Inés Sánchez-Castillo

I am French/Spanish/Belgian, and grew up between Madrid and Switzerland. I studied at the Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne, during which I did an internship where I opened Deliveroo in Australia. That experience defined my desire to be an entrepreneur in the foodtech space, so I spent the past 8 years looking for experiences that would help me become the founder I wanted to be. This led me to working at Gorillas, Choco, and then founding Beans: an impact startup aimed at helping FMCGs reduce their waste. On the personal side, I push myself to go on one big adventure every year. So far I've gone on several specialised shark diving trips, I've climbed and skied down some of Europe's wildest mountains and have crossed the Atlantic on a sailboat.

How did IE help you get to where you are today?

The MBA I did at IE has brought me incredible support in many ways. I have cultivated great relationships with some of my professors, two of which even invested in my startup. I have met colleagues and other students who continue to challenge me and inspire me every day. It has also given me access to some great talent, which I then hired at my startup as well. The local IE Alumni communities have also greatly contributed to helping in my startup's growth, as well as on the personal side when I have needed help from local members. The reach and resources IE has have provided me with tremendous support and I am very grateful for that.

How did you come up with the idea for your company?

After 8 years in the food sector I kept seeing the issue of wasted food. I spent 6+ months digging into food waste to fully understand its dynamics, and understood that industrial waste is where there was a lot of impact to be made.

What is the key to the success of your company?

Volume. My company's economic model is built in such a way that the more revenue we generate, the more impact we have on the environment and on consumers. It was key for us that every additional unit of revenue equals an additional unit of impact.