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VANTEC 4th Annual Agrifood Tech Investment Forum

04 Nov 2020
2:30pm - 6:00pm PST

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Event Details

Meet BC's most promising Agritech, Foodtech and Biotech seed and scale-up companies

 

In case you missed it.

Anyone can watch the videos of the agrifood investment trends and founder panel discussions.  Investor members and sponsors can watch the company presentations (must be logged in) on THIS PAGE

 

There has never been a better time to invest in Agrifood Tech. New ways to grow, process and distribute healthier and more nutritious foods at better yields. Innovation and industry transformation provide tremendous opportunities for investment at a global scale.

With this event, we want to introduce you to some of the most promising seed stage companies in BC that have the potential to provide great returns for investors while contributing to the health and sustainability of our people and planet.

Together with local accelerators and angel investors, we selected and vetted BC’s most promising seed and scale-up companies from across the farm to fork value chain. We invite accredited investors, industry experts and stakeholders for an afternoon of investor panels, pitches and networking.

 

 

Hosted by VANTEC Angel Network, this event is created in collaboration with Innovate BC, Foresight Cleantech Accelerator,  Entrepreneurship UBC,  SFU VentureLabsSpring ActivatorNatural Products Canada, and with support from the Government of Canada. 

 

In 2020, Rocketbuilders  published its list of Emerging Rocket and Ready to Rocket  Agrifoodtech companies and Agfunder created an overview of the  Canadian Agrifoodtech market that includes a fair number of BC companies. This is one of the biggest sectors in BC and for our future!  

VANTEC members invested in BC's most promising Agtech, Foodtech and Biotech startups including BarrelWise, Central City Brewing, Chopvalue, Creatus Biosciences, CryoLogistics, Cuboh, Daiya Foods (exit), Foodee, Mazza Innovation (exit), NovobindOpen Ocean Robotics, Ostara Nutrient Recovery (exit), Scout Canning, Semios, Solegear Bioplastics (exit), This.FishVery Good Butchers (exit), VitaminLab and many others. We look forward to presenting the next wave of investment opportunities.

 

Event changes with regard to COVID-19

Considering the safety of our investors, founders, and community partners, this meeting will be held online only.

We will share the online event link and password with registered attendees and members via a separate email.

Before the meeting investor presentations and company contact details are available on GUST.

After the meeting the edited video recordings will be available to members on the VANTEC website by the end of the following week. Availability and the link will be provided in our free Newsletter.

If you are an accredited  investor and were unable to attend this event live you can request access to the recordings and get introduced to the company and their supporting angel investor via this CONTACT FORM.

 

A G E N D A

 

Registration & Networking 2:30 p.m.

Breakout Rooms for Networking

 

Presentation: Investment Trends 3:00-3:55 p.m.

Steve Hansen of Raymond James shares trends, opportunities and examples why investing in Agtech and Foodtech is rapidly growing and rewarding.

 

Panel Discussions: 

Moderated panel discussions with founders and investors.

Taking a global perspective early in your journey

Tom Urban of Agribusiness Advisors has a conversation with the founders of Neupeak, Future Fields and Livestock Water Recycling They all chose to join a foreign  accelerator. Why did they, how did it change their perspective and how did they benefit. 

 

Meet Ally Bharmal partner at Fasken

Ally provides advice  with an emphasis on the food, beverage and agri-tech sector including start-up and incorporation issues, shareholders' agreements, financing transactions (including debt and equity angel and venture capital), mergers and acquisitions, strategic transactions. He has extensive experience with respect to Board governance, and often serves as corporate secretary for clients. More... 

Ally Bharmal  | abharmal@fasken.com | 604 631 4987 | www.fasken.com

 

Raising Funding from the right investors beyond our borders

Steve Hansen of Raymond James has a conversation with the founders of Barrelwise, Lucent Soileos and Scout Canning about how they sought the right investors for them across Canada and beyond.

 

5 Minute Break

 

Welcome 4:00 p.m.

 

Community Announcements 4:05 p.m.

Community partners are invited to announce their upcoming events to the investors in the room and subscribers to our newsletter. Simply email us at info@vantec.ca

 

Foresight Accelerator | Western Canada’s core technology innovation centre. Where cleantech comes together.

Contact:  Stephen Wilson | swilson@foresightcac.com | (604) 245-0042 

 

SVG|THRIVE Accelerator --  THRIVE Canada Agrifood Challenge, a pitch event for AgTech & FoodTech startups.  The winning Canadian startups will advance to the finals of the THRIVE Accelerator Program in Silicon Valley. Apply before end of day November 6th here

Contact: Carin Gerhardt | carin.gerhardt@svgventures.com 

 

Event Sponsors

Natural Products Canada (NPC) is the driving force behind Canada’s Natural Product Innovation Cluster–a strategic community of SMEs, research institutes, corporations, investors, government departments, and service providers who support the development and commercialization of naturally-derived products and technologies in health and life sciences, natural resources, agriculture and agri-food, and sustainable bioproducts. 

Contact: Darrren Bolding, Regional Director | darren@naturalproductscanada.com | 587-596-5277

 

Global Affairs Canada helps Canadian businesses grow with confidence by connecting them with international opportunities, funding and support programs, and our network of Trade Commissioners in over 160 cities worldwide.

Currently recruiting companies for several Canadian Technology Acceleration programs globally, providing VC mapping services to companies raising capital and accepting submissions for companies to be included in the Dealbook that will be produced and shared with venture capitalists in Silicon Valley, across the U.S, and the rest of the world.

Contact: Ramneet Sran | ramneet.sran@international.gc.ca | 604-363-4548

 

The Consulate General of the Netherlands in Vancouver focuses on strengthening economic relations between Western Canada and the Netherlands. Its focus areas are aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and include water and climate adaptation, clean and sustainable energy and innovation & technology in the agriculture sector. The Consulate brings businesses, knowledge institutes and governments together to find solutions and to support international exchange, trade and investment. Please get in touch with us if you are looking to connect your organization with the Netherlands.

Contact: Ima Nahumury, Trade Officer | VAN-EZ@minbuza.nl | +1 604 697 5530

 

INVESTOR EVENTS

LifeSciences BC Investor Summit 2020 Monday-Tuesday, November 2-3 Online

VANTEC 4th Annual Agrifood Tech Investment Forum Wednesday, November 4 Online

VANTEC Start Up Visa (SUV) Pitch Perfect Previews Thursday, November 12 Online

Keiretsu Forum Vancouver Chapter Meeting Tuesday, November 17 Online

eFund Open House and Portfolio Company Updates Thursday, November 26

 

COMMUNITY EVENTS

SVG | THRIVE Canada Agrifood Challenge Application deadline: Friday, November 6

Fireside Chat with Pieter Dorsman Thursday, November 12 Online

TiE Vancouver Demo Day Wednesday, November 18 Online

20th Annual New Ventures BC Competition Awards Thursday, November 19 Online

Young Entrepreneur's Pitch Conference Application deadline: Friday, Oct 23 Online

Praxis SCI Accelerate Program Application deadline: Thursday, December 10 Online

 

Company Presentations 4:15 p.m.

Companies can apply to pitch here, and are recommended to attend one or more of the pitch circuit events to practice their pitch. The selected companies will be announced 2 weeks prior to the meeting.

The final agenda and time allocations will be chosen based on the number and stage of the companies selected.

 

UPDATES (90 second presentation)

This Fish | Foodtech | Gust | World Leader in Seafood Traceability and Production Software

 

PREVIEWS (90 second presentation)

  • Growbox Food Systems | Food & Beverage | Gust | GROWBOX is a local urban farm project, transforming empty urban spaces into streets of vertical farms that grow greens and vegetables.

  • FoodCODE SystemsFood & Beverage | GustFoodCODE is a cloud-based application that uses data integrated intelligent Smart-QR Code giving you a tool to make healthier food choices.

  • BinBreeze | Food & Beverage | Gust | Upcycled 'Kitchen Compost Powder' that eliminates fruit flies, neutralizes compost odours, and improves the resulting soil. BinBreeze makes composting easy!

  • Plant Veda | Food & Beverage, SD | Gust | Our Word's first Vegan Lassi got Product of the Year Award and is very popular in the vegan audience.

  • Susgrainable | Food & Beverage, SD | GustSusgrainable is a circular economy food company producing up-cycled barley flour from spent grain (beer "waste") improving nutrition & reducing food waste.

  • Synergraze | AgTech, SD | Gust | A natural cattle feed additive that will nearly eliminate methane emissions and increase weight gain by 50% in cattle and other ruminants. 

  • Orka Water | Food & Beverage | Gust | Orka is a Plastic-free drinking water provider in Urban Environment

  • Audacious Energy | CleanTech, SD | Gust | Audacious Energy designs smart energy management systems to enable integration of 2nd Life EV batteries in stationary applications.

  • Neupeak Robotics | AgTech, SD | Gust | AI enabled autonomous robots addressing fruit harvesting challenges.

 

FULL PRESENTATIONS (5 minutes presentation)

  • Scout Canning | Food & Beverage, SD | Gust | Scout is a craft cannery and sustainable seafood brand modernizing seafood CPG in North America.

  • Clearwater Farms | Agtech, SD | Gust | Growing and pricing micro-greens as a lettuce substitute to achieve a higher margin with year-round consistency in a vertical environment.

  • Wine Crush | Agtech, Food & Beverage, SD |  Gust | Patent-pending bio mechanical process for transforming wine derivative into highly nutritious content.

  • Amphoraxe | BioTech,  SD| Gust | We develop alternatives to conventional antibiotics to replace ineffective or restricted drugs. Our beachhead market is poultry farming applications.

  • Verdi | AgTech, SD | Gust | Intelligent, targeted irrigation as a service.

  • Techbrew Robotics (Mushroom Picker) | AgTech, SD |  Gust | We build Industrial Vision Guided Robotic Systems for the food industry and developed a high mushroom picking robot.

  • Lucent BioSciences (Soileos) | AgbioTech, SD | Gust | Lucent has developed a new class of micronutrient fertilizers that is carbon-neutral, does not have run-off pollution while improving yield and crop quality.

Investor Decks

The company presentations and investor packages, including more details on the team, financials and other documents are available to VANTEC members on the Gust platform. Email us at info@vantec.ca if you have any questions.

 

Networking 5:30-6:00 p.m.

Time for conversations between entrepreneurs and investors.  

 

NOTE: In our effort to share the pitches and presentations beyond our venue for a bigger impact we will record some of our events and make them available online.

By attending this event, you consent to the use of photography/video/audio in all forms of media, for any and all promotional purposes including advertising, display, audiovisual, exhibition or editorial use by VANTEC Angel Network without payment or other compensation.

 

 

Join our group of active Agrifood Tech investors on a monthly call where we cover a topic, have an expert discussion, look at a few promising companies that are raising capital and do some networking.

 

Why We want to create a more connected community of investors that can help promising companies reach their full potential

  • We have a tremendous opportunity to grow and support the Agrifood sector in BC and Western Canada with innovation and investment. 
  • We need a combination of industry, investment and innovation to move the needle smarter and faster.

Who You're an accredited investor who wants to support promising startups and scale-up companies with your domain expertise, connections and investment.

When We'll have our inaugural call on September 9 in the morning before the VANTEC Meeting so we can include investors from across Canada and Europe, including The Netherlands.

Where Online via a zoom meeting hosted by the VANTEC Angel Network. VANTEC hosts monthly online investor meetings where investors can see presentations from up to 15 companies. 

What We're currently thinking about the conversation 

  • Investor introductions (30 seconds), why your here, how you can help, how we can help and connect
  • Investment community building topic lead in, followed by a discussion (30 min)
  • 2-3 5 minute presentations by promising seed stage companies that received investment from one or more of our community members that is raising equity from accredited investors, followed by Q&A (30 min)
  • Networking and contact sharing between all participants (30 min)

 

What else There is more, but let's connect and start the conversation.

 

Agenda October 7 Call:

  • Investor introductions, your investor interest / thesis
  • 4th Annual Agrifood Investor Meeting Nov 4
    Background, outcomes 2019, opportunities and goals for 2020, thoughts, suggestions, opportunities to participate.
  • Review and referral of Agtech, Foodtech, Biotech companies that are raising seed and series A.
  • 2-3 company presentations and Q&A
  • Networking and contact sharing

 

JOIN THE INVESTOR CAFE

Please use this form to apply to join our monthly calls.

For any questions, comments or suggestions please email VANTEC's Marketing & Partnership Manager and Agrifood Tech Deal Lead frank@crushmarketing.ca 

 

Sponsors & Supporters welcome

We welcome sponsors for the investor cafe or the Agtech & Foodtech Investor meeting. Let us know if you're interested to support us.

 

Apply to Pitch

We invite all Agtech, Foodtech and Biotech companies seeking seed or series A investment to apply. Please express your interest by completing your application to pitch no later than September 30 at 11.59 PM.

Companies that apply and meet the criteria will benefit from the support and workshops that our community partners provide before and after the November 4 investor meeting.

 

Benefits

  • Get feedback and advise from investors and industry experts on your business, investor profile and presentation several weeks before the investor meeting.
    • VANTEC Pitch Practice - Volition Pitch Night - Practice your pitch in front a a friendly audience and get feedback. 

    • Tandem Innovation Group contract CFO's will review and give feedback on your pitch deck, business model, dealroom etc.

    • Global Affairs Canada and VANTEC will invite VC's and foreign investors interested in investing in Agrifood to meet with ventures that have a global market ambition and strategy.

    • The Consulate of The Netherlands is interested to meet with BC Agrifood companies that are interested to connect with Dutch Agrifood corporates to explore market and partnering opportunities.

    • StartLife Agrifood Tech Accelerator offers introductions to seed stage mentors and investors in The Netherlands.

    • Natural Products Canada - offers a consultation with NPC's Regional Manager for BC and industry experts across Canada.

    • Spring Activator offers online resources to refine your fundraising for companies with an impact mission.

    • Foresight Accelerator - offers a consultation with one of their EiR's.

  • Grow your connections, relationships with industry experts, peers and investors. Set up 1:1 follow-on conversations with aligned investors
  • Connect with a Canada-wide community of investors with an interest in Agtech, Foodtech, AgBiotech, Cleantech, Sustainability and Circularity.
  • Selected companies will be provided with the opportunity to share their story via pre and post event marketing content that will be created and shared by our partners.
  • Company pitches will be recorded on video for viewing on demand and are made available to you to share with your investors.
  • We will share the videos of the pitches and investor packages with our investors and affiliated angel groups.

 

Application Criteria

You are seeking an equity investment from angel investors and you are on your way to meet these criteria.

You are a BC-based company. Companies from other provinces are welcome to apply, and we will introduce you to our partners, however for this investor meeting BC companies are preferred.

Innovation & Impact: Concept is a transformative / game-changing approach to solving a problem or gap in the market that can have major impact at scale.

Product / Technology: Product or service has a competitive advantage and barriers to entry.

Customers / Traction: Validated customer needs and wants. Researched competition and substitutes. Understand key growth metrics. Steady progress in building a successful business.

Business Model / Scalability: Clear business model. Know how to scale, access markets and acquire customers. Know costs and how margins improve with scale. High growth profitable market opportunity, preferably with global impact at scale.

Sustainability / Social Good: Business has a triple bottom line: people, profit and planet.

Team: Well rounded team of founders, staff and advisors.

Exit: Path to a high value exit
 

Your business is part of the Agrifood Lab to Farm to Fork Value Chain

 

 

Our Process

  • Sep 30 - Is the final deadline to submit your application. We ask you to complete a secure online investor profile on GUST. An investor and industry panel selects the companies.
  • Oct 13 and Oct 20 - If you're selected for the online pre-screening  you will give a 5 minute presentation, answer questions and receive feedback on your business and presentation from a panel of experienced investors and domain experts. This will take about 20 minutes.
  • Companies will be offered the opportunity to join an investment ready workshop in Vancouver TBA.
  • Oct 21 - We will announce the final selection of companies. 
  • Nov 4 - At the investor meeting you will present to an audience of 150+ people including 60+ angel investors, family offices, funds and community partners. The meeting starts at 2 pm with industry trends and investor panels. Investor presentations are from 4.00 - 5.30.
  • We recommend companies schedule time for 1:1 investor meetings with investors before or after the investor meeting.

 

NOTE: If you aren't selected to present on Nov 4, we will consider your application for upcoming investor meetings held monthly on the first Wednesday of the month.

 

Selection Committee

The selection committee includes members of the Agrifood investment community including:

Frank Leffelaar - Agrifood Tech Angel Investor & Advisor, Deal Lead Agrifood at VANTEC and eFund, EiR at Foresight Accelerator

Tom Urban, Investor and Founder of  Agribusiness Advisors, EiR at e@UBC

Steve Hansen,  Managing Director, Equity Analyst - Transportation & Agribusiness at  Raymond James

Darren Bolding - Regional Director, Alberta and British Columbia at Natural Products Canada

Genevieve Pinto - Partner at Renewal Funds

Ramneet Sran - Trade Commissioner - Venture Capital, Adv. Manufacturing & Robotics at Global Affairs Canada

Erik Kaas - Industry Technology Advisor at NRC-IRAP 
 

Partnering & Sponsoring Opportunities

We are looking forward to partnering with eco system partners from BC and beyond that want to support the growth of angel investment in promising startups before, during and after this event. 

Please email info@vantec.ca to express your interest, start a conversation and receive our sponsoring package.

If you wish to make a 90-second community announcement at the investor meeting, please send us your request and details for posting on the website and event agenda to info@vantec.ca

 

 

 

 

 

Sponsors

Raymond James Ltd. offers a wide range of services for individual and institutional clients and corporate issuers. Their Advisors have access to a complete offering of high-quality investment products and services, providing them with the resources to customize investment solutions for their clients. Their Equity Capital Markets division provides expertise in Investment Banking, Research, Corporate Finance, and Institutional Sales & Trading.    

Visit www.raymondjames.ca

 

Natural Products Canada (NPC) is the driving force behind Canada’s Natural Product Innovation Cluster–a strategic community of SMEs, research institutes, corporations, investors, government departments, and service providers who support the development and commercialization of naturally-derived products and technologies in health and life sciences, natural resources, agriculture and agri-food, and sustainable bioproducts. As part of its role in the Cluster, NPC offers a suite of Commercialization Programs to help companies and researchers advance high-potential products and technologies; provides connection and innovation scouting services to industry and investors through its Innovation Hub; and leverages its Investment Fund to help develop and de-risk promising Canadian opportunities. NPC has over 800 opportunities in its pipeline, has completed twelve investments, and has already experienced two exits. Established in 2016, NPC is funded by a range of public and private investors, including the Government of Canada’s Centre of Excellence in Commercialization and Research (CECR) program, administered by the Networks of Centres of Excellence. Visit www.naturalproductscanada.com

 

The Consulate General of the Netherlands in Vancouver focuses on strengthening economic relations between Western Canada and the Netherlands. Its focus areas are aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and include water and climate adaptation, clean and sustainable energy and innovation & technology in the agriculture sector. The Consulate brings businesses, knowledge institutes and governments together to find solutions and to support international exchange, trade and investment. Please get in touch with us if you are looking to connect your organization with the Netherlands.

Contact: Ima Nahumury, Trade Officer | VAN-EZ@minbuza.nl | +1 604 697 5530

 

Supporters

Global Affairs Canada helps Canadian businesses grow with confidence by connecting them with international opportunities, funding and support programs, and our network of Trade Commissioners in over 160 cities worldwide.

Currently recruiting companies for several Canadian Technology Acceleration programs globally, providing VC mapping services to companies raising capital and accepting submissions for companies to be included in the Dealbook that will be produced and shared with venture capitalists in Silicon Valley, across the U.S, and the rest of the world.

Contact: Ramneet Sran | ramneet.sran@international.gc.ca | 604-363-4548

 

Innovate BC is a one stop service centre to connect innovators — large and small — with BC government funding, tools, resources and support.

 

Partners

Foresight is Western Canada’s Cleantech Innovation Center which supports the identification and validation of cleantech opportunities and the successful commercialization of solutions. We bring together industry, government, academia and technologists to innovate and enable a responsible, more sustainable tomorrow.

 

e@UBC aims to nurture and foster the entrepreneurial culture within the UBC community, and to assist in the growth of start-up companies emerging from UBC.

 

SFU VentureLabs scales-up world-class technology companies by ‘powering up’ ventures with amazing talent, technologies, entrepreneurial and research expertise, access to funding, gov’t. assistance programs and international expansion opportunities.

 

Spring Activator is using business as a force for good to empower social impact leaders with the know-how, network and support needed to build a better business.

04 Nov 2020
2:30pm - 6:00pm PST

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