Recap: The Female Founders in Food & AgTech Pitch Showcase
Recap: The Female Founders in Food & AgTech Pitch Showcase
Hosted by Supply Change Capital, over 150 applicants from 30 states and 28 countries submitted their innovations for this inaugural event!
Supply Change Capital recently hosted our inaugural F^3 Female Founders in Food and Ag Tech Pitch Showcase in Los Angeles. We launched F^3 with the goal of building a platform for early stage, women-led companies to shine, build their network, refine their pitches, and access capital.
And the results were magic 💫 . By the numbers:
🌟 150+ applicants from 30 states and 28 countries
🌟 25 semifinalists --> 5 finalists who pitched live at the event. All semifinalists received pitch coaching by Rabobank’s Foodbytes team
🌟 22 investors on the review committee + 5 investor judges for the finals
🌟 8 sponsors
🌟 100 attendees at 1 incredible, community building, soul filling event
As seen above, our applicant base was diverse. All teams had a female founder, and 32% of teams identified as Black or Latinx. The five finalists pictured below traveled from Santa Monica, Chicago, Boston, Cambridge, and Argentina to showcase their company in front of a live audience.
Congratulations to Prarthana Gupta from OrdrSmart for taking home the F^3 $25k grand prize🏆. OrdrSmart is a B2B software that digitizes product sampling for ingredient suppliers and helps them accelerate their business. Prarthana also receives a Platinum pass to SXSW and entrance to the SXSW Future Food Tech House.
Runner up Eki Agrivoltaics develops vertical solar panels to generate revenue for farms to provide clean energy and revenue to rural farmers. The first runner-up prize includes a Platinum pass to SXSW and entrance to the SXSW Future Food Tech House. And a huge shout out to finalists SYLVARUM, Spicewell and RevivBio.
This event was made possible with incredible collaborators and many thanks are in order!
To our LA event judges: Qiana Patterson (NAYAH), Madeline Darcy (Kaya Ventures), Adela Jamal (milemark•capital), Milena Bogdanova Bursztyn (Newtype Ventures) and Noramay Cadena (Supply Change Capital).
To our sponsors Ajinomoto Co., Inc., General Mills 301 INC, Annenberg Foundation, PledgeLA, All Places, Foodbytes by Rabobank, J.P. Morgan Private Bank, 43North, Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) for supporting our vision.
F^3 Pitch Showcase sponsors. Photo by Wes Kuykendall To our virtual judging panel: Susan Lyne (BBG Ventures), Ashley Hartman (Bluestein Ventures), Jenny Kan (Climate Capital Bio), Ariana Thacker (Conscience VC), Stephanie Dorsey (E2JDJ), Lucy Wang (Divergent Ventures), Connie Bowen (Farmhand Ventures), Adrianna Samaniego (Female Founders Fund), Jennifer Stojkovic (Joyful VC), Milena Bursztyn (New Type Ventures), Daniella Vellinga (Rabobank), Rini Greenfield (ReThink VC), Taryn Goodman Gallery (Sandbox Industries), Jinchen Zou (S2G Ventures), Jessica Murphy (S2G Ventures), Lisa Feria (Stray Dog Capital), Kathy Chen (Ulu Ventures), Brita Rosenheim (Vita Vera Ventures), Beatriz Franco (Vita Vera Ventures), and Camila Petignat (The Yield Lab).
To Bridgid Coulter Cheadle and the team at Blackbird for hosting us in Culver City. We couldn’t have envisioned a more perfect space to spur these collisions. Find more photo gems here and here.
What’s next?
💰 Now ... let's get these women funded! Reach out if you are looking to invest in food, ag, and climate tech, and read more about the 25 semi-finalists and their innovations here.
Looking to the future, we’re excited to continue our Food Tech Innovation Showcase during SXSW 2024. On March 9th, we’ll host a Food Tech House. Sign up for our newsletter to snag a spot once the limited registration opens.