With an influx of new subscribers and community members, I inevitably get questions about what a ‘Mycopreneur’ is exactly or what the weekly Mycopreneur Incubator is all about -

Mycopreneur: Myco (mushroom) + Entrepreneur = Mushroom Entrepreneur

The operating theory behind Mycopreneur is that a decentralized, global network of mushroom entrepreneurs all leveraging the collaborative and creative potential of mushrooms to address various global issues can help to create a more sustainable and meaningful future for people and planet.

Mushroom entrepreneurism touches everything: Food, Fashion, Materials, Medicine, Sustainable Development, Off Planet projects, and pretty much everything in between.

The Mycopreneur community is a collective of people working on projects involving mushrooms, and the Mycopreneur Incubator is where we come together to connect with each other and level up together. It’s cost free, low-key, and has been quite impactful in it’s own small way if the tangible outcomes from our weekly sessions are any measure.

Invite to tomorrow’s Mycopreneur Newsletter is at the bottom of this email.

That One Time Theo Von Ate Mushrooms in High School

Theo Von has become one of the most visible presences in the comedy world, due in a large part to his extraordinary elocution and storytelling skills. He’s even extended that influence to political advocacy, having hosted Trump in August of 2024 and in so doing assuming an important role in the promotional podcasting circuit that many pundits and platforms have attributed a significant percentage of President-elect Trump’s campaign victory to.

I stumbled upon a clip of him sharing a story about a mushroom trip from his high school years - not his finest work to be honest, but it’s something I hadn’t come across until shaping this newsletter last night, and having major cultural influencers and self-made success stories openly sharing stories of their mushroom experiences is something I can really get behind.

Here’s one of today’s kings of comedy sharing the tale in his own words:

Come to think of it, another titan of contemporary comedy has also publicly discussed one of his mushroom experiences on a major platform - Danny McBride, creator and star of such immortal television shows as Eastbound and Down and The Righteous Gemstones, used a significant portion of his airtime on Late Night with Conan O’Brien a few years back to talk about the “vision quest” mushroom trip he his tight-knit group of collaborators would undertake as part of an annual camping retreat in Joshua Tree.

“Pretty much every project I’ve worked on has been with the same group of guys that I met freshman year in college…from the writers to the sound guy to the camera operators... I met all these guys at art school in North Carolina, so we’re all weirdos. Every year since we moved to LA, the same group of guys would go out to Joshua Tree and eat mushrooms and try to expand our minds”

Mushroom Startup News

A San Francisco based startup called Gob has launched a mycelium based hearing aid component. Their fully compostable product aims to help phase out the estimated 40 billion (!) plastic ear plugs that are produced annually, marking another win for the sustainability movement.

2025 is the Year of the Mushroom

Functional and magic mushrooms are one of the biggest health trends emerging in 2025 according to multiple mainstream outlets (but you already knew that), so it’s high time that you got on board with a functional mushroom regiment if you haven’t already. I’ve taken to consuming Lion’s Mane, Cordyceps, Reishi, Chaga, Tremella, and various other medicinal mushrooms at various points throughout my day and week to great effect. One of the staples in my pantry is a range of capsules and powders from Real Mushrooms, one of the pre-eminent functional mushroom brands in North America.

They have 40+ years of excellence in this field under their belts, and are as potent and high quality a mushroom supplement brand as you’re ever going to find anywhere in the world - check out their offerings below. It’s an honor to collaborate with this iconic brand, and I hope you’ll consider checking out their site and reading about why fruiting body extracts are the only way to go-

High-quality draft genomes of ecologically and geographically diverse Psilocybe species

Alright not gonna lie, this one’s way above my pay grade, but in the spirit of everyone leveling up together here, I’ve included some excerpts from a new mycology academic journal article of which several of the lead authors have been regular participants in the Mycopreneur Incubator - Shoutout Ian and Chris!)

If anyone reading this wants to break down some of the insights and implications contained in this paper during tomorrow’s Incubator, I would be very interested 😀 

Mushroom Coffee

The global mushroom coffee market is exploding - you know it, I know it, everyone who shops at Target, Whole Foods, or any other number of major supermarkets knows it. The global mushroom coffee market was estimated at $3 billion in 2024 and it’s set to grow in the coming years.

I used to drink like 8 coffees a day. No exaggeration. I love coffee. I only do one regular coffee now, opting to supplement my energetic and dietary needs with mushroom coffee after the initial cup of Joe. Honestly, it’s been a complete game changer. Check out Mycroboost mushroom coffee below, longtime supporters of the Mycopreneur platform and my preferred mushroom coffee.

Plus, I’m running their Instagram account now, so give us a follow here if you haven’t already and let’s grow together.

@mycroboost on IG

Mycopreneur Incubator

Thursday, Jan 2, 2025 04:00 PM East Coast U.S., 1:00 PM West Coast U.S.

Join Zoom Meeting:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89161458207?pwd=pWPLaakhzOrElYPK7KtdHeEThRvD6z.1

Meeting ID: 891 6145 8207

Passcode: 030370

Please consider making a financial contribution in the amount of your choice to support the Incubator:

Venmo: @mycopreneur

PayPal: [email protected]

Newsletter sponsorships are also available, $700 / month for top tier “macrodose” sponsorship, $400 a month for “museum dose” tier, $100 a newsletter for microdose sponsorship level. Please inquire for details and let’s grow together.

The newsletter goes out to global mushroom industry executives, top journalists, policy think tank leaders, and over 625 other highly targeted and connected mushroom entrepreneurs in 30 + countries. Sponsors also get looped into ongoing projects and media when there’s an opportunity that arrives, as they often do.

Share the Mycopreneur Newsletter

One of the biggest ways you can help grow this community is by copying and pasting this newsletter link below into an email or message to a friend or family member or by sharing a link to it on social media 😀 

Cheers everyone, Happy New Year and thanks for reading the Mycopreneur Newsletter