A new event in conjunction with AgSmart at Olds College aims to bring mainstream technology startup support to the agriculture sector.
Discovery Lab, a grassroots organization that supports entrepreneurs, will be hosting a pitch event on July 29, the day before AgSmart, the Alberta agriculture technology event, on July 30 and 31.
Discovery Lab@AgSmart aims to bring together Discovery Lab’s network of advisors and investors and connect them with people who are starting up agriculture technology businesses.
“The whole event is framed and constructed to help those people who are trying to start and grow a company,” said Michael Overduin, CEO of Discovery Lab.
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The Discovery Lab process has benefitted Mark Olson, CEO of Flokk, a company that has created software and hardware that makes cow-side data gathering easier for management and traceability.
He worked with Discovery Lab and Olds College to bring the concept to agriculture.
“We’ve established valuable contacts every time we’ve gone,” said Olson.
Discovery Labs works to make the process of being involved as welcoming and simple for companies.
“We try and make it as easy as possible, and as a result, we attract a large variety of people,” said Overduin.
That includes companies that are at the concept phase up to those that are selling a product and looking for more guidance or funding. They also could be looking to find a way into a new foreign market and people in Discovery Lab’s network can help with that too.
Discovery Lab has 270 advisors in its network.
There will be 15 companies presenting information about their company at the event, with room for one more, says Overduin. The companies receive coaching on their presentation and feedback after the event.
Flokk will be one of the presenters.
“We’re pursuing this because we this see as a much more effective way to try and attract and engagement investors, and we’re going and then doing it on our own,” said Olson.
Farmers are encouraged to attend the event too.
“This is a huge growth industry in Canada, with global demand,” said Overduin. Attending the event allows farmers to observe technology trends, opportunities and what they could implement on their farm. It’s also an opportunity for farmer to expand their networks.
Anyone interested in attending can sign up at www.discoverylab.ca.
