Today we have Brett Brohl, who is the Managing Director of a new accelerator called TechStars Farm to Fork (www.techstars.com/farmtofork) – note Techstars is a long-running accelerator, but Farm to Fork is a brand new program within Techstars.  They are working with Cargill and Ecolab to develop this program.  Brett first came to North Carolina where he went to Wake Forest in college.  Since then he has gone on to start and run quite a few startups and now lives in Minneapolis where he has been part of Techstars for the last couple of years.

For our typical two part interview with Brett, I wanted to change things up.  We did the first part of the interview prior to Brett coming to Charlotte in early February.  First I wanted to hear about the program and what Brett is setting up.  I also wanted to get Brett’s expectation about Charlotte before he got here.  The second part of the interview occurred after Brett had come to Charlotte.  In this interview, we will explore more about the Farm to Fork program but will also talk with Brett about his experience in Charlotte and what he saw.

So as we explore those concepts, we touched on the following topics today:

What’s does Food to Fork mean what types of companies are the looking to find?

When does the first class start and how long will it last?

What does the program cover for the entrepreneurs and what can founders expect during the 3 months?

What’s life like for a company after the 3 months in the accelerator program?

What is Brett’s experience as an entrepreneur (including what was Brett’s highest selling candy bar as a middle schooler)?

Why is Brett coming to Charlotte to look for companies for the Farm to Fork Accelerator?

What are Brett’s expectations for coming to Charlotte?

What is the startup scene like in Minneapolis – Brett’s current hometown?

What does Brett think is more important to grow an entrepreneur ecosystem – founders or capital?

What do they look for in a company?

Stay tuned for next week as we continue with Part II with Brett.

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