Julia Collins (entrepreneur)
{{Short description|Food tech entrepreneur}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Julia Collins
| image =
| birth_place = San Francisco, California
| nationality = American
| education = Harvard University,
| alma_mater =
| occupation = Food tech entrepreneur
| employer =
| known_for =
| notable_works = Co-Founder of Zume, Planet FWD
}}
Julia Collins is a food tech entrepreneur who has spent her career building food companies, including Zume Pizza where she became the first Black woman to co-found a unicorn company.{{Cite web |last1=Gunn |first1=Meghan |last2=Renzulli |first2=Kerri Anne |last3=Potter |first3=Ned |date=2023-05-10 |title=Disrupting climate change: 13 tech innovators helping to save the planet |url=https://www.newsweek.com/2023/05/19/disrupting-climate-change-13-tech-innovators-helping-save-planet-1799067.html |access-date=2023-07-06 |website=Newsweek |language=en}}
Early life and education
Collins was born in San Francisco, California.{{Cite web |last=Andronico |first=Janel |date=2021-05-03 |title=SF native Julia Collins merges food with tech to fight climate change |url=https://abc7chicago.com/zume-pizza-planet-fwd-julia-collins-moonshot-snacks/10564588/ |access-date=2023-05-25 |website=ABC7 Chicago |language=en}} She earned her Bachelor’s from Harvard University in 2001{{Cite web |last=Collins |first=Julia |date= |title=Linkedin |url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-collins-8b0a909 |url-status= |archive-url= |website=Linkedin}} and her Master of Business Administration from Stanford University in 2009.{{Cite web |last=Mitchell |first=Elaine |date=2018-11-27 |title=The Pizza Bot |url=https://stanfordmag.org/contents/the-pizza-bot |access-date=2023-07-06 |website=Stanford Magazine |language=en}}
Career
Collins first started in the New York restaurant industry, co-creating a restaurant chain, Mexicue in 2010 and serving as director of Murray's Cheese in 2012. In 2015, Collins helped develop Zume Pizza as a co-founder with Alex Garden. Zume Pizza is a robot-powered pizza-making business that uses robotics and automation to create pizza. As of 2018, the Zume Pizza is worth 2.25 billion.{{Cite web |last=Reid |first=David |date=2018-11-02 |title=Robot pizza maker reportedly takes $375 million investment from SoftBank |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/02/robot-pizza-maker-reportedly-takes-375-million-investment-from-softbank.html |access-date=2023-05-22 |website=CNBC |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=McGrath |first=Maggie |title=Raising Money In A Tough Market: Planet FWD Founder Julia Collins Dishes On Her New Series A And Why Dire Funding Statistics Are Just Noise |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/maggiemcgrath/2022/05/26/raising-money-in-a-tough-market-planet-fwd-founder-julia-collins-dishes-on-her-new-series-a-and-why-dire-funding-statistics-are-just-noise/ |access-date=2023-07-06 |website=Forbes |language=en}} Through Zume, Collins became the first Black woman to co-found a unicorn company.
In 2019, Collins also founded Planet FWD, a carbon management platform for consumer brands to help understand their carbon footprint.{{Cite web |last=Marcellus |first=Sibile |date=2021-09-01 |title='Pizza was really a proof case' for climate-friendly food, Planet FWD founder says |url=https://money.yahoo.com/pizza-climate-friendly-food-planet-fwd-161317912.html |access-date=2023-07-06 |website=Yahoo!Money |language=en-US}} Some of the major brands Planet FWD has worked with are: Clif Bar, Blue Apron, Kashi, Numi Organic Tea. They also sell their own brand of carbon neutral snacks called Moonshot Snacks, with a focus on regenerative agricultural practices, local suppliers and recycled packaging.{{Cite news |last=Griffith |first=Erin |date=2023-01-30 |title='Recession Resilient' Climate Start-Ups Shine in Tech Downturn |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/30/technology/recession-resilient-climate-start-ups-shine-in-tech-downturn.html |access-date=2023-07-06 |issn=0362-4331}}
References
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Category:Stanford University alumni
Category:Harvard University alumni
Category:Businesspeople from San Francisco
Category:American technology company founders
Category:American women company founders
Category:21st-century American women