417. Ourobio’s Alec Brewer on the journey of a startup, bioinnovation’s opportunity to reshape traditional industries + contributing to a circular economy

The demand for biobased materials is growing on a global scale, with no signals of that pace slowing any time soon. One startup has leveraged the power of synthetic biology to turn industrial byproducts into biomaterials. This week, Ourobio CEO Alec Brewer joins us to talk the company’s founding, contributing to a circular economy and their innovation process – end-to-end.  Highlights include:  The company’s origin story out of the University of Virginia and how it has evolved Ourobio’s innovation process, end-to-end, that produces bio-based materials Pivoting as an entrepreneur and knowing when they needed to tilt their business model to capture and offer value The Ourobio differentiation, which includes safety, color of pigmentation of polymer and affordability Alec’s perspective on the regulatory environment, what needs to be defined and how this conversation should evolve as this market continues to grow Biggest headwinds Ourobio has faced as a startup and how they’ve navigated their challenges in the early stage  Feedback from companies that are moving to more bio-based materials  Where Alec sees the biggest opportunity for bioinnovation reshape traditional industries in the coming decade  Tools and technologies that have had the greatest impact on accelerating innovation for Ourobio’s scale and precision  How partnerships and collaboration have paved the way for Alec and the Ourobio team’s entrepreneurial success  What success looks like at this stage for the company and what’s ahead for Ourobio that has Alec most excited