Rafaella Fontes joins our Investment Team
How love for hospitality & family, curiosity, and passion for innovation brought Rafaella to venture capital!
In late May, following her completion of the MIT Sloan MBA program, Rafaella Fontes formally joined our investment team. We first met Rafaella in early 2021, worked with her over the summer that year, and then part time through her second MBA year. Rafaella helped us institutionalize the first deal flow, with deep compassion. She introduced the idea of operational kindness to our team (keeping founders front & center throughout the deal pipeline) and it was one of many reasons we knew she’d be a great addition to our team.
We’re thrilled to see Rafaella continue to shine in this industry!
How did your upbringing lead you to the food & beverage industry, and ultimately venture capital?
In short: a love of hospitality, family, endless curiosity, and passion for innovation.
The story really begins when my parents moved here from Brazil 🇧🇷, expecting to stay in the US for only a few years. Every few years they were given an additional opportunity to stay, and they did. However, it meant living away from our family and culture. For me the most magical memories of childhood were our extended trips in Brazil, often sitting with family around the table talking and laughing long after the food was gone. The meals and flavors always brought us together.
My first jobs were at a bed & breakfast and in restaurants, helping prepare and serve. In college, I assumed I’d follow my family’s professional traditions and become a doctor. But, after a living abroad in Bologna, Italy 🇮🇹, I felt a calling toward the food and beverage industry. Interested in behavioral economics, I chose to focus my undergraduate studies on economics and sociology. After university I worked in the wine industry in production, marketing, sales, import/distribution, and brand management.
I chose to get my MBA because I wanted to have a greater impact in the work that I was doing. I have a perpetual interest in innovation and entrepreneurship. Venture capital was the perfect fit. I was interested in early stage funds with a focus on sustainability, informed by my background in behavioral economics and desire to bet on people over spreadsheets, to build the companies of the future.
What inspired you to join Supply Change Capital?
I was hooked the first time I heard Shayna pitch the thesis. As a mission driven, returns first fund led by women with impressive pedigrees and professional backgrounds, Supply Change stands at an important intersection of cultural and climate trends. Therefore, I believe we are uniquely positioned to identify and support early-stage companies offering transformative solutions to global issues. We practice what we preach, and I knew that if I wanted to develop my own investor instinct, I’d be wise to do so by betting on and learning from Supply Change.
Tell us about 'a day in the life' at Supply Change and your main focus areas.
I start my day with a quick review of emails to address anything urgent. Then I’ll put aside some time for deep thinking before starting meetings. On a day to day basis, I’ll usually speak with a couple of founders who are either pitching to me for the first time or updating me on any progress since our last conversation. Then I’ll have both internal meetings and conversations with other VCs, generally reviewing past meetings, market trends, sharing deal flow. I’m currently working on optimizing our own deal flow process and building out our MBA fellows program, so I dedicate time weekly to working on these projects.
What has been the biggest surprise about working in VC?
The variety of deals we see. When you think “food” or “food tech” I would have never imagined the richness in this category alone. Constantly learning, while being both critical and curious, is a rewarding challenge.
What are your predictions for the future of food - where will we be in 20 years?
Food security will be a national security issue. The public sector will have to intervene and reallocate funding toward more sustainable and regenerative agricultural practices. Food labels will be far more transparent, and supply chain traceability of ingredients as well as carbon footprint of meals will be as common as nutrition labels are now. We are currently igniting that change, helping to capitalize and amplify the voices of those leading the change; if we can help them succeed, we all win.
BONUS INSIGHTS!
What is your favorite efficiency hack?
In “thinking mode” - use a Pomodoro timer ⏲. 25min on/5 min off and phone on “work” silence mode.
What is a consumer food brand that didn’t exist 3 years ago but you can’t live without?
BKE Kombucha. Made locally where I am in Brooklyn. I stopped brewing a few years ago, and this is quite the treat.