight food waste, starting with biological freshness extension solutions for fruits and vegetables and followed by antifungal biological solutions. 
 
What do you expect from the Venture Leaders program, and how will it help you achieve your vision? 
China is a very attractive area for agri and food tech businesses, as it has some of the largest food producers and an increased demand for chemical-residue-free food. In addition, Venture Leaders China is a unique opportunity to discover the Asian market and establish valuable connections, leveraging on the support of Venturelab and Swissnex, which will facilitate AgroSustain’s market access in this area.
 
What is the most rewarding aspect of being a founder?
Being a founder also means being a constant “student,” as you learn something new every day, and you can always improve your performance when you are surrounded by the right people. 
  
What are your three favorite social media accounts?
LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram: They allow me to get in touch with the right people and follow the development of our partners and clients.   
 
What is always in your fridge?
Fruits and vegetables are an important part of my diet, as they are full of vitamins and have nice flavors. However, most of the time, I am only able to go to the grocery shop once a week, and, sadly, over a week in the fridge, fruit can go bad. This is exactly why AgroSustain works on the problem of food waste reduction and the development of biological solutions to make our fruit last longer so that we can stop throwing away our food and will have time to enjoy it longer.  

Last but not least, can you show us your workspace?



For more information and updates on AgroSustain and the Venture Leaders China, follow the Venture Leaders China 2020 team with #VleadersChina on social media or subscribe to our newsletter. 
 
This year’s Venture Leaders China is organized in collaboration with swissnex China and supported by EPF Lausanne, ETH Zurich, Gebert Rüf Stiftung, VISCHER, Canton Vaud, and the Canton of Zurich.