Nomad Nutrition

Denis and Polina, from Vancouver, BC, asked for $100,000 for 10% of Nomad Nutrition, a company making dehydrated, vegan, gluten-free, and preservative-free meals for climbers, campers, and hikers using an exclusive-to-Canada dehydration process called REV Dry, for which they pay a 5% of gross revenue royalty fee to the technology's manufacturer. Small bags sell for about $8 and large bags for about $15, with products sold through about 65 Mountain Equipment Co-op stores, a partnership with Atmosphere, roughly ten independent US retailers, and e-commerce including Amazon. Last year the company had $220,000 in gross revenue, growing 2X year over year, a customer acquisition cost of about $3, no marketing spend to date, $260,000 in assets, and factory capacity being used at only 10%.

Vincenzo Guzzo went out over personal taste, Arlene Dickinson went out saying she would want too large a stake, and Manjit Minhas went out over concerns that the manufacturer, not the founders, owned the core technology. Michele Romanow offered $100,000 for 30% and Jim Treliving offered $100,000 for 25% plus a board seat, both declined; Lane Merrifield offered $100,000 for 20%, which the founders countered to 15%, settling at 17%, which they accepted.

Nomad Nutrition is still operating and sells through its website.