Julia Collins (entrepreneur)
Julia Collins | |
|---|---|
| Born | San Francisco, California |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Harvard University, Stanford University |
| Occupation | Food tech entrepreneur |
| Notable work | Co-Founder of Zume, Planet FWD |
Julia Collins is a food tech entrepreneur who has spent her career building food companies, including Zume Pizza where she became the first Black woman to co-found a unicorn company.[1]
Early life and education
[edit]Collins was born in San Francisco, California.[2] She earned her Bachelor’s from Harvard University in 2001[3] and her Master of Business Administration from Stanford University in 2009.[4]
Career
[edit]Collins first started in the New York restaurant industry, co-creating a restaurant chain, Mexicue in 2010 and serving as director of Murray's Cheese in 2012.[1] In 2015, Collins helped develop Zume Pizza as a co-founder with Alex Garden.[4] Zume Pizza is a robot-powered pizza-making business that uses robotics and automation to create pizza.[5] As of 2018, the Zume Pizza is worth 2.25 billion.[5][6] Through Zume, Collins became the first Black woman to co-found a unicorn company.[1]
In 2019, Collins also founded Planet FWD,[2] a carbon management platform for consumer brands to help understand their carbon footprint.[7] Some of the major brands Planet FWD has worked with are: Clif Bar, Blue Apron, Kashi, Numi Organic Tea.[6][1] They also sell their own brand of carbon neutral snacks called Moonshot Snacks, with a focus on regenerative agricultural practices, local suppliers and recycled packaging.[7][2][8]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Gunn, Meghan; Renzulli, Kerri Anne; Potter, Ned (2023-05-10). "Disrupting climate change: 13 tech innovators helping to save the planet". Newsweek. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
- ^ a b c Andronico, Janel (2021-05-03). "SF native Julia Collins merges food with tech to fight climate change". ABC7 Chicago. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
- ^ Collins, Julia. "Linkedin". Linkedin.
- ^ a b Mitchell, Elaine (2018-11-27). "The Pizza Bot". Stanford Magazine. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
- ^ a b Reid, David (2018-11-02). "Robot pizza maker reportedly takes $375 million investment from SoftBank". CNBC. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
- ^ a b McGrath, Maggie. "Raising Money In A Tough Market: Planet FWD Founder Julia Collins Dishes On Her New Series A And Why Dire Funding Statistics Are Just Noise". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
- ^ a b Marcellus, Sibile (2021-09-01). "'Pizza was really a proof case' for climate-friendly food, Planet FWD founder says". Yahoo!Money. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
- ^ Griffith, Erin (2023-01-30). "'Recession Resilient' Climate Start-Ups Shine in Tech Downturn". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-07-06.