Howdy Mycopreneurs,

Welcome back to the Mycopreneur Newsletter. If you’re reading this, know that you’re actively part of a worldwide community of creators, disruptors, lean start up founders, and curious tinkerers solving problems and creating value with mycelial magic together.

We’re hosting our weekly Mycopreneur Incubator today, as we do every Thursday - link to join is at the bottom of this email. The Incubator is a place to meet and learn alongside fellow mushroom entrepreneurs, enthusiasts, and usually at least one crackpot.

The following is a round up of mushroom news, announcements, and opportunities befitting a fungiphile ready to monetize the mycoverse in a conscientious way.

The Future Is Fungi Award is back for its 2nd year with a mission to help catalyze and accelerate science entrepreneurs and startups with frontier innovations that co-create with fungi for environmental solutions. The award is a launchpad to bring game-changing fungal innovations out to the world, supporting them on the way. We have a strong focus to spotlight new and emerging areas of fungal research and start-up innovations, lifting them from the depths of the forest into the daylight.

The Future Is Fungi Award is broken down into two categories: Startup and Science Entrepreneurs. The detailed breakdown of what this award entails is below.

Startup

The 2025 Startup Award honors visionary startups using fungi to tackle our planet’s biggest challenges. Whether you’re just starting out or scaling fast, this is your chance to gain recognition, spark partnerships, and lead the future of sustainable innovation.

Applications open from Sep 10th - Oct 1st

You can win:

• €250.000 investment

• Access to an expert network

• Fungal Hall of Fame

Science Entrepreneurs

A new award just for science entrepreneurs is launching in 2026, designed to help you turn groundbreaking research into real-world impact.

Applications open in December

You can win:

• Financial prize

• 3-month venture builder program

• Fungal Hall of Fame

Super Fungi Survive Extreme Mars-like Environments

The great deserts of Arabia have been the backdrop of numerous Mars scenes for various Sci Fi movies. Blockbuster films like The Martian starring Matt Damon and 2000 era films Mission to Mars and Red Planet all used Jordan’s Wadi Rum as a lifelike substitute for the 4th planet from the Sun. It turns out that this vast expanse of desert which spans Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, and Bahrain also doubles as a testing ground for the uncanny ability of fungi to survive, adapt, and thrive in hostile conditions.

Researchers at Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia have found a species of black fungus, Rhinocladiella similis, that provides clues to how life might be able to function in otherworldly climates. This fungus possesses a “robust genetic toolkit“ able to thwart severe environmental pressures.

“At KAUST, the researchers replicate a Mars-like environment in the lab by growing R. similis in a magnesium perchlorate solution under UV-C radiation. They also grow the same fungus under UV-C only. Analysis of the metabolic and proteomic responses of R. similis to magnesium perchlorate shows it exhibits morphological and behavioral changes compared to growth under UV-C alone. These changes include producing protective pigments like melanin and activating proteins associated with stress response and cellular stability.”

Why is this cool? Well, these fungi show us how life might survive—or even be hiding —on Mars. This research also fits into the emerging study of Astromycology - an emerging multidisciplinary field at the intersection of mycology and astrobiology which encompasses off-planet biotech and applied mycology in extraterrestrial environments. Fun fact, I tried to buy Astromycology.com 5 years ago or so and it was of course already purchased though there has never been any live site linked to the domain.

Back on Earth, this fungus is actively yielding clues into how we might be able to more effectively clean up toxic messes like radiation spills and tinpot dictatorships.

Rhinocladiella similis isn’t the only life form that has demonstrated the ability to adapt and thrive in the Arabian desert; below is a photo of me in 2013 in a remote corner of Saudi Arabia with one of the former Saudi Ministry of Education top dawgs.

New Product Drop from Fallen Oak Mycology

Check out this new product drop from our friends at Fallen Oak Mycology based out of Austin, Texas. We got to link with them again at the Telluride Mushroom Festival recently and they’re truly great people crafting artisanal and effective functional mushroom products - I had a few pumps of this squirted directly into my mouth multiple times throughout the week in Telluride, and I’m a fan.

Check out this Lion’s Mane research they’ve outlined in a blog on their site

1. Cognitive Function & Neuroprotection

• Mild Cognitive Impairment Study (MCI):
  A Japanese double-blind trial gave adults with MCI 750 mg/day of dried Lion’s Mane fruiting body for 16 weeks.
  ✦ Result: Significant improvements in cognitive test scores during supplementation. When participants stopped, scores declined again.

• Early Alzheimer’s Disease:
  In Taiwan, patients took ~1 g/day of erinacine-enriched Lion’s Mane mycelia for 49 weeks.
  ✦ Result: Cognitive performance and daily functioning improved compared with placebo.

• Healthy Adults (short-term use):
  In younger participants, 1.8 g/day for 4 weeks showed only minor benefits (slightly faster reaction times). A single 3 g dose had no effect, suggesting Lion’s Mane works best when taken consistently over time.

There’s quite a bit more consolidated research they’ve compiled, so check out the full blog post here.

Third Annual African Rising Mushroom Festival

Well what do we have here? The Third Annual African Rising Mushroom Festival has been announced and the rumors are true….I’m headed to Uganda alongside a host of mycopreneurs to participate in person! This event and the community it celebrates and binds together through a common love of fungi and humanity is one of the greatest expressions of what Mycopreneurship can do to uplift the quality of life in even the most abjectly impoverished parts of the world.

I have always viewed my role in the mushroom entrepreneur space as an ambassador and “fungi diplomat'“ of sorts - and helping to shine a spotlight on the African Rising Mushroom Festival and the regional community leveraging fungi to enhance their resilience, resource base and future facing opportunities is something that gives me true joy and excites me to no end. You can learn more about. the festival and sponsor a local to attend for only $10, as contribute to the growth of fungi-based education and development opportunities, as well as general quality of life improvements and infrastructure development, by checking out. the website here:

Moni Mushroom Festival in Chiapas, Mexico September 11-14

The Moni Mushroom Festival and Documentary centering the regionally essential Moni mushroom (Lactifluus chiapanensis) is set to take place September 11-14 in the Chiapas state capital of Tuxtla Gutierrez. I’m one of the co-producers of this festival and documentary and I’m pleased to announce that we;ve received academic recognition from the Mexican Mycological Association as well as municipal authorities in the region to carry out this vital work.

Chiapas is one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet and has a deeply rooted ancestral fungi knowledge going back to time immemorial. However, the accelerating rate of urbanization and major infrastructure projects in the region are threatening this precious body of knowledge as younger generations become more accustomed to global culture and modern trends than the traditions of the ancestors. Moni Fest is a celebration of the unique heritage and nature of this region which focuses on the edible Moni mushroom and the native Nangañes forests it sustains, as well as the foraging traditions and indigenous IP around mushrooms that it serves as a bulwark for.

Check out the documentary trailer and the festival info here:

Speaking of ancestral fungi traditions, check out this clearance sale from our partners at Minnesota Nice Ethnobotanicals to make room for next year’s crop - MN Nice are trusted purveyors of Amanita muscaria mushroom fruiting bodies as well as extracts and other legal entheogens like Blue Lotus flower, Kanna, and all sorts of alkaloid containing herbs and plants you may have never heard of.

Jump up on some of the Amanita magic below and make sure you educate yourself by browsing multiple different third party sites in addition to reading about this enigmatic and anciient psychoactive fungus on the MN Nice blog below.

Mycopreneur Incubator

The weekly Mycopreneur Incubator is today at 3 pm East Coast U.S. / 12 pm West Coast. It’s a chance to connect in real time with other mushroom entrepreneurs from across the U.S. and around the world and keep your finger on the pulse of what’s happening as well as seed and partnerships collaborations.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88340303506?pwd=OGqZwLep2k70QmfV7x10kyaWpFWdpv.1

Meeting ID: 883 4030 3506

Passcode: 912754

Please consider making a financial contribution in the amount of your choice if you plan on joining or want to support the Mycopreneur platform at large

Thanks for reading and please let me know your thoughts on today’s Mycopreneur Newsletter.

Cheers,

Dennis