Crowdfunding has evolved considerably since its nascent days as KickStarter. Companies can now raise funds through a variety of crowdfunding portals using a number of financial vehicles - donations, debt, equity, or a combination of these. Foodshed Investors  Founder and Partner, Jarred Maxwell, discusses the history and potential impact of crowdfunding on the funding landscape moving forward. Also, feel free to check out an FAQ we wrote up on Crowdfunding

Welcome, Brazos Valley Office ~ Foodshed Investors Podcast, Jarred Maxwell on Crowdfunding ~ Incubators and Accelerators ~ Access to Capital ~ Pea Protein is Everywhere ~ USDA Payouts

Full Newsletter Here

Foodshed Investors (FI) is excited to roll out its services to the Brazos Valley - a region that includes the Bryan/College Station area, as well as the surrounding Brazos, Burleson, Grimes, Leon, Madison, Robertson, and Washington Counties.
 
Justin Golbabai will serve as the office’s founding Regional Lead and will be look to connect FI services to local sustainable food and agricultural companies, research and business  experts, and investors that share a common desire to have a positive impact on people and the planet.

For more information, please see the Brazos Valley Office page.

83% of entrepreneurs don't receive bank loans or venture capital, leaving a huge gap in the market for small to mid sized startups that don't have access to capital. We've seen this at Foodshed Investors, as well, and think there is a huge market opportunity in this capital market segment.

We're happy to see the Kauffman Foundation focussing on this exact issue in their report, Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs: Removing Barriers.

Andrew Braunberg, Co-Founder of Still Austin Whiskey, discusses how - and why - they source 100% of their grain from Texas. Andrew is an expert in distilling, procurement, and business operations.

Foodshed Investors, On The Road Again ~ Partnership With Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance (FARFA) ~ RMA Grant Announcement ~ Foodshed Investors Podcast w/ Andrew Braunberg of Still Austin ~ CTYFC Buying Farmland Event ~ Accelerators ~ USDA Ag Census 

Full Foodshed Investors Newsletter Here

Check out this interview with Jarred Maxwell on how food businesses can approach fundraising and how FI is different. Thanks to Foodboro for making this happen!

Full article here

Foodshed Investors is pleased to announce the addition of Amy Bell to the FI Team. Amy joins as a Senior Advisor and is supporting the development of the FI platform and working with entrepreneurs on business planning, capital structure and fundraising.

Amy brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in impact investing, fund management, and international development. 

​Foodshed Investors Partner and CFO, Eric de Valpine, discusses company exits: how exits can affect the way companies fundraise, how companies can plan their exits, and whether some companies need to exit at all. 

Sweet Ritual is a vegan ice cream shop in Austin, TX specializing in locally sourced, unique, and delicious dairy-free treats. This is Foodshed Investors' third round of funding with Sweet Ritual,  having worked with them on two prior fundings.

Bhoomi Cane Water is a healthy, refreshing, and nutritious hydrating beverage, cold pressed from raw sugar cane stalks. It contains electrolytes, phytonutrients, and enzymes, perfect for after or during a workout. Bhoomi sources sugar cane directly from sugar cane farmers in Louisiana, supporting growers by finding viable and growing market channels.

Texas gets its very own Land Link Program, at long last. Land Link is an online tool that connects farmers looking for land with landowners looking to sell or lease their land. Helping new farmers find reasonable access to land, while giving land owners the opportunity to put their land into sustainable agricultural production is a crucial service to provide. Looking forward to more good food and good farms in Central Texas. Find Farmshare's Land Link Program here.

We work with a lot of agricultural producers that recognize the importance of working with a financial partner like Farm Services Agency (FSA), as they provide access to ag-specific, cheap capital. But, we also hear about some of the challenges and questions that arise in trying to access this capital.

FSA recently released the type of collateral requirements they have to access their guaranteed loan programs for land and agricultural production.

FAQ here

FSA Guaranteed Loan website here

The Lancet Commission published a report that helps define what it means to eat a healthy, sustainable diet. "The EAT-Lancet Commission on Food, Planet, Health brings together more than 30 world-leading scientists from across the globe to reach a scientific consensus that defines a healthy and sustainable diet."

Full Report here

Lots of great food for thought in this report by Village Capital. How do we grow a sustainable food system, exactly? Who needs to be at the table to achieve this, what is sustainable, what's working right now, and what's missing? Interesting case studies and thought provoking ideas, such as:

​This month we welcome Errol Schweizer, Organic Industry Entrepreneur and Activist. Errol brings deep and various experiences to the show. Currently Errol serves as a board member and advisor to a variety of retail, CPG, E-Commerce, and Private Equity firms. Before this, Errol was VP of Grocery at Whole Foods. Before that even, Errol was a political activist in NYC. We talk food, power, industry, and justice

Foodshed Investors Advisory Service ~ Funding Readiness ~ Virtual Business Partner ~ Episode 2 of Foodshed Investors Podcast ~ Central Texas Food Hub Feasibility Study ~ Beyond Fresh Value Added Production Guide ~ Refresh Report

Full Newsletter Here

A new report from Refresh on technology, sustainability, and food production:

"Emerging technologies are transforming every part of our nation’s complex food system. From food production and distribution, to the safety of our food supply and the management of industrial food waste, these advances are already changing the ways we respond to hunger, soil erosion, pollution, and over-development. But the way we talk about these innovations— and the way the public understands them—could use a refresh."

See the full report here

The passing of the year provides many people an easy excuse for reflections and resolutions—a time to consider what the prior year’s experience revealed and to plan for the coming year’s adventures. We are no different at Foodshed Investors. At the close of 2018, we reflected on what our experience over the last 4 years has taught us about the role of capital in increasing the supply of good, local food. When we put our heads together, we realized we’ve learned quite a lot and are even more excited about this opportunity then when we first started.

FI Launches Nationwide ~ New FI website ~ Advisory Services Launched ~ FI Announces Everyone Investor Network ~ FI Launches Foodshed Investors Podcast ~ Growing a Sustainable Food System Report ~ Lancet Commission Report on Diet and Planet

Full Newsletter Here

Today we launch our latest website, and with it broaden our geographical focus from Central Texas to the entire US; introduce "Advisory Services"; launch our Podcast; and launch the "Everyone Network".

We've expanded from "Austin Foodshed Investors" to simply "Foodshed Investors" as our experience helping sustainable food... 

At the intersection of food, money, and people you’ll find The Foodshed Investors Podcast. This month, Austin Foodshed Investors Founders and Partners, Jarred Maxwell, Curt Nelson and Eric de Valpine join host Evan Driscoll (also with AFI) to talk about why, exactly, we're doing this podcast and why we think it's important. Also discussed: Angel Investing, Venture Capital, raising the right capital for your company, AFI portfolio case studies, and what makes for good financials.

Foodshed Investors friend Amy Bell co-authored this report, which "offers a new way of thinking about the relationship between financial returns and social and environmental impact. Instead of debating whether impact objectives detract from the financial performance of a fund, it identifies the ways in which impact objectives enhance financial performance, based on transactions in the portfolios of market-rate investment managers. This concept is known as “impact alpha".

Read the full report here.