Valley Ventures Accelerator Program Update! The Valley Ventures Accelerator program officially launched two months ago, near the end of August 2017. The program kicked off with a preview event that included different investors, industry players, and showcased the goals of the program along with what the overall look of the Fall 2017 cohort. Workshop 1 began promptly after the kick off, where the companies introduced themselves and an overview of the program was given. Paul Singh, who is a correspondent of the program, began to discuss the topic of venture capital focusing on how to make your company more likely to raise money. Afterwards the conversation jumped into the primary focus of the program: sales. Paul discussed various marketing strategies, sales strategies, lead generation strategies, topics that would help group the sales funnels of the cohort. The companies were already full of questions and thoughts, which reassured the value of the program for these new companies. Near the end of the day a venture capitalist, Mikel Berger, spoke to the group about little engine ventures- he also discussed his observations about the agtech industry and the things his portfolio companies have been working on to experience growth in sales.  Day 2 of the workshop was packed full of additional guest speakers and subject material, including modules like “how to talk to investors” and “how to fill your sales funnel” with Ryan Shank. The energy emitted from the companies was electric and left a strong conclusion of just how strong the next few months will be.  In between workshop’s the companies applied what they had learned during the workshop and saw definite impacts in sales, and venture capital funding. Companies were becoming remarkably closer to their individual goals, and one company, GroGuru, even won a pitch competition, which had a prize of 25,000 dollars. Paul Singh and the Valley Ventures team also held biweekly phone calls to help guide and consult companies in areas they could utilize to advance their business. There are also technical webinars help to help expose companies to a variety of subjects, such as setting up online marketing strategies to legal guidance from a startups perspective. Topics of the webinars were decided based on the needs of the companies.  Workshop 2 was held mid-October, and included speakers from various industries with expertise in sales and investing in agtech. Paul Singh spoke to the cohort through various modules in a very honest fashion that should reap results within the companies fundraising efforts and sales goals. The fall 2017 cohort is halfway finished, and the Valley Ventures team is very proud our participating companies progress and how they have been utilizing the resources of the program to grow their companies. Over the next few months, there are two more workshops packed with additional speakers from entrepreneurial backgrounds and venture capital backgrounds. In addition there will be, industry focused individuals, such as dealers and end users that will speak more in depth with the cohort. Companies will be in full display at the November 15th Central Valley Innovation and Entrepreneurship forum (see below) as a part of the stock exchange and the showcase pitch event. The final workshop will host a “demo day” which is full of exposure for each of the companies involved.

Company Highlight   The fall 2017 cohort consists of the following companies. AQUAOSO, which specializes in building a resilient future through smarter water markets and watersheds. Avsonic, which is an automated cattle soaker system. BovControl, which features an analytics platform for cattle operations. Deep Root Irrigation which sells irrigation products for landscape and agricultural usage. Drought Diet Products, which is a sub-irrigation zone pipe for greywater. DSPii, which focuses on soil moisture sensing through aerial application. ECO2Mix creates a carbon dioxide based water pH control system for irrigation units. Fluid Pulse makes a wireless irrigation valve that controls use on existing water pipelines. GroGuru is a company that concentrates on the precision of soil moisture, salinity and temperature. Nanomass converts biomass into powdered fuel to be used in coal plants. And REDtrac is an online agricultural well, water and soil efficiency monitoring system.  The collective group has raised a total of $3, 868,000 from various capital resources, including venture capital, and bank debt. Collective sales for the group are at $1,681,800. Technology in the group represents everything from innovative hardware to rapidly growing software products.                  WET Center Member REDtrac® LLC is a Bakersfield, California based collaboration of software and hardware engineers and industry experts with extensive experience in agriculture, oil and gas, emissions compliance, design, construction, vehicle fleet logistics management, and industrial operations. REDtrac® and its business partners currently monitor, analyze and report on over 250,000 assets worldwide. Our suite of products and services are a necessity for: Water Storage Districts, Irrigation Companies, Municipalities, Farming Operations of all sizes, Farm Management, Dairies, Agricultural Investors, and Oil & Industrial Companies. They were founded in 2008 and have recently enrolled to be a part of the WET Center, they are looking forward to collaborating with other companies involved at the WET Center! REDtrac is also one of the companies involved in the Valley Ventures Accelerator!

In the News!

GroGuru Wins! BovControl- Internet with Cows! Valley Ventures News Feature! One of the Valley Ventures participated in a San Diego Pitch competition and won! They took home a prize of $25,000 dollars! for more information click here "The five year old start up is trying to create what founder Danilo Leao calls "the internet of cows"  for more information click here The first online article which featured Valley Ventures!  For more information click here

Team Member: Paul Singh  Paul Singh is an instrumental part of developing the Valley Ventures ag-tech accelerator. His experience consists of founding two successful startups, cofounding 500 Startups, cofounding Disruption Corporation, and even acting as Entrepreneur in Residence at the White House. During the course of the 3 month program, Paul works one-on-one with each participating company to overcome any current growth challenges they face. Paul also acts as a facilitator during each workshop, flying into Fresno where he spends more face time with each company and occasionally hosts a fellow venture capitalist or entrepreneur from his portfolio as a guest speaker for the group.

Events and Webinars Central Valley Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum November 15, 2017  For the first time ever, the Central Valley Venture Forum and Central Valley Stock Exchange are coming together to create the Central Valley Innovation & Entrepreneurship Forum, the largest event for innovation and entrepreneurship in the Central Valley.  For more information click here  Exporting Best Products & Importing into the U.S. Workshops November 14, 2017  These two workshops discussing importing and exporting are a great opportunity for businesses of any size! The first workshop will provide you with the skills to start/expand your export business. The second workshop will explain essential steps in importing to the US.  For more information click here  Apply for the Imagine H2O Accelerator November 1, 2017 For more information click here Webinars: Berkeley New Business Practicum: Office Hours Free legal office hours to discuss issues such as, entity formation, trademark and copy law, employees, independent contractors, interns and NDA's.  For more information click here Starting Something that Matters  November 1, 2017 Focuses on being able to build a network around you business idea For more information click here Making the Leap: Moving from Idea to Business  November 8, 2017 Develop a foundation for thinking about how to move your idea forward and the tools to do so effectively.  For more information click here Business Wednesdays- Henry Madden Library Learn more about the most valuable resources for business and economics For more information click here International Business Webinar November 9, 2017 Learn where to look up information about companies abroad, industry trends, our country profiles! For more information click here

Follow us on social media or contact us at bluetechvalley@csufresno.edu!