A COMPELLING
COMMERCIALIZATION OPTION 

For universities active in the AgTech space, there is a compelling new option for commercializing Intellectual Property.

If you have developed promising technology solving a significant market problem connected to the production, manufacturing, logistics and distribution of food and agricultural products, we have an option to consider.

What Is Carrot Ventures?

Carrot Ventures seeks novel agricultural technologies to commercialize. Areas of interest include animal health, crop production, digital agriculture, food safety and logistics, food tech, and value-added products across the agricultural value chain. We will consider technologies from anywhere, but there must be some relevance to the Canadian market.

Who Is Carrot Ventures?

Verdex Capital created Carrot Ventures specifically to form and fund new AgTech companies. With the support of Farm Credit Canada (FCC), Carrot Ventures now has $15 million to back technologies that hold commercial promise. Please review the press release for details.

Why Carrot Ventures?

For over 20 years, Verdex Capital invested in Canadian companies across the entrepreneurial spectrum.

During this time, they witnessed many entrepreneurs encounter the same challenges getting financed. This is because entrepreneurs are often unclear how best to characterize the opportunity to investors and unwittingly erect barriers to success.

Barriers To Getting Financed

The most common barrier is inexperienced leadership, followed closely by technologies that do not solve a compelling market problem or that lack a defensible intellectual property position. These challenges are amplified by unclear value propositions, overly complicated ownership structures, and limited corporate
governance and oversight. Carrot seeks to resolve all these issues upfront.

Carrot’s Approach

Carrot sets the stage for securing capital and achieving commercial success.

To accomplish this, we developed the Carrot Company Formation Model, which starts with a rigorous process to validate promising agricultural technologies and assess their market potential. Next, Carrot recruits an experienced CEO to lead a new company formed specifically to commercialize the technology.

The CEO’s first job is to develop and defend a robust business and financing plan. With those tasks completed, Carrot issues a financing term sheet for up to $1 million as the lead investor. The CEO then raises additional capital to complete the financing and fund the opportunity.

At the end of this process, we have a funded company with strong technology in the hands of professional leadership. The CEO then proceeds to execute their plan to productize and commercialize the technology.

The goal is to stack the deck to favour investment, enabling rapid commercialization and equity growth.

The Technology Transfer Opportunity

Carrot has an appetite for venture scale AgTech IP. Carrot could become a reliable commercialization partner for university researchers and tech transfer offices willing to assign their IP in exchange for equity in a company dedicated to commercializing it.

The same is true for corporations with stranded or non-core assets. Carrot represents an expedited commercialization path for IP that fits their model.

Once the Carrot IP selection criteria are understood, suitable innovations can be directed to Carrot for a fit assessment.

Next Steps

If you are interested in learning more, watch our intro video, download our PDF eBook or Express Interest in participating. We’re happy to discuss your AgTech Innovation and explore potential fit.