Founder Spotlight: Mike Pease (Blackbird Foods)
Meet Mike Pease:
Founded by chefs, Blackbird Foods crafts restaurant-quality frozen pizzas and plant-based proteins, such as Wings, in New York City.
Location:
New York, New York, USA
When did you launch the business?
2020
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Startup Stage:
Pre-Series A
What led you to where you are today?
I’m a long-time vegan passionate about advancing the quality and availability of plant-based products. I’ve spent my career in the plant-based restaurant and CPG industries. We launched Blackbird to bring a fun, comfort-food focused brand to grocery stores across the country.
What do you wish you knew before embarking on your entrepreneurial journey?
I wish I knew that failure is inevitable in entrepreneurship, but it's also a valuable learning experience. You need to embrace failure as an opportunity to grow, learn from your mistakes, and adapt your approach.
What is the most difficult decision you've had to make regarding your business so far?
In addition to Blackbird Foods, I owned and operated a chain of plant-based fast-casual eateries in NYC. After Covid changed the landscape for restaurants, we had to make the difficult decision to close them in 2022. The silver lining is that it gave me more time and energy to devote to Blackbird Foods.
What can you help the VEGPRENEUR community with?
I have expertise with startups, fundraising, and financial and operational management. I would be happy to share that with other members of the community.
How can the VEGPRENEUR community help you?
I appreciate any opportunity to build my network of like minded professionals, and would be interested in getting feedback on a variety of business topics - especially those related to businesses of our size and industry.
Fun fact about you:
I’m an avid kiteboarder when I can find the time.
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