Q: What does your startup do?
A: At LOOP, we farm garden snails and extract snail slime using our patented machine, ensuring high-quality, sustainable, and natural raw material for cosmetic and pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Our motivation stemmed from the product’s potential and the challenges associated with it, including past unfavorable reviews. Our first manual prototype took four hours to extract four liters, a highly productive effort.
Our solution benefits:
- End users: They receive unmatched natural remedy results.
- Manufacturers: They gain access to a superior natural raw material.
- Sustainability: Aligns with SDGs: Zero Hunger, Affordable and Clean Energy, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Responsible Consumption and Production, Life on Land.
Q: What is one of your biggest achievements in your entrepreneurial journey, and what lesson did you learn from it?
A: Our biggest achievement was the successful first extraction that validated our process. This was followed by securing a patent and attracting an angel investor. Participating in programs like the PSL program funded by USAID and the Agrytech program by Berytech also stands out. The key lesson we learned is the importance of persistence and leveraging available resources.
Q: What are the main challenges you faced throughout your journey?
A: Being an entrepreneur comes with multiple challenges, most of the challenges we had to deal with included finding the right consultants and navigating government regulations that aren’t readily accessible.
Q: How did you overcome these challenges?
A: We couldn’t emphasize enough how important patience is. By persisting and having faith in our objective and its results, we became confident in our success. This made finding solutions both fun and enjoyable.
Q: Why did you apply to the Agrytech program? What were you hoping to achieve through it?
A: Initially, applying to the Agrytech program was a challenging yet rewarding journey. I met the Berytech team for the first time in 2017 in The University of Balamand, and although we faced rejections three times, these experiences helped us refine and expand our idea. Our perseverance paid off when we were accepted into Batch 6. The team members were perfectly positioned, delivering messages effectively and providing unwavering support for our advancement and the company’s growth. The expectations were high, and the outcomes exceeded them.
Q: What are your long-term goals as a startup?
A: Although we are aware that our snails produce a wide range of byproducts, our ultimate goal as a start-up is to become the forefront of snail farming and production in Lebanon and the MENA region.
Q: What’s something you enjoy most about being an entrepreneur?
A: The first thing that springs to mind is freedom—the freedom to make decisions and work at your own pace. However, that same freedom comes with a great deal of responsibility.
Q: What advice would you give to someone joining the next batch of the Agrytech Accelerator Program?
A: Accept the feedback, go with the flow, have fun, and make the most of the experience. Above all, be proactive and adhere to deadlines and deliverables because this will help you accelerate your startup at a faster pace.
About Agrytech
Berytech designed and developed the Agrytech Accelerator Program to make sure Lebanon has the most competitive companies that are sourcing, solving, growing and transforming food, as well as feeding the world from Lebanon. The Agrytech Accelerator Program launched by Berytech and funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Lebanon to enable the Lebanese entrepreneurial ecosystem and stimulate innovation and startup creation in the agriculture, food, and clean technology sectors.
