The Venture Codex

Led · Series A · Feb 2024

iYOTAH builds a business-intelligence SaaS platform, nTell, that aggregates disparate livestock data — herd management, feed, wearable health data, and milk processing — to simplify decision-making and drive efficiencies. The company was founded in 2019 by CEO and founder Kari Spaan and began in the dairy sector to address fragmented, manual data workflows. iYOTAH describes the industry’s challenge as the “swivel-chair problem,” where producers spend significant time pulling data from multiple sources. nTell is partially in market now and is slated for full commercialization with self-onboarding in the second quarter of this year. The product is positioned to help producers convert reactive operations into proactive management by identifying small efficiency gains that can translate into meaningful revenue or savings.

Participated · Series A · Oct 2022

Tractor Zoom operates a cloud-based marketplace that aggregates real-time price and valuation data to simplify procurement of tractors, combines and other farm machinery for farmers, dealers, auctioneers and lenders. The platform lets auctioneers and dealers list inventory while farmers browse, filter and compare listings from mobile or desktop. Since its 2017 founding by Southern Iowa farmer Kyle McMahon, Tractor Zoom has added over 1,450 equipment suppliers, 600 auctioneers and 1,900 dealer locations, and its user base has grown 400%. The company now holds data on more than $20 billion in equipment sale transactions, a 14x increase from 2020, and it offers financing pre-approval services though it is not a lending institution. Tractor Zoom previously raised $3 million in 2020 and recently secured $5 million in a Series A to fund growth. The new capital will be used to expand data-science products and product development with the goal of building a streamlined end-to-end mobile transaction flow, while continuing to focus on the North American agriculture market. Tractor Zoom operates Iron Comps, a pricing and analytics product that tracks used equipment transactions and provides real-time comparable sales for farm machinery. Its Tractor Zoom marketplace lets farmers enter exact make and model details and find auctions where equipment is being sold. The company monetizes through traditional ad buys, primarily from banks and insurance companies. Tractor Zoom has partnered with over 450 auction companies to market more than 6,300 farm equipment auctions to an audience of over 225,000 buyers across the U.S. The company plans to use new funding to scale Iron Comps and to add four hires to its current team of 12. CEO Kyle McMahon developed the idea after attending over 1,000 auctions and positions Iron Comps as a Kelley Blue Book–style valuation tool for heavy equipment. Tractor Zoom operates a digital marketplace that aggregates farm equipment auction listings and lets buyers search by keyword and set auction alerts. The platform uses natural language processing to repurpose sparse auction descriptions and surface details such as hours run and serial numbers. It launched in 2017 and reports 266 auction companies on the platform, 97,000 subscribers, and 102,000 pieces of equipment transacted through the system. The site is monetized primarily through traditional ad buys, especially from banks and insurance companies, with zip-code targeting for local vendors. Tractor Zoom aims to add an Iowa team and expand into agricultural regions beyond the Corn Belt. The company was founded and led by CEO Kyle McMahon, who built the product from firsthand auction experience. Tractor Zoom is an online marketplace that connects farm equipment auctioneers and buyers, aiming to simplify and speed up auction listing and shopping. The company launched mobile apps in November 2017 and a web app in February of this year, built on an AngularJS web framework and the Ionic framework for mobile. Its platform lets auctioneers list large auctions quickly (the company says auctioneers can list a 2,000-lot auction in under five minutes) and lets farmers browse aggregated inventory to find specific equipment. The company’s genesis followed the founder attending more than 1,000 auctions and speaking to over 300 industry participants to validate the concept. Tractor Zoom plans to hire key staff, expand its geographic footprint across North America, bring in more inventory, and release products for other ag-industry players to “bring the equipment buying and selling experience full circle.” Financially, Tractor Zoom completed a $1 million seed round following an earlier family & friends round; the proceeds will be used primarily for team growth, inventory acquisition and North American expansion.

Participated · Series A · Mar 2022

Clean Crop Technologies develops the EPA-approved Clean Current system, a dry, fully electric, residue-free cold-plasma seed decontamination device that treats 25–50+ lbs. of seed per hour. The system combines electricity and food-grade gases (air) to inactivate a broad spectrum of contaminants without chemical or water additives, aiming to stop crop loss at the source and avoid chemical run-off. Clean Crop has signed $3.4 million in purchase orders from customers that represent 39% of the global vegetable seed market. The company is based in Holyoke, Massachusetts and has operated in the Pioneer Valley since 2019. With recent recognition from Fast Company and TIME, Clean Crop is scaling capacity and hiring to meet demand, including a workforce-development partnership with Springfield Technical Community College. The company plans to use new funds to engage additional contract manufacturing partners and expand on-site capacity, team size, and revenue at its seed tolling facility. Clean Corp Technologies, based in Holyoke, MA, has developed high-voltage catalyst technology that uses electricity to decarbonize how food is grown and kept safe and fresh. Its core technology is aimed at boosting yields, improving food safety, and reducing food waste across a broad range of categories including nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables, meats, and seafood. Led by CEO Dan White and COO Daniel Cavanaugh, the company plans to continue scaling and commercializing the technology across the supply chain. Clean Corp raised $6M in a Series A to support those scaling and commercialization efforts. The round included both prior and new investors, reflecting continued investor interest in the technology. As part of the investment, Dan Fitzgerald of ReGen Ventures will join the company's board of directors. Clean Crop Technologies is a Northampton, Mass.-based agtech company that develops High Voltage Atmospheric Cold Plasma (HVACP) systems to reduce food waste and crop loss. The company is co-founded by Dan White and Dan Cavanaugh, who have a combined 25+ years of experience in agricultural supply chains. Clean Crop is building a proprietary ionized air generator designed to be energy efficient and to optimize treatment effect in processing environments. It intends to use the recently raised funds to accelerate development of its technology and expand technical and product development capacity on the team. Field tests are scheduled to begin in the U.S. later this year, with the company targeting commercial deployments in emerging markets and the U.S. starting in 2021. The company closed a $2.75M seed round to support these near-term development and deployment milestones.

Participated · Equity · Aug 2021

Beta Hatch farms mealworms as an alternative protein source targeted primarily at livestock and pet feed. The company describes its farming process as “virtually zero-waste.” It is St. Louis-based and is expanding its flagship farm in Cashmere, Washington. Beta Hatch announced $10 million in funding as it eyes that expansion. The new facility is slated to be the largest of its kind in North America and the company expects to increase output 10x over the next year. The Cashmere location is currently powered by renewably sourced energy. Founder and CEO Virginia Emery said the company plans to grow its presence in rural America and employ and partner with local communities to help feed a growing global population. Beta Hatch is a five-year-old startup led by founder and CEO Virginia Emery, a PhD entomologist, that builds insect-rearing technology to convert organic waste into proteins, oils and nutrients for poultry and aquaculture. The company operates a SeaTac, Washington facility and is building a 42,000-square-foot flagship mealworm production facility in Cashmere, Wash., by converting a former juice factory. Beta Hatch is deploying a hub-and-spoke model with hatchery hubs producing eggs and ranching spokes growing product to scale mealworm production. The new Cashmere site will be powered in part by renewable sources, including waste heat from a neighboring data center, to lower energy needs. Beta Hatch expects the expansion to create 20–30 new operating, engineering and R&D jobs and will keep its SeaTac operation running into 2021 as a support and transition facility. The company has positioned its technology as a sustainable protein source for animal feed and continues to scale its distributed production model. Beta Hatch develops insect-rearing technology to convert organic waste into proteins, oils and nutrients for poultry and aquaculture. Founded in 2015 by PhD entomologist Virginia Emery, the company currently operates out of a facility in SeaTac and plans to move to a flagship facility in Cashmere, Wash. that will be the largest mealworm production facility for animal feed in North America, with capacity to produce a ton of insect protein per day. That Cashmere facility is scheduled to be operational in early 2021 and will be partially powered by waste heat from a neighboring data center. The company has completed the first published assembly of the yellow mealworm genome and will publish it in an open source article to support further research. Beta Hatch currently employs 14 people and plans to add 10–20 more once the Cashmere operation is complete. Beta Hatch was founded by Virginia Emery three years ago to address high costs of animal feed by raising mealworms as an alternative protein. The company currently operates in SeaTac and plans to relocate to the Wenatchee area this summer to lower operating costs and improve employee lifestyle. In Chelan County it is gearing up to build its first commercial flagship facility that expects to produce about 1 ton of insect biomass daily. The planned facility will take advantage of very low electricity costs (as cheap as 3¢/kWh) and will use waste heat from an adjacent data center to reduce energy use. Beta Hatch has a track record of non-dilutive and investor funding, having raised $4.8 million via grants and investment from parties including Cavallo Ventures. The company recently won a $135,000 prize at the Flywheel Investment Conference to help with its move and scale-up. Beta Hatch is a Seattle-based company industrializing the production of insects as a sustainable protein source for animal feed. The company is developing tools and processes to grow insects at industrial scale and has focused work around black soldier fly technology. It closed a $2.1M seed funding round to build a precommercial facility and continue refining its technology and process. Beta Hatch has partnered with Texas-based EVO Conversion Systems and joined The EVO Consortium to access fundamental BSF technologies and collaborate with other insect-rearing developers. The company plans to offer a comprehensive rearing workshop through the consortium to help establish production standards for American producers. Virginia Emery is Founder and CEO.

Participated · Series B · Mar 2021

Stony Creek Colors manufactures plant-derived natural indigo dye using proprietary seed genetics and extraction processes. Since its inception in 2012, the company has developed strategic farm partnerships to provide brand customers with a fully transparent seed-to-factory supply chain. Led by founder and CEO Sarah Bellos and based in Springfield, TN, Stony Creek serves brand customers with high-performing plant-derived dyes. In February 2022 the company raised $4.8M in a Series B2 round. The company intends to use the funds to further refine its proprietary plant-derived indigo system and scale up production. Stony Creek Colors develops and supplies a proprietary, high-purity natural indigo dye grown from a company-developed indigo plant variety. The firm’s BioPreferred-certified, plant-based indigo is free of hazardous chemicals commonly used in synthetic indigo production. Stony Creek has scaled cultivation on land formerly used for tobacco and positions its crop as a high-margin rotation opportunity that can sequester carbon and reduce fertilizer needs. The company targets denim mills and broader textile, food, and beverage markets seeking natural, eco-friendly colorants. Under CEO and founder Sarah Bellos, Stony Creek became the first U.S. company to grow indigo at a commercial scale usable by the denim industry. The company recently closed a new financing round to fund geographic expansion of its indigo-producing crops and processing capabilities.