Investor Spotlight: Alex Borschow, Rocana Ventures
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
A few years back when I ran a beverage company, we had to launch using those plastic sleeves to put our designs on the cans. But they looked bad. The sleeves get stretched out. They don't cover the full can. And overall, they just look and feel low quality. Lucky for you, digital can printing technology has come so far over the last few years that now you can launch your beverage brand or new SKUs with a fully printed look. And it's at similar pricing to those plastic sleeves. Our friends at CanWorks, which is the largest U.S.-based digital can printer, are happy to work with our community at very low minimums, even one pallet. They've got locations in the East Coast, the West Coast, Texas. Get in touch with them through our contact form.
It's at canworksprinting.com slash startupcpg.
CanWorks
You don't have to be perfect because no startup is perfect and no metrics are perfect. Going back to what we talked about earlier, accountability, self-awareness, humility. Okay, look, I'm really strong here. I know I got really strong metrics here, but our ROAS on Amazon or other outside of Meta for DTC is not strong or our velocities weren't strong with this retailer.
Who is Alex Borschow and what is Rocana Ventures’ investment focus?
We recognize that. We're addressing it this way.
Thank you.
Hey everyone, I'm Hannah Dittman, operations and finance host of the Startup CPG podcast, and today I'm joined by Alex Borchow, a general partner at Rokana Ventures. Rokana brings a deeply mission-driven approach to early-stage investing and consumer, backing brands that genuinely make people's lives better. What we eat, what we put on our bodies, and what supports our mental and emotional well-being. Alex blends operational empathy with disciplined investing and a belief that great products, great founders, and great impact go hand in hand. In this episode, we talk about what real product market fit looks like, how to recognize traction and why it matters so much, and a general approach to diligence.
Alex shares fundraising advice, traits he consistently sees in the best founders, and why adopting a postmortem mindset early can change the entire trajectory of a business. We dig into why not every metric has to be perfect to raise capital and how founders can prepare for the next chapter with both clarity and confidence. It's tactical, honest, and packed with insight from someone who's helping shape the next generation of high-impact consumer brands. Enjoy. Hey, everybody. Welcome back to the Startup CPG podcast. This is Hannah, and today I'm here with Alex Borchow, an investor from Rakana Ventures. Alex, welcome to the show.
Hey, Hannah. Thanks for having me on.
We're so excited for you to be here today. I'd love to start out with you introducing yourself, your title, and giving a little bit of a background from where you started and what led you to investing.
Absolutely. So as you mentioned, I'm one of the general partners, three managing partners at Rakana Ventures. We are an early stage VC focused on consumer brands in three verticals, food and beverage, personal care, beauty, and mind and body wellness. I've been investing in the better for you consumer space for the last 13 years. Started out more in food and beverage, ag, ag tech. And before that, I grew up in Puerto Rico. I went to MIT, studied chemical biological engineering. Spent six years on Wall Street at a French investment bank, BNP Paribas, on the sales and trading side. And then went and did my MBA at MIT Sloan. And that's really where I transitioned my career into investing. I was president of the Food and Ag Club there, organized hackathons, and started investing as an angel alongside other VCs.
Realized I really needed some experience actually in operating business in this sector. So I was first director of finance for Eataly for the U.S., That was a seminal experience understanding retail, food service, e-commerce, and it really opened my eyes up to the power of consumers and brands. I really saw that was where there was more potential to drive change in the system. Consumers were looking for healthy, better-for-you products, and they were voting with their dollar with brands whose values resonated with theirs.
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