Episode 87: Tomorrow, Inc.: Dr. Alec Lorenzo on bootstrapping SynBio, the "Functional Assay" of sales, and First Principles valuation

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Alec Lourenco, CEO and co-founder of Tomorrow, Inc., a biotech platform engineering proteins that bind to taste receptors to replicate—and evolve—the experience of sugar and salt. Alec shares the scrappy origin story of how they bootstrapped a hand-canned soda company just to demo their initial FDA-approved sweet protein blend, a hustle that ultimately landed them a $1M round led by Carbon Silicon Ventures. We dive deep into why early-stage founders must rely on "first principles" rather than pattern matching for their valuations, the danger of investors mistaking a biotech platform for a CPG brand, and how to survive the SynBio winter through extreme capital efficiency.

🎧 Listen to the full episode to hear how Alec navigated asking a former boss for an angel check and why he believes the ultimate laboratory test is a paying customer.

Key Facts Tomorrow, Inc.:

CEO & co-founder: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alec-lourenco-353610a5/
Goal: To engineer novel flavor proteins that replace unhealthy ingredients like sugar and salt, creating healthy and "whimsical" taste experiences using a proprietary "tongue-in-the-loop" discovery system.
Milestone: Raised a $1M round led by Carbon Silicon Ventures, generated early revenue through a prototype D2C soda to prove market demand, and is currently seeking challenger brands for co-development partnerships.

Blurb:

Weekend is making anything taste like anything using engineered protein binders that activate your sweet, fat, and salt receptors to replace unhealthy ingredients like sugar, salt, and fat.

Bootstrapping SynBio, "Functional Assay" of sales, & First Principles valuation - Tomorrow, Inc