Skip to content Skip to sidebar Skip to footer
Menu
Menu
News Tech

Ag Startup Engine makes second $25,000 investment in FarmlandFinder

Farmland Finder
July 11, 2018

Ag Startup Engine announced today that they have made a second investment in FarmlandFinder.

FarmlandFinder (formally Terva) is a technology company that develops products and services to make farmland information accessible. FarmlandFinder plans to use the funds to help them increase the size of their staff and  continue to grow their business infrastructure.

“Up to this point, we’ve had a product for the state of Iowa,” said Steven Brockshus, founder and CEO of FarmlandFinder. “By this winter, we’ll have full coverage throughout twelve states in the Midwest.”

The $25,000 investment comes nearly one year after an initial investment for the same amount was made in August of last year.

“We had an investor meeting back in June and FarmlandFinder presented the traction they made since the investment in late 2017,”said Joel Harris, Co-director of Ag Startup Engine.”We felt that they had hit a lot of important milestones and are going to continue to be successful.”

Previous coverage:

Farmland Finder: Value in a name –April 10, 2018

ISU graduate starts Terva.Ag to answer the questions on land sales, values – July 5, 2017

 

 

 

Tags:
Ag Startup Engine makes second $25,000 investment in FarmlandFinder | Clay & Milk
A central Iowa ag-tech accelerator has secured more backers and finally has a name. The Greater Des Moines Partnership first announced the accelerator last year, naming four initial investors. On Monday, the Partnership said the program will be called the "Iowa AgriTech Accelerator" and named three new investors. The new investors include Grinnell Mutual, Kent Corp. and Sukup Manufacturing, all Iowa companies. They join investors Deere & Co., Peoples Co., Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Co. and DuPont Pioneer. Each investor has agreed to put up $100,000 for the first year of the accelerator. Startups entering the program will receive $40,000 in seed funding in exchange for 6 percent equity. Tej Dhawan, an angel investor and local startup mentor, is serving as interim director until the AgriTech Accelerator names a permanent leader. Dhawan held a similar role with the GIA before Brian Hemesath was named as managing director. As interim director, Dhawan said his main job includes hiring the accelerator's executive director, establishing a business structure and initial recruiting for the first cohort. The accelerator will place few filters, such as location and product, on the applicant pool, Dhawan said. "When you’re seeking innovation, innovation can come from every corner of the world so why restrict ourselves," he said. One area the the AgriTech Accelerator won't recruit from is biotech. For its first cohort, the AgriTech Accelerator will work out of the GIA's space in Des Moines' East Village, Dhawan said. A future, permanent home is still to be decided. The accelerator's program will host startups from mid-July through mid-October, ending with an event connected to the annual World Food Prize. The GIA, which the AgriTech Accelerator is based on, also ends with presentations at an industry event. The accelerator has also started lining up a mentor pool. The Iowa Corn Growers Association, Iowa Soybean Association and the Iowa Pork Producers Association have agreed to provide mentors, as has Iowa State University. While the AgriTech Accelerator is loosely based off of the GIA, it will differ in its business structure, Dhawan said. The GIA runs through a for-profit model for both operations and its investment fund. The AgriTech Accelerator will have a nonprofit model for its operations and a for-profit setup for its fund. Dhawan said the nonprofit model is being used so the accelerator can better work with other nonprofit partners, such as trade associations. "These are all organizations that are nonprofits and can be amazing stakeholders without ever having to be investors in the accelerator," he said. "It becomes easier to work with trade associations in their nonprofit role when we are also a nonprofit." When it's up and running, the AgriTech Accelerator would be one of a handful of ag-focused startup development programs in Iowa. Others include the Ag Startup Engine out of Iowa State University and the Rural Ventures Alliance from Iowa MicroLoan. Matthew Patane is the managing editor and co-founder of Clay & Milk. Send him an email at mpatane@clayandmilk.com.
This Pop-up Is Included in the Theme
Best Choice for Creatives
Purchase Now