Founder Spotlight with Neeka Mashouf from Rubi Laboratories

Tell us about your journey to today.

My life's work is using science and technology to unlock abundance and prosperity for people and the planet. From publishing my first scientific paper at 15 on artificial photosynthesis to growing up in an entrepreneurial family behind iconic companies like Bebe Stores, I have a passion for combining scientific curiosity with global industry to create a better future.

What has been your biggest challenge so far in building Rubi and how have you overcome it?

The essential piece behind building Rubi has been assembling the right team – finding talented people who deeply share our passion and vision. We’ve navigated this through continuous learning, trial and error, and valuable insights from fellow founders. My teammates at Rubi are the most passionate, brilliant, and creative people I've met, and I'm so proud to build this vision with them.

What’s something recent that you’re really excited about in terms of progress or a win?

On top of our pioneering work turning waste carbon into textile materials, we recently proved that Rubi’s platform extends beyond a single material or market. Our emerging second material product is outperforming fossil-fuel-based incumbents in a completely new sector – further validating our vision to pioneer the next era of symbiotic manufacturing, a $10 trillion market opportunity across essential chemicals and materials. We’ll be sharing more on this soon!

If you could go back and give yourself one piece of advice before starting, what would it be?

Trust your intuition and insight, no matter what room you're in. Your clarity is your greatest strength.

When it comes to making tough decisions as a founder, how do you typically approach it?

I always write out principles and a ranked list of priorities when facing tough decisions. This always helps cut through the noise and clarify what really matters.

What’s been the most impactful feedback you’ve received?

"If you want to go far, go together." The fast progress behind Rubi has come from honing our focus while making strategic partnerships, allowing us to rapidly achieve milestones without needing to build everything ourselves.

What’s something about your industry that you think more people should understand or be aware of?

Most essential materials today, like cellulose and basic chemicals, are produced through extremely wasteful and energy-inefficient processes that won’t be solved by just delivering more energy. Historically, the belief has been that sustainable process alternatives mean sacrificing productivity. Rubi’s symbiotic manufacturing platform flips this paradigm by enabling tenfold increases in resource efficiency, reshaping industries to achieve both environmental sustainability and economic growth.

If you could make one ask or give one piece of advice to the startup community, whether it's about hiring, making connections, or fundraising, what would it be?

Prioritize alignment over everything. When hiring, fundraising, or seeking intros, always look for people deeply committed to your mission and values -- the right alignment accelerates everything else. If you resonate with what we're building at Rubi, I'd love to hear from you!