Aditya Banerjee, a sophomore at UC Berkeley and the founder of the protein bar startup Posana, discussed the launch of his company at an On Call Café event hosted by the Founders Club on Thursday .
Banerjee launched Posana from his Berkeley dorm room earlier this year, eventually securing over $500,000 in funding from angel investors.
“Ever since I was a kid, I would cook,” Banerjee said. “I used to be a waiter. I worked at Red Lobster, and then I became a chef. This sparked me to learn more about nutrition. What I first learned about is that a lot of protein products are not diversified.”
As he experimented with recipes and nutrition, Banerjee said he spent significant amounts of money on grocery runs and time pestering his dorm building for advice. He described the early stage of Posana as largely trial-based and dependent on feedback. When he began creating the company, Banerjee had few resources or mentors beyond prototypes and a strong pitch.
“Pre-revenue, you don’t really have anything as a founder,” he said. “First, I made a product by myself without packaging. I would put in 10k of my own money to show my commitment, then I went door to door in California. That’s how I collected my first 50k.”
Banerjee found most of his early investors through outreach while living in his dorm. Consistent communication and pure passion was critical during the fundraising process, Banerjee said.
“You have to learn how to sell yourself, how to sell the vision and have unbearable consistency,” Banerjee said. “I had to update email investors every month.”
According to Banerjee, Posana will differentiate itself through flavor variety and packaging. He also said the product’s composition was designed with specific trends in mind. Specifically, Banerjee emphasized protein and fiber — two current diet trends in the U.S.
“From a national standpoint, when it came to designing the product, high-protein was a must,” Banerjee said. “I really wanted it to be an actual protein bar. I also wanted to keep everything in the United States. I also believe fiber is going to be a big trend.”
Event attendee Claire Sun ’29 said the talk opened her eyes to the diversity of perspectives offered by Founder’s Club events.
“I’ve realized how interconnected this club is, and you can apply interests to so many different fields,” Sun said. “I don’t really know what I want to do in life, so I’m trying to go to a lot of different things to get exposure.”
Emily Zhu ’29, who also attended the event, appreciated Banerjee’s student perspective. “I thought it was cool that a student started something that has this much outreach,” Zhu said.
According to both Zhu and Sun, Banerjee’s achievements motivated them to make the most of their own experiences as freshmen at Stanford. As a new founder, Banerjee’s accomplishments serve as inspiration for students entering the startup space.
“For any student that’s looking to start a project, I would say don’t start it for the sake of starting it,” Banerjee said. “Start it because you have a personal passion for it.”