Alison Sunstrum on Learner's Mindset

How does the CEO of a skunkworks operation built in a garage in Alberta – become a globally recognized leader in agriculture, technology and innovation? Alison Sunstrum is the CEO of Conserve X, a Canadian company developing and investing in emerging technology in agriculture, and a General Partner of The51 Food and AgTech Fund, investing in outliers transforming the business of food and agriculture. Alison is a Venture Partner and LP at Builders VC, a San Francisco/Calgary venture capital fund. Alison is a Founding Partner and Fellow in the Ag Stream of CDL-Rockies, and the Manufacturing stream at CDL-Seattle. Alison’s company GrowSafe won the Intel award for Innovation, Canada’s Ingenious award, and the AsTech-Dow Sciences award for agricultural science innovation. In 2021, Alison was recognized as one of Canada’s most influential leaders in agriculture. We speak to Alison about her early career journey and her passion for science, technology, and innovation. Alison shares with us her philosophy on continuous learning and mentorship, the importance of a first customer, and how technology founders should think about growth. A very special feature of this episode – Alison teaches us about the Internet of Livestock Things!