Brett Brohl simultaneously leads Techstars Farm to Fork accelerator and serves as Managing Partner at Bread and Butter Ventures, giving him an unusually deep hands-on perspective across both accelerator cohorts and early-stage fund investments in food and ag-tech. As a former repeat startup CEO who has built and sold companies as well as run one into a brick wall, he brings direct entrepreneurial empathy to his investing while focusing on the messy middle of food systems—supply chain, manufacturing, and logistics—rather than consumer products.

• A major focus on operational pitfalls that destroy early-stage startups. He frequently shares advice on avoiding specific mistakes, such as falling into the trap of perfectionism by building forever without iterating, or hiring cheap lawyers that cause long-term damage.
• Strong preference for personalized outreach over generic templates. He publicly critiqued a cold email that claimed he was hand-picked for a round, noting that founders should use a personalized opening to drive a response rather than obvious bulk mail tactics.
• Interest in the psychological traits of successful founders, specifically the balance between confidence and arrogance. He emphasizes the need for laser focus against distractions and warns that CEOs who get too emotionally high or low risk losing their team.
• Deep engagement with the Minnesota startup ecosystem and local sports. He frequently posts about Twin Cities Startup Week and Techstars events while cheering for the Timberwolves and Twins, making local sports a potential icebreaker.
• Emphasis on customer validation and sales ability. He argues that founders must be able to sell their own product before hiring someone else to do it, and warns that failing to talk to customers because of a focus on product strategy is a fatal error.
• Active interest in the food tech sector. He shares enthusiasm for industry-specific demo days and has published a specific investment thesis regarding the future of food technology.