Conference Joins Ag Entrepreneurs, Capitalists

www.agrinews-pubs.com
Nat Williams
2010-06-07

The expanding interest in agricultural innovation is being reflected in the growth of the young conference held here recently.

The Ag Innovation Showcase recently wrapped up its second annual meeting by bringing together a number of venture capitalists and others interested in the next greatest thing in farming.

The show was conceived in 2008 with a casual meeting between Victoria Gonzalez, managing partner of Nidus Investment Partners, and Sam Fiorello, chief operating officer of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center here.

“We’re sitting in a room, thinking wouldn’t it be great to be able to bring together venture capitalists, the corporate community, and really cool new technologies in this venue,” Gonzalez said.

“We thought it would be great to really have a dialog about the trends, policies and regulatory (issues), and allow people to network.”

The conference was held in the state-of-the-art Danforth Plant Science Center, the world’s largest independent plant science research institute.

The facility is in the midst of a metropolitan agriculture technology region that includes companies such as Monsanto, Sigma Aldrich, Novus and Bunge.

“Also, we wanted to show off the strengths of what we have in this region,” Gonzalez said. “With that, the Ag Innovation Showcase was conceived.”

Companies such as Monsanto, Syngenta and DuPont — along with their groundbreaking work in herbicide-resistant crops and other biotech innovations — come to mind to those considering new farming technologies. But there is much more to the subject, according to Gonzalez.

“In the investment in ag phase, people think traditionally about ag biotech, but it’s so much broader than that and it’s becoming so relevant, globally,” she said. “We really wanted people to come here and be able to talk about it.”

The two entities collaborated with the California-based Larta Institute to get the idea rolling. It has grown substantially from its inaugural year.

The presence of established ag companies is vital to the success of the conference.

“We have 17 companies pitching ideas not only to venture capitalists, but to corporations that are here too,” Gonzalez said.

“These venture capitalists are fairly risk averse. If you don’t have a corporate partner in some of these opportunities it’s going to be hard to get market relevance to have additional funding to get things off the ground.

“Not only is it start-up companies looking for venture, it’s ag companies looking for partners.”

Gonzalez said she and other organizers have been “thrilled” with the response. About 160 attended last year; this year’s total will likely be close to 240.

“The trend is up and the quality is up,” she said. “There are a number of venture capitalists from the coast and a number of corporations participating. Everything is in the right direction.

“We have a lot of talent here. Agriculture is spread out all over the place, but at least you’ve got a focal point here, a place where people can meet and greet and talk. That’s really what this is all about.”


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