In our last Member Monday highlight of 2020, we’re thrilled to feature Branchfood member Lisa Sebesta, Founder of Sitari Capital! At Sitari, Lisa works with investors who are interested in food and agriculture to achieve their financial and impact goals. The company seeks to support utilization of financing solutions that work for both the investor and the company.  

Before Sitari, Lisa spent over 20 years managing funds of both public and private equities. For the last 8 years, she has been working exclusively in the food and agriculture industry, focused on evaluating investments in mission-driven businesses that are reshaping our food industry. Launching Sitari Capital united her passion for local food systems and her deep experience in the investment industry.  

Prior to founding Sitari Capital, you were the Co-Founder and Managing Partner for Fresh Source Capital, a Cambridge-based investment firm focused on sustainable food and agriculture. You’re also a board member of Atlantic Sea Farms and the Chair of the Boston Public Market Association. How did this work help you shape the mission of Sitari Capital?

While with Fresh Source Capital, I met many promising entrepreneurs with great business ideas.  Through our fund we were able to support some of them, but there were always interesting companies we were not able to support for a variety of reasons.  However, I found that other investors – sometimes individuals, foundations, or family offices – were able to make those investments but often needed the expertise of an experienced fund manager with due diligence.  These are the types of investors I now work with at Sitari.

Through my board work, I’ve come to deeply appreciate the hard work that entrepreneurs and their teams put into their companies.  I’ve also seen how local food businesses can have an outsized positive impact on their community.  For example, Atlantic Sea Farms created a delicious line of fermented kelp products that are not only healthy for people and planet, but support the livelihoods of over 2 dozen fishermen off the coast of Maine.  And Boston Public Market provides the opportunity for 30 small local food vendors to sell to the public (in their retail location and online).

Sitari Capital was founded to help innovative businesses achieve creative financing solutions. Why don’t conventional financing structures often meet these businesses’ needs, and what makes Sitari different?

My experience in food and agriculture has shown that each company’s capital needs and structure is unique, and that many businesses aren’t a great fit for venture capital funds.  Often food companies, especially ones that have high infrastructure needs, are more capital intensive but may not be able to support bank debt.  I believe there needs to be more innovation in financing mechanisms to meet the unique needs of these businesses, especially ones that are mission-driven.  At Sitari we aim to be at the forefront of that innovation.  

With over 20 years of experience in the investment world, you’ve seen this industry evolve quite a bit. What are a few of the biggest changes you’ve noticed in the last few years?

When I started in the investment industry, socially responsible investing was practiced by a small group of pioneer firms.  Now, ESG investing — investing for environment, social and governance purposes — is much more mainstream.  These trends started in publicly traded equities, but filter down into private company investing as well.  More recently, I’m seeing a stronger emphasis on social and racial justice, which I think is a great development.  We also hope to be part of the movement to make investments that benefit everyone on the planet, not just the investor with the capital.  

How has being a Branchfood member helped you to connect with the New England food community?

Branchfood keeps me in touch with emerging brands and businesses, and networked with other service providers who are working in this space. Earlier this year (pre-pandemic!) I did a workshop at Branchfood with Melissa DiPalma of Sparkk Content called Perfecting Your Pitch, since another major aspect of my work at Sitari is helping entrepreneurs prepare for investment. Whenever I am asked how to plug into the local food scene in Boston, I always recommend checking out Branchfood first.  This year I really enjoyed participating in the Food Edge conference; I learned a lot and met some great people.  

How can our audience connect with Sitari? 

Please check out my website and my LinkedIn page.  Earlier this year I did some research on the effects of the pandemic on some local food businesses, which are published in both places.  I’ll be writing some additional posts on the ongoing impact of COVID on the food system, which will be published in the New Year!

Thank you so much to Lisa for joining us for this week’s Member Monday! Are you interested in how a Branchfood membership can help you succeed? Learn more about our membership benefits, and stay informed with our newsletter. Be sure to follow us on Instagram for our next takeover!