Tarika Vijayaraghavan, Ph.D.

Positions held through Trove Biosciences: 1. INVESTMENT ADVISORY AND VENTURE BUILDING • Venture Associate - Replicator VC • Venture Scholar - GrayHair Venture Partners • Technical Advisor and Angel Investor, Gota Ventures (Europe-based investment syndicate focused on foodtech and ingredient innovation) • Technical Advisor, Zebrafish Capital (ASEAN-based deeptech investment platform) • Tech Due Diligence Advisor, Joyful Ventures and Good Startup (focused on early-stage climate and alt-protein investments) • Independent Reviewer, Canadian Food Innovation Network (CFIN) • Head of Operations, Taste Like (altprotein product platform; led operations, strategy, communication and growth) 2. SCIENTIFIC AND STRATEGIC CONSULTING • Science and Strategy Advisor to Daisy Lab, Oasis Nutrition, Bunsen Studio (a few notable startups) • Expert Advisor, Bright Green Partners (global consulting firm in alternative proteins) 3. THOUGHT LEADERSHIP • Scientific Writer, Medium (articles on synthetic biology, food tech, and biomanufacturing) • Guest Author, Cellular Agriculture Australia – 2023 State of the Sector Report • Copywriter, Cellular Agriculture Canada and New Harvest 4. ECOSYSTEM AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT • Programming and Partnerships Coordinator for Toronto Climate Week (TOCW) • Ecosystem Facilitator, FoodHack Toronto (supported and promoted over 20 LOCAL food and climate-focused startups) Trove Biosciences helps founders and investors navigate scale-up and strategy in the synbio and agri-food & biomaterials sectors. The company has 15+ trusted industry clients and partners and has created a direct impact of over $5M in deployed capital in the industry.

Joyful VC is an early-stage climate fund focused on food innovation. As their tech due diligence advisor, I have conducted several comprehensive evaluations of oncoming portfolio companies. "Tarika was a real joy to work with. She consistently demonstrated responsiveness, thoughtfulness, professionalism, and punctuality. Her comprehensive reports and clear scoring systems have been invaluable to Joyful Ventures in conducting scientific due diligence." -- Milo Runkle, General Partner, Joyful VC

GOTA Ventures is a global investment syndicate focused on backing early-stage startups at the intersection of food, tech, and sustainability. We invest in Seed to Series A ventures with ticket sizes ranging from €100k–500k. Our core focus areas are: 1. Ingredient Innovation 2. Food Infrastructure 3. Ingredient-Led Consumer Brands STRATEGY & DUE DILIGENCE • Support technical assessments and investment decisions for early-stage foodtech startups across Europe and Israel (Seed to Series A, €100k–500k ticket sizes) • Conduct deep tech evaluations in ingredient innovation, sustainable food infrastructure, and ingredient-led consumer brands DEAL SOURCING • Scout high-potential ventures and advise on technical feasibility, scalability, and commercialization potential • Collaborate with founders and other investors to align innovation with market fit and investment readiness

1. PERFORMANCE AND RESIDENCY SELECTION • One of 110 participants to complete the full Venture Institute program. • Ranked in the top 30% of the cohort, and offered residency with an AI/SaaS specialized fund - GrayHair Venture Partners. 2. DEAL EVALUATION AND DUE DILIGENCE • Assessed two active investment opportunities, supporting end-to-end diligence. • Conducted market sizing, competitive landscape analysis, and financial diligence. • Participated in founder calls and contributed to internal discussions. • Supported preparation of LP-facing materials, including outreach and deal positioning.

Investor-in-training at Venture Institute Cohort 5 at VC Lab, a global venture capital training program for emerging managers. Selected from a competitive international pool of over 2500 applicants to join the cohort. 1. SCOUTING AND SOURCING: Assessed 30+ pitch decks and sourced startups for the VC Lab network and external VC firms. 2. DUE DILIGENCE Performed structured reviews of early-stage companies, including technology, scalability, and go-to-market strategy. 3. FINANCIAL SCENARIO ANALYSIS: Modeled long-term investment outcomes by tracking 30 Shark Tank (2018) companies, analyzing dilution (70%+ by year 7), valuation trajectories, and exit results. 4. DEAL FLOW AND INVESTMENT MEMOS: Drafted 10 investment memos and built a systematic deal pipeline for internal and external VC partners. 5. ECOSYSTEM AND LP RELATIONS: Cultivated LP and VC relationships in both local and global ecosystems. 6. THOUGHT LEADERSHIP: Consistently published insights on local and global investment and startup ecosystem dynamics.

Taste Like is the world’s first directory of animal-free meat, seafood, egg, dairy and pet food products. At Taste Like we believe that plants (and one day, cells!) have the power to taste like the foods we love. Our mission is to support the companies making this a reality by providing a platform for consumers and investors to discover the tastiest, most affordable, and healthiest alternative protein products.

"In our work with Tarika related to the alternative protein industry, we found her to be methodical and detail-oriented in her approach. She was very responsive and flexible, which helped us move the project forward quickly and bring it to a successful conclusion. It was a pleasure working together, and we look forward to collaborating again in the near future." -- Gautam Godhwani and Neha Poddar, Managing Partners, Good Startup The Good Startup invests in entrepreneurs building the next generation of alternative protein companies. At Good Startup, I am tasked with conducting scientific deep dives and technical due diligence to help understand the scientific foundation of a potential portfolio company.

- Co-authored a GFI Discovery grant for a proof-of-concept ideation project - Scanned B2B customer landscape and strategized market-entry routes - Identified key areas of innovation within the precision fermentation sector leading to an academia-industry partnership