An overlooked challenge: Founders' mental health in the agrifood tech ecosystem

Last year, a survey by Sifted revealed that 49% of startup founders were considering quitting their companies, citing extreme stress, burnout, and financial insecurity. Meanwhile, new research from Foundology, the coaching community dedicated to founders, the Founder Resilience Report, reveals that 93% of founders show signs of mental health strain, with anxiety levels five times higher than the UK national average. In the same vein, more than half experience stress and worry for most of their week, and 76% feel lonely, a figure 50% higher than CEOs who are not founders.

In agrifood tech, these pressures are even more intense. Unlike software startups that can pivot quickly, food and agrifood founders face long R&D cycles, complex regulations, and slow market adoption. While you can launch a new SaaS tool in weeks, getting a novel food ingredient approved can take years.

The unique pressures of agrifood tech founders

Unlike the rapid growth seen in the software space, food innovation takes time. Developing a new alternative protein or food processing technology requires scientific validation, regulatory approval, and consumer trust. The scaling timeline spans years, not months.

In the EU alone, the regulatory approval process for a novel food takes an average of three to five years, while cultivated meat still lacks a clear regulatory pathway in most European countries. Meanwhile, agricultural innovations, whether in regenerative farming, alternative proteins, or precision fermentation, are heavily dependent on biological systems that don’t move at the speed of venture capital expectations.

This traps founders in a relentless cycle of uncertainty, financial pressure, and scientific setbacks. For every success story, countless promising startups run out of funding before they can reach commercial viability. This pressure compounds over time, leading to chronic stress, burnout, and even exits driven by mental exhaustion rather than business fundamentals.

Balancing investors' expectations with founders' well-being

The startup ecosystem has romanticised the idea of founders sacrificing everything for success, yet this mindset is outdated and harmful. Studies show 83% of founders agree that longer hours yield diminishing returns, yet most push themselves to work more. Investors demand rapid growth, a reason why 51% of founders say their boards expect them to always be available.

The reality, however, is that overwork leads to diminishing returns. Research consistently shows that chronic stress impairs decision-making, reduces creativity, and weakens leadership. In an industry where regulatory compliance, scientific rigour, and precision are non-negotiable, burnout isn’t just bad for founders, it’s bad for business.

What needs to change?

To create sustainable food systems, we must start by ensuring the well-being of those building them. Here are some suggestions that, from my experience, should be non-negotiables.

Treat founders' health as an asset

Investors need to recognise founders’ mental health as a critical asset and success factor instead of a liability. Some VC firms have already begun to offer well-being initiatives, such as executive coaching, structured peer groups, and mental health resources. But this is still the exception, not the norm. Investors pushing for aggressive growth without considering the impact it has on founders are risking their own investments.

Integrate mental health support into startup ecosystems

Mental health support must be an integral part of the startup ecosystem. Many founders struggle with isolation, and having a trusted community to share challenges with can make a real difference in navigating the pressures of scaling a food innovation business. Similarly, being able to connect with industry experts and peers can bring some relief and palliate the sense of loneliness and the pressure it brings. 

For example, initiatives like FounderCircles from Foundology and FounderWell offer distinct approaches to guiding and supporting founders through the entrepreneurial rollercoaster. Foundology’s group-coaching format focuses on structured peer support, creating a space where entrepreneurs can share challenges, access collective intelligence, and receive guidance from industry experts, helping to alleviate isolation and stress. Meanwhile, FounderWell takes a mixed approach, combining self-guided, one-on-one, and group settings. Their model also includes founders’ closest allies, partners, spouses, and team members, acknowledging the broader impact of entrepreneurship. Inspired by these approaches, we have also applied similar group-support methods in our work and have seen strong results, which have proven highly effective in supporting founders.

Rethink the hustle culture

The romanticised ‘hustle culture’ of startups is not compatible with the realities of scientific and agricultural innovation. Policymakers, investors, and corporates must acknowledge that food and agriculture innovation moves at a different pace, and that longer timelines do not equate to lower impact. A shift towards patient capital and realistic scaling expectations will help create an environment where founders can succeed without sacrificing their health.

Building resilience for the future of food

If we want to see the next wave of successful food tech innovations, we must start by creating an ecosystem that supports the resilience of the founders behind them. Sustainable food systems require sustainable entrepreneurs. This means fostering a shift away from “hustle culture” toward a structure that prioritises founder well-being as a cornerstone of long-term success.

By borrowing lessons from high-performance coaching and integrating well-being into the startup journey, we can help food tech founders perform at their best. Mental health is not a luxury or nice-to-have. It is a basic necessity for all of us. And it’s time the agrifood tech industry treats it as such. Because in the end, a burned-out founder can’t build a better food future.

Magdalena Herrador Moreno is the Scale-ups Accelerator Programme Support Manager at EIT Food Entrepreneurship (RisingFoodStars).