May 15–17 | Memphis, TN

Connect with Entrepreneurs, Industry Experts, and Investors Shaping the Future of Ag

Attendees and Alumni are the Heart of iSelect's Agriculture Innovation Network

2018 Confirmed Attendees

Aggio

AgLaunch

Agrian

Agrible

Agrilyst

AgriThority

Agriworld, Inc

AGROdeviate

AgroLiquid

AgThentic

AgVoice

Alexander Thompson Arnold

Alltech Biotechnology

Alvery Barltett Group

Anticipate Ventures

Arvegenix

Banyan Innovation Group

Benson Hill Biosystems

Beta Hatch

Bishop-Wisecarver Corp.

Blue River Technology

Bonumose

Bunge Ltd

Captiveone

Columbia AgCap

Compeer Financial

Commercial Advisors

Cotton Board

CropMetrics

Crop Risk Services, Inc

Cultivian Sandbox

Engender Technologies

Ernst Law Firm

Eykon Design Resources

Danforth Plant Science Center

Daniels Trading

Dicken Commodities

Enveritas Group

Farmers Business Network

Farm Direction

Farmland Partners

FarmLead

Farm Progress

Financial Architects

Finger Lakes Fish

Finistere Ventures

Fisher Management Services

For Good

Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research

Fulcrum Global Capital

Gain Capital

Gavion

GDM Seeds

Geltor

G. M. Lawrence and Co.

GrainChain

Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce

Green Plains Inc.

Growcentia

Grower Information Services Cooperative

Grow Forward

Growmark

Harvest CROO Robotics

HerdDogg

Hermiston AG Enterprises

HighQuest Partners

Holganix

Hudye Group

IASIDOK

Illinois Soybean Association

Indigo Ag

iSelect Fund

iUNU

Jain Irrigation

The Juice Plus+ Company

KCK Group

Kimery Wealth Management

KnipBio

Kultevat

KWS SAAT SE

Lagomaj Capital, Inc.

Langston Enterprises

Lawrence Group

Lean Media

Local Seed Company

Macquarie

MacroGain Partners

Mangalista

Mallard Corner

Mallory Group

Mark IV Capital

Marrone Bio Innovations

The Marston Group

Monsanto Company

Mully Children's Family

Murray State University

Nanopore Diagnostics

Nativis

Nestle

The Noble Research Institute

Oak River Farms

Onlan Capital

Pacific Channel

Persistence Data Mining

Pivot Bio

Pluton Biosciences

Prolific Earth Sciences

ProteoSense

Rebar Ag

RD Heritage Group

Sage Bioproducts

Santi Co.

Smart Ag

Social Capital

Sollum

The Seam

Sino-US Food and Agriculture Innovation Center

Sugarlogix

SSM Partners

Steele Farms

Stephens Inc.

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Stony Creek Colors

Syngenta Ventures

TechAccel

Templeton Family Farms

Tennessee Department of Agriculture

TeselaGen

Tractor Beverage Co.

Van Trump Report

Verdical

Victory Foods, PBC

Washington University

The Yield Lab

University of Illinois, College of ACES

Valent BioSciences

Validus Holdings

Yangtze Delta Region Institute of Tsinghua University

2017 Attendees

AgGenetics

AgLaunch

Agrian

Agrible

Angelina Ag dba Oak River Farms

Apse, Inc.

Ark Ag Law

Avondale Partners

Beck’s Hybrids

Benson Hill Biosystems

Bunge Ltd

Capitalogix

Conestoga Energy

Conservis Corporation

Context

Daniels Trading

Dobbs Equity Partners LLC

Donald Danforth Plant Science Center

Duncan Investment

Eykon

Fall-Line Capital

Farmland Advisors

Farmland Partners Inc.

ForeLight

GAIN Capital

G. M. Lawrence and Co

Grain Millers Inc

Green Plains, Inc

Harris Shelton

Hermiston Ag Enterprises

Highland Capital

Hivalgo

Holganix

Hudye Group

Hutchinson Farms

Indigo Ag

Innova Ag Innovation Fund

iSelect Fund

Kultevat

LandFund Partners

Lansing Trade Group, LLC

Lawrence Group

Lean Media, Inc.

Lewis & Clark Ventures

Mallard Corner

Macquarie

Mayberry Seed Co

Memphis Bioworks Foundation

Mercaris

Nativis, Inc.

Ogle Clinton

The Pathfinder Group of Princeton

Petroleum Transfers Inc

ProteoSense

Prudential Agricultural Investments

Ritter Agribusiness

Southern Hunt Club

TerrAvion

TradeLanes

University of St. Thomas School of Law

Van Trump Report

Ventana Systems, Inc.

Washington University

Weidert Land Company

Zeus Development Corporation

ORGANIZING SPONSORS

Gold Sponsors

Silver Sponsors

Gold Sponsors

Silver Sponsors

Supporting Sponsors

Consideration

With 2021 well underway and with public markets still strong, we think it is an important time to highlight some of the key private market, venture investment themes that iSelect fund has identified for the year. We believe technologies transforming the Agriculture, Food and Wellness markets will flourish, with a focus on four areas: technologies that enable better food choices to drive better health outcomes, technologies that drive better, more profitable farm operations, technologies that drive the Consumerization of Healthcare, and biome-based treatment technologies. At iSelect, we invest for impact AND performance. We offer qualified investors access to emerging growth companies through our national venture capital strategy. Our unique structure allows our investors to continue to invest in these companies as they develop.

Timing

Why is now the right time for venture? The answer is that now is not explicitly the right time. Venture is something we need in our economy at all times. Now is not better than any other particular time. The question is, why ever stop? When we look at the challenges we’re facing in food and healthcare the reality is there is someone, somewhere who has an insight about how to build a product that will solve those problems. And if they put the right resources to it, they will succeed. As long as we need new technology to make life better or make our lives more enjoyable, we need venture capital to help fuel those entrepreneurs.

What is iSelect as a product?

iSelect is a very unique product, but when you break it into its parts it’s fairly easy to understand. On the front end we’re a traditional venture capital fund. We have a diligence process. We have an investment process. We have categories of industries where we have focus and real expertise, and we invest in companies in those areas that meet requirements for the fund. On the back end we’re unique in that we don’t raise a large amount of capital at one time and deploy it over the life of our fund. Each deal that we bring onto the fund, our investors have to prove and determine to invest in that deal. We have to constantly prove our diligence standards. It’s accessible, transparent and easy for investors to come in and see our comprehensive process.

What is the ideal iSelect company?

We are looking for founders that are passionate and we want the problem they’re trying to solve to be big, real, and painful. We want the solution to be revolutionary and we want our capital to be able to help them solve that problem. We want to know that they have customers involved and that the solution they’ve come up with actually meets those customers’ and market needs. And we want the team to be capital efficient with the money they’re spending.

What does the ideal iSelect company look like?

We’re looking for a company that has an opportunity to have a 10x return to our investment or greater in a period of three to seven years. What excites us at iSelect are companies that are solving big problems. We want companies that are going to be the Monsantos of the future. Not just in the size and the scope, but the impact they have on people’s lives. We want to create positive impacts on people’s lives, so we invest in areas like agricultural production and areas like producing healthy foods for our kids. They are problems that impact real people’s lives on a daily basis. That’s what we’re trying to do at iSelect. We’re trying to solve the big problems out there. Find ways to bring capital to the entrepreneurs who are the real heroes out there getting up every morning, beating away at these things that are problems that you and me and everyone else faces in their everyday lives.

What is iSelect?

iSelect is a venture capital firm. What that means is we look at hundreds and hundreds of different companies and we apply tough diligence standards to each of them, looking at whether the team has a good plan for growing the business, whether the team is qualified and credible, and more. We do that to resolve the few who provide the best opportunities for investors. And then iSelect takes that smaller set of investments and goes to investors who are interested in venture capital and provides a way for them to invest in these companies, either individually or all at once. We co-invest alongside other venture capitalists. We source transactions through to an exit where the company would become public or get bought. And we manage that whole investment process on behalf of our investors.