Episode No. 2

 
 
 



Building, Selling, and Shutting Down a Food Startup with Brittany Chibe

What does it really take to build a food company from the ground up, raise capital, scale a team, and make difficult decisions when the market changes?


In this episode of Owning Your Legacy, Brittany Chibe shares the honest story behind her journey from corporate food sales to entrepreneurship, including the launch and sale of Paleo Scavenger and her work as co-founder of Aquacultured Foods.


Brittany discusses building a paleo snack brand from her home kitchen, growing into national distribution, learning the realities of co-manufacturing and retail margins, and why she chose not to bootstrap her next company.


She also shares how Aqua Cultured Foods was created around a mission to develop sustainable alternative seafood, the process of raising pre-seed and seed capital, navigating food-tech regulation, working with acclaimed chefs, and bringing a novel product to market.


But this is also a conversation about the harder side of entrepreneurship: fundraising in a difficult market, leading a team through uncertainty, managing runway, making layoffs, and deciding when it is time to wind down a company responsibly.


Brittany reflects on the lessons she is carrying into her next chapter, including the importance of customer connection, clear accountability, sustainable leadership, and separating your identity from the business you build.


🎙 Topics In This Episode Include:

🦋 Food entrepreneurship and CPG startups

🦋 Bootstrapping versus raising venture capital

🦋 Paleo Scavenger and building a brand from a home kitchen

🦋 Alternative seafood and food-tech innovation

🦋 Startup fundraising, investors, and pitch strategy

🦋 Leadership during uncertainty and company closure

🦋 Building accountable teams and reducing operational burn

🦋 Founder mental health, resilience, and life after a startup

 
Elena ScheinerSeason 12