From Fieldwork to Founding

Your journey spans agronomy, a PhD in greenhouse gas mitigation, and years in the dairy sector across several countries. Could you briefly introduce yourself and tell us what you’re currently working on with Tafonas?

I am Latifa. I hold three master’s degrees in engineering and management and have worked in the dairy industry for several years. I also completed my PhD on quantifying greenhouse gas emissions from confinement and grazing systems and gained hands-on experience in methane capture from wastewater sources — a process that shares similarities with what happens in a cow’s stomach and leads to methane emissions.

Methane contributes significantly to climate change. It is 80 times more potent than CO₂ over a 20-year timeframe at trapping heat and warming the planet, and each cow burps up to 500 litres of methane per day into the atmosphere. Tafonas was born from my desire to tackle this challenge, with a long-term vision of transforming methane emissions into value while contributing to climate action.

“Tafonas” means “cow” in Tamazight, your native language. What does that name carry for you, and how does growing up with livestock as part of your family life still shape the work you do today?

I grew up in a small village in Morocco in a farming family. We had one cow: “Tafonas”. She was not livestock in the distant, industrial sense of the word — she was part of our daily life, part of our rhythm, almost part of our conversations. When she had a newborn calf, we celebrated with our neighbours as if a new member had come to our family.

That cow shaped how I see this work. I am not trying to solve an abstract climate problem. I am trying to make the life of animals like her, and the families who depend on them, more sustainable and more dignified. That connection between where I come from and what I am building is not incidental. It is the whole point.

A Hike, a Herd and an Idea

You’ve said the idea for Tafonas came to you whilst hiking, thinking about methane not as a problem but as an opportunity. Could you tell us more about that moment, and how it grew into the mission behind Tafonas?

I always had in mind how to translate my research into impact. During the Covid-19 pandemic I was hiking while watching cows grazing on the outskirts of Potsdam. Though methane gas is odourless and colourless, I found myself imagining that each cow burps a huge amount of it into the air every day. I then thought: why not turn methane into value instead of looking at it only as a problem? Methane has energy value, which made me wonder whether it could one day be captured and transformed into something useful. That is where the seed of Tafonas’ core concept and mission was born: turn methane emissions into value.

Leaving the Safe Job

Before founding Tafonas, you already held a permanent position as an engineer. What made you choose to leave that security behind and start again — new country, new language, new system?

As an engineer, I find deep meaning in coming up with ideas and practical solutions to everyday farmers’ problems. During my fieldwork I was in close contact with dairy farmers and have always enjoyed chatting and exchanging with them, and most importantly, learning from them. Constant learning and development, and staying always aware of novelties in my field, were important to me.

At the same time, I saw that problems related to sustainability and dairy farming were emerging, but they were receiving less attention than I wanted to focus on professionally. So, I decided to move to Spain for another master’s degree, where I investigated how we can include methane emission into the selection index of dairy cows in Spain. My journey then led me to Germany for my PhD, going deeper into greenhouse gas emissions at the dairy system level as part of an international collaboration project between Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands.

Your path has taken you through Morocco, Spain, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands, working with researchers from across the world. How did that international, multidisciplinary experience shape your thinking as a researcher and later, as a founder?

Working across Morocco, Spain, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands exposed me to something no single lab could offer: the full spectrum of how different cultures approach the same problem.

I had the opportunity to work with top researchers in their fields, and moving between countries taught me to notice how the priorities and concerns of farmers shifted, sometimes radically, depending on the local context, policy environment and agricultural tradition.

Working in multidisciplinary teams also sharpened skills I didn’t initially think of as a scientist: navigating disagreement, adapting to different communication styles and working environments, and learning to see rejection not as failure but as feedback, and sometimes as a redirection towards better work. That last lesson, more than any other, prepared me for entrepreneurship. In academia, a rejected paper can feel like a setback. As a founder, it becomes data. For researchers considering the leap to entrepreneurship, this experience is a far more valuable asset than it might appear on a CV.

Making Peace with Uncertainty

What has the mindset shift from academia into entrepreneurship looked like for you? Was there a particular moment or realisation that helped you make peace with the uncertainty that comes with founding a venture?

During my studies, I noticed that there was a clear gap between advances in research and real-world implementation. A lot of funded research that we spend our time and energy on is rarely valorised or put into practice. Thinking that I could spend years doing research that would rarely be read or implemented was not fulfilling for me. That led me to choose the startup path, as I felt entrepreneurship offered one of the most direct ways to translate research into practice.

The uncertainty that comes with building is part of the process. Most of all, I believed that trying and failing is better than not trying at all. After all, I have my PhD and I can always return to research if needed. That helped me make peace with the uncertainty.

Finding the Others

You’ve spoken about the importance of building a network early and about programmes like EXIST Women giving you a community of early-stage founders to lean on. How did these connections and support structures help you along the way?

Being surrounded by like-minded early-stage founders and communities like EXIST Women makes it easy to relate and creates a space where you know you are not alone in the journey. The support, valuable introductions and shared experiences help you move forward.

One concrete thing I learnt through these communities is that there are successful women who have founded deep tech startups and are willing to share their network and expertise to help other women grow. Also, validating your core assumption does not require a prototype: a well-structured conversation with a few farmers can tell you more than months of solo desk research. That kind of peer learning is something you simply cannot get from academic literature. These communities also provide additional mentorship and open meaningful doors.

You’ve joined Young Entrepreneurs in Science’s workshops as a role model for other researchers considering the entrepreneurial path. What role have programmes like YES played in your own journey, and what stayed with you from those sessions?

Once I had it clear what I wanted to do after my PhD studies and what problem to work on, I needed guidance and help with the next steps: validation, prototyping, lean canvas design, and more. YES workshops, as well as the PEELx programme by Potsdam Transfer, a startup support initiative that helps researchers move from academic ideas to early-stage ventures, both facilitated this for me. It was also a great opportunity to connect with early-stage builders and exchange with them.

The moment I pitched my startup idea for the first time in front of an audience, and when people wanted to learn more about my idea during a YES prototyping workshop, pushed me to move forward and to be excited about what comes next. I never imagined I would one day return to one of these workshops as a role model. It was a great opportunity to share ideas and reconnect.

The Barriers Look Higher From the Outside

Looking back, you’ve said that the path into entrepreneurship can look far harder from the outside than it actually turns out to be, especially for immigrants. What would you say to other international PhDs and postdocs who are hesitant to take that step, believing the barriers are too high?

It is true that barriers for international founders are probably much higher, because we are required to show financial stability for administrative purposes. This makes it very daunting for foreigners to jump into ventures, given the uncertainty that comes with it. What changed for me was finding people who had already crossed it.

Programmes like EXIST Women and the Berliner Startup Stipendium exist precisely for this situation. Besides, Germany has a well-established startup ecosystem with programmes, advisors and accelerators such as Climate X by Berlin Innovation Agency (BIA), Antler and Carbon13 that support international founders on this journey. Once I was inside those ecosystems, I realised my international background was not a liability. It was the thing that made me different.

If you had to distil your journey into a few key pieces of advice, what would they be for researchers who are ready to take the leap into founding their own venture?

I would advise researchers to start building their network as early as possible, choose a problem they have both passion and domain expertise in, and be comfortable with rejection and uncertainty — it is part of the process. The journey is both fulfilling and challenging, but the skills you will acquire and the network you will build are worth the ride.

What happens next?

Check out our event calendar for upcoming workshops. Stay tuned for more updates, opportunities, and success stories! Connect with Latifa via LinkedIn.

Interviewer & Editor, Design: Laura Walther