lliot Roth is the founder of Spira, a company that grows microalgae locally as a nutritional product. After being trained as a University Innovation Fellow at the Stanford d.School, he started multiple entrepreneurial projects including the DIYbio lab Indie Lab, and a number of science startups, through which he has raised over $300,000. Elliot graduated Virginia Commonwealth University with a degree in Biomedical Engineering; he spent five years consulting in product design and business strategy before starting Spira.

Elliot is a Kairos Fellow, a Seasteading Ambassador, and sits on the Virginia Governor’s Council for Youth Entrepreneurship. Elliot has spoken at Synbiobeta, SXSW, and Thought for Food on social impact, synthetic biology and food. Spira was chosen for the RebelBio, Lighthouse Labs, and the World Food Programme accelerator programs, and is the winner of the CommBeBiz award and Halcyon Fellowship. He is motivated to solve physiological needs using simple biological design.

Solution: Spira tackles the problem of supply chain by creating microalgae farming systems that are effortless, and cost-effective to implement anywhere in the world while optimizing production. We’ve created novel food products as a means of showcasing the potential of algae to enable personalized nutrition and customized taste.