A Founders’ Showcase hosted in early December introduced 11 Canadian female-founded agri-food start-ups to a network of mentors and U.S-based investors.
It was an initiative led by Joanne Fedeyko, founder of the Canadian Women’s Network Silicon Valley and chief executive officer of Connection Silicon Valley, which helps companies collaborate, innovate and partner in California’s tech and innovation hub.
Why it matters: The size and scope of the food and agri-tech sector in the U.S. allow well-connected start-ups to access much-needed capital, networking and mentorship opportunities.
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“I’ve been interested in the food and ag tech space for a while, trying to get exposure to what’s happening in Canada and showcase that to our U.S. network, so we came up with the idea to create this Founded in Canada Showcase,” says Fedeyko.
The Canadian Women’s Network Silicon Valley was founded in 2017 to support Canadian female-led start-ups. Before COVID-19, Fedeyko ran in-person Silicon Valley immersion programs, which have transitioned into an online community, to help connect Canadian founders with the U.S. innovation network.
This first showcase garnered 25 applications from companies across Canada either led by women or with women on their executive teams. Eleven ultimately participated in the one-day event along with 15 U.S. investors.
Each investor received profiles of all the start-ups in advance, and throughout the day, each start-up was able to pitch its innovation to multiple investors in small groups. Every showcase participant was also matched with a team of mentors assembled by Fedeyko to help refine their pitch presentation.
Jenny Lemieux of Vivid Machines was one of the showcase participants. Her company, co-founded with Jonathan Binas, is developing the Vivid X vision system designed tol automate the prediction and management of apple yield and quality and eventually provide early detection of pests, diseases and nutrient deficiencies.
Over the past year, Vivid Machines has developed and tested a prototype of its system. For 2022, it has secured three Canadian and one U.S. orchard that will each test a commercial version of the system throughout the growing season.
According to Lemieux, the company is working on fundraising for the next development phase. That’s where her participation in the Founder Showcase and coaching from U.S.-based mentors and investors has been a valuable opportunity, she says.
In her experience so far, Canadian investors tend to be more risk-averse than their U.S. counterparts, and the scale of financial support is different between the two countries. A Canadian seed round averages $1 to $2 million compared to $5 to $10 million in the U.S.
“This was a really targeted program to help refine and sharpen pitching skills set to the expectations of U.S. investors,” Lemieux says.
“The hours we spent with Joanne’s network of people were transformative. The investors gave feedback about what they didn’t understand or what wasn’t clear, so our story has gotten so much better, going from something engineering-focused to something an average person could understand.”
Fedeyko was pleased with the success of the first event and plans are underway for a second food and agri-tech showcase in 2022. Her organization is also launching a founder and funder event that will match 15 Canadian start-ups in the cleantech and sustainability space with five U.S. investors.
“We received great feedback from the founders, but also from the ecosystem in general — companies and different groups in Canada that are interested in helping to grow the food and ag tech sector and supporting Canadian female-led companies and entrepreneurs,” Fedeyko says.
“That was really, really great to see, and I’m excited that we’ll be able to continue to build off that.”
Other participating companies included AdvancedAg Inc., BetterCart Analytics, FarmBucks Inc., Livestock Water Recycling, Nurture Growth Biofertilizer Inc., OneCup AI, Rainfed Foods, SomaDetect, Synergia Biotech and ulivit. Farm Credit Canada and global law firm Dentons were sponsors of the showcase.
