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Indoor Ag-Con Q&A With Eric Levesque Cultivatd

For Farmers. By Farmers. Q & A With Cultivatd Managing Partner Eric Levesque

Cultivatd LogoFor farmers. By farmers. That’s how Cultivatd, the Cornwall Ontario-based indoor farm brokerage, describes its dedicated team of experts and the services they provide. Founded in 2020 by agtech industry veterans Eric Levesque and Eric Bergeron, this startup helps clients get into the vertical farming space by guiding them through the process of selecting the best technology for their needs, and recommending the best solution depending on budget, type of growing, location and knowledge.

With more 40 partnerships with some of the controlled environment agriculture (CEA) industry’s biggest technology providers, Cultivatd has over $250 million in active projects in its portfolio and expects that number to increase substantially this year. Indoor Ag-Con had a chance to check in with Eric Levesque to learn more about his company’s service offerings, growth plans and ag tech trends in this month’s  Q&A.

As an Indoor Farm Broker, Cultivatd says it can help farmers by providing agtech solutions and farm planning at no cost. How does that work and what are the advantages?

Our service offering is quite simple; we help people understand which technology is best suited for what they are trying to do. Our team will work with clients and based on the type of plants to grow, the budget, the location etc, we will recommend different technologies as a solution. We have experience as growers, technology developers and have operated farms, so our team really gives clients a deep understanding of what is involved in growing food indoors. There is no cost because we earn a commission when a farm project comes together.

How does Cultivatd choose its partners?

Cultivatd Partners
Cultivatd partners with leading agtech companies. Click image above to learn more.

We don’t have an exact process here, although we tend to work with companies that we know have a solid reputation, good people, have detailed financials models and typically we like to go and see the technology working somewhere so we can vet it for ourselves. We also spend a great deal of time and effort building relationships with the people at our technology partners. It is important for us to have real, in depth knowledge of the teams behind the products we represent.

Is there new tech on the horizon that has you particularly excited about the future of agtech?

There are several – but mainly – we are excited to see new technology that allows different products to be grown indoors such as mushrooms, potatoes, animal feed, and even insects etc. The amount of food we are going to need to grow in controlled environments is massive and it has to extend far beyond leafy greens and herbs.

At the end of 2021 Cultivatd announced it had raised more than $3 million in a series A round. Can you share more about how you’re using/will be using these funds?

CultivatdThis was mainly to help us grow a team, open two new offices (Hello Austin!) and to market ourselves in the industry. We are also aware that large farming projects can take months to get going, so we also have some operating capital to ensure we are able to grow for years to come.

We have to ask, what is the story behind the name/spelling of your company?

We were looking for a modern name that fit the industry and this option really stood out to us when we went through our branding exercise. We really wanted a .com domain name so had to be a bit creative on spelling.

To learn more about Cultivatd and its service offerings, visit the website or call 1.877.258.8283.

Cultivatd

Cultivatd Raises $3 Million Series A Round

Cultivatd has raised $3.5M in the past year and is actively expanding into the USA, UAE and Australia.

  Cultivatd Inc, a Cornwall Ontario based indoor farm brokerage (and Indoor Ag-Con 2022 exhibitor!), announces the closing of a Series A round of investment of $3M USD led by Malcolm Bean of Resilient Earth Ventures (REV) Fund, a California-based firm focused on climate smart solutions and food security projects.

The funds will primarily be used to fuel the company’s expansion plans with new offices coming to Austin Texas, Dubai UAE and Perth Australia in 2022.

Cultivatd was founded in 2020 and the company’s Managing Partners, Eric Levesque and Eric Bergeron are both industry veterans who have been involved in Agtech for several years. Cultivatd has secured over 40 partnerships with some of the controlled environment agriculture (CEA) industry’s biggest technology providers such as IGS, Elevate Farms, Artechno, Cubic Farms, AmplifiedAg, Netled, RotoGro, and Delta9 in the past year, and intends to continue to expand its roster of partners over the coming year.

“These funds will allow us to service our growing list of clients, partners and projects and will help us get right into the middle of the CEA industry”, says Eric Levesque, Managing Partner and co-founder. “We did not anticipate the market would be this open to our service offering and we have now raised a seed round and a Series A in the same year to expedite that growth.”

The company currently has over $250 Million in active projects in it’s portfolio and expects that number to increase substantially in 2022. “The industry is growing quickly and more and more people need a better understanding of which technology provider is best for their project. It’s a massive capital commitment to open a vertical farm and we provide the expertise to help with planning and technology selection on behalf of our partners”, says Eric Bergeron, the company’s other co-founder and an AgTech industry veteran since 2014.

Malcolm Bean, Principal at REV Fund says “This investment is strategic in that it allows our fund access to the projects Cultivatd is brokering, helping speed up the process of their clients completing their vertical farming projects. We are very excited to see where this company is headed and to be part of it.” Malcolm will also hold a Board Seat at Cultivatd and help with strategy and growth.

Cultivatd is primarily a broker of technology but also offers a Farming-as-a-Service program in which the company will manage a farm’s operation for their clients. “We believe that success in this industry doesn’t just come from having the right technology (which we can help with) but also in having the right people running that technology. Our client’s success is ultimately our business model”, says Levesque.

The company intends to hire a few more staff to fill some major roles but is planning on staying lean – focusing instead on marketing and sponsorship opportunities to grow the brand into the $50 Billion dollar vertical farming equipment market.

For more information –

Eric Levesque
Managing Partner eric.levesque@cultivatd.com 613-360-5195
ABOUT CULTIVATD

Cultivatd Inc is a startup that connects people and businesses with the proper vertical farming technology for their needs. The company utilizes its years of experience in the indoor farming industry to assess needs and recommends the best solution for a clients’ budget, type of growing, location and knowledge. The company also offers services such as Farming-as-a-Service, where they deploy farmers to your location and general consulting services through a network of vertical farming experts throughout the world. Cultivatd helps clients get into the vertical farming space by guiding clients through the process of selecting the proper technology solution for their needs.

https://cultivatd.com

ABOUT REV FUND

Resilient Earth Ventures is a fund that accelerates sustainable energy and food systems in islands and remote communities. Managed by partners Malcolm Bean and Mark Higgins, the mission is to accelerate clean, sustainable, resilient energy and food. REV does this by investing risk capital in project developers, projects and technologies that can address the unique challenges of islands and remote communities.

We’re unique because we’re willing to take carefully considered business model, market and technology risks.

https://rev.fund