Ethan Brown, founder and chief executive officer of Beyond Meat Inc., speaks during an interview at the Nasdaq MarketSite during the company’s initial public offering in New York, on May 2, 2019.

Michael Nagle/Bloomberg—Getty Images

https://time.com/6296007/beyond-meat-steak-ceo-interview/

BYALEJANDRO DE LA GARZA

UPDATED:JULY 20, 2023 3:56 PM EDT| ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED:JULY 20, 2023 10:58 AM EDT

In retrospect, rising as high as Ethan Brown did four years ago might almost guarantee a brutal, Greek tragedy-style fall from grace somewhere down the line. Back in 2019, the CEO and founder of faux-hamburger startup Beyond Meat closed the most successfulIPOsince the financial crisis. Partnerships withMcDonald’sandKFCwere in the works, and theinvestor presentationswere all upside, with plant-based hamburgers poised to take an enormous bite out of a $270 billion meat industry. It was all for a good cause, too. In talks and interviews with friendly journalists (including two