Being noticed in a competitive marketplace can be challenging and takes time – a valuable commodity most entrepreneurs have very little of.    

Without the right connections or the platform to share your story, and articulate your value proposition, gaining momentum can be hard. 

This industry challenge is one of the reasons why AgriFutures grow^AG. was developed in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) and Australia’s 15 Research & Development Corporations (RDCs) in April 2021.

The free-to-access online innovation platform helps users from startups, to investors, researchers and corporates to explore, scout and connect with expertise, research and investment opportunities from Australia and around the world in one, easy to use location. 

The grow^AG. platform has proven an invaluable tool, particularly for startups DataFarming, Lyro Robotics, Harvest B and VetChip to cut through the noise, provide much-needed visibility and greater access to capital and commercial partners^. 

Jane Bunn, Founder of Jane’s Weather, an Australian weather forecasting and alert system application, is one of many users reaping the benefits, since sharing its $750,000 capital raise on the platform^. 

“It’s great to be on the grow^AG. platform and I would 100 per cent recommend it because you feel like you’ve got a helping hand. Startups are constantly having to ask questions; everything is a new world,” Jane explained.

 “grow^AG. helps steer you in the right direction and helps you translate and amplify your message so prospective investors can find your solution and better understand your value proposition.  

“The experience I’ve had so far is amazing, we’ve made great connections through grow^AG.. You’d be silly not to want to come on this platform.” 

Whether you're an Australian startup or an international seeking to expand operations down under, grow^AG. offers numerous benefits. 

grow^AG.’s most unique feature is its live concierge team who field countless enquiries about commercial opportunities, research projects, and provide valuable introductions for interested parties.

Within 72 hours of submitting an opportunity, users can expect an email response followed by a 10-15-minute discovery call with a member of the grow^AG. team to better understand what opportunities or connections are of interest. Founders will receive support with curation of their commercial opportunities to attract high-value leads, market strategy advice, and even recommended mentors if required. 

The Leaf Protein Co. first connected with grow^AG. after participating in the SproutX Accelerator and with “few long existing industry connections found the platform very helpful,” according to its Co-founder and CEO, Fern Ho. 

The alternative plant protein ingredient startup, specialising in the valorisation of green leaf biomass waste, shared its $750,000 capital raise on grow^AG. in 2022, which led to “pivotal connections and helped guide our path forward,” said Fern.  

“My background is in electrical engineering, not in bioscience or food tech, let alone agriculture, so there was a lot of learning coming into this space about the industry and making connections.” 

“Listing on grow^AG., opened up real opportunities and helped us reach a much broader range of interested stakeholders. 

“One of the most interesting connections was an agronomist in Victoria who offered their time. And that's a big gift, to show me around a lot of the growers in the horticultural space to see firsthand the waste streams that we could potentially use as sources for our input biomass material.”

After successfully closing its $750,000 fundraising round, The Leaf Protein Co. is now using grow^AG. again to help raise $US1 million seed investment and find partners to establish pilot manufacturing^. 

Interested in featuring on grow^AG.? Submit your profile, commercial opportunity, innovation challenge or general inquiry here.   

The collaborative nature of grow^AG. not only supports innovators to accelerate and achieve commercialisation goals, like Fern Ho and Jane Bunn, but also drives value for the food system in new and holistic ways.  

The platform helps to prevent duplication of research and solutions, as its engaged network – 96,000 users since launch, with one third international – of investors, corporates, startups, researchers, industry, government and universities, can easily access and explore what’s out in market, and collaborate. 

With a plethora of 2,800+ research projects, 300+ profiles, 240+ commercial opportunities over 1000+ connections made, 160 early-stage negotiations, 50 more detailed negotiations, and 18 deals made, the potential to value add for cross-sectoral industries through the sharing and appropriation of tech and ideas is far greater than ever before.

It's a win-win for all, where investment and innovation can go further for the global food system, and save precious time.      

“As an early-stage founder, time is of the essence,” Fern added. “You don't have time to field all the interest that comes in. So that's valuable in itself.” 

“At the end of the day you trust and believe something based on your relationship, and that requires conversations and actually being front of mind.” 

Listing on grow^AG. helps founders build trust through credible storytelling too, Fern explained, whether that be articles, podcasts or the association with grow^AG. and evoke^AG..

“The platform helps build that sense of understanding [for one’s solution] and enables others to become familiar and then to trust the concept, or the entrepreneur. And that’s so important.”  

^{^This investment opportunity is only for professional and sophisticated investors as defined in the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). The content of this opportunity is intended for use by persons having professional experience in matters relating to investments and must not be acted or relied upon by any other person including, without limitation, retail clients.}