What’s driving the Agri-tech investment boom?
European Agri-tech investment was expected to double to £2.3bn last year. What is causing such a flurry of activity in the space? Why are investors so drawn to investment in European Agri-tech?
Advice for start-ups looking for agri-tech investment
Join our panel including Five Seasons Ventures, Rockstart, Yield Lab Europe, and Food For Thought as we investigate the trends that are driving the agri-tech investment boom. What’s the current landscape for agtech and food tech? What are the challenges and common mistakes that start-ups make when seeking investment? What advice do they have for start-ups looking to break into the space?
It’s a fascinating look into the world of investment in agri-tech.
About our panel
Nicky Deasy, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Yield Lab Europe
Nicky Deasy oversees the day to day operations of Yield Lab Europe. She ran Alta Corporate Finance previously, primarily advising early stage MedTech companies to raise venture capital, as well as other M&A advice. She was Director of Corporate Finance with EY, and Associate Director with KPMG Corporate Finance.
Mark Durno, Managing Partner Agritech, Rockstart
Mark is an entrepreneur with a focus on the agrifood industry. He grew up farming 350 ha of mixed production (arable/dairy/beef) in Scotland. As a member of the startup team of UrbanFarmers, a first-mover European vertical farming company, he led the expansion of the company from Switzerland to The Netherlands, and was part of growing the team from 3 to ~30 people. In his role as Managing Partner at Rockstart AgriFood, he is a founding partner of the fund and oversees the fund management between Denmark and The Netherlands. Mark is a qualified Scottish lawyer (LLB (Hons), PG Dip. LP) and holds an Executive MBA (cum laude & Student Award 2016) from Rotterdam School of Management.
Ivan Farneti, Five Seasons Ventures
Ivan has been an active venture capital investor for the last 20 years. He is the co-founding Partner of Five Seasons Ventures, the first European venture fund fully focused on Foodtech. He’s passionate about product and technology innovation aimed at solving big challenges in the food industry. At Five Seasons he has invested in gene editing company Tropic Biosciences, pet nutrition company Butternut Box and three more companies yet to be announced.
His experience from previous venture funds in London, includes structuring venture investments, organisational and strategy development, setting up governance for growth and planning for successful exits. He was an early stage investor in Everbridge, Inc. (Nasdaq: EVBG), Tridion BV (acquired by SDL Plc), Gomez, Inc. (acquired by Compuware), Plazes AG (acquired by Nokia), among others.
Christine Gould, Founder & CEO, Thought For Food
Christine has dedicated her career to making ag innovation more open and collaborative. She holds an MPA in Science & Technology Policy from Columbia University. She sits on the Board of Young Professionals in Ag Development and is a Founding Member of the Ashoka Changemakers League of Intrapreneurs.
