Innovation Endeavors was founded on the thesis of the Super Evolution: that technological advances across data, computation, and engineering would converge and translate into significant, fast changes for the world. We’ve seen this firsthand.
But more importantly, this era of innovation is made possible by people: changemakers working to revolutionize computing infrastructure, engineering biology, climate, intelligent software, and the physical economy. This Super Evolution Leader series highlights the stories of these innovators and gives you a glimpse into how these entrepreneurs bring their work to light, what lessons they’ve learned along the way, and how they hope to change our world.
We hope their candid insights are helpful for anyone tackling meaningful problems and that their stories leave you feeling inspired.
Matt Schwartz and Nathan Fenner met at the Stanford Graduate School of Business after being placed in the same cohort. Nathan hoped to apply his engineering background to a mission-driven startup while Matt researched solutions for a more sustainable food system.
“When I heard Matt’s thesis for what would become Afresh, I jumped at the opportunity. Matt opened my eyes to the impact of our food system on climate. I knew I wanted to make a really positive social impact, specifically in the climate space, and I wanted to work with really cool frontier technology. It was completely aligned with what I wanted to do with my life,” said Nathan, co-founder and President of Afresh.
Meet Super Evolution drivers Nathan and Matt: Co-founders of Afresh
The mission at Afresh is to eliminate unnecessary food waste and make fresh food accessible to all. The platform is a store-level replenishment tool for fresh departments in grocery stores. The intelligent inventory and ordering workflow optimizes recommendations for fresh food, changing the game for produce managers across several major grocery chains.
“We observed that most of the technology that was built for the food industry, be it in retail or the supply chain or distribution, was designed for processed foods,” said Matt, co-founder and CEO of Afresh.
Afresh counts Albertsons, The Save Mart Companies, WinCo Foods, Bashas, and Southern Grocers, among others, as customers.
“We’re applying artificial intelligence to real-world industries and physical products. A lot of the innovation in AI has been focused on optimizing digital decisions. Whereas what we’re trying to do is get the optimal quantity of fresh food into grocery stores, and that’s way harder because there’s no digital record of food in grocery stores,” said Matt.
The team emphasizes that fresh food has been massively underpenetrated by technology. This unique use case for AI — along with Matt and Nathan’s relentless focus on achieving product market fit — has allowed the team to grow its customer base at a phenomenal rate in six short years.
“We’ve actually never pivoted. We’ve never deviated from our initial mission. We’ve doubled down, and the market has grabbed us by the lapels and said: we want more from you faster, which is great,” Matt concluded.
Watch the video to learn more about Afresh co-founders Matt and Nathan and how they are leveraging AI to reduce waste across the food system.
