Recently the whole team here at Tenacious Ventures had the chance to get out of town and on to the farm. And not just any farm – we visited Jigsaw Farms, home to sheep farmer and long-time friend of the show Mark Wooton and his wife Eve. While out at Jigsaw, Mark and Eve gave us an update on their vision for “sustainable intensification” and their ethos for farm management.
Bonus Ep: The Three Fears of Farm Data
Have we in agtech completely f*****d farmers by making them afraid of sharing their data?
Listen in to Matthew Pryor and Sarah Nolet from Tenacious Ventures, and Shane Thomas, agronomist and author at Upstream Ag Insights, work through an emerging theory that uncertainty and fear about farm data is a largely unfounded barrier to adoption.
Services and Software for On-Farm Autonomy, with Iftach Birger of FieldIn
There are many different views about the future of autonomous farming. One is that, out of the emerging autonomous equipment providers and established blue chip suppliers, there will be clear winners and losers in the battle for on-farm dominance. Another is that farming in the future will involve all kinds of autonomous solutions. This second possibility presents tons of opportunities to add value for farmers.
Our guest on this week’s episode is Iftach Birger, Co-Founder and COO at FieldIn, a farm data and autonomous equipment startup founded in Israel. Rather than wade into the fray playing out between new autonomous equipment players and established corporations, FieldIn is attempting to create a platform that allows a mixed fleet of equipment to interact seamlessly.
Navigating Economic Development and the Social Fabric of Agriculture, with Elizabeth Brennan, Wide Open Agriculture
Every decision made by founders, farmers, and leaders in agriculture shapes the future of our food system. Whether it’s the cost per hectare of a biological or the value of a ton of carbon sequestered, the different goals and outcomes that end up in business plans inevitably define how time, energy, and capital are spent.
But there are many outcomes of a healthy food system that don’t fit in a business plan. How do leaders today account for the broad connections between people, ideas, and identities? It’s this fabric that reflects who we are, what we value as a society, and how we interact as humans along the agricultural value chain.
Unscrambling Go-to-Market and Brand in Alternative Protein, with Tanja Bogumil, Perfeggt
Let’s talk about eggs.
Hardly anything can match the egg for complete versatility. Eggs are a critical ingredient to unlock the tastes, textures, and experiences we take for granted in everything from a simple home omelette to food manufactured on an industrial scale.
So, how would you approach replacing the egg with a plant-based alternative?
This week on EggTech…So What?, we spoke with alternative-protein entrepreneur Tanja Bogumil. Tanja is the Co-Founder and CEO of Berlin-based Perfeggt, a company working to bring plant-based egg alternatives to market, starting with a liquid substitute for scrambled eggs and baking.
Bonus Ep: The State of Fundraising in Agtech
Life is moving pretty fast for founders and investors working in agtech.
Recent years have seen record flows of capital into agrifood, driven in part by agriculture potential to provide climate solutions. And the massive disruptions of COVID-19 meant developed markets received a historic taste of what changes will be needed in a world impacted by climate change and further uncertainty.
So, how have the last few years impacted agtech founders looking to raise capital, and investors on the lookout for opportunities with impact?
For this bonus episode, Tenacious Ventures’ Partners Sarah Nolet and Matthew Pryor asked a group of founders and investors to share what they’ve learned and observed about the state of agtech investing in 2022. As a dedicated agrifood venture fund “born in the teeth of COVID-19”, Sarah and Matthew also offer their take on what has changed and what has stayed the same as we look to the future.
Investing Beyond the Farmgate with Ben Barlow, New Edge Microbials
Biologicals in agriculture have a wildly exciting future. It’s a segment responding to innovation in science, changes in markets, and the urgent pressures of adapting to climate change. And while the buzz from new entrants inspires thinking about the future, New Edge Microbials (NEM) is an established player with products in the hands of farmers today.
Managing Director and veteran agribusiness executive Ben Barlow has spent years executing a growth strategy that has weathered all of these forces, plus the additional logistics chaos of COVID-19 in recent years.
Meeting in the Middle on Sustainable Supply Chains, with Jessie Deelo, Vayda
According to Jessie Deelo, Chief Hub Officer at Vayda, leading companies are moving toward sustainability targets that are measurable, integrated, and connected to the real world challenges of on-farm sustainability. In her work improving the environmental and social impact of supply chains, Jessie is seeing a huge opportunity for farmers that already embrace sustainable production methods to connect with brands that need inputs with impact.
The Authenticity Premium in AgTech Marketing, with Camille Grade of Bushel, and Travis Martin of Magnetic Ag
AgTech companies make promises to investors to grow fast and be quick to iterate or change direction. But they also make promises to customers who think more in seasons instead of product development cycles, and who value long-term relationships with a mutual investment. These are difficult pressures for agtech marketers to manage.
Win-Win Business Models for Farmers and Startups with Marissa Cuevas Flores of MicroTERRA
Genetics, biosecurity, and the cutest sheep in the world with Dr Belinda Cardinal, Caprotek
Managing the genetic quality of a herd can be a wicked challenge for Australian farmers. We’re a country with a small number of animals relative to the rest of the world, and formidable, complex biosecurity protocols.
Fortunately, Belinda Cardinal, Founder of breeding and genetics company Caprotek and career dairy goat farmer, enjoys spending time on wickedly difficult problems. After years spent strengthening the genetic diversity of her herd of dairy goats, Belinda attracted all kinds of coverage after importing the genetic material to breed the nation’s first Valais Blacknose Sheep in 2021.
The Tricky Business of Scaling Soil Tech - Adam Litle, Sound Agriculture
The science and technology of soil is rapidly evolving, but translating it into a scalable business that can offer viable products to farmers has long been a tricky proposition. But it’s one that Adam Litle, the CEO of Sound Agriculture, has devoted much of his career to answering.
Adam was part of the executive team at Granular, the farm management software company acquired by Dupont (now Corteva) for $300M. Now, at Sound Ag, he’s leading a company that’s raised more than $95M to develop a product which activates microbes in soil to increase the uptake of nitrogen and phosphorus, thereby enabling farmers to use less fertilizer.
What's the Role of Government in Agtech Ecosystems?
It’s fair to say most entrepreneurs (and farmers!) aren’t big fans of government rules and regulations for fear of being slowed down by red tape and bureaucracy. However, the political environment in which a startup develops can have a big impact on its ability to find investment and support, especially in agtech, where ecosystems are still very new for most countries.
The United Arab Emirates is investing heavily in agtech, seeking to make Abu Dhabi the global center for innovation in agriculture. Salvatore Lavallo is the Head of Foreign Direct Investment at the Abu Dhabi Investment Office. He’s had a unique, and perhaps unlikely journey, to this position. Growing up in Indiana, his interest in economic development led him to become, at the age of 27, one of the youngest people to travel to every country in the world. Along the way, he became a farm owner in Tanzania, and a consultant with McKinsey in Africa and the Middle East.
Bonus Ep: Later-Stage Agtech Startup Wrap, feat. Anastasia Volkova, Regrow
Where are all the women founders in agtech, especially at later-stage startups? What does an acquisition really feel like, and when does it make sense? In this Bonus episode, we answer both these questions, as well as build on the key insights from our latest series: “Later-Stage Agtech Startup Lessons”.
This episode features Anastasia Volkova , co-founder and CEO of Regrow, an independent measurement reporting and verification platform. Regrow, (formerly Flurosat), recently acquired US agtech company, Dagan, and raised $17 million in Series A funding.
Later-Stage Agtech Startup Lessons #3 - Farmers Business Network
Farmers Business Network is one of the most well-funded startups in agtech. Just recently, they announced a $300M Series G round, bringing their total funds raised to $870M and their valuation to nearly $4 billion.
So, where did it all begin?
In this episode, FBN co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer, Charles Baron, explains how his Silicon Valley upbringing unexpectedly collided with rural Nebraska, resulting in an idea for a new kind of agribusiness- one that would connect farmers and increase their bargaining power for chemicals and seeds.
Charles talks about several key factors in the company’s success, including questioning Silicon Valley’s ‘founder obsession’ to instead create a ‘farmer-centric’ ideology.
Later-Stage Agtech Startup Lessons #2 - BrightFarms
Paul Lightfoot is a serial entrepreneur who has learned several lessons the hard way, from raising money to communicating purpose to hiring (and firing). After spending much of his career as a software CEO, Paul wanted to follow his “calling” to enter the world of sustainability and foodtech.
But this meant moving from a familiar career trajectory to an industry that, 10 years ago when Paul was entering it, barely even existed. In 2011, Paul founded BrightFarms, which uses hydroponic greenhouses to produce locally sourced packaged salads in the US. Along the way, he has made several critical decisions for his startup’s success, including voluntarily stepping back from the role of CEO.
Later-Stage Agtech Startup Lessons #1 - Semios
In this 3-part series, we’ll share the lessons from agtech startup founders who have grown their agtech companies from idea to at least 100 employees.
This episode features Michael Gilbert, CEO and founder of Semios, a crop management platform initially focused on tree fruit, nuts and vines, based in Canada. Michael has a PhD in chemistry and started his career in pharmaceuticals and biotech, before realizing his knowledge could be applied to agricultural inputs.
This initial idea has led him on a journey from biologicals, to creating a company with more than 300 employees and over $225 million in external capital raised to date.
Investing in Tech to Enable Regen Ag
Venture investment into technology companies that have the potential to scale regenerative agriculture is accelerating. However, it is a relatively new domain for venture capital, and it comes with its own unique set of challenges.
So what role can VCs play in the regen ag landscape? And what technologies and trends are VCs looking at to guide their investments?
This bonus episode features a discussion from a live panel conversation at the Regenerative Food Systems Investment Forum (RFSIF), in California.
Why You Should Give a F*ck About Farming
Does the average citizen actually need to care about how their food is produced? This is the central question Australian author and journalist, Gabrielle Chan, set out to answer. Her latest book, “Why you should give a f*ck about farming” details her firm conclusion, that yes, if you eat food, you should in fact care about agriculture.
While the old days of agriculture as the top contributor to GDP is over for most Western countries, Gabrielle argues the future of food and farming is becoming increasingly important for a raft of other reasons such as climate change and food security.
Farmers and Startups: Tips for Collaboration
The divide between farmers and startups can seem like a chasm. Tech culture and agriculture have evolved from completely different backgrounds, and even seem to have their own languages. So how can agtech bring together two very different groups?
In this episode, you’ll hear practical tips from farmers and agtech experts on how to build mutually beneficial relationships. For startups, this includes approaching farmers as partners, rather than ‘customers,’ and understanding ‘grower economics’. And for farmers, it’s about finding opportunities to access and help shape new products as the startup iterates.