Calabaza working with non-profits to measure food distribution & waste

Sebastian Stanescu, Founder & CEO of Calabaza

Sebastian Stanescu is a first time founder based in Newmarket, ON who recently graduated from Schulich School of Business at York University.

He was accepted into the Circular Innovation Accelerator after working on his business idea, Calabaza, for 5 months. His goal is to work with food organizations to track and monetize their impact in areas like food waste and insecurity.  

“The approach started off as a passion project to fight food waste and insecurity locally. As it began to scale, the issue of funding became much more apparent and I saw that this was true across the industry. Organizations struggle to get recognized and funded largely because they struggle to capture data on their impact. I thought that, if I struggled with this issue and saw how widespread it was, there was an opportunity to help these organizations across the board.”

Why did you apply for the Circular Innovation Accelerator?

I applied to the accelerator because having access to the mentorship and ongoing support would mean I would be able take the business from idea stage to actually executing. The most appealing aspect was the fact that the program is structured in a way to take you from zero all the way up to an initial launch. I knew that there was merit to the idea, but was really looking for the support and guidance so that I could avoid mistakes I knew I would otherwise make.  

What help were you looking for when you applied to the Circular Innovation Accelerator?

While I’m still very early in the journey, early on the biggest issue was a lack of experience to base my work off of. Being a recent graduate, I was passionate about making an impact but I had so many things to learn that I almost didn’t know where to start. I also faced issues securing funding and belief from people in the industry because of my age and lack of industry experience. I was ultimately looking for someone who would take the chance on a young initiative while I built the credibility and the experience needed to make this a reality.

Now that you’re in it, how has the Circular Innovation Accelerator helped grow Calabaza?

Being a part of the accelerator program has been absolutely crucial to the progress of my startup. I came into the program with an idea around reducing food waste and creating a sustainable business around it. I knew that I wanted to build something in sustainability but felt like I knew nothing. Erin and Kayli’s experience in the space probably saved me months of work by helping me find other similar models that had been done, sharing what works, what doesn’t work, and how to position my startup.

The program has helped me take the vision I came in with and build a model out around it to where I could see a clear roadmap to success. Then at each step, they helped me break things down into manageable pieces and prioritize the most important work for my business - from learning sales, understanding product management, and learning when to pivot + when to stay firm.

The combination of industry expertise and the strong support system they provided has been invaluable and without being a part of this program, I’m not sure that I would have been able to bring my idea to this point on my own. Overall, nothing but glowing reviews for the entire team and process.