Industry: Venture Capital – FoodTech & Ingredient Innovation
MBA Founding Student Name(s): Cristina de Mendieta & Vincent Kuiper
Brief Description of Solution: Gota Ventures is a global investment syndicate backing early‑stage food innovation across three pillars: ingredient technologies, ingredient infrastructure, and ingredient‑led brands. The syndicate unites over 40 investors, including entrepreneurs, industry experts, and angel investors, who can participate with as little as €5K per deal, making venture capital investing more accessible. “Gota” means “drop” in Spanish, symbolizing how small, early investments can create outsized ripple effects when combined.
Funding Dollars: Deal‑By‑Deal Syndicate Model; Capital Raised Per Transaction.
What led you to launch this venture? We saw a persistent financing gap for ingredient-level innovation in food – especially pre-seed and seed initiatives that require expert diligence and targeted support. When we met during our MBA at IE Business School, we quickly bonded over our shared passion for investing and food. Vincent, who has been investing since the age of 16 and brings a private equity background, and Cristina, with experience in venture capital and deep roots in her family’s food business, realized how complementary their experiences were. As operators and builders, we believed a curated syndicate of practitioners could accelerate breakthrough ingredients and infrastructure by pooling capital, knowledge, and networks.
What has been your biggest accomplishment so far with venture? Being finalists in the IE Venture Lab out of 170 teams, building a 40+ investor syndicate and closing our first two investments, validating the model and our focus.
What has been the most significant challenge you’ve faced in creating your company and how did you solve it? Building trust and operational rigor for a cross‑border syndicate, standardizing legal/compliance workflows, onboarding processes, and evaluation frameworks while moving quickly. We solved this by partnering with specialist legal/administrative providers, implementing a transparent deal memo template, and establishing an expert review bench for technical diligence.
How has your MBA program helped you further this startup venture? Gota Ventures was conceived and launched during the MBA through the Startup and Venture Lab. The program provided structure for rapid validation, access to incredible mentors, and a platform to engage early LPs and co‑investors.
Which MBA class has been most valuable in building your startup and what was the biggest lesson you gained from it? Startup and Venture Lab. Lesson: Don’t wait for the perfect moment to launch your business. Just launch it. Build a crisp investment thesis, test it with live dealflow, and refine the narrative based on data and feedback.
What professor made a significant contribution to your plans and why? Paris de L’Etraz, for hands‑on guidance in opportunity shaping, believing in us from day 1, investor storytelling, and go‑to‑market for the syndicate model.
How has your local startup ecosystem contributed to your venture’s development and success? The IE Entrepreneurship Center, Startup Lab, and Venture Lab provided resources, mentor access, and visibility that accelerated our launch and first deals.
What is your long-term goal with your startup? Become one of the most notable and trusted investment platforms in food, backing ingredient‑level innovation that enables healthier, more sustainable, and more resilient food systems.
Looking back, what is the biggest lesson you wished you’d known before launching and scaling your venture? Community compounds. Early investment in community operations (clear processes, frequent communication, shared learning) is as critical as sourcing great deals. It drives credibility, speed, and follow‑on capital.
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