If you had to make your decision on just the information provided in the pitch and on the website, would you fund this company? Why or why not?

Business Idea: Provide consumers with plant-based protein foods that take the animal out of meat—without sacrificing the taste, chew, or satisfaction.

Pitch: A number of factors motivate people to seek out meat substitutes. Health benefits, animal welfare, lowering greenhouse gas emissions, and bad press about the poor conditions under which some animals are raised for slaughter are some of these factors. Many of the most common meat substitutes—tofu, bean burgers, vegetable cutlets, and so on—lack bite, chew, juiciness, and flavor. As a result, people try them for a while and then return to traditional meat products. A parallel problem exists regarding the demand for meat. Global demand for meat has tripled in the last 40 years, driven by population growth and an upward trend in per-capita consumption of meat. Producing meat has significant environmental implications. Animal agriculture is said to be responsible for about 14.5 percent of human-induced greenhouse gas emissions, more than the transportation sector. All of these factors suggest that there is a huge opportunity for a company that can produce a tasty and affordable plant-based substitute for meat, and can do it in a way that is friendlier to the environment than traditional meat production.