Spotlight interview with...
Tessa Clarke
Co-Founder & CEO of Olio
Spotlight interview with...
Tessa Clarke
Co-Founder & CEO of Olio
When introducing a new concept like Olio, what strategies did you find most effective in communicating its value to potential investors and users?
Olio is the world’s first neighbour-to-neighbour food sharing app so the three main things we had to prove were that people were prepared to share food with strangers; that the TAM we were unlocking was venture scale; and that we could leverage P2P food sharing to enter the even larger adjacent non-food categories. We also had to demonstrate that Saasha (my co-founder) and I had the potential to be world class entrepreneurs. To do all this we undertook lots of scrappy experimentation to demonstrate both traction and chaputz; and we harnessed our strategy consulting and communications skills to ensure our plans were as compelling as they were credible.
How did you overcome scepticism from investors regarding the viability of a food-sharing app when the benefits of the circular economy were less widely understood?
In my experience someone either “gets” Olio, or they don’t – and for those who do get it, the buying signals are extremely strong in the very first meeting. So the honest reality is I don’t believe you can overcome scepticism, no matter how brilliant your pitch or deck – you just need to move on and continue the hunt to find an investor who isn’t sceptical! The good news is that as more and more people are becoming aware of the climate crisis and the potential of the circular economy, the pool of prospective investors for us has continued to grow.
"I have a motto which is “ABF - always be fundraising”. If you’re a diverse founder, or a founder who’s building something ahead of the curve, you need to be constantly networking to find prospective investors"
Tessa Clarke, Co-Founder & CEO of Olio
From your perspective as both a founder and an investor, what are the first steps entrepreneurs should take when looking for investment?
I have a motto which is “ABF – always be fundraising”. If you’re a diverse founder, or a founder who’s building something ahead of the curve, you need to be constantly networking to find prospective investors – because the probability of finding the right investors in the short window you have when you’re actually fundraising is extremely low.
Once you’ve got your head around that, the next step is to be really clear on what you’re looking for in a prospective investor. At Olio we’ve always had four main criteria: first they must be truly mission obsessed (not just mission aligned); second they need to have truly patient capital (because it’s going to take a long time to unlock our full potential); third each investor needs to bring a specific type of value to the table (whether it be network, industry expertise or something else); and finally they need to be good human beings – no dickheads welcome here! Through experience we’ve also learned that investment firms that have a diverse Investment Committee are many factors more likely to fit these 4 criteria, so whenever I come across a prospect the first thing I do is head to the “Team” page on their website, so I can quickly get an idea as to whether they’re likely to be a good fit or not.
At what point in the journey of Olio did having an effective marketing and communications strategy become important?
Any startup needs to be doing marketing & communications from day 0 – as every interaction, whether it be with an end user, a supplier, a prospective investor or a journalist is all about positioning your business, gathering insights, and helping it to grow. In the early days though it’s unlikely that you’ll have a marketing & communications strategy that is anything more sophisticated than “experiment as much as you can, as quickly as you can”. If you adopt that mindset, you’ll fast find out what works (and what doesn’t), and you should double down on that – you can worry about ‘diversifying’ your marketing mix when it becomes a problem/constraint.
"Any startup needs to be doing marketing & communications from day 0 - as every interaction, whether it be with an end user, a supplier, a prospective investor or a journalist is all about positioning your business, gathering insights, and helping it to grow"
Tessa Clarke, Co-Founder & CEO of Olio
How can investors support a startup's marketing and business strategy beyond just providing capital, and how have you worked with yours to get maximum value?
Whilst investors can be helpful for a startup’s marketing and business strategy, you should be under no illusion that investors are going to ‘crack’ this for you – the hard work remains with you and the team. In our experience where investors can be helpful is in providing warm introductions to prospective clients, investors and business partners; in providing industry benchmarks so you can understand what good/great looks like; in recommending and interviewing senior talent for your business; and perhaps most importantly, in providing a birds’ eye perspective on your business and challenging your thinking.
What elements make a pitch deck truly stand out to investors, especially for innovative or 'tech for good' businesses?
I think ‘tech for good’ founders need to understand that any prospective investor probably ‘gets’ the positive impact they’re having; and they probably also ‘get’ the imperative from a planetary/social perspective of solving the problem you’ve identified. So you don’t need to spend too much time on this stuff. Instead, what you really need to do is to convince them of three things: first, that now truly is the right time for your product/service – and this needs to be evidenced by customers (who aren’t just the early adopting niche) ripping the product/service out of your hands; second you need to have some clarity on how you will monetise your business (as many tech for good businesses have such novel operational models that they can’t just borrow the monetisation models of traditional businesses); and finally you need to demonstrate that you’re the team that are going to win in this sector (which requires oodles of ambition, humility, resilience and adaptability).
How important is it for entrepreneurs to develop a personal brand, and how can it impact their fundraising efforts?
Developing a personal brand is incredibly important for entrepreneurs, especially when it comes to fundraising. As I discovered with OLIO, building a “founder brand” is a critical part of being a startup CEO, particularly in the early stages.
When you have limited capital, your personal brand can be one of the most cost-effective ways to build your company’s brand in parallel. It helps you connect with investors, media, potential partners, recruits, and users. In essence, you become the chief evangelising officer for your company. There are different approaches to personal branding, from being a representative of your industry to becoming a full brand ambassador. At OLIO, we chose a middle ground, seizing opportunities to speak about our journey and developing positions on adjacent topics like sustainable living and the climate crisis.
This approach has significantly impacted our fundraising efforts by increasing our visibility and credibility in the startup ecosystem. It’s helped us stand out to investors, showcase our expertise, and demonstrate our commitment to our mission.
"When you have limited capital, your personal brand can be one of the most cost-effective ways to build your company's brand in parallel. It helps you connect with investors, media, potential partners, recruits, and users. In essence, you become the chief evangelising officer for your company."
Tessa Clarke, Co-Founder & CEO of Olio
As female founders, what unique challenges did the Olio founding team face in the fundraising process, and how did you overcome them?
As female founders, we encountered significant challenges during Olio’s fundraising process, primarily due to systemic biases in the venture capital industry. The most prominent obstacle was a widespread lack of understanding and enthusiasm for our mission among predominantly male investors. A unique challenge we faced was explaining the problem of food waste to investors who were often disconnected from everyday household management. This made it difficult for them to grasp the significance of the issue we were addressing. We noticed that many investors were more inclined to get excited about ideas in areas like rapid food delivery, blockchain, or AI, rather than a solution to reduce household waste.
The statistics in venture capital funding highlight the magnitude of this challenge, with a stark difference between funding for female-founded businesses compared to male-founded startups. This imbalance is rooted in the lack of gender diversity among decision-makers in venture capital firms.
What advice would you give to women wanting to start their own tech business?
My advice would be to find a problem in the world that you’re really, really passionate about solving. Next you need to embrace a learning mind-set as your key objective in the early stages is to experiment as quickly as possible, not to have all the answers – ‘The Lean Startup’ is a great book that explains how to do this. I would also make sure to spend any capital you have very carefully, because it takes a lot of time to build something that works and you need to make sure you don’t run out of cash before you hit ‘product/market fit’. Finally, although entrepreneurship can be the most fulfilling thing in the world, it’s also an incredibly long, tough journey, so make sure to carve out some time for yourself to preserve your health and sanity! It’s time well spent.
About Tessa Clarke
Tessa Clarke is the Co-Founder & CEO of Olio, an innovative anti-waste app connecting people to share surplus food and household items. With over 8 million users across 63 countries, Olio has been recognized by the United Nations and named “Next European Unicorn” by Vivatech. Under Tessa’s leadership, Olio has raised over $50 million in equity financing and built a network of 100,000+ volunteers who redistribute unsold food from major retailers. Prior to Olio, Tessa had a 15-year corporate career as a digital Managing Director in various sectors.Tessa is also a Venture Partner at Mustard Seed Maze and an Ambassador for the Better Business Act. Her TED talk on the power of sharing has over 1 million views. In 2023, she received the Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Award for her leadership in sustainable business.Passionate about the sharing economy and ‘profit with purpose’, Tessa drives Olio’s mission as a certified B Corp, demonstrating that business can address global challenges effectively.
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