Clean Tech Brings Over 15,000 in Q3, According to New E2 Report
Clean tech and transportation seems to be doing just fine, despite the current job market. A report from Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2), a non-partisan environmental business group, brings good news for the eco-job market in the U.S. in the third quarter. Over 80 clean energy and clean transportation projects in the third quarter of this year could create more than 15,000 jobs. That’s a considerable increase when compared to the same quarter of 2012, when only 10,800 jobs were announced.
"Clean energy continues to put Americans to work," said Judith Albert, E2's executive director. According to the study, over 30 states announced major clean energy and clean transportation jobs in Q3.
So, where and what are these jobs? Not surprisingly, the top state to was California, announcing 2,467 jobs. Nevada fell next in line with 2,081 jobs, with New York (1,807), Michigan (1,100) and Texas (774) following suit. The leading sector of these jobs was biofuels, with about 6,700 jobs announced in the sector. Manufacturing was the second largest sector, introducing about 3,300 jobs.
While this is a positive indicator for the demand of and opportunity within clean-tech, there is one concern that the report brings to light—there is a waning of job opportunities and development in the wind-energy sector.
Wind-energy companies are preparing for the expiration of the Production Tax Credit (PTC) at the end of the year, which many feel is hindering new wind-energy opportunities. The tax currently provides a tax credit of 2.3 cents per kilowatt-hour produced.
"Clean energy policies have a real impact on workers across the country," Albert said. "Washington, D.C., may be far removed from what's happening in the heartland, but wind industry workers there will feel the pinch as the wind tax credit expires, the project pipeline dries up, and wind jobs become scarce.”
E2 has tracked clean energy and clean transportation jobs since November 2011, and therefore is a fairly new tracking method to follow clean tech and transportation opportunities. This quarter was the first time E2 tracked recycling announcements, in which more than 1,300 jobs were announced; this may have contributed to the increase in jobs during Q3 this year in comparison to last.
Nonetheless, this report suggests that clean tech is a thriving sector despite the current economic climate.
From Animal Health to Precision Farming: Ag Sector News
This week, we're featuring the fall news letter from our friends at Investeco.
The agricultural sector is going through a time of unprecedented innovation and change, brought about by a growing awareness of issues relating to the environment, health and resource efficiency. In addition, a range of sectors across the broader economy — including energy, chemicals, textiles and pharmaceuticals, to name a few — are being dramatically reinvented on the premise of using agricultural outputs to replace products traditionally made with petrochemicals. These two trends together are creating exciting new investment opportunities.
The following segments (listed alphabetically) represent some of the most fertile areas of innovation at the cross–section of agriculture and the bioeconomy, and together comprise a dynamic global market opportunity well in excess of $500 billion. These are segments of particular interest to Investeco and our Sustainable Food Fund.
ANIMAL HEALTH AND WELFARE
Exciting new opportunities are arising in the $20 billion animal feed additives market as a result of a trend towards healthier, more humane and more sustainable models of animal production. This trend is being driven in large part by consumers who are demanding more natural feed additives as a result of concerns for both animal and human health. For example, the significant use of subtherapeutic antibiotics in animal feed has led to a call for tighter regulation and a drive towards options like vaccines derived from biological sources as alternatives to antibiotics for treating disease and sickness in animals.
In addition, there is a growing demand for additives that can naturally boost the immune system of animals. Feed ingredients such as some kinds of seaweed and algae have the potential to provide immune system strength to animals, and thus reduce the need for the ongoing use of antibiotics in animal feed programs. And the use of probiotics in animal feed is increasing so as to use positive bacteria as a protective agent.
BIOCHEMICALS/BIOMATERIALS
The global renewable chemicals market is expected to reach US$56.9 billion by the year 2015, evidence of the growing trend globally to replace petroleum–based chemicals (resins, acids) and materials (fibreglass, plastics) with renewable alternatives derived from agricultural and forest biomass. These new bio–based chemicals and materials generally have lower carbon footprints, reduce dependency on oil, are less toxic than petrochemical–based materials and chemicals, and create products that are easier to dispose of (can be engineered to biodegrade quickly and completely). They are also generally less vulnerable to the cost increases of fossil fuels.
The primary feedstocks for the new biochemical industry are sugars, starches, lignocelluloses and plant oils, all of which are derived from crops, plants and waste. There are three principle processes for the conversion of biomass into biochemicals and biomaterials: synthetic (using catalysts similar to oil refineries, Fischer–Tropsch, transesterification); biotechnological (fermentation of sugars using enzymes); and thermochemical (mostly gasification and pyrolysis). In addition, new, groundbreaking processes such nanocrystalline cellulose technology offer the promise of providing potential breakthroughs in developing products with unique characteristics in this segment.
BIOFERTILIZERS
Biofertilizers are biologically based alternatives to conventional fertilizers, and are particularly important in the value chain for organic agriculture in which it is not permissible to use conventional synthetic fertilizers made from ammonia. Biofertilizers are substances that contain microorganisms and — like synthetic fertilizers — promote plant growth through fixing nitrogen or solubilizing phosphorous. Biofertilizers can be distinguished from soil supplements such as compost or manure in that the benefits of biofertilizers are driven by beneficial micro–organisms (bacteria, fungi and cyanobacteria), whereas compost and manure simply provide nutrients. The chief environmental benefit of biofertilizers is that they do not deplete soil to the same extent as conventional fertilizers.
It is estimated that the global market for biofertilizers was worth approximately $5 billion in 2012 and is expected to grow to more than $10 billion by 2018.
BIOFUELS/BIOENERGY
The global biofuels/bioenergy segment is approximately $140 billion and grew at more than 10% in 2011. This segment is in a stage of transition towards second– generation technologies, which will use as a feedstock either agricultural wastes — and in particular woody biomass from the forest products industry — or fast–growing perennials such as miscanthus grass that can be grown on lower quality soils and thus do not compete with food crops. In some cases, next generation bioenergy technology may even use municipal wastes as a feedstock. As a result, second–generation biofuels will likely be both much more efficient in terms of greenhouse gas emissions than first–generation biofuels, and also much more politically palatable as they will not lead to food price increases that became the bane of the first–generation biofuels industry.
A wide array of technical platforms are being utilized in an effort to achieve commercial–scale second–generation biofuels, including various thermochemical approaches (such as pyrolysis or gasification) and biological conversions of waste biomass through processes such as anaerobic digestion.
BIOCIDES
This segment refers to biologically derived agents that control harmful substances and organisms in agriculture. The largest subsection of this segment is biopesticides (a category that also includes bioherbicides and biofungicides), which are naturally occurring microbes or biochemicals used as alternatives to conventional pesticides and are an important part of the value chain for organic and sustainable agriculture. Biopesticides generally have narrower effects than conventional pesticides and are therefore considered less harmful to humans, wildlife and beneficial insects. Another possible benefit of biopesticides results from the possibility that targeted pests may be less likely to develop genetic resistance, which has reduced the effectiveness of conventional pesticides over time. Biopesticides may be derived from animals, plants, or microorganisms (e.g., phytochemicals, microbial products). A promising source of biopesticides is mustard, which contains glucosinolates that are effective against many soil–borne pathogens, worms and weeds.
The market for these pesticides was valued at $2.1 billion in 2012 and is expected to increase at a CAGR of 12% to surpass $3.7 billion in 2017. This growth is chiefly supported by increasing demand for organic food and demand for food without chemical residues. However, biopesticide use in the US is also supported by simpler EPA requirements for biopesticide development and testing, which make biopesticides relatively cheaper and easier to bring to market.
FUNCTIONAL FOODS/ NEUTRACEUTICALS
Growing consumer attention to the health properties of the food we consume, along with rising rates of chronic diseases such as diabetes, has increased the focus on food as a component of the broader health picture and created a huge market opportunity for foods, or medicines derived from foods, that have positive physiological benefits and/ or reduce the risks of chronic diseases. In addition, the cost of healthcare is forcing healthcare providers and governments to think more broadly about new ways to improve health outcomes. All of these trends are leading to a new focus on neutraceuticals and functional foods, a segment that is estimated to be more than $150 billion today and is expected to grow to more than $200 billion by 2016.
A number of Canadian crops lend themselves to the development of functional foods and neutraceuticals, including pulse crops, flax, mustards, quinoa, cranberry, mushrooms, blueberries and yew, to name a few. Extensive efforts are ongoing to derive new products from these crops that can produce health benefits for consumers.
A related field to nutraceuticals is biopharmaceuticals, where new pharmaceutical proteins or vaccines are manufactured from mammalian cell cultures, fungi or bacteria derived from living organisms.
GREENHOUSE TECHNOLOGY
North American’s multi–billion dollar greenhouse vegetable sector production area grew by 70% between 2002 and 2006. The Canadian greenhouse sector now produces more than $1 billion annually, much of it in targeted, high–value products such as campari tomatoes, strawberry tomato and yellow cherry tomatoes.
Today’s greenhouses are a result of centuries of research and innovation that has targeted greater control over temperature, humidity, lighting and ventilation, as well as improved food safety, higher production, reduced energy and water consumption, and higher yields.
Most of the recent innovation in this segment is a response to resource scarcity and rising energy costs by focusing on the development of technologies that allow greenhouses to operate more efficiently. Water recycling is a standard practice, and many greenhouses are moving towards using little–to–no pesticide use, relying on integrated pest management practices instead. New technology applications using biomass for combined heat and power production can make greenhouses even more efficient and can provide a stream of carbon dioxide that can be used to increase plant growth (and reduce GHG emissions). Other greenhouse technologies include vertical air circulation systems, more efficient energy management systems including thermal/shade screens for heating and cooling, mechanization and automation developments, and new plant science techniques.
PRECISION FARMING AND IRRIGATION
As resources such as water become more valuable and costs of inputs rise, farmers will be under pressure to be as efficient as possible. Increasingly, technologies such as GPS, satellite imagery and even unmanned aerial vehicles with infrared cameras can help ensure a greater degree of precision in the application of agricultural inputs, and flexibility so as to adjust such applications based on a survey of the soil and plant health in their fields. This segment, referred to sometimes as “precision farming”, is already a $1.3 billion market in the US alone.
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Investeco is Canada's first environmental investment company. We aim to acquire interests in promising North American companies specializing in sustainable agriculture, and the bioeconomy. We focus primarily on high-growth companies with lasting competitive advantages. We have a preference for private companies that have over $2 million in revenues and need expansion capital. We like to attain a meaningful equity stake over time and invest when we believe that we can add value to the growth of the company. Our sector focus, deal flow and partnership philosophy are differentiating features of our investment process. Current portfolio companies included www.rowefarms.ca www.ensyn.com www.sunselect.ca
Join our CEO Rob Leclerc at Agrivest 2013 in Israel! Leclerc will be on a panel 'Exploring the Key Fundamentals Driving Growth in Agriculture Investment' along with Ron Meeusen from Cultivian Sandbox Ventures, Gideon Soesman from GreenSoil Investments, and Mitchell Presser from Paine & Partners.
Israel has emerged as a global leader in AgTech. If the latest news of a recently established joint agricultural R&D fund between Vietnam and Israeli is any indication, Israel AgTech is only getting stronger. If you're interested in learning more about Agrivest and the four-day on-site tour of Israel's AgTech industry, take a look at the program here. Please also note that Agrivest is giving our investment community an 8% discount on the price of the tour. If you are interested, please email Rob at [email protected].
The Dangers of Bribery for SMEs in Emerging Markets
Establishing a business in emerging and frontier markets should be easier than it is. Although the processes and requirements vary in each country, one consistent threat to all is that they all are time consuming, expensive and usually, extremely difficult to achieve. It is daunting when the business is a large multi-national. For SMEs, an incredible amount of luck, good management and determination is needed, as well as making the right decisions early on as to how the organization is going to conduct itself in its adopted country.
Virtually all emerging nations offer attractive inducements for a foreign entity to set up and invest. These inducements can include tax holidays on corporation profits tax, preferential visa treatment, and substantially reduced import duties. Whilst these inducements and the potential opportunities are attracting investment, the tedious process required to achieve launch can often lead to foreign SMEs dissolving into a sea of debt and unfulfilled promise.
Achieving foreign investor status and the associated benefits often require the approval of several government departments, none of which talk to each other and quite often, all of which ask for bribes at several levels of the approvals process. For an SME that steadfastly refuses to pay bribes, the journey to achieve approval can be extended for many months.
I’m not talking about large bribes sought by those in high-level positions either though, these certainly do occur. But the more common lower-level administrators who have control of the file for short time, but who act as gatekeepers to the higher technical levels who do the actual assessment. A file that is trapped at the application counter and not passed up for assessment because the subject company fails to pay the equivalent US$500 demand for example, can literally languish for months, until the company relents and pays the bribe, or it starts to agitate in other circles to get the file moving. SMEs might be reluctant to do the latter, as they perceive the danger in agitating and reporting an individual. This may result in a blacklisting or being treated to a go-slow for all future applications or dealings with that and other government departments.
So, the temptation to pay these small bribes can be irresistible. After all, paying in-country salaries and overheads whilst waiting for a government approval to come through will quickly drain resources.
But this is a recipe for disaster for several reasons, not the least of which is the illegality and (putting aside the inherent moral issues for the moment) serious penalty risks, which can be imposed on companies subject to their home country’s anti-corruption legislation. Legislation such as the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or its British equivalent, the UK Bribery Act specifically deal with the actions of a corporation (or a subsidiary) acting contrary to the Act in the course of its foreign activities. Heavy fines and even imprisonment can result from a conviction under this legislation, not to mention the devastating reputational damage. Most developed nations have some form of anti-corruption legislation that regulates their corporations and their subsidiaries. Most developing nations do not. This is where SMEs from developed countries setting up in a frontier market can suffer as their competition from countries with less developed anti-corruption laws are not held to the same high standard for business probity.
Standing by as a competitor obtains their operating approvals earlier, despite entering the market and the process much later is extremely frustrating. The temptation to begin paying small bribes to keep the bureaucratic wheels turning is strong. But, the SMEs who set high corporate (and moral) standards and abide by them will win out ultimately.
For SMEs who use bribery to shortcut the approvals process, it quickly becomes known across the bureaucracy that the particular company will pay. The resulting demands for money for preferential treatment begin to appear for every application and at every level. I know of SMEs that have simply had to shut operations and depart a country at great cost because they had made the mistake of paying a couple of small bribes early on to get low level consents. They have ended up not being able to do anything without having to pay baksheesh to get it done.
Short term, it may be painful. But by saying no to bribery, SMEs are protecting their business on many levels. In time, ironically, they will begin to earn respect from the government officers and the departments with which they are dealing. And just as a reputation as a “payer” spreads quickly, so does a reputation as a “non-payer”. With that respect and a reputation as a straight player, a business’s ability to compete for government contracts is greatly enhanced.
Demonstrated and consistent honesty in corporate dealings has no downside.
--This post from Michael Dean, co-founder of AgFunder. Michael adds over 20 years of legal, business management and project development experience to the team.
On behalf of the rest of our team, I'd like to congratulate Cori Capik, our Digital Producer for her article that was published in the Huffington Post today entitled One Step Closer to Crowdfunding Investment. Cori is responsible for most of the content that is published on our blog. She's a writer, video producer, video editor, and takes on everything else we throw at her. We're really lucky to have her aboard, and we're really proud of this accomplishment. Thanks Cori!
Cori Capik, Digital Producer
If you haven't read it yet you can find it here: One Step Closer to Crowdfunding Investment
Yesterday, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced the proposed rules for Title III of the JOBS Act. While Title III was a step in the right direction, we think the expansive definition of liability, and the administrative overhead requirements on companies may be too daunting for the law to have the intended impact. Not to mention, the lengthy document (almost 600 pages) still leaves a lot of questions. About 295, actually.
Commissioner Gallagher said during yesterday morning's meeting that these questions are posed to the public for feedback, and all the commissioners stressed that these rules are meant to be analyzed and improved. They’re tasking all of us (or at least those of us looking to work under Title III) with some homework.
Once the rules are published in the Federal Registry (which, according to the SEC, should be within a week), the proposed rules are opened to a 90-day comment period. Comments may be submitted here, and submitted comments will be published here.
AgFunder functions under the Title II of the JOBS Act, which was made fully effective on September 23rd, and strictly deals with accredited investors. As it stands, we are in no rush to jump into Title III offerings just yet. Nevertheless, we'll be watching with an interested eye, but we may have to wait for JOBS Act 2.0.
Tomorrow, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is set to propose rules for equity crowdfunding (as outlined in Title III of the JOBS Act) that will dramatically alter the face of private investing. On the company side, crowdfunding portals registered with the SEC will be able to raise up to $1M of capital annually from non-accredited investors. On the investor side, an individual may invest the greatest of $2,000 or 5% of his or her annual income on these platforms.
The SEC announced the news late Monday evening after receiving a letter from a bipartisan group of Senators. The letter addressed to SEC Chairman Mary Jo White expressed the Senators’ concerns, and urged White to push crowdfunding legislation forward.
“It has now been over 530 days since the JOBS Act became law, and we have not seen a proposal from the SEC on crowdfunding,” the senators wrote. “We are concerned that so much time has passed without action.”
In reality, the SEC has a lot on its plate. They are tasked with the job to develop a new set of regulations that should safely regulate listed investment opportunities, the funding platform or portal, and the requirements and limitations of the investors. In essence, they have to come up with an entirely new system. The new rules will have to outline:
(1) The role and scope of the regulatory body overseeing crowdfunding portals.
(2) A way to enforce that the sum allocated limit of investors within a platform is $1,000,000 in 12 months.
(3) A way to ensure the maximum investment an individual may make is the greatest of $2,000 or 5 percent of their annual salary.
A lot of us have questions. How exactly will the SEC know how much an individual invests through these platforms? Therefore, how will they regulate that individuals do not exceed their $1 Million limit? Will platforms be responsible for handling the presumable thousands of K-1 tax forms that come along with each individual and if so, will online platforms be willing to deal? Will the administrative overhead be too great on companies doing small offerings to a large number of shareholders?
Another concern is, as StartUp House cited, liability. Under the JOBS Act, if a portal company sells equity via crowdsourcing, the individuals of that company are also subject to liability. That means the CEO, CFO and others may be sued individually and there’s no security in the corporate veil. If this liability problem isn’t addressed, we think this will be a non-starter because it will be too risky for the Directors and Officers of the issuer.
So for now, it’s a waiting game to see what rules the SEC comes up with. If the rules address the concerns and questions, this is great news for those looking to open crowdfunding opportunities to non-accredited investors. Many see these new investment means as a way to level the playing field for early-stage-growth companies seeking capital, while traditional facilities have failed them. We’ll just have to wait and see.
We’ve always been big fans of SeedStock.com, so we're excited to be featured this week on their blog! We were thrilled to see an article in SeedStock in mid-October about TerViva, one of our listed companies, and we encourage you to take a look! This week, we're excited to share SeedStock's great article that strikes the heart of our bigger mission. A special thanks to author Nicola Kerslake, who is the founder of the Nevada Indoor Agriculture Conference, an adviser to several early stage agtech companies, and the Investment Manager at Battle Born Venture, Nevada State's VC firm investing in early stage companies.
Big data is a big problem in agriculture, and entrepreneur and ag-expert Lance Donny believes he can fix it.
Lance Donny, CEO of OnFarm Systems, grew up on a family farm in Fresno, CA. After twenty years of experience in software and finance, he returned to his roots in agriculture and founded OnFarm Systems.
“Consider it your one stop source of mission-critical information about your clients operations,” Donny said. “Their equipment, field conditions, people, and more.”
By integrating hardware systems and the data they pick up into its platform, OnFarm software compiles analyitical information into a format that allows farmers to easily read and make decisions. “[Farmer’s] are tired of juggling different systems,” Donny said. “You’re in a truck trying to figure out if you’re going to irrigate tomorrow or the next day…. We use data and information, and we process that for the grower.”
Donny says that he saw the big data problem in ag first-hand. Donny worked from 2009 to early 2012 as the CFO and Vice President at PureSense, a company focused on monitoring irrigation systems and water management. With over 2000 sites providing readings and data every 15 minutes, PureSense and their customers were inundated with data. Donny said his customers reached a threshold of how much hardware they wanted to install on their properties simply because they were overwhelmed in data.
The big question was, as Donny said, “How do we make a system that really concentrates the data down into a data point that allows a farmer to look at that data point, and make a decision?”
OnFarm Systems has gained a lot of traction and attention since it started just a year and a half ago. In September, they were awarded IBM’s North America SmartCamp event, an award given to an innovative start-up that integrates big data, analytics, cloud data, and mobile and social technologies. OnFarm was also a 2013 finalist for the IBM Global Entrepreneur of the year. Just this week, Lance Donny was a speaker at the Mobilize 2013 Conference in San Francisco, presenting OnFarm Systems.
“Companies in ag tend to focus on hardware,” Donny said. “They look at information and software as secondary…. They’re not necessarily designed to look at the broader scope of decision making.”
Donny’s vision for improved agricultural decision-making and data use spans the entire globe. Donny sees huge potential in ag space to build the around the internet of things, and using OnFarm technology in the United States is just the beginning.
“If you look at Africa and Asia, there’s huge potential in ag in those countries,” he said. Citing that many of the ag areas in Africa and Asia are based upon small-farm operations, Donny sees a huge benefit to using OnFarm integration technology to better inform individual farmers. “How do you enable a grower in Africa or Asia to be able to grow efficiently like a grower in California could?”
This week we caught up with the Peterson Brothers to talk about their new parody video 'Bale!'
Three brothers from Kansas have made themselves farmer-famous.
The Peterson brothers have yet another parody video out on YouTube. Bale!, a parody on AWOLNATIONS’s hit song, Sail, has over 85,000 views on YouTube.
After their last video Farmer Style, a parody of Psy’s Gangnam Style, Greg, Nathan and Kendal are not new to fame. “We were definitely surprised at the response,” Greg Peterson said. “The highest number we talked about before we released the first video was 100,000 views!”
When their Farmer Style video hit over 14 million views, the Peterson brothers quickly realized they'd underestimated their impact.
“I was an Ag Communications major at K-State,” Greg said. “I was always thinking of new ways to promote agriculture. I came up with the idea of a farming music video…. The more we filmed and edited, it became clear it had a lot of potential!”
That it did. Their other top hits: I’m Farming and I Grow It with over 8.7 million views, and A Fresh Breath of Farm Air at half a million. They are so popular that they have even developed an online business selling items featuring their top parodies.
“Agriculture is important to each and every one of us, and that without farmers there would be no food,” said Greg. “We are trying to help connect the gap between consumers and producers, as well as try and dispel some of the crazy ideas floating around on the Internet about farmers and farms that simply aren't true.”
Greg said it’s pretty tough to decide which songs they choose, but they have to fill three criteria: 1. It has to be popular, 2. It has to be “parody-able,” and 3. The brothers have to like the original song.
“People ask us why we don't parody country songs,” Greg said. “We are trying to draw in city folk to watch our videos and learn something, and the urban style of music will do a better job of that.”
We're curious about what their next video will be, but Greg said no hints will be given until the video is done. So before their next hit, we’ll have Bale! on repeat.
Modern Farmer’s Andy Wright wrote about son-of-a-farmer Patrick Gottsch’s insight into what would become RURAL TV, a channel that now is estimated to gross over $50 million by the end of 2013. Wright’s article is a great one and worth a read.
Rural reality TV isn’t necessarily new. After all, we all remember all-too-well when “news” of Honey Boo Boo, a young girl from rural Georgia featured on TLC’s “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo,” took over our Facebook and Twitter feeds.
But what is new is that shows on RURAL TV aren’t showing rural America in a stereotypical and offensive fashion as before. (And in case you needed more evidence than just the title that shows like “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo,” isn’t offensive, maybe J. Dennis Murray’s January Op-Ed can drive it home.) RURAL TV shows are made by the people, for the people. RURAL TV is, as the station’s tagline says, “Television for a Growing World.”
The station has a little bit of everything. Shows like “Sure in the Saddle” and “Heidi Herriott Presents Horse Trix” teach viewers about riding techniques and better horse-training practices. There’s “Mollie B Polka Party,” a show in which Mollie Busta features polka bands from around the country, and “Cookin’ Outdoors with Johnny Nix,” in which viewers learn how to cook over the fire. One of the most popular, “Duck Dynasty,” is a show which had over 9.6 million viewers during its season finale and was even picked up by A&E. Here's a clip of Duck Dynasty's Duck Commander Phil Robertson explaining how he ended up in Hollywood.
As Wright points out, one of the reasons this kind of TV is of such appeal to viewers is that rural reality shows aren’t scripted nearly as much as those in the mainstream. Wright had the opportunity to speak with Lily Neumeyer, vice president of nonfiction and alternative programming for A&E. Here’s what Wright wrote about it:
Part of the appeal of rural reality, says Lily Neumeyer, vice president of nonfiction and alternative programming for A&E, is that most scripted shows are usually written by urban-dwellers. She’s a producer of “Duck Dynasty,” the much-loved reality show about the bearded, camo-clad Robertson clan, who have built a Louisiana empire on handcrafted duck callers. “It’s refreshing to hear that people have their own way of saying things,” she says.
Whether viewers are turning to rural TV because they’re sick of scripted “reality,” or whether they are turning away from scripted reality towards rural TV because they’ve discovered a new niche, is really a “chicken or egg” concern. All we know is that rural TV is taking off, and it could serve to better connect urban folks with the rural America from which they are so distant.
A lot of people don't really know (or care enough) about agriculture. After 35 years in the industry, Bob Morris, Principal of AndMore Associates, gives a glimpse into the many facets of agriculture and explains why that needs to change. He's never been more excited about the future of agriculture, and he thinks it's bound to be rewarding as everyone learns more about the industry.
Howard W. Buffett with Prize Organizers and Students
This week, AgFunder’s CEO Rob Leclerc, along with representatives from the World Bank, policy makers, philanthropists, students, and investors were invited to the launch Agriculture Innovation Prize supported by the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, the University of Wisconsin - Madison and in cooperation with the USDA.
Howard W. Buffett, the Foundation’s trustee, was on hand to announce the prize, which is open to undergraduate and graduate student to submit proposals addressing crucial agricultural issues.
The attendees spoke about some of this century’s key challenges facing agriculture. Buffett raised concerns about soil quality depletion, and stressed the importance of implementing simple and inexpensive technologies in developing countries to help smallholder farmers increase productivity. Bill Carter, Ashoka’s Diamond Leader for Africa, commented that it is not only an increase of productivity, but also a quality and spectrum of nutritional productivity that is important for farmers to examine.
Other attendees included Rob Lalka, the Senior Advisor for Global Partnerships at the Howard G Buffett Foundation, Bruce Kahn from Sustainable Insight Capital Management, David LeZaks, Managing Scientist at Knowledge Systems for Sustainability at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, Haley Harthoorn, the head Counselor of the Nebraska Agricultural Youth Council, and Joseph Steig, the Venture Development Manager at the National Collegiate Inventors & Innovators Alliance.
Over the past week, the founders of FundersClub, Alex Mittal and Boris Silver, posted their stance on the [U.S. Congress and] SEC’s lift of the ban on general solicitation. While we respect Alex, Boris and the rest of the team and what they’ve accomplished, we were troubled by the apparent use of fear tactics in their misleading and self-serving commentary. We were particularly surprised as up until their No-Action letter from the SEC, there was substantial speculation that FundersClub were possibly violating SEC rules. We are now questioning whether FundersClub is trying to bully the rest of the industry away from a new and even more innovative business model?
In response to their wide-ranging allegations, we felt compelled to set the record straight.
Under the Section 201(a)(1) of the JOBS Act[1], an issuer of securities may engage in general advertising or solicitation if they take reasonable steps to verify that each purchaser is an Accredited Investor as defined by the SEC rule. In addition to a principles-based approach to satisfy verification, the SEC’s amendment to Rule 506[2] actually articulates a set of non-exclusive methods an issuer may use to satisfy that purchasers are Accredited Investors. These include:
Reviewing purchasers’ IRS tax forms
Reviewing their bank statements, brokerage statements, securities holdings, tax assessments
Verification by a third party such as an SEC-registered broker-dealer or investment adviser, a licensed attorney or a CPA.
We can tell you first-hand that the question of investor verification is a key concern that has been on everyone’s mind. In response, registered broker-dealers such as SecondMarket are offering services to both platforms and independent issuers to satisfy the verification requirements on their behalf.
So, we are perplexed when Alex called the practice of general solicitation a “gray zone” and suggested that VCs would not invest in companies that engage in general solicitation of their offerings. The JOBS Act clearly encourages this entirely legitimate mode of capital formation and the SEC has outlined the “rules of the road” for this market. Fundraising through general solicitations, professionally advised and properly implemented, is here and now.
We find it equally troublesome that FundersClub would try to discourage companies from listing on platforms engaging in general solicitation, suggesting that their operators are acting recklessly and have fly-by-night legal representation. The fact of the matter is that most other platforms share legal representation from the handful of quite large and reputable firms who have a very strong grasp of the law in this area and their client’s obligations. For FundersClub to imply that they have some kind of monopoly on quality legal advice is simply ridiculous.
What, then, are FundersClub’s motives in attempting to taint the well for general solicitations? Why is their method of private (from the SEC’s standpoint) fundraising somehow better for investors than general solicitations now that they can be accomplished completely legally?
First, companies on the FundersClub platform are already high profile companies, many coming out of top accelerators such as Y-Combinator and 500 Startups. Before the lifting of the ban on general solicitation, these companies were restricted from raising awareness about fundraising, so it made sense for them to seek distribution on a platform like FundersClub. However, now these highly publicized companies can go straight to investors, there is no need for these high profile companies use a platform. It seems like FundersClub are using scare tactics to raise concerns about general solicitation so they can hold onto this monopoly.
Second, most of FundersClub’s 6,400+ members joined the site through old 506(b) rules, which permitted investors to self-verify their status as accredited investors. The dilemma for FundersClub is that if they were to engage in general solicitations, they would be obliged to verify that all members are in fact accredited. This could cause significant problems if it came to light that FundersClub was found to have issued securities to non-accredited investors due to the low-threshold accreditation model that they have adopted.
So while FundersClub claims to take the high road, the fact of the matter is that they are relying on a lower, and potentially more risky, verification-light approach. This in turn may actually make FundersClub a more risky investment partner than platforms responsibly engaging in general solicitations. Platforms to which FundersClub has directed its unwarranted criticism.
It’s ironic that FundersClub, which is supposed to be about democratization and openness to markets, are acting like entrenched elite leaders trying to keep innovators out of the market place. Not too long ago they were the ones pushing the boundaries of the SEC, but now that their ox is being gored they take stance of protecting investors. How dazzlingly hypocritical!
Discuss this on Hacker News:
References
[1] JOBS Act
[2] SEC’s rules on Title II published in the Federal Register
The Ag Innovation Showcase in St. Louis, MO, is the place where the agriculture of tomorrow is talked about today. Rohit Shukla, CEO of Larta, the sponsoring company of the showcase, talks about agricultural innovation and explains why privatization is the key to agricultural success.
It’s been a big week at AgFunder, and we’re excited to finally share our site with you! On Monday, we launched our beta site. Today, we are opening it to an even wider audience!
On Monday, September 23rd, the Securities and Exchanges Commission, or more commonly called the SEC, lifted its 80-year ban on general solicitation and advertising. Hooray!
So, what does that actually mean? Now that the ban is lifted, it is legal for private investment opportunities to be advertised to the public through online platforms and news outlets. That’s a biggie.
We’re particularly excited at AgFunder because we are the first platform to spring to action! We’re revolutionizing the way that we (and hopefully you) do business by democratizing the investment process. There are a lot of exciting opportunities to be had in Ag and AgTech, and we believe everyone should have access to them. Accredited investors can begin to diversify their portfolios with ag and agtech companies starting with investments for as little as $10,000.
We want AgFunder to be the trusted platform for learning about and investing in some of the new projects and companies meeting the ag space!
During our beta launch, we’re offering investors exclusive access to two investment opportunities: TerViva BioEnergy and yep, ourselves, AgFunder.
TerViva is an exciting company invested in a legume species called Pongamia. They feel can help pull Florida citrus growers, whose fields are currently riddled with citrus greening diseases, back into the ag game. The hearty plant provides about 10 times the amount oil than soy, which can be used for biofuel, it thrives in very harsh conditions in which most other plants would not survive, and it has the quality to be used for animal feed. It’s a triple threat! Visit TerViva's profile here.
The second opportunity we’re offering is, well, ourselves. We’re a start-up and need your support, and we feel so strongly about our mission and team that we hope you will join us in revolutionizing the way the world does ag business. Visit our profile here, and please Check out our team, site, and let us know what you think! We invite you to have a look and give us your feedback!
Amidst all the droning about drones, unmanned aerial devices are making their way onto the market. But they're not all meant for spying. Rory Paul and Jim Peterson from Volt Aerial Robotics show us one of their latest gadgets they think will change the face of agriculture.
