VERDANCY
Aachen, Germany (RWTH Aachen) | On-site / Hybrid | Co-Founder / Equity | Deep Tech / AgTech & Biotechnology
About Verdancy
Verdancy is a start up in the making from the Schwaneberg Group at the Institute of Biotechnology of RWTH Aachen University. It develops biodegradable additives that make crop-protection products stick to leaves and last longer. Bio-based microgels carry the active substance and release it on demand, while bi-adhesive peptides anchor the microgel to the leaf wax so the coating survives rain — meaning fewer sprays and less pesticide lost to the environment. A second product line uses bifunctional peptides (antimicrobial peptide + anchor) as peptide-based pesticides in their own right, protected by patent EP3261435B1. The entry market is copper fungicide against grapevine downy mildew, where there is no real alternative today, poor rain resistance is a known problem, and the EU is pushing hard to cut copper use.
**The opportunity
**Built on more than 10 years of university research across six projects (€7m raised, TRL 5), the startup is now being further developed by Susanne Braun (CSO, polymer chemist, carrier systems and formulations) and Atul Kumar (CTO, biotechnologist, protein engineering). Verdancy already has a developed business model, funding secured through May 2027 via the Warp Speed Fund of the Materials Lab Incubator (MerLIn), a successful soybean-rust project and a new €2.4m insect-focused project starting January 2027. What's missing is the business development leadership to found the spin-off company and go after an €80B addressable market (€1.2B in the copper segment alone).
Aachen, Germany (RWTH Aachen) | On-site / Hybrid | Co-Founder / Equity | Deep Tech / AgTech & Biotechnology
Tasks
What you will own
**Company build-up
**- Lead the founding of the spin-off company from the current university-research structure, in partnership with Susanne Braun (CSO) and Atul Kumar (CTO).
- Own the transition from grant-funded research (secured through May 2027) to a fundable, revenue-generating company.
**Market access & commercialization
**- Accelerate market access for the copper-fungicide entry product (grapevine downy mildew), where regulatory pressure and poor rain resistance of existing products create a clear opening.
- Build partnerships to validate the technology commercially and scale into the wider €80B crop-protection market.
Fundraising & partnerships
- Secure further funding from June 2027 onward, particularly to start the regulatory approval process.
- Develop third-party-funded project relationships and networks alongside the existing €2.4m insect-focused project (starting Jan 2027).
Requirements
What you bring
**Core experience
**- Business development experience, ideally in AgTech, crop protection, biotech, or a related regulated life-sciences market.
- Comfort founding a company out of a university research group and navigating the transition from grant funding to commercial revenue.
**Especially valuable
**- Familiarity with EU pesticide/crop-protection regulatory approval processes.
- Experience with materials/biotech spin-offs or deep-tech incubators (Verdancy is currently in the Materials Lab Incubator's Warp Speed Fund).
- Existing network among crop-protection companies, distributors or grapevine/viticulture producers.
Benefits
Why join Verdancy
- Over 10 years and €7m of university research already de-risked the science (TRL-5), with a patented core technology (EP3261435B1) and peer-reviewed publications.
- Funding already secured through May 2027, plus a new €2.4m project starting January 2027 — real runway to build on.
- A clear, urgent entry market (EU pressure to cut copper use in grapevine fungicide) opening the door to an €80B crop-protection market.
Verdancy welcomes co-founder candidates regardless of gender, age, ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, sexual identity, or any other characteristic. This is a search for the right partner to build the company with, not a conventional hire.
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