What our Innovators are Reading Right Now
Posted on December 08, 2017 14:21 PM by WGCIT
S2G Ventures Wants to Professionalize AgriFood Tech Investing with $180m Fund, New Hires
“It’s amazing that food and agriculture is probably the largest industry in the world but that the amount of capital, innovation, and entrepreneurship is relatively small compared to what we see in other industries; that was my first takeaway on entering this space,” says Aaron Rudberg, the recent high profile hire by S2G Ventures, the agrifood tech venture capital firm.
S2G recently closed its second fund on $180 million and is the most active dedicated agrifood tech venture capital firm today with 30 investments under its belt.
OPN recently spoke with Miles McEvoy who served as Deputy Secretary at the USDA National Organic Program for eight years. Miles retired this past fall and his service will be remembered as one that protected organic integrity, while building the organic sector. While he will be missed in DC; the organic community has not heard the last from this organic champion.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Health Risks To Farmworkers Increase As Workforce Ages
Researchers point to a number of causes for dwindling farmworkers: tighter border controls; higher prices charged by smugglers; well-paying construction jobs and a growing middle-class in Mexico that doesn't want to pick vegetables for Americans.
Hayashi Wayland Provides Expert Tax Assistance to Help Startups Save Time and Money
When launching a new business, filing your taxes is probably one of the last things on your mind. But it shouldn’t be.
Waiting until the last minute to try to navigate through the complexities of filing your taxes as a start-up company could result in you leaving money on the table—or worse, costly penalties or other legal repercussions. To ensure that your new business is handling its tax obligations properly, consult a tax professional.
As a resident of the WG Center for Innovation & Technology, you have direct access to tax advisors such as Hayashi Wayland. Hayashi Wayland, a premiere accounting firm, is a sponsor of the WGCIT and is dedicated to helping agricultural technology entrepreneurs achieve financial success.
There’s an implosion of early-stage VC funding, and no one’s talking about it
Amid record amounts of capital raised by VCs worldwide, and a sharp rise in the number of private “unicorns” valued at $1 billion-plus, there has been a quiet, barely noticed implosion in early-stage VC activity worldwide.
The chart below is dramatic, and accurate. Since 2014, the number of VC rounds in technology companies worldwide has nearly halved, from 19,000 to 10,000, according to PitchBook. During that time, the drop in VC funding amount has been nowhere near as dramatic, highlighting that VCs are concentrating investment into fewer later-stage companies.
This is now a three-year trend, so cannot be “blamed” on macro or short-term factors. More worryingly, it comes at a time of unprecedented stock market valuations worldwide.
Why are America's farmers killing themselves in record numbers?
“Farming has always been a stressful occupation because many of the factors that affect agricultural production are largely beyond the control of the producers,” Rosmann in the journal Behavioral Healthcare. “The emotional wellbeing of family farmers and ranchers is intimately intertwined with these changes.”
Food-makers are taking salt and sugar out of food. But they’re adding fat.
Buffeted by changing consumer demands and concerns over the health effects of excess salt and sugar, the world’s largest food companies have tried to make their products more healthful.
Many have promised to reduce sodium and added sugars. Others have removed artificial colors and additives.
But a new, peer-reviewed government report suggests these tweaks have not made packaged foods more healthful overall: While sodium and sugar have decreased in many products, there’s been a surge in the amount of saturated fats, which raise blood cholesterol.
South Carolina Waffle House customer cooks his own meal after finding staff sleeping
A hungry, slightly inebriated man knew just what to do when he stopped by a South Carolina Waffle House early Thursday only to find the restaurant’s staff snoozing: He cooked up his own meal, snapping selfies along the way.
Alex Bowen said in a Facebook post that he stopped by a Waffle House in West Columbia because he couldn’t sleep.
The restaurant’s employees apparently did not have the same problem.