April News and Updates
The Nest News
April is a time of celebration whether it is remembering our purpose on Earth Day or saying congratulations to our colleague Hallie Fox on her well-deserved promotion to Senior Investment Associate.
This month’s news features Earth Day updates from our portfolio, an intriguing report on investment in agri-food tech and climate adaptation for smallholders, an interview with Quick Organics, Atomo Coffee’s expansion, and a funding opportunity from Elemental Accelerator.
Elemental Excelerator’s Latest Investment Cycle
Elemental Excelerator opened applications for their latest investment cycle. Applications are open through May 31 with up to $3M available for climate solutions with deep community impact.
Elemental offers both a Strategy Track, with up to $350,000 in funding, or a Project Track, offering $1 to $3 million in funding. In addition to capital, Elemental offers coaching, community, curriculum, and brand building support for startups. Elemental also helps startups build equitable solutions through its Equity & Access strategy.
Two of The Nest’s portfolio members, Propagate and Edacious, have been through the Elemental program, and we recommend applying if your startup is Pre-Seed – Series D+ stage, and meets the following criteria:
· A solution that addresses climate change or related issue
· For-profit, stand-alone venture
· At least two full-time employees
· At minimum, have an operating prototype
· Project Track applicants must have at least one initial pilot deployment in progress or completed
The Nest Journal
April’s Journal posts included an interview with Frankie Grundler, co-founder of Quick Organics. Frankie shared his mission to increase production and access to healthy, sustainable food by scaling organic certification. Quick Organics simplifies the effort for farms to manage organic systems plans and record keeping through software as a service.
Portfolio News
Atomo Coffee
“Beanless” coffee maker, Atomo Coffee, opened a 33,547 square foot roastery in Seattle. The facility can produce four million pounds of Atomo’s ground ‘coffee’ per year, using upcycled date pits. Atomo’s market has expanded to Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, Seattle, and New York City. The innovative company also received funding from Japanese beverage company, Suntory. Time Magazine ranked Atomo Coffee at number 38 on its 2024 list of Greentech Companies. The list also included Monarch Tractor. Finally, Atomo’s COO Ed Hoehn was featured in a Q&A for Musings Magazine.
Learn more about Atomo’s growth.
New report from AgFunder
AgFunder and ISF released a new report, Climate Capital: Financing Adaptation Pathways for Smallholder Farmers, 2024. The report features Omnivore and highlights how India’s role as the top country for investment in agri-food tech climate adaptation for smallholders. Since 2012, India has had $1.9 billion of investment across 434 deals and 171 companies.
Propagate
The Iowa State Iowa Learning Farms Webinar series featured agroforestry and a mention of Propagate in its April 24 event. Sarah Castle from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign shared her PhD work on agroforestry on Midwest farms. Castle’s research focuses on advancing knowledge of agroforestry systems. Her project work also includes a mapping tool that identifies the areas with socio-ecological opportunities for agroforestry in the Midwest.
Watch the webinar at this link.
In April, Propagate also announced funding for Agroforestry Partners from Builders Vision. The Propagate team also published several posts for April, including an article on the benefit of agroforestry as green infrastructure, Stormwater Management, Flooding, and Agroforestry. Additional topics for the team this month included the market for chestnuts, and the use of windbreaks and shelterbelts for farm resilience.
Other Portfolio Posts
Our investment and foundation portfolio celebrated Earth Day in April with blog posts and insights on sustainability.
Trace Genomics
The Science Behind It: Nitrogen Cycle (video)
Monarch Tractor
Electric Tractors in Farming: 15 Benefits
How Monarch Customers are Supporting a Healthier Planet
Agricarbon
Setting the Standard for MRV Protocol Compliance
Soil Carbon Accounting: Detecting Change at Different Levels
Opportunities
Astanor Ventures is hiring for a Financial Controller, the position is based in Belgium.
Farm for Good is hiring for an R&D Project Coordinator, the position is based in Belgium.
Edacious is hiring for Director Laboratory Science and Head Spectroscopy and Technology Development.
Synthesis Capital is hiring for their 2024 Summer Internships.
Trace Genomics is hiring a Bioinformatics Scientist as well as laboratory and engineer positions.
From the Farm
The team at Domaine de Graux is busy planting and planning events. The farm will host its second Family Day on June 2, a community event that includes education on agroecology and biodiversity.
In September, Domaine de Graux will host the Entrepreneuriat & Transition (E&T) Chemin 28 event. The three-day event will be an immersive experience for conscious leadership. It will be an ideal event for leaders of small, medium, and large companies who want to (re)connect and reinvigorate through nature workshops, inspiring speakers, and co-development sessions.
Learn more about this unique event
The first of the season’s veggie baskets get delivered in May. This year, the farm is partnering with two local companies to offer the baskets to employees. The orchards in bloom and the black Angus are expecting the arrival of their calves in the coming weeks.