Leaders on a Mission - Pam Marrone, Entrepreneur, and Pioneer, Episode 8

In todays episode, I was joined by Pam Marrone, a thought leader in regenerative agriculture and a true entrepreneur having founded 2 pioneering technology companies, one leading to a successful exit and the other to an IPO.

We explore Pam’s early influences, and trace her love of agriculture back to experiences as a young girl helping her parents with organic gardening, and how even over the shelf pesticides caused unnecessary damage to local ecosystems . 

She reflects on the challenges of being a young female finding a job within agriculture, and how she landed her dream job, leading an insect biology group at Monsanto.  She speaks about passion for biological and microbial solutions, and how this category of solutions has evolved over the years, with advanced in sciences and consumer awareness. 

We  discuss her entrepreneurial drive  and the challenges of raising financing back in the 90’s and how she “dialled for dollars”  in a very different investment landscape. compared with today.  Pam speaks about the stigma and  challenges she has faced as a female CEO, and her work mentoring other female leaders. She reflects on leading the company she founded to an IPO, and in dealing with some of the challenges that came her way.