I sit down with scientist-turned-investor Jenny Kan, co-founder and general partner at Juniper VC, to talk about why bio-manufacturing is critical to making cleaner chemicals, materials, ingredients, and products—closer to home.We discuss the shift from making things with petroleum to microbes, why decentralized production is key to national security and resilient supply chains, and the hard-won lessons from the last, “industrial biotech bubble.”Topics we cover:What industrial biotech and synthetic biology actually meanHow fermentation enables decentralized manufacturingWhy the “lab-grown meat bubble” burst (and what we learned)How AI & robotics let industrial biotech startups earn revenue earlierThe #1 mistake scientist-founders makeWhy the Pentagon now sees biotech as critical to national securityIf you’re interested in synthetic biology, deep tech investing, or the future of decentralized, clean production, this one’s for you.Recording date: October 26, 2025Chapters:00:00 Introduction01:18 Industrial Biotech Explained03:53 Explaining Feedstock05:25 Why We Must Replace Petroleum06:59 Fermentation And Decentralizing Production08:38 Explaining The Bio-Industrial Revolution10:11 Juniper VC And Investing In Bio-Industrial Startups11:07 Why The Biomanufacturing Bubble Keeps Popping14:11 AI's Impact on Biology16:43 Jenny’s Approach To Investing In Bio-manufacturing19:26 Current, "Fat" In Our Supply Chains23:12 Juniper’s Ecosystem Building Approach26:15 Venture Capital Signaling & Flex28:15 Jenny's Journey: From Scientist to Investor32:15 Current Fundraising Environment34:05 "Deep Truth" To Bio-manufacturing35:11 Explaining The Importance Of A Techno-Economic Analysis37:28 #1 Mistake Scientist-Founders Make38:32 Understanding Consumer Behavior41:27 Consumer Education Around Bio-manufacturing44:11 Top Geographies For Bio-manufacturing46:23 How We Accelerate the Bio-Industrial Revolution53:12 Rapid FireFollow Jordan on X: https://x.com/jrwolfeLinks to Jenny's Work:Juniper Website – https://www.junipervc.com/Contact – [email protected] & [email protected]: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-kan/Key Influences and Resources Mentioned:Dr. Frances Arnold (Nobel Prize, Chemistry 2018) - https://www.linkedin.com/in/frances-arnold-b4992313/One Mighty Mill (Jordan's decentralized flour example) - https://www.onemightymill.com/collections/fresh-milled-breadSubscribe & Follow:Join the Substack – ⁠https://goingdirect.substack.com/subscribe⁠Listen on Listen on Apple Podcasts – ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/going-direct-conversations/id1800505663⁠Subscribe to YouTube for more deep dives on decentralization, robots, and the real economy – ⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@goingdirect_/videos

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