Meet Bloom Biorenewables co-founder Florent Héroguel—a Venture Leader Deeptech who provides a sustainable alternative to petroleum 

11.11.2021 07:15, Isabelle Mitchell

Bloom Biorenewables enables the transition from a linear, petro-based economy to a circular, plant-based economy. The startup maximizes plant material usage and cutting-edge science to transform non-edible biomass into high-performance products. Through the valorization of lignin, an abundant natural biopolymer, Bloom can efficiently harvest plant material, such as wood or agricultural waste. The startup can then manufacture renewable materials, including plastics, packaging, food additives, or cosmetics. Get to know Bloom Biorenwables co-founder Florent, learn more about his expectations of the Venture Leaders experience, and discover how fake businesses helped him become an entrepreneur—and a conductor. 

The Swiss National Startup Team has 10 new deeptech members: An expert jury has chosen 10 companies whose innovative potential transforms engineering, robotics, supply chains, logistics, and sustainability. Before the startups embark on their investor roadshow to Munich and London later this month, we will introduce you to the Venture Leaders Deeptech 2021. We asked each entrepreneur to complete a short profile and choose at least six questions from a questionnaire about their personal and professional life.
 
Name: Florent Héroguel 
Location: Lausanne, Switzerland 
Nationality: French 
Graduated from: ETH Zurich with a PhD in Chemistry, 2014 
Job title: Co-founder and COO of Bloom Biorenewables 
Number of employees: 19 
Money raised: EUR 4.5 million  
First touchpoint with Venturelab: In 2019, for Venture Kick
 
“Bloom Biorenewables makes biomass a true alternative to petroleum.” 
 
How and where did you come up with the idea for your startup? 
After graduating from ETHZ, I decided to use my chemist toolkit to contribute to climate change mitigation, in line with my personal drive. After working as a researcher at EPFL for three years, the technologies I developed together with my talented colleagues received very positive feedback from the industry, which helped the three co-founders identify a clear market need. 
 
What do you expect from the Venture Leaders roadshow, and how will it help you achieve your vision? 
I intend to leverage my participation in the program to grow my network of potential investors in preparation for our Series A, scheduled for next year. I also aim to build new commercial leads thanks to interactions with new customers. The roadshow will also allow building new partnerships since collaboration is key when facing such global challenges. Finally, I am looking forward to the feedback from coaches and fellow entrepreneurs to refine our strategy since being challenged is the best way to improve. 
  
What would be the title of your biography?  
Born to be an entrepreneur without knowing it. During a recent interview, I was asked when I decided to become an entrepreneur. I answered that this was not planned—it just happened. The day after, my brother told me that this was not true: I was already an entrepreneur as a kid. One of my main hobbies was building fake businesses, including a winery using hollyhock instead of wine. Somehow, I was always into biomass valorization. There is also a clear pattern in my early career, where I have been eager to explore new directions from scratch rather than carrying on projects from predecessors.  
 
What is the one talent you wish you had? 
Flying 
 
What is always in your fridge?  
Beers and cheese to be ready to welcome friends passing by my place. This applies both to the fridge at my place and at the office. 
 
What are you most proud of?  
The current shape of our company—after only three years of existence. 
 
What advice would you give your teenage self? 
Get some bitcoins. Or even better: Create a cryptocurrency. 
 
What is your favorite productivity tool?  
Excel. It is simple and powerful. We have implemented many tools, but somehow we are always getting back to Excel for topics including financial planning, project management, or process modeling. 
 
Where and when are you most productive? 
During a coffee break with the team. Sometimes you feel that it is time-consuming and unproductive, but these breaks are the best opportunity to align and develop new concepts. 
 
What is the most challenging aspect of being a founder?  
Turning from a one-man-band to a conductor. In the company’s early stage, founders do everything: accounting, technical development, HR, and fundraising. But this is not scalable, and tasks have to be structured and distributed to a growing team. 

Last but not least, could you show us your workspace? 
Managing a company does not mean sitting in front of a computer all day: Here, you can see the team and me moving our equipment to our new lab space.



For more information and updates on Bloom Biorenewables and the Venture Leaders Deeptech, follow the Venture Leaders Deeptech 2021 team with #VLeadersDeeptech on social media or subscribe to our newsletter. 
 
Venture Leaders Deeptech 2021 program is organized by Venturelab and supported by swissnex, EPF Lausanne, ETH Zurich, Helbling Group, Walder Wyss, the Canton of Vaud, and the Canton of Zurich.