Founded On Purpose · Renew Venture Capital

From Software to Superfoods: How Kesha Stickland is Changing What We Eat

·45 min·2 clips

Hashimoto’s syndrome, a freeway car accident, and a mold leak pushed Keisha into food as health strategy.

1. Founded On Purpose speaks with Keisha Strickland about The Mushroom Meat Co. and its focus on mushroom-based meat alternatives. 2. Katie McBratney hosts the conversation and frames Keisha as a CEO, co-founder, and former software engineer. 3. The episode asks why health became Keisha’s central purpose and how that shaped a food company built around familiar plant-based products. 4. Keisha says her company differs from many meat alternatives because it starts with health rather than animals or the planet. 5. She says many people reduce or eliminate red meat because of health goals, but they still want meat taste and convenience. 6. Keisha says mushrooms are useful because they provide fiber, complete protein, bioactive compounds, and a familiar food format. 7. She says the goal is to make health-driven behavior change easier by removing the friction of cooking mushrooms as a separate ingredient. 8. Keisha says her own health journey began with Hashimoto’s syndrome, allergies, swelling, and trouble healing after a freeway car accident. 9. She describes a slow pipe leak and house repairs that forced her family into a hotel while she was trying to recover. 10. She says a healer introduced her to herbal medicine, plant-based diets, alkalinity, and mushroom extracts that helped with inflammation. 11. Keisha explains that mushrooms are a type of fungi, while mycelium is the growth network beneath the ground. 12. She says mushroom fruiting bodies are the parts sold in supermarkets, and they carry much of the nutrition people associate with mushrooms. 13. Keisha says she became concerned that mycelium products would require too much explanation for consumers and chefs. 14. She argues that growing mushroom fruiting bodies through solid-state fermentation uses agricultural waste, vertical space, and less water. 15. She says mushrooms can be grown on a single acre at a scale of about a million pounds, and she contrasts that with chicken and pork production. 16. Keisha says partnering with farmers, including mushroom growers and farmers transitioning into mushrooms, could create a better economic path. 17. The interview style is conversational and detailed, with Katie using follow-up questions to move from science to founder identity. 18. Keisha’s delivery is reflective and technical, and she moves between personal biography, product strategy, and food science. 19. People interested in food tech, mushrooms, and purpose-driven founders would likely enjoy this episode. 20. Listeners wanting quick business headlines without food science may skip it.

As heard by us

A purpose-led food founder story that keeps mission tied to method.

Founded on Purpose centers Keisha Strickland, a software engineer turned food founder who moved from product strategy and development into The Mushroom Meat Co.

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Why you'd press play

Mushrooms, product strategy, and a founder whose one-word purpose is health.

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