The Network Effect

Transformative innovation is a product of entrepreneurs, early adopter customers, investors and domain experts working together. Each brings a unique skill set but as a whole they transform markets and uncover new opportunities.

Portfolio Company CEOs

Engineers, agronomists, medical researchers, former tennis pros and Human Genome Project participants, the founders we work with are transforming technology into opportunity and driving change in their markets.

Anna Rath

Vestaron Corporation, President and CEO
Barrett Ersek

Holganix, CEO
Bill Brady

Kula Bio, Founding CEO & Director
Bill Buckner

Harpe Bioherbicide, CEO
Dan Cosgrove

Growers Edge, CEO
Dan Swiger

Kultevat, CEO
Ed Rogers

Bonumose, CEO
Elizabeth Gallegos

Pluton Biosciences, CEO
Eric Smith

Edacious, CEO
Eric Taipale

Sentera, CEO
Jim Ethington

Arable Labs, Inc., CEO
Jim Flatt

Brightseed, Co-Founder & CEO
Joseph McGee

Harvest CROO Robotics, CEO
Kellee James

Mercaris, CEO
Kevin Baum

Agriwebb, CEO and Co-Founder
Lars Dyrud

EarthOptics, CEO
Lou Faust

HerdDogg, CEO
Martha Schlicher

Plastomics, CEO
Rich Kelleman

Bond Pet Foods, CEO
Rob Hranac

PatternAg, CEO
Sarah Bellos

Stony Creek Colors, CEO
Shannon Hall

Pow.bio, CEO and Co-Founder
Steven Watkins

BCD Bioscience, CEO
Tom Snipes

Plant Response, CEO
Vijay Harrell

TradeLanes, CEO
Yuval Aviel

Autonomous Pivot, Chief Executive Officer

Selection Committees

30 PhDs, 40 startup founders, 20 exits and 400 named patents, the industry and subject matter experts who help guide iSelect’s investment decisions are a reservoir of knowledge of what has and has not worked in the past and what may or may not work in the future.

Andrew Daniels

Daniels Trading, Founder & CEO
Barry Goldman, PhD

Pluton Biosciences, CEO, CSO
Berwick Settle

Beijing, Dairy Farm Management Specialist
Bill Northcott

Agrible, Founder & Chief Innovation Officer
Bob Whitaker

Produce Marketing Association, Chief Science & Technology Officer (Retired)
Brad Fruth

Beck's Hybrids, Director Of Innovation
Braden Hudye

Altrus Capital Investments, Co-Founder
Brian Buntaine

University of Missouri-Columbia, Senior Manager, Technology Transfer
Bruce German

UC Davis, Professor
Cheryl A. Van Dyne

Cheryl A. Van Dyne Consulting, Regulatory Affairs Consultant
Chris Eckert

Eckerts Family Farm, President
Chris Harbourt

Indigo, Global Head of Carbon
Dr. Brendan Niemira

USDA-ARS, Research Leader of the Food Safety and Intervention Technologies Unit
Eric Jackson

The Yield Lab, Advisor
Glen Swanson

Daniels Trading, President
Kevin Van Trump

Farm Direction, CEO
Natalie DiNicola

Benson Hill, Chief Of Staff
Rachel Kopay

The Context Network, Senior Associate
Renée Vassilos

The Nature Conservancy, Director of Agriculture Innovation
Roger Beachy

Kultevat, Chief Science Officer
Ron Lirette

Monsanto, Director, Global Regulatory Pipeline
Steve Barr

Osborn+Barr, Chairman
Tim Woods

G.M. Lawrence and Company, VP
Todd Mockler

Benson Hill, CTO
Tom Adamitis

Yield Lab, Managing Director
Tom Willis

Conestoga Energy Holdings, CEO & President
Trey Sherman

Oak River Farms, President
William Burnidge

The Nature Conservancy, Director, Sustainable Grazing Lands Program

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.

The Network Effect

Portfolio Company CEOs

Vestaron Corporation, President and CEO

Holganix, CEO

Kula Bio, Founding CEO & Director

Harpe Bioherbicide, CEO

Growers Edge, CEO

Kultevat, CEO

Bonumose, CEO

Pluton Biosciences, CEO

Edacious, CEO

Sentera, CEO

Arable Labs, Inc., CEO

Brightseed, Co-Founder & CEO

Harvest CROO Robotics, CEO

Mercaris, CEO

Agriwebb, CEO and Co-Founder

EarthOptics, CEO

HerdDogg, CEO

Plastomics, CEO

Bond Pet Foods, CEO

PatternAg, CEO

Stony Creek Colors, CEO

Pow.bio, CEO and Co-Founder

BCD Bioscience, CEO

Plant Response, CEO

TradeLanes, CEO

Autonomous Pivot, Chief Executive Officer

Selection Committees

Daniels Trading, Founder & CEO

Pluton Biosciences, CEO, CSO

Beijing, Dairy Farm Management Specialist

Agrible, Founder & Chief Innovation Officer

Produce Marketing Association, Chief Science & Technology Officer (Retired)

Beck's Hybrids, Director Of Innovation

Altrus Capital Investments, Co-Founder

University of Missouri-Columbia, Senior Manager, Technology Transfer

UC Davis, Professor

Cheryl A. Van Dyne Consulting, Regulatory Affairs Consultant

Eckerts Family Farm, President

Indigo, Global Head of Carbon

USDA-ARS, Research Leader of the Food Safety and Intervention Technologies Unit

The Yield Lab, Advisor

Daniels Trading, President

Farm Direction, CEO

Benson Hill, Chief Of Staff

The Context Network, Senior Associate

The Nature Conservancy, Director of Agriculture Innovation

Kultevat, Chief Science Officer

Monsanto, Director, Global Regulatory Pipeline

Osborn+Barr, Chairman

G.M. Lawrence and Company, VP

Benson Hill, CTO

Yield Lab, Managing Director

Conestoga Energy Holdings, CEO & President

Oak River Farms, President