Later-Stage Agtech Startup Lessons #3 - Charles Baron, Farmers Business Network

Later-Stage Agtech Startup Lessons #3 - Charles Baron, Farmers Business Network

Farmers Business Network is one of the most well-funded startups in agtech. Just recently, they announced a $300M Series G round, bringing their total funds raised to $870M and their valuation to nearly $4 billion.
So, where did it all begin?
In this episode, FBN co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer, Charles Baron, explains how his Silicon Valley upbringing unexpectedly collided with rural Nebraska, resulting in an idea for a new kind of agribusiness- one that would connect farmers and increase their bargaining power for chemicals and seeds.
In the eight years since the startup began, FBN has frequently encountered opposition from incumbents due to its push for competition and transparency for input pricing. In this episode, the last in our three-part series, Charles talks about several key factors in the company’s success, including:

  • Questioning Silicon Valley’s ‘founder obsession’ to instead create a ‘farmer-centric’ ideology
  • The importance of telling your company’s story through your own channels (rather than relying on others).
  • How FBN makes decisions about which strategies to pursue, including their Gradable platform and recently announced partnership with ADM

This is the third episode in our “Later-Stage Agtech Startup Lessons” series. Listen to episode 1) Michael Gilbert of Semios and episode 2) Paul Lightfoot of BrightFarms. For more resources visit our website.

Episoder(203)

Making Sense of Recent AgTech Acquisitions with Shane Thomas

Making Sense of Recent AgTech Acquisitions with Shane Thomas

Despite a persistent sense of uncertainty in the AgTech market lately, we’re still seeing startups get acquired– even if information about those acquisitions is opaque. Case in point: Syngenta recentl...

28 Mai 202535min

How GLP-1 Drugs are Reshaping the Food and Ag Landscape with Mary Shelman

How GLP-1 Drugs are Reshaping the Food and Ag Landscape with Mary Shelman

Over the last few decades, a lot of products and technologies have promised to disrupt the diets and food buying habits of the world’s consumers. But nothing has made true on that promise quite like t...

14 Mai 202537min

Beyond VC: Redeemable Equity in AgTech with Connie Bowen

Beyond VC: Redeemable Equity in AgTech with Connie Bowen

Big news from Tenacious– WE’RE HIRING! Do you share our mission of unlocking impact at scale in agri-food systems? Check out our open roles here. ...Is agtech a good fit for venture capital, and vice ...

30 Apr 202534min

Merging AgTech Startups to Multiply Value and Impact with Ron Hannam

Merging AgTech Startups to Multiply Value and Impact with Ron Hannam

Between COVID-19, Avian Influenza, and African Swine Fever, ordinary consumers are more aware than ever of the risks of infectious diseases on animal and human health, and to society at large. Ag tech...

16 Apr 202533min

Paying for Ag R&D When Consumers Won’t with Brooke Sauer of Boolah

Paying for Ag R&D When Consumers Won’t with Brooke Sauer of Boolah

For commercial farming operations, determining whether or not new tools, technology, and practices work can be a big undertaking. From install and setup costs to helping the team involved climb the le...

2 Apr 202536min

A Business Model for Novel Ingredients with Jake Berber At Prefer

A Business Model for Novel Ingredients with Jake Berber At Prefer

For years the food tech space has been rife with companies eager to replace familiar standbys– from protein to sweeteners to colorings– with cheaper, more healthful, or more climate friendly alternati...

19 Mar 202535min

Solving for Adoption and Channel in AgTech… So what? with Shane Thomas

Solving for Adoption and Channel in AgTech… So what? with Shane Thomas

There are a few topics in agtech (and in the tech startup world more broadly) that are truly perennial– problems that must be solved again and again in new and innovative ways as markets, customers, a...

5 Mar 202536min

From Demo Farms to Adoption with Wine Australia

From Demo Farms to Adoption with Wine Australia

When your organization is tasked with the job of getting growers to adopt new technology, there are a few tried, and frankly, not-so-true options to choose from. The world is lightly littered with var...

19 Feb 202538min

Populært innen Business og økonomi

stopp-verden
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
dine-penger-pengeradet
e24-podden
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
rss-borsmorgen-okonominyhetene
utbytte
pengepodden-2
pengesnakk
livet-pa-veien-med-jan-erik-larssen
finansredaksjonen
rss-sunn-okonomi
morgenkaffen-med-finansavisen
lederpodden
tid-er-penger-en-podcast-med-peter-warren
okonomiamatorene
stormkast-med-valebrokk-stordalen
rss-fa-makro
rss-andelige-tanker-med-camillo
rss-markedspuls-2