Dr. Elizabeth Klodas, co-founder, chief medical officer, Step One Foods
Dr. Elizabeth Klodas is taking up a challenge from Steve Case, AOL founder turned venture capitalist, who offered to invest $100,000 in Step One Foods if the heart-healthy snack company raises $1 million.
Case made the $100,000 challenge to Step One Foods and a dozen other companies after seeing their presentations this month at Google Demo Day in San Francisco.
He gave the companies 100 days to raise at least the money before he would invest.
"It's actually a great honor and great validation that he would look at every single one of these companies including ours and put money behind our success," Klodas said. "Our mandate to ourselves is to meet that challenge and have him as an investor. He would be a tremendous asset to our company, especially given his interest in health and wellness."
Klodas, an Edina cardiologist, said Step One Foods, the only non-tech company at the Google event, would use any investment to boost marketing of its chocolate bars, cranberry pecan bars, oatmeal, smoothie mix and other products.
Each contains fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, plant sterols and antioxidants "in clinically significant amounts to impact cardiovascular health," she said. A clinical trial has started.
Klodas said she spent the first 10 years of her career prescribing medications and the last 10 prescribing heart-healthy snacks, attributing patients' poor cardiovascular health largely to poor diet.
Step One Foods, which launched its products 3.5 years ago, has seen sales double since debuting a more robust e-commerce website in December, Klodas said.
Coincidentally, another Google program is working with Step One Foods to optimize its online ads, Klodas said.
Q: What does your Google Demo Day appearance mean?
A: It introduced us to a whole new community of tech and venture and innovation on the West Coast. We had quite a bit of interest from VC funds and investors so we're sorting through those opportunities.
Q: What was your takeaway from your presentation?
A: It was exciting to be speaking and watching the audience nod. Everybody recognizes that this is a problem. We're spending $300 billion a year on treating heart disease, which is predominantly preventable.
Q: What prepared you to be an entrepreneur, as well as a physician?
A: In some sense, I was prepared for it through my upbringing. My father is a physician. He's almost 80, and he still sees patients. He's always had his own practice; that's a business. Mom had a bakery for the longest time. I went in and made ice cream and helped with pastries and bread and things. So I grew up in an entrepreneurial environment.
Todd Nelson
