Seedrun

Can you give a brief introduction about yourself?

My name is Anushka. I work at a company called the Future Forest Company and I'm Business Development associate. It's my first big girl job, if I'm allowed to say that! I wanted to work in climate and startups, so its perfect for me.

What inspired you to join a startup?

I'm one of the early employees. I wanted to be part of a startup because I like the fast-paced nature of it. I like the non-traditional aspect of not being in a hierarchy. I feel that everyone in the company has a very equal voice.

Can you describe your startup in a single sentence?

Future Forest Company is a nature restoration project developer. We reforest woodland that has then been destroyed by putting trees back in the ground. We try and get biodiversity rates back up in the UK because they're some of the lowest in the world. We do that tby getting rid of invasive species and protecting endangered species. We also in the voluntary carbon market through nature-based solutions such as woodland carbon and peatland carbon.

What's the most unique aspect of your solution or business model?

Because we execute from the very beginning of the project development until the sales side of it, there's nothing's ever lost in translation. I know that what I'm selling I could go up and see tomorrow and it's all there for us to shout about which is nice.

What’s the most challenging aspect of building your startup?

Knowing where the market's going to go and acknowledging that there are gaps in your business.

What's the most valuable lesson you've learnt as an early employee of a startup?

I think an early lesson I've learnt, is that no one really knows everything and so therefore don't be afraid to make mistakes and don't be afraid to ask questions because a lot of the time the people you ask also won't know and it'll just be worth finding out the answer for both of you.

How do you manage work-life balance especially with the demands of a startup?

Luckily, our startup is really big on worklife balance, so I'll do my nine hours a day but because it's work from home, I can go for a run in the middle of the day or I can start earlier and then end earlier and spend time with my friends. So actually I find that luckily it's not too much of a burden trying to balance work-life balance.

What’s the next big milestone for your startup?

I think trying to understand where the biodiversity market is going is a massive milestone and seeing if we can develop those frameworks through working with other partners, to be ahead of the curve of the biodiversity market. At the moment it's a complete minefield and there's different prices for different units.

What advice would he give to aspiring entrepreneurs or startups or early employees or startups?

I would say don't listen to naysayers, but also have a backup plan and be adaptable. Don't be stubborn with some decision that you made on a whim or don't be stubborn because someone has said something. I think it's so important to take a bit of advice from everyone and weigh it all up for yourself.

Any ideas on how we could improve Seed Run?

No, I love it. It's great. The food is fab, the run was a good,a short and sweet one. So no,, love Henry and Clemmy!